MAPS: Strychnine: a poison or a useful tool for psychonauts? Was: historical use of strychnine in acid

[Gennady Rut <anyservice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 02:46 PM 4/29/99 -0400, you trinity <shiva.kali@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: 

>oh dear maps people.  i know that strychnine is not used in
>lsd. *i* know it does not help lsd's effectiveness at all
>and that it has no effect in "cutting" the batch of lsd.

> BUT i have a staunch debater who
>insists that back in the 60s, when it came in pills and the
>above argument doesn't work, that there was strychnine in
>there. he says he had a friend who was a chemist who made it
>and that there was some reason that the it was BETTER (or
>helped it or something)  for the strychnine to be in there.
>??? help! was there strychnine in there? for what reason?
>if not, what could the situation have been for him to
>believe that it was in there?

and then

At 03:50 PM 5/4/99 -0700, you Arjun Mendiratta <arjun@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>The "myth" about strychnine in acid is actually based in fact...
>Finally, strychnine is a poison. It does not enhance the acid experience,
>It kills you.

What's wrong with strychnine? 

There is the famous in Russia reference book for the doctors
before me, two-volume  Pharmaceuticals by Mashkovskiy. On 
the page 160 of the first volume one can read that strychnine 
as a nitrate salt in a therapeutic dosage stimulates the CNS 
and the organs of the senses, sharpens a vision, taste, 
hearing, tactile sensibility and increases the sensitivity of 
retina. Strychnine is used as invigorant, roborant and tonic 
when one's metabolism is poor, when one becomes tired fast.

Usual dose for adults is 0.0005-0.001 g (0.5-1 mg) two/three 
times per day. Children older than 2 years take 0.0001-0.0005 
g per dose. Highest doses (per os and hypodermically) are 
0.002 g one time and 0.005 g per day.

Tincture of poison-nut/tinctura nucis vomicae that is made 
from 16 g of a dry extract of Strychnos nux vomica ( the 
dry extract contains 16% of alkaloids, a mix of strychnine 
and brucine) diluted in 1 liter of 70% alcohol contains 
0.25% of alkaloids. It is administrated per os as a general 
tonic and as a bitter to give an appetite, 3-10 drops a dose. 
Highest doses are 0.3 ml (15 drops) one time and 0.6 ml 
(30 drops) a day. As one drop of 70% alcohol weighs 
approximately 25-27 mg, the weight of alkaloids it contains 
is 0.0625-0.0675 mg that gives 0.937-1.01 mg for 15 drops and 
1.875-2.025 mg of the alkaloids for 30 drops.

I have never had the nitrate salt of strychnine. However, I 
have been using the tincture for many years as a part of my 
every day herbal/stimulant/nootropic ration. Usual dose is 
2-3 drops a day. The highest amount I have ever taken is 15 
drops a day. An effect is perceptible even in a low/several 
drops dosage and quite appreciable when 15 drops are 
ingested. I want to note that the medicine actualize the 
"fleshliness of flesh" as cannabinoids do and has significant 
aphrodisiac properties. 

As I have no piety and preferences whatsoever for the natural, 
herbal sources of substances, in this and in any other cases 
I would prefer to have crystals, white powders, the pure eide 
of inebriation instead of wooden stuff full of an undesirable
information noise.


(Certainly it is out of the "style" of this post but I can't 
resist the desire to quote Art Kleps' Millbrook

     ...Those who are fixated (love and depend) on the crazy
     ideas they grew up with will usually repress most of what 
     they have learned on their trip or trips in favor of the 
     standard substitutes for the truth with which they are 
     familiar and comfortable. They may renounce psychedelics 
     completely and join the Moonies or, perhaps, declare that 
     only organic psychedelics are any good, not because they 
     are more mild (more manageable) than acid but because of 
     a pantheistic virtue which resides in organicity, a 
     rationalization which will provide them with a new 
     collection of moralistic dogmas to fuss and fret over...

Shulgin in one of his interview was more laconic: "Terence, 
I'm as natural as they [drugs that comes from nature] come. 
To me it's not any different making a chemical in the 
laboratory that's new and that you can get to learn and 
interact with than it is interacting with a plant.")

So I would prefer the chemical to the tincture. 5 mg of 
strychnine nitrate, the highest therapeutic dose, is 
five times as much as I have ever ingested (15 drops = 
0.937-1.01 mg of alkaloids mixture) and it may be much 
more profound and interesting experience.

My friend told me that several friends of his friend 
reported that they had used the tinctura nucis vomicae 
during their trips with MDA (100-300 mg), MDMA (200-
480 mg), DOB (1-4 mg), LSD (25-100 mcg) and cannabinoids. 
Results always were good and without unpleasant effects.
Doses were 1-3 drops of tincture 1-3 times per session.

According to my Dictionary of Forensic Medicine a lethal 
dose of strychnine is 0.05-0.1 g. Truly, it must be a 
bitter cup, vinegar mingled with gall! Strychnine is 
extremely bitter substance. Bitterness is distinguishable 
even in very high dilution (1:60 000). One drop, 65 mcg 
of alkaloids can make a full glass of water bitter. So one
could swallow up LSD with a substantial amount of the 
strychnine only in a capsule form. 

Let me summarize. 

-Strychnine is pharmacopeial, officinal medicine that in
therapeutic dosage stimulates the CNS, the organs of the 
senses, sharpens a vision, taste, hearing, tactile 
sensibility and increases the sensitivity of 
retina. 

-It is used as invigorant, roborant and tonic 
when one's metabolism is poor, when one becomes tired fast
and can be used as a general tonic and as a bitter to give 
an appetite. 

-It has significant aphrodisiac properties. 

-There is anecdotal evidence that the using of strychnine 
improves the quality of psychedelic trip.

-This compound contains good ole indole molecular structure
and bears certain structural similarity to harmalas, 
ibogaine and yohimbine.


After quick search I have found at least one company in East 
Europe, Poland, where Tinctura Strychni may be bought. The 
Web address of their site is


http://www.pharma-cosmetic.com.pl/recept-5.htm

...So strychnine is not a poison. Rather ignorance is a poison.
And here zero level of tolerance is recommended.


Gennady
Simferopol Crimea Ukraine


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