Synthetic Drugs: A·History of Ups and Downs by Stuart H

1I"'A".r:II/I!irM!. N E w s L E T T E ·R VOLUME 15, NO. 4 JULY-AUGUST 1986

Part One Synthetic Drugs: A·History of Ups and Downs By Stuart H. Stock

Introduction appeared to end. But today that drug revolution may be Tracking the history and current status of any "street" returning - if indeed it ever really went away. To under- drug is at best a chancy business. Collecting information stand where we are today in terms of that revolution, it about what happens on the street involves wading is necessary to trace the history of certain drugs and through sources as diverse as the National Institute on examine their status today. Drug Abuse (NIDA) to High Times, with stops at The Jour- nal of Psychoactive Drugs and any number of national LSD publications. Probably the best sources of information are In the beginning there was LSD. the drug users themselves and I have not hesitated to use The hallucinogenic amphetamine MDA was actually ..drug culture are often as unaware as anyone else as enhance the practice of psychotherapy, aid the treatment to what is really happening on the street. of alcoholism and drug addiction, and ease the accept- As to synthetic recreational drugs, we might be wise ance of death. In practice, however, little of this would to first define what we mean by this. For the purpose of come to pass. this article, I am talking about those drugs which are LSD-25 was originally synthesized around 1938 in directly synthesized from chemicals and sold illicitly by Switzerland by a team working under the direction of street chemists/ entrepreneurs/ dealers. But already by Albert Hofmann, at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals. LSD-25 this definition we encounter difficulties, since I intend to was one of several ergot fungus analogs Hofmann had discuss the so-called "hallucinogenic" amphetamines such been working on, and the hope was that it would prove as MDMA and DOB, but not ordinary methamphetamine, useful as a circulatory and respiratory stimulant. But which is illicitly produced. Nor can we limit our discus- the drug made test animals nervous and restless, and it sion to hallucinogens such as LSD, since the now well- was abandoned. known "designer drugs" also fit my definition. And there In 1943, Hofmann decided to experiment with the drug is controversy over whether such drugs as MDMA and again, and accidentally got a drop on his finger-thus its analogs should come under the "designer drug" um- producing the first recorded LSD experience. Hofmann brella. And of course it is possible to synthesize such drugs continued his research. The first article on LSD's effects as codeine and methaqualone in illicit labs, yet those by Werner Stoll, son of Hofmann's old supervisor at seem outside the scope of this article. Sandoz, appeared in 1947 in the Swiss Archives of Perhaps it makes more sense to look at the link be- Neurology. About six years later, LSD was introduced to tween the drugs considered here as a historical one. In the U.S. by Nicholas Berce!, a psychiatrist who received the 19605 and 1970s the United States (perhaps the whole a sample from Stoll. western world) underwent a revolution in attitudes Other researchers requested LSD from Sandoz and towards drug use. Then, for a time, that revolution ___we~~adily supplied, since Sandoz hoped.1.he drug; __-.---T could be successfully marketed for the treatment of men- weapon or at least a truth serum. Experiments conducted tal illness. LSD was also being used in other countries on unknowing subjects would not become public knowl- on an experimental basis. edge until the 1970s. During the 50s, a mysterious figure named Al Hubbard In 1959, LSD was being studied at both the VA Hospital brought 400 vials of Sandoz LSD to Canada and the West and Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California. It was here' Coast. Hubbard supposedly passed it on to such well- that such later luminaries as poet Allen Ginsberg, an- known figures as Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard. Dr. thropologist Gregory Bateson, and writer Ken Kesey Sidney Cohen, then with the Veterans Hospital at UCLA, received their first exposures. In 1960, John Beresford, managed to secure a supply of LSD and it was through a New York pediatrician, requested a gram of LSD from Cohen's group of researchers and experimenters, in- Sandoz. Beresford passed some of this to Michael Holl- cluding Huxley and Heard, that LSD was first largely ingshead, whose biography, titled The Man Who Turned used by nonscientists. On the East Coast, a supply line On The World, aptly describes what happened next. developed from Sandoz's Hanover, New Jersey plant and Hollingshead was responsible for turning on Paul Me- Sandoz LSD found its way into Greenwich Village and Cartney, Keith Richards, Paul Krassner, Alan Watts, Saul was taken up by artists and musicians. Steinberg, Richard Alpert, and others. Unknown to these new LSD converts, the U.S. Army By this time, the demand for LSD had grown so large and the CIA were supporting research into LSD at this that the first illegal efforts at making the drug began. time and would do so throughout the 50s and 60s. Both In 1962, Bernard Roseman and Bernard CopeIy were the Army and the CIA hoped LSD would prove a potent arrested for "smuggling" LSD by Food and Drug Ad- ministration agents, since it was still perfectly legal to manufacture the drug. Augustus Stanley Owsley, the first PharmChem Newsletter LSD chemist/ entrepreneur entered the field around this Publisher time, having been unable to get LSD from other sources. James A. Ostrenga Owsley's "White Lightning;' "Purple Haze;' and "Midnight Editor Hour" were respected by connoisseurs for their quality. Charles L. Renfroe When Owsley was arrested in 1967, agents confiscated Assistant Editor Pat Mullane a million doses ready for sale. Graphic Artist Harvard researcher Timothy Leary was another reci-. Michael Hansen pient of Hollingshead's largesse. After taking LSD for the' Typography & Layout first time, Leary did not speak for five days. By 1962. Swan Graphics Printed in Palo Alto, California Leary was saying LSD was more important than Harvard. By Omega Printing His proselytizing gave momentum to the drug's use

