Many urban legends and misconceptions about drugs
have been created and circulated among young people and the general
public, with varying degrees of veracity. These are commonly repeated by
organizations which oppose all classified drug use, often causing the
true effects and dangers of drugs to be misunderstood and less
scrutinized. The most common subjects of such false beliefs are LSD, cannabis, and MDMA. These misconceptions include misinformation about adulterants or other black market issues, as well as alleged effects of the pure substances.
LSD
Some of the strangest urban legends told are those about lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), a potent psychedelic drug
that gained popularity in several countries in the 1960s and 1970s, and
experienced a brief resurgence in the mid to late 1990s before
declining from 2000 onward. The drug's relation to the 1960s counterculture was likely part of the reason for such legends.
Babysitter places baby in the oven while high on LSD
This is an unverifiable drug-scare story dating to the 1960s of a hippie babysitter girl putting a baby in the oven and a turkey in the bassinet. It has been debunked by Snopes.com. This myth is parodied in The Simpsons episode "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson,"
in which the children go on a school field trip to a "scared straight"
wax museum at the local police station. One exhibit contains a wax dummy
of a hippie woman eating a sandwich with a baby in it. Chief Wiggum says "That's right, she's got the munchies for a California Cheeseburger!"
In May 2009, partial ostension of this legend may have occurred when an Ohio man high on PCP allegedly tried to put his 28-day-old son into a conventional oven, only to be stopped in time by the child's mother.
Also, in March 2010, a Kentucky man put his five-week-old baby in an
oven (without turning it on, and without any injury) while drunk and
high on marijuana (that he had smoked earlier that night) that he
alleged made him feel strange and suspected of being laced with a
different drug that made him hallucinate; he was also tired from
working. In 2005 China Arnold murdered her near month-old baby with a microwave oven, but she claimed to be under the influence of alcohol, not LSD.
There are a limited number of cases reported in which babies were put into microwaves, though these cases were not known to involve any drugs.
These were often cases of deliberate infanticide. However, there have
been no known cases of microwaving (or baking) babies involving LSD
specifically, or any other psychedelic drug, including cannabis. There
are, however, many reported cases of psychotic violence under the
influence of PCP (see below). PCP is not related to LSD.
Bad LSD
A "bad trip"
is easily caused by an expectation or fear of ill effects, which may
later be blamed on "bad acid." This legend was made famous at the 1969 Woodstock festival, when concert-goers were warned to stay away from "the brown acid", which was allegedly bad.
One possible reason people believe that they had "bad acid" could
be because they were simply sold a much higher dose than usual, which
is not uncommon due to the inherent lack of quality control of illicit
drugs, and with LSD in particular being effective at microgram rather
than milligram doses. The stronger the dose, the stronger and
potentially more anxiety-provoking the trip can get.
However, drugs sometimes falsely represented by sellers as LSD in the 1970s were actually PCP, amphetamine,
or other drugs that have quite different, and often unfavorable,
effects from LSD, causing unwitting users to incorrectly attribute a
"bad trip" to LSD. There are now many research chemicals (DOB 2C-I, DOC, DOI,
etc.) that can be nearly indistinguishable from real LSD before use,
and thus can be easily confused with "bad acid." Some of these, such as
25I-NBOMe
are even potent enough for psychoactive doses to fit on blotter paper,
and may occasionally be sold as LSD when the latter is scarce. The idea
of adulterating blotter LSD with these chemicals, however, has no known basis in fact.
"Bananadine" LSD
The false claim states that it is possible to synthesize LSD or some similar hallucinogenic drug called "bananadine" from banana peels
or other common household foods and chemicals. The actual synthesis of
LSD usually requires advanced knowledge and experience in organic chemistry and requires both expensive laboratory equipment and expensive, carefully controlled precursor chemicals.
Originating from a recipe originally published as a hoax in the Berkeley Barb in March 1967, variants of this legend often circulate on the Internet and were popular on BBSs well before the widespread availability of Internet access through William Powell's "The Anarchist Cookbook." This book claimed "Musa sapientum Bananadine" was a mild psychoactive drug found in banana peels. The slang terms "mellow yellow" and "saffron" (for the color of the peels) were borrowed from the 1966 Donovan song, "Mellow Yellow," perhaps because the phrase "electrical banana" is mentioned in one of the lines. According to The Rolling Stone Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, Donovan claimed he was actually referring to a banana-shaped vibrator.[16] The song itself, despite its "psychedelic" feel, was written about Donovan's bout with hepatitis (which causes jaundice).
