Deep in the south of Thailand lives a contraband tree driven to the brink of extinction on the land where its medicinal use was first documented … This is the story of Kratom. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia s2e3: Kratom: The Forbidden Leaf
Kratom is enjoying a moderate surge in popularity. ibid.
Kratom grows throughout south-east Asia but is prohibited in Malaysia and Thailand. ibid.
The legal status of Kratom in the United States remains precarious. ibid.
One of the most provocative psychedelics known to science … a substance found throughout nature in plants and animals whose purpose remains unknown … This is the story of DMT. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia s2e4: Wizards of DMT
DMT is a drug ill-suited to underground manufacture due to the high dose required and relatively complex synthesis. ibid.
A chemist discovered a new anaesthetic that has found use as a treatment for depression and as tool for abduction of visionary experience. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia s2e5: Ketamine: Realms and Realities
Clinical researchers found that ketamine possessed most of PCP’s therapeutic advantages with relatively few adverse effects. ibid.
The most widely used anaesthetic in the world, Ketamine is manufactured by the ton by China and India. ibid.
Deliberately opaque patent literature. ibid.
Hidden in the woods lies a dismantled lab. The glassware and chemicals that survive are used only to illuminate memories of a career tragically cut short … This is the story of clandestine MDMA chemistry. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia s2e6: The Clandestine Chemist’s Tale
The manufacture of psychedelics moved to China where controlled substances are replaced by uncontrolled derivatives that are sold without restriction to consumers in the United States. ibid.
‘I started when I was 19 … until 47. That’s a good run.’ ibid.
It’s said to be the oldest intoxicant yet there are few that care to indulge. Its beauty is stark, covered in spots, and its colour is crimson and bold. In the Carpathian forests I venture where hermits forage and dwell. It’s a mushroom that carries great gifts for science along with a magical spell … This is the story of Amanita Muscaria. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia s2e7: A Fungal Fairy Tale
Amanita Muscaria is found on every continent except Antarctica. ibid.
At least two receptors in the brain. ibid.
Hypnotics are a class of drug used to treat insomnia and sleep disorders. Ibid.
I came across a man who’s a unique entrepreneur … New Zealand … to free users from the chains of prohibition. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia: The Synthetic Marijuana Steampunk Rock
‘Health officials are investigating synthetic designer drugs that are flooding in to the United States.’ ibid. US television news
New Zealand’s Pyschoactive Substances Act was one of the most progressive pieces of drug legislation in history. ibid.
Shanghai, China, a city filled with skilled chemists. ibid.
Brazilian Amazon: We are currently boating through flooded forests to meet the Mayoruna Indians, a formerly cannibalistic tribe who use a strange frog-dried drug they call sambo. They use it to give themselves energy for hunting, they use it to abort pregnancies … an opioid peptide that’s a hundred times stronger than morphine, and some people say it’s psychedelic. Hamilton’s Phamacopeia: Getting High on Frogs, Vice 2012
And wake up feeling fantastic next day. ibid.
The Mayoruna village is a collection of huts spread across a large dusty clearing. ibid.
We’ll harvest the secretions and burn them and rub them into my wounds. ibid.
‘He says you throw up a lot when you do the frog.’ ibid. interpreter
William Leonard Pickard: Together they [Crystal & William] began to assemble what would have been the world’s largest LSD lab … it was destroyed by the DEA. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia: Underground LSD Palace
Crystal: a variety of informational Youtube videos which have garnered much attention. ibid.
‘The first problem is to know when the dead are truly dead.’ Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia: Investigating the Haitian Zombie, Dr Nathan Kline
Wade Davis (anthropologist) travelled to Port au Prince to investigate the biological underpinning of the Haitian zombie. ibid.
‘And was able to secure the formula for the preparation … ‘A Whitman’s sampler of poisons.’ ibid.
I will travel to Haiti to investigate the zombie and attempt to collect poison samples for the first chemical analysis in almost thirty years. ibid.
The past 100 years have been especially turbulent for Haiti: including more than 10 US military interventions. ibid.
Puffer fish: its internal organs contain one of the most potent neurotoxins ever discovered: it is the TTX in the puffer fish which induces a total body flaccid paralysis, almost indistinguishable from death. ibid.
I have three containers of Psiliocybin-contained truffles. I may start by taking 8 grams of this 15 gram container because that’s what the man at the smart-shop advised me to do. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia: The Rise of Psychedelic Truffles in Amsterdam
Mushrooms were once completely legal, and since the early ’90s the Netherlands led the world in the development of commercial psychedelic mushroom growing techniques. But everything changed in 2008 when the Dutch government banned psiliocybin-containing mushrooms. ibid.
Parliament decided not to ban the magic truffle. ibid.
‘Floating is about creating a unique experience for the brain … [with] a lack of sensory input.’ Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia: Sensory Deprivation Tanks
With three tanks, Cloud 9 made it clear they would accept nothing less than total domination of the Boulder [Colorado] tank market. ibid.
A weed field in Swaziland and I’m holding in my hand a plastic bag full of Swazi gold nugs. And I’m grateful to be here. Very grateful to be here. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia: Swaziland: Gold Mine of Marijuana
The kingdom of Swaziland would appear to be heaven on earth. Yet Swaziland has the highest prevalence of HIV in the world. And only one doctor for every six thousand people. Ruled by King Mswati … Although, over two thirds of the population lives under the poverty line, King Mswati taxes the meagre income Swazi farmers earn from the crops. But one crop remains exempt because it was never approved. ibid.
Swazi gold is a pure Sativa strain that is said to take six months to mature, and can grow over ten feet in height. ibid.
There’s now a demand for fast-growing hybrids imported from Europe. ibid.
Ambien (Zolpidem Tartrate) is a drug with many faces, and not all of them are sleeping. Best known for treating insomnia, causing bouts of uncontrollable nocturnal binge eating, and endowing Tiger Woods with enhanced sexual abilities, Ambien has another property, one that may well change medical history by normally neurological functioning in damaged brains. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia: The Ambien Effect
Efavirenz: The only way to crack that kind of a mystery is to take the drug. (Drugs & Opioids & Psychedelics) Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia: Getting High on HIV Medication
South Africa has one of the planet’s most unique drug cultures. It is a realm where the Quaalude still abounds, and heroin has emerged only recently, not in its familiar guise as an intravenously administered powder but as a component in a mysterious smoking mixture called Nyaope. ibid.
The first I’d heard of an anti-retro-viral drug being used recreationally. (Drugs & Opioids & Psychedelics) ibid.
Psychedelic in a certain way … It’s not pleasant at all. ibid.
Ibogaine: a plant that grows in central and west Africa … It already had a medical history … It was used a a pharmaceutical in France … It’s closer to amphetamine that it is to LSD. Hamilton: Extraordinary Future: Are Magic Mushroom (Psilocybin) the Next Cannabis? Cambridge House International 28:51
Lean, which is essentially a mild opiate made from mixing codeine cough syrup with spray, has always been popular in the South, but recently it’s had a bit of a resurgence. Why Lean Became Rap’s Most Wanted Drug, Vice TV 16.12
The soda and candy in Lean mask the taste of the cough liquid. ibid.