The PharmChem Newsletter (ISSN 0146-3128) is published bimonthly throughout the country. by PharmChem Laboratories. lnc .. 3925 Bohannon Drive. Menlo Park, In 1963, the Monterey Pop Festival in California ce- California 94025; (415) 328·6200. Views and opinions expressed in newsletter articles and editorials do not necessarily represent those of mented the relationship between LSD and progressive PharmChem Laboratories, it, board of directors. management. or staff. rock music. By the mid-60s, the center of radical drug A public service of PharmChem Laboratories. Inc., The PharmChem Newsletter presents in-depth reports on noteworthy drugs and investi- consciousness had moved to the Haight-Ashbury section gates current practices or new developments which deserve special of San Francisco, fueled by rock groups such as The attention. For comments or inquiries about editorial content. please write Editor. PharmChem Newsletter. 3925 Bohannon Drive, Menlo Park. Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead and the dawn- California 94025. ing of the "Age of Aquarius:' Manuscripts must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. All contributions will be carefully considered. but The Pharm- LSD use supposedly crested in 1967 during the "Sum- Chern Newsletter accepts no responsibility for loss of unsolicited mer of Love" in San Francisco. By 1970, it was estimated material. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced in any manner. either that between one and two million Americans had taken in whole or in part. without specific written permission of the editor. LSD, but by this time the bottom was dropping out. LSD All rights reserved. "Pharrnf.hem" is a registered trademark. Incorporated in 1970 by people concerned about the increasing non- began to get a very bad press. medical use of drugs. PharmChem is a licensed toxicology laboratory In March of 1966, Leary was arrested for possession specializing in the analysis of drugs and urine screening for drug rehabilitation programs. drug enforcement agencies. corporate clients. of marijuana and sentenced to 30 years. This made him and a variety of sports organizations. For more information on these a martyr to some, but tarnished his image with others. and other services. including individual consultation. contact Pharm- Chern's Client Representative. In April of the same year a five-year-old girl ate an LSD Subscriptions rates: $25 per year in the United States, Mexico and sugar cube that her uncle had left in the refrigerator. Canada. All other countries add $4.00 for extra postage. Subscription Though the girl made a full recovery, the incident evoked inquiries and payments should be directed to: powerful negative feelings. That same April, an ex- Assistant Editor PharmChem Newsletter medical student was charged with stabbing his mother- 3925 Bohannon Drive in-law 105 times while under the influence of LSD. Menlo Park, California 94025 Later investigations found he'd been drinking alcohol continued on page 5 Synthetic Drugs continued from page 2 and taking sleeping pills, but the original headlines By the end of the 70s, however, something had remained in people's minds, In 1967, a Buffalo, N.Y. changed. Peter Stafford, author of the Psychedelics geneticist claimed his examination of a patient who had Encyclopedia said that: "a general reassessment of the taken LSD showed chromosome damage. Two Portland, earlier, massive LSD experimentation had taken place Oregon physicians released similar findings. and a less flamboyant reacquaintance with LSD- had begun:' Naturally, the media was unable to ignore horror stories. Authorities claimed LSD was more dangerous First came "computer acid"- 100 dots in rows of 20 x 5 than heroin. One article indicated that LSD destroyed the on blotter paper the size of a dollar bill. The LSD was sex drive, while another associated the drug with "sex of good quality andconvenient for distribution. This was madness:' followed by LSD in gelatin form -"windowpane" as it was known - also of good quality. According to Stafford, a By 1968, LSD use had declined sharply. People seemed new generation of LSD chemists was emerging, heralding afraid of the talk of chromosome damage (though this a renaissance of LSD in low dosage, high quality forms. later proved to be an over-reaction) and of poorly made or LSD adulterated with PCP or methamphetamine. Around 1978-79, a new kind of LSD in blotter form There were also rumors of adulteration with strychnine, appeared on the street. The blotter squares carried the I 1 though during its years of drug testing PharmChem picture of a red Chinese dragon, and was well received \ I Laboratories, Inc. found no samples with strychnine. The because of its relative purity, reasonable dosage, (50- j drug's new illegality also created a general paranoia that 90 mcg.) and low price ($2 per dose). Red Dragon acid 1 discouraged use. Part of the paranoia may also have been became the standard because of its ability to produce a I from the massive doses that had been distributed dur- good LSD experience without an excessive psychoactive ing these years. An effective dose of LSD ranges from effect, although some street critics suggested the acid was 1 I about 50-200 mcg. But during the years of peak use, doses less pure and too "speedy"- perhaps even cut with speed. i 1 of up to 2000 mcg. were reported. In any case, many of This acid even penetrated into the ghetto and the high ~ the leading LSD chemists had been jailed. Production and school, so that LSD was definitely no longer the exclusive use supposedly reached their lowest in the early 70s. property of college students, radicals, or experimenters. I ,i s