Blue star tattoos
One popular legend is the blue star tattoo legend.
This legend frequently surfaces in American elementary and middle
schools in the form of a flyer that has been photocopied through many
generations, which is distributed to parents by concerned school
officials. It has also become popular on Internet mailing lists and websites. This legend states that a temporary lick-and-stick tattoo
soaked in LSD and made in the form of a blue star, or of popular
children's cartoon characters, is being distributed to children in the
area in order to get them addicted to LSD. The flyer lists an inaccurate
description of the effects of LSD, some attribution (typically to a
well-regarded hospital or a vaguely specified "adviser to the
president"), and instructs parents to contact police
if they come across the blue star tattoos. No actual cases of LSD
distribution to children in this manner have ever been documented. LSD
is not addictive, and it is unlikely to be abused by an unwitting user.
Therefore, there is no plausible motivation for a drug dealer to
distribute LSD in this manner.
Legally insane
There is an urban legend that a person who has used LSD more than seven times is automatically declared legally insane.
The same claim is often suggested with large doses, the difference
being that the person is considered psychotic only for the duration of
the trip. An extension of this legend is that a person who does LSD more
than "X number of times" is permanently disqualified from the military
as a result of being "legally insane," a version which was likely
inspired by wishful thinking of drug-using draft dodgers in the 1960s. However, no such law exists, at least not in the United States.
A version of this legend was repeated as fact on TV's Dragnet series in 1967, in an episode
revolving around the use of LSD before it was made illegal. The script
described a shipment containing "one pound of LSD [tabs], enough to turn
the entire population of Los Angeles into dangerous psychotics" on the
premise that one dose made a person legally insane due to the recurrence
of completely unpredictable flashbacks throughout the user's life after a single dose.
LSD causes genetic mutations
Beginning in 1967, studies raised concerns that LSD might produce genetic damage or developmental abnormalities in fetuses. However, these initial reports were based on in vitro studies or were poorly controlled and have not been substantiated. In studies of chromosomal changes in human users and in monkeys, the balance of evidence suggests no increase in chromosomal damage. For example, white blood cells
of people who had been given LSD in a clinical setting were examined
for visible chromosomal abnormalities; overall, there appeared to be no
lasting changes.
Several studies have been conducted using illicit LSD users and
provide a less clear picture. Interpretation of this data is generally
complicated by factors such as the unknown chemical composition of
street LSD, concurrent use of other psychoactive drugs, and diseases such as hepatitis
in the sampled populations. It seems possible that the small number of
genetic abnormalities reported in users of street LSD is either
coincidental or related to factors other than a toxic effect of pure
LSD.
A 2008 medical review concluded, "The available data suggest that pure
LSD does not cause chromosomal abnormalities, spontaneous abortions, or
congenital malformations."
However, this refutation has not stopped this perennial legend from
being told, nor has it stopped the jokes about such "mutations"
allegedly messing up the children of the Baby Boomers.
Man permanently thinks he is a glass of orange juice (or thinks he becomes an orange)
Another
common legend, again dating back to the 1960s, was that a man who took
LSD went insane and permanently thought that he was a glass of orange
juice. Because of this, he could never bend over, slept upright and did
not make any sudden movements. Alternative versions sometimes have the
man thinking he is a glass of milk or a whole orange. Another version of
this myth states that the man believed he had become an orange, and was
afraid he would be 'peeled' by his friends.
Police officer unwittingly drinks LSD
In
this legend, which dates back to 1970, a police (or customs) officer
pulls over a driver believed to have been drinking, sees that the driver
has a water bottle, and demands a taste of it to see if it contains
alcohol. The officer does not taste any alcohol, so the driver either
gets off completely or merely gets a speeding ticket. Shortly afterward,
the officer begins tripping very hard and stares into space, since the
swig of "water" he took actually contained numerous "hits" of LSD. In
some versions of the legend, the officer consumes enough LSD to actually
go insane. According to Snopes.com, there are no verifiable reports of
this ever happening, even decades after the legend was first told, and
it is thus considered spurious. However, there have been recent accounts of officers dosed while on the job.
Retention of LSD in spinal fluid
This legend may have its foundation in the fact that chronic use can result in flashbacks and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD).
There remains no consensus regarding the nature and causes of HPPD or
flashbacks. A study of 44 HPPD subjects who had previously ingested LSD
showed EEG abnormalities.
