adrenachrome

[byrooon]

occasionally on various entheogenic BBs, the topic of adrenachrome comes up... mainly inspired by Hunter S. Thompson's description of its effect in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. And the insinuation in the book that the drug has to come from a dead person's adrenal gland.

Hunter Thompson later admitted he made the story up. But what is the real truth about adrenachrome?

Well here it is:

In 1951 John Smythies, a registrar at St. George's Hospital in London, and a medical student, Julian Redmill, noticed, as others had that mescaline was chemically related to epinephrine [adrenalin]. In 1932, for example Henk de Jong, in a paper on experimental catatonia, pointed to the same structural similarity and suggested that a disuturbance of epinephrine metabolism might result in the production of a mescaline-like compound in the body that would cause catatonia. Smythies...wrote for further information to a psychologist, Robert Thouless of Cambridge... Thouless introduced him to John Harley-Mason who had done work on epinephrine metablism. Harley-Mason, an organic chemist, worked at the Cambridge department of Physiology where the first steps had been taken to identify the metabolic pathways through which norepinephrine and epinephrine were broken down. Derek Richter and Herman Blaschko had discovered the enzyme monoamine oxidase there in 1938... Richter had also found a breakdown of epinephrine, which he called adrenochrome, because it was pink.
     Smythies's question for Harley-Mason when they met in his room after dinner was wether there were breakdown products of adrenergic metabolism that could produce altered mental states. Harley-Mason's response introduced a theme that was to resonate through the following two decades. He pointed out that the addition or subtraction of a methyl group was one of the main synthetic or degradative steps in the body for amines like epinephrine...
     There were a number of distinguished psychiatrists at St. George's at the time, but none was interested in this new hypothesis. The only person to show any interest was Humphrey Osmond, a senior resident, who thought the transmethylation was worth testing. Osmund [took] up a position as the assitant director at the main mental hospital in Weyburn...Osmund took over and invited Smythies to join him.
     The recently appointed provincial director of research was Abram Hoffer.  Hoffer and Osmond...in conjuction with Smythies wrote a paper on endogenous psychotogens...An asthmatic patient had provided a lead. During attacks he injected himself with an epinephrine solution. If this solution was left laying around for awhile it developed a slightly pink color--it oxidized. When the patient injected himself with this pink solution he developed psychotic symptoms. Osmond and Hoffer prepared doses of adrenachrome, took them, and reported the agent produced a psychomimitic response

The Creation of Psychopharmacology -- David Healy. 2002

So this also gives an easy way to make adrenachrome... leave some adrenalin lying around... once had a vial of adrenalin... many, many years ago... if I only knew then what i know now

--bp

[Stonehenge]

I know someone who has a small bottle of adenochrome. Has anyone used this stuff and what dose did you use and how was the trip? I've heard 100mg is about right but am not sure of the effects. It would be nifty if it was like mesc.

[Cassie]

moved to the cave

[Cassie]

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/adrenoc ... rome.shtml

Entry in Adam Gottlieb's Legal Highs (1973):

    ADRENOCHROME SEMICARBAZONE -- 3-hydroxy-1-methyl-5,6-indolinedione semicarbazone.
    Material: Oxidized epinephrine (adrenaline) with semicarbazide.
    Usage: 100 mg is thoroughly dissolved in just enough alcohol, melted fat (butter), or vegetable oil and ingested. Because of its poor solubility in water these must be used to aid absorption.
    Effects: Physical stimulating, feeling of well-being, slight reduction of thought processes.
    Contraindications: None noted.
    Acts as a systemic hemostatic preventing capillary bleeding during injury. Adrenochrome causes chemically induced schizophrenia. Its semicarbazone does not.

[Bushpig]

In the first few pages of Aldous HUxleys  'The doors of perception' there is a paragrapgh mentioning Andrenochome:

'There matters rested until, two or three years ago, a new and perhaps highly significant fact was obsserved.  Actually the fact had been staring everyone in the face for several decades; but nobody, as it happened, had noticed it until a young english psychiatrist, at present working in canada, was struck by the close similarity in chemical composition, between mescalin and adrenalin.  Furthur research revealed that lysergic acid, an extremely potent hallucinogen derived from ergot, has a structural biochemical relationship to the others.
   Then came the discovery that adrenochrome, which a product of the decomposition of adrenalin, can produce many of the symptoms observed in mescalin intoxification.  But andrenochrome probably occurs spontaneously in the human body.  In other words, each one of us may be capable of manufacturing a chemical, minute doses of which are known to cause profound changes in conciousness.  Certain of these changes are similar to those which occur in that most characterisitic plague of the 20th century, schizophrenia.  Is the mental disorder due to achemical disorder?  And is the chemical disorder due, in its turn, to psychological distresses effecting the adrenals?  It would be rash and premature to affirm it.  The most we can say is some kind of prima facie case has been made out.'


BOooosh

[byrooon]

the theory that adrenachrome might cause schizophrenia has long since fallen by the wayside... Adrenalin (UK) is epinephrine (USA)... A common substance used in hospitals and doctors office... shouldn't be hard to get... leave it exposed to air... hmmmm... I'll have to see who sells it....

byron

[byrooon]

A quick search on google reveals epinephrine at about $30 per pop--100mgs.

When I used to work as a research assitant at the University there was bottles of powder epi in the frig. As I said before: If I knew then...

bp


but I did know about the ketamine...

[LizJah]

Hell, if you go to one of the major grocery stores...you can probably find epinephrine. I get some every few months. OTC

You just gotta look!

You got to make it your new hobby. Label reading. You will be suprised at what you find! Be descrete. Don't be an obvious ass. When you find something...Don't buy 6 of 'em.
 
Ya'know...One of the major RC suppliers (Who was busted.) did carry andreachrome semicarbazide for dirt cheap. Somebody had to buy some, but nobody is talking. Speak!!

Love!!