History of LSD

1938 Drs. Albert Hofmann and W. A. Stoll, chemists at 1963 Government investigates Leary and Alpert who then Sandoz Laboratories (Basel, Switzerland) discover leave Harvard under a cloud of scandal with much d-lysergic acid diethylamide while experimenting national publicity. with ergot fungus. Black market in high quality LSD begins. 1943 Dr. Hofmann accidentally absorbs a synthesized Adulterated. contaminated or improperly rnanutac- compound in the lysergic acid series and experi- tured LSD appears. ences "fantastic visions." He later deliberately self- administers LSD and again experiences visions. 1965 New York is the first state to pass legislation against possession, use and sale. 1949- LSD widely studied for use in the treatment of 1954 mental disorders. epilepsy and alcoholism. 1967 LSD is reported to damage white-blood-cell chromosomes in test tubes. 1956- Early recreational use of LSD by the medical and 1960 psychiatric community and their friends. 1968 Incidents of "bad trips" and flashbacks increase across the nation. Use of LSD peaks in the late 1960s. 1962 Drs. Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert of the Har- vard Center for Research in Human Personality treat 1970s- Use steadily declines and stabilizes in the 1970s. inmates at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute. 1980s Early 1980s show an increasing interest in LSD but little evidence of actual increase in use. Thalidomide scare focuses attention on LSD. As fears arise, laws banning LSD appear.