Given that some symptoms have environmental triggers, it may represent a
failure to adjust visual processing to changing environmental
conditions. There are no explanations for why only some individuals
develop HPPD. Explanations in terms of LSD physically remaining in the
body for months or years after consumption have been discounted by
experimental evidence.
LSD is metabolized by the liver, and has an elimination half-life of around 2.5 to 4 hours.
Strychnine
Anti-drug educators frequently tell their students some variant on the theme of inevitable strychnine
poisoning through LSD use, for example, that strychnine is commonly
sold as a cheaper substitute for LSD by unscrupulous drug dealers; that
strychnine is a byproduct of LSD synthesis; that the body produces
strychnine as a result of LSD metabolism; or that strychnine is used as a
preservative to prevent the otherwise natural, rapid decomposition of
LSD, allowing it to be stored; or that strychnine is somehow necessary
to bond LSD to blotter paper. None of this is true.
These claims may even be believed and propagated by drug users
themselves. In reality, most hallucinogens cause some degree of mental
or physical discomfort after the "trip" is over. This is an indirect
effect of the drug, not strychnine or any other adulterant. Additionally, strychnine is one of the most bitter substances known. The bitter taste can be detected at 1 part per million, which is well below the toxic level.
Finally, the dangerous dose of strychnine is too high to be contained
in a blotter square, even if the entire square were composed of the
poison.
Strychnine has indeed rarely been discovered mixed with LSD and
other drugs in a few samples recovered by law enforcement agencies, but
these were all found in murder or attempted murder investigations where
someone was being specifically targeted for poisoning, and not
associated with recreational LSD use.
A related myth is that a new type of gang
initiation requires the initiate to put a mixture of LSD and strychnine
on the buttons of as many payphones as possible. This too, is debunked
by the urban legends website Snopes.com.
Sungazing while tripping
A popular legend dating back to the 1960s, it has been claimed that several people took LSD and stared at the sun, going blind as a result. This myth appeared in 1967 on the cop show Dragnet,
and twice in the mainstream news media. The legend is considered to be
unfounded, since in 1968 the source of the hoax, Norman M. Yoder,
commissioner of the Office of the Blind in the Pennsylvania State
Welfare Department, admitted that he had completely made up the story
because of his "concern over illegal LSD use by children."
After the sun-gazing on LSD story was widely publicized, a small number
of case reports were published in the medical literature which describe
this phenomenon temporarily occurring.
In one case, the patient was a teenage girl described as having a
"hysterical personality" who heard warnings about staring at the sun
under LSD in a school anti-drug lecture and thought this "would be a
neat thing," and in another case the patient had paranoid schizophrenia.
Thought they could fly and jumped out window/fell off cliff
There are rare cases of people falling to their death while tripping
on LSD; however, these incidents were likely either suicides or
accidents caused by disorientation or misjudgement of distance, rather
than attempts to "fly." This myth may have started from the highly
publicized 1969 death of Diane Linkletter, now thought to be a suicide unrelated to LSD.
Cannabis
Many misleading urban legends about cannabis exist. Like LSD
rumors, many were spread during the 1960s and 1970s, and are believed
to continuously circulate today. These widespread legends claim that it
is easy to overdose on the smokeable variant of cannabis and that it is extremely dangerous and addictive when compared to alcohol and tobacco.
Withdrawal from heavy, chronic cannabis use does not usually exceed 3–4 days, but it has the potential to be psychologically addictive.
Withdrawal symptoms are generally mild - loss of appetite, insomnia,
feelings of uneasiness/anxiety, tension, stomach ache, headache and
irritability all being common symptoms.
There are studies that show no actual increased risk of cancer from
smoking marijuana, even when duration of use is expanded over several
years. In fact, some studies indicate THC to have anticancer properties, with studies showing tumor reduction in mice.
Confusion with Jimson weed
Historically,
and possibly related to the "Reefer Madness" legend, some people
(particularly Americans) had confused cannabis with Jimson weed (Datura stramonium). Jimson weed, which grows wild in the United States and several other countries, is a potent deliriant which can cause true hallucinations and delusions that are believed by the user to be real, as opposed to the pseudohallucinations and perceptual distortions typically caused by cannabis. Confusion could have resulted from the fact that Datura's
common name contains the word "weed," which is also a slang term for
cannabis, and the fact that both plants (as well as others) have been
given the moniker "locoweed"
in the first half of the 20th century. Aside from these superficial
similarities, the two plants are not related, do not resemble one
another, and are very unlikely to be confused. Jimson weed is highly
toxic and can cause delirium, confusion, hallucinations, blurred vision,
photophobia, dry mouth, urinary retention, hyperthermia,
incoordination, hypertension, and rapid heartbeat among other effects.