------/ Interestingly, in 1979 an article on LSD appeared in the Patients from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, whether .alifornia magazine, New West, saying: from large cities or smaller communities, report that LSD is plentiful and has been for some years now. One source LSD is as nationally popular now as it was ten indicated that acid has even become the drug of choice years ago. Among people who swallow it or sell it, or who monitor its-use from the cantage of drug for some people due to a scarcity of marijuana and the abuse counseling, there is some ... disagreement high price of cocaine. Indeed, if LSD is popular in the as to whether acid has been enjo ...•.ing a renais- small towns of Central Pennsylvania, it takes little to infer sance for about two years or never went away in that its popularity in other parts of the country, particu- the first place, with the former view in the larly the coasts, must be enormous. majority. But there is a consensus on two points: the bad trips and mental casualties that made Given all this, it seems strange, that submissions of LSD such hot copy in the '60s seem to have diminished samples to PharmChem Labs actually decreased between radically; and the volume of acid changing hands suggest there are actually more users now than 1973 and 1984, implying, perhaps, a decrease in popu- there were a decade ago. larity. Before 1980, adulteration of LSD with other substances and sometimes substitution of other Clearly, the article suggests, LSD was well on its way to substances for LSD was fairly common. After 1980, making a comeback - if it had ever really disappeared however, PharmChem saw little adulteration or substitu- at all. tion. When considered over an 1l year period, LSD was Shortly thereafter, Red Dragon acid (now also appear- among the top five drugs submitted for testing and its ing in a green counterpart) became the object of a kind validity rate was about 88%. The decrease in submissions of street war. Other street chemists began counterfeiting probably reflects, not a major drop in popularity, but a the Dragons and the original purveyors reacted by general faith on the street of the purity and safety of LSD creating a series of high quality limited edition blotters made by street chemists because of advances in technical in four colors with pictures of Mickey Mouse as the chemistry since the 60s. Sorcerer's Apprentice, Snoopy, a Phoenix, Eye of Horus, Unicorns. or other identifying symbols. These limited edi- There are a number of theories for this resurgence of tions made counterfeiting difficult and cemented the hold LSD use at the end of the 70s: of the new LSD chemists on the marketplace. 1. One suggestion is that science fiction films such as Star These limited editions also accounted for an unusual Wars(1977) caused people to "flash back" to 2001-A • episode in the street mythology, which emphasizes the Space Odyssey described at the time as "the ultimate LSD resurgence at this time. In 1981, a rumor that LSD trip;' causing a renewed interest in psychedelic in the form of washable tattoos, featuring Disney and experience. other cartoon characters, swept the country, and were 2. Another theory is that reliable methods for finding being sold to school children. Warning letters appeared, and growing psilocybin mushrooms became available supposedly sponsored by police officials and parents' in the mid-70s. People who experienced the milder groups, but no LSD "tattoos" were ever found, and the psilocybin trip became more willing to experiment incident was finally laid to rest as a hoax. with LSD. By 1981, High Times magazine was reporting that LSD 3. Many of the underground chemists of the 60s who was plentiful and could be obtained just by waiting in line were arrested were released in the late 70s and went outside any Grateful Dead concert. Science News reported back into business. in 1983 that at a meeting of the American Psychiatric 4. In 1977, Britain's largest LSD bust took place. Association, a symposium had been held on "The Forgot- According to one rumor, the formula used for making ten Use of LSD in Psychiatry", and two medical studies the acid was published as part of the trial transcript of LSD were published that year. In 1984, a conference and became public knowledge. on psychedelics was held at the University of California 5. The rock group The Grateful Dead toured the US. in and attended by such luminaries as Alexander Shulgin, 1978. In 1966, Stanley Owlsley, the first of the LSD Ronald Siegel. and Albert Hofmann himself. In December chemist/entrepreneurs, toured with the group. In 1978, 1985. High Times carried an article gleefully quoting the Owlsley was touring with the group again. These con- New York Daily News on the reemergence of LSD in New certs became known as sources of high quality LSD. York's East Village. According to the News article, "The 6. There is a great deal of nostalgia for the 60s right now. drug synonymous with the 60s is popping up at parties, Young people who have only heard about the period gallery openings and other special occasions:' The High are eager to experience what those times were really Times article itself states that "the 60s spaciest drug (is like, and LSD is part of that experience. making) a coast-to-coast comeback:' 7. Drug use simply operates on a cyclical basis, and the Clearly, LSD is enjoying greater attention again. My cycle has simply reached the point where it's time for own experience with drug users tends to support this. LSD to be popular again.