An overdose (or suspected overdose) on this substance is a medical
emergency, as it can cause seizures, coma, or death by cardiac arrest.
"Flashbacks" due to release from fat cells
Similar
to one of the most enduring myths about LSD, and also somewhat related
to the "multi-day impairment" legend described further down on this
list, this legend claims that residual THC stored in fat cells gets
released spontaneously into the bloodstream in enough quantities to get
one high again long after the last use of cannabis, be it days, weeks,
or even months later.
This legend is typically accompanied by anecdotal evidence of people
who experience a "high" after doing exercise of some sort. While somewhat
more biologically plausible than the discredited LSD legend due to the
fat-solubility of THC, this phenomenon remains scientifically unproven.
A 2009 study of rats
that involved injecting them with large quantities of THC (equivalent
to 5-10 joints per day in humans) each day for ten days straight, then
subjecting them to simulated severe stress or food deprivation led to
double the blood levels of THC-COOH two days after the last THC exposure
compared to rats that were neither stressed nor deprived of food.
If such results occurred in humans, then it is theoretically possible
for a chronic cannabis user to fail a drug test long after the usual
detection time due to exercise, dieting, or severe stress shortly before
the test—and several anecdotal reports of this exist. However, there
is currently no hard evidence that enough active THC would be released
to get one "high" or cause "flashbacks." One should also note that
flashbacks from psychoactive drugs in general are now known to be
psychological phenomena, and drug residues typically play no significant role in their occurrence and recurrence.
As for the anecdotes about exercise, they likely experienced a "runner's high" due to their bodies releasing endorphins, which are endogenous opioid agonists, along with anandamide and other endogenous cannabinoid agonists. These flashbacks have also been reported after one has stretched or stood up/sat or laid down abruptly. In addition, some studies find that the body produces endocannabinoids such as anandamide during exercise, which may also explain such effects since they activate the same receptors as THC.
George Washington smoked cannabis
There is a common belief that George Washington (and/or other Founding Fathers such as Thomas Jefferson) used cannabis for its psychoactive or medicinal properties. This has even made its way into popular films such as Dazed and Confused.
Both Washington and Jefferson grew cannabis to produce hemp,
and Washington used hemp fiber to make clothes for his slaves, but
there is no direct evidence that either Washington or Jefferson consumed
it for its psychoactive properties.
Washington is commonly mis-quoted as saying "Make the most of the
Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere," often cited as a note to his
gardener published in The Washington Papers. However the closest phrase to this in The Washington Papers
is in a letter to William Pearce – "I am very glad to hear that the
Gardener has saved so much of the St. foin seed, and that of the India
Hemp. Make the most you can of both, by sowing them again in drills.
[...] The Hemp may be sown any where."
In The Papers of George Washington, "hemp" is defined as Cannabis sativa grown for fiber, and "Indian hemp" typically refers to the closely related Cannabis indica.
While Washington was growing cannabis for its fiber, both of these
species are also cultivated for their psychoactive and medicinal
properties.
When cannabis is grown for its medicinal or psychoactive
properties, male plants are routinely separated from females to prevent
pollination, as non-pollinated female plants produce the most potent and
prized flowering tops, known as sinsemilla (from the Spanish "sin semilla", meaning "without seed"). To produce sinsemilla, the sexes must be separated before pollination occurs. On August 7, 1765, Washington wrote in his diary "Began to separate the Male from the Female hemp at Do.– rather too late." While this has been taken as evidence that Washington was growing cannabis for its psychoactive or medicinal properties, The Straight Dope
points out that later entries in Washington's diary suggest that "he
divided the plants because the males made stronger fiber while the
female plants produced the seed needed for the next year's crop."
Two days after he wrote the aforementioned entry in his diary,
Washington wrote that he had "put some Hemp in the Rivr. to Rot," a technique called water retting used for producing hemp, not psychoactive cannabis.
The following month he wrote that he "Began to Pull the Seed Hemp but
it was not sufficiently ripe," and three weeks later that the "Hempseed
seems to be in good order for getting – that is of a proper ripeness."
The introductory editorial for the June 2010 cannabinoid-themed issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology
said that "there are sources that suggest that chronic tooth-ache may
have led the first President of the United States, George Washington, to
grow the plant for medicinal purposes," though these sources are not cited. The cover of the issue featured images of Washington and Queen Victoria placed on either side of a cannabis leaf.
An allergic reaction to molecules found in marijuana killed Bruce Lee
A number of rumours surfaced surrounding the cause of action film star Bruce Lee's death in 1973, one of which was that he had been killed by the consumption of cannabis. Lee died of a cerebral edema several hours after taking the painkiller and muscle relaxant equagesic. His autopsy showed trace amounts of cannabis in his stomach, and he had been known to use cannabis. However, a doctor at the coroner's
hearing was quoted as saying that the cannabis in Lee's stomach was "no
more significant than if Bruce had drunk a cup of tea that day."
Lee's physician,
Donald Langford, and Peter Wu, a doctor who had treated Lee for another
edema ten weeks earlier, believed that the fatal edema could have been
caused by a rare allergic reaction to an alkaloid in cannabis, as a large quantity of hashish was removed from his stomach during the earlier edema, and he had been warned not to use it again. Wu told the coroner he believed the death was due to hypersensitivity to either cannabis or equagesic. However, Ronald D. Teare, a professor of forensic medicine at the University of London
who was flown in to be the chief expert in the coroner's report, said
that it was both "irresponsible and irrational" to attribute either
edema to cannabis, and concluded the fatal edema was due to a rare
reaction to equagesic.
Teare, who had supervised nearly 100,000 autopsies and provided
evidence for nearly 20,000 inquests in his 35 years of experience, was
echoed by R. R. Lycette, the clinical pathologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Lycette told the hearing that his death could not have been caused by
cannabis, and that Lee had died from an edema caused by a reaction to
one or both of the ingredients in equagesic.
At the time in Hong Kong, Cannabis was seen in an extremely
negative light — worse than opium — and was "considered a 'foreign' drug
with sinister and evil undertones." Bruce Thomas, author of Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit
stated that "this view had a massive impact on the official findings,"
and that Wu's inclusion of cannabis as a suspected cause of death
"reflected this cultural and even political pressure." Wu later said in a 1992 interview with Thomas:
"Professor Teare was a forensic scientist recommended by Scotland Yard; he was brought in as the expert, so we can't contradict his testimony. The dosage of cannabis is neither precise nor predictable, but I've never known anyone to die simply from taking it."
Although it could not be completely ruled out that cannabis caused
the edema, Teare's view was accepted by the coroner, and the official
verdict was "death by misadventure" caused by a reaction to equigesic. Cannabis was not included as a possible cause of Lee's death.
Marijuana today is 10–20 times more potent than in the past
An
oft-repeated legend is that today's cannabis is at least an order of
magnitude stronger than in the past (and by implication much more
dangerous). THC levels are allegedly 10, 20 or even 30 times higher
than in the 1960s or 1970s. Although potency levels have risen in
several countries (such as the US and UK), the actual increases have
been much more modest (almost threefold from 1982 to 2007 in the US) and
high-potency strains have always existed, as have various concentrated
forms of cannabis.
Furthermore, potency of seized samples was not tested before 1971,
leaves were not distinguished from buds by testers at first, and samples
from before the early 1980s (when testing and storage procedures were
changed) were often degraded, making comparisons going that far back
inaccurate. Non-representative sampling was also an issue. Since most of the increase happened after 2000, this legend can be considered an example of ostension (people have been making such claims as far back as the 1970s).
A related claim, especially in the UK, is that the cannabidiol/THC ratio
has decreased over the past few decades, resulting in a new and
presumably more dangerous form of cannabis that never existed before
(since CBD is thought
to attenuate some of the negative side effects of THC). While there is
little to no reliable data before 2005 on such ratios in the UK, making
comparisons to the past impossible, the US data going back to the 1970s
shows little to no clear trend, and there have always been strains with
extremely low ratios. Ratios are also known to vary widely between strains and growing/harvesting methods.
Some versions of this legend claim the potency change is due to
"genetic modification," a term which often evokes fear in the popular
consciousness, but there is no hard evidence that anything other than selective breeding
and enhanced growing techniques are behind the change. "Genetic
modification" insofar as attempting to emphasize desirable traits by the
practice of selective breeding is standard practice across many areas
of farming, including the production of cannabis. It is likely that the
term "genetic modification" is used by people who do not understand that
selective breeding is not the same as genetic engineering.