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;" 8. There is no LSD renaissance, and all the talk about one is simply a product of the media looking for a new IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHI/ drug phenomenon. DRUGS IN THE \ The resurgence of interest in LSD is probably the result WORKPLACE of no one factor. The theories described probably all figure into the picture to some degree-although the continued from page 4 British LSD bust theory seems far-fetched at best. Still the question remains- has there really been an LSD "renaissance"? conducted in California can be used with confidence that In 1973, PharmChem reported the price of LSD at be- the results are fair and accurate." tween $1.50 and $3.00 per dose. By 1978, the price had Laboratory certification has become the next bat- risen to between $2.00 and $5.00 a dose, holding steady tleground in the political war over drug testing. While at that level till 1983. In 1983, PharmChem noted a few PharmChem Laboratories, Inc. supports and endorses samples that supposedly sold for $13.50 per dose, but efforts to certify drug testing laboratories, the rhetoric on these were considered highly unusual. As of May, 1986, both sides often seems to cloud the real issues and even High Times listed the price of LSD at between $3.00 and threaten the due process of those it intends to protect. $6.00 per dose. The California bill, for instance, might have taken drug The law vf supply and demand operates as dramatically testing out of the experienced hands of toxicologists who on the street as anywhere else. From 1973 to 1986 LSD are accustomed to the strict forensic requirements of drug appeared consistently in High Times's "Trans-High Mar- analysis and placed it in a clinical or public health con- ket Quotations;' and at a fairly steady price. If LSD had text. The results of diagnostic medical tests performed really become scarce, one would have expected appear- by clinical labs are rarely confirmed by separate ances on this "big board" of the drug trading culture to technologies, a routine practice in drug toxicology. In ad- diminish, or at least to have seen prices rise dramatical- dition, scientists trained in clinical chemistry typically ly. But this never happened. Indeed, the increase in LSD's have little or no experience with chain-of-custody per dose price between 1973 and 1986 is more likely a procedures. reflection of national inflation than drug scarcity. The California bill, by requiring clinical instead of tox- " Based on this, we can surmise that LSD probably never icological certification, would have relaxed these :. disappeared from the drug scene entirely. In all likelihood, specifications and provided much less protection to its use went underground around 1970 and re-emerged employees being tested. in the late 70s for the combination of reasons already listed above. One further thought is that enough time may have simply passed for the drug consumer to have forgot- Data Misapplied ten the bad press of the late 60s. The anecdotal infor- Proponents of laboratory regulation, as well as critics mation of my own patients, who claim to have used LSD of drug testing in the workplace. often attack the reliabili- steadily for years, supports the idea that use was simply ty of test results by citing a Centers for Disease Control hidden for a long time. The concept of an LSD (CDC) study published in the April 26. 1985 issue of the renaissance is probably due, at least in part, to the typical Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).The lagging behind of the media in covering the drug CDC study, conducted at intervals between 1972 and culture-especially when the drug culture has made an 1981, found alarmingly poor accuracy among 13 effort to keep the use of LSD quiet, so as to protect itself laboratories serving government-sponsored methadone from the hysteria of an earlier time. treatment clinics. Still, the continued growth of LSD use as part of a The study did not examine employee drug testing. In cycle is an interesting concept. But whether this is merely fact, corporate drug screening was extremely rare when a cycle of drug use itself, or part of a greater cycle, is the CDC collected its data; confirmatory testing by something that needs to be examined in terms of the use separate methodologies and chain-of-custody procedures of other synthetic street drugs. were certainly not as routine as they are today. Reliable laboratories now have extremely strict quality (In the second part of his article on synthetic drugs, Stuart assurace programs. regular blind proficiency checks and Stock examines the history and current status of the more advanced technology, all of which contribute substituted amphetamines, including MDMA, DMT, the designer drugs, and PCP.Mr.Stock is a chemical dependency significantly to a high level of accuracy. counselor at the Meadows Psychiatric Center near State Col- Nevertheless, media reports continue to apply the lege, Pennsylvania, and was formerly staff coordinator and outdated CDC report inappropriately to industrial drug a counselor at On Drugs, Inc., a drug and alcohol hotline in testing programs. State College.His two-part series on look-alike drugs appeared in the May-June 1982 and July-August 1982 issues of the "This article was intended to correct a long standing PharmChem Newsletter.) problem with drug treatment programs-the under

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