Multi-day impairment
Another
claim about cannabis is that impairment due to smoking it lasts many
days after using it, since THC is stored in the fat cells, leading to a
low-grade haze long after the primary high is gone.
This myth is based primarily on anecdotal evidence and the known fact
that urine drug tests remain positive for at least several days after
using, and longer for regular users. The tests however measure
non-psychoactive metabolites, not active THC.
And the blood levels of THC generally fall well below the psychoactive
threshold within 2–4 hours of smoking (4–8 hours after oral use).
A cannabis equivalent of a hangover may occur the morning after taking
high doses, but even that ends much sooner than the legend suggests.
Although smoking cannabis on a Friday night would most likely test
positive in a urinalysis Monday, no amount of the psychoactive effect
would be retained by that time.
One possible origin of this idea is the fact that some (but not
all) studies with airline pilots have shown a modest decrease in
capabilities on a flight simulator up to 24 hours after use of one
fairly strong marijuana cigarette. In two of the four studies (one of
which was not placebo-controlled) the ability of the pilots to safely
navigate a simulated aircraft was apparently compromised somewhat up to
24 hours later, while the other two did not show any impairment beyond
4–8 hours.
Despite the inconsistent replication, these studies have led some
experts to recommend drug testing of people in safety-sensitive jobs
(pilots, bus drivers, etc.). In contrast, no driving studies have found any significant cannabis-related impairments lasting beyond 2–6 hours.
It is also worth noting that the same research group that
conducted three out of the four flight simulation studies on cannabis
also conducted a similar study using alcohol. They found noticeable
hangover-related impairment 14 hours after consuming enough alcohol to
reach a BAC of 0.10, despite the fact that the BAC had returned to zero
by that point.
Reefer madness
Originating in the 1930s, this myth was the basis for films like Reefer Madness, and used by Harry Anslinger of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics
as justification for outlawing cannabis. The allegation was that even
the calmest, most normal person could be transformed into a psychopathic
killer or rapist solely from smoking a joint. No relationship has ever
been proven linking such crimes to the acute intoxication of cannabis
alone, and cannabis' psychological effects tend to be more associated
with pacifism and inactivity than with aggression. For example, studies
of the Jamaican working class showed no difference in the crime rates
between users and non-user of cannabis.
Smoking or "chasing" cannabis with tobacco increases the high
In
many places, cannabis is routinely mixed with tobacco when rolled into
joints. In North America cannabis in any form is also often "chased"
with a tobacco cigarette, and hollowed-out cigars filled with cannabis
(blunts) are also popular in some subcultures. Some users say that
smoking tobacco increases the cannabis high, and this is often
attributed to either the nicotine or additives such as menthol. Until
recently this was based solely on anecdotal evidence. There may be at
least some truth to this legend, as a 2005 study found that a transdermal nicotine patch
modestly enhanced the subjective "high" of cannabis relative to a
placebo patch—but only in males. Females actually saw a slight
reduction in subjective effects.
Reasons for the enhancement are not well understood, and this study
appears to be the only one as of 2010 that found such effects. However,
another study found a significant downside to the practice. It appears
that tobacco, which is known to be highly addictive, also enhances the
likelihood of developing cannabis dependence symptoms when the two
substances are used concurrently.
Some Lucky Strike cigarettes contained cannabis
It has been claimed the cigarette brand Lucky Strike is so named because every so often, a consumer of the product would have a "lucky strike," finding a cannabis spliff
in a pack of cigarettes. The rumor varies in how often the cannabis
cigarette would be included, anywhere from one in every thousand cartons
to one in every pack. It is unclear when this myth originated;
Snopes.com claims it has been floating around for "many years." Lucky
Strike's slogan "It's Toasted" fueled belief in the myth further
('toasted' being one slang term for being high on cannabis). Despite the
popularity of the myth, there are no reliable reports of any Lucky
Strike cigarette containing cannabis. The name "Lucky Strike," in
reality, is only a marketing ploy, implying to customers that obtaining
their brand is a "Lucky Strike." The "It's Toasted" slogan refers to the
product's tobacco being toasted instead of sun-dried, making a
supposedly better-tasting product.
Other urban legends offshoot from this one. One of the
explanations for the origin of flipping a "lucky" cigarette upside down
claims the practice originated from the Lucky Strike myth; it's presumed
the superstition arose from flipping the marijuana-containing cigarette
upside-down in order to save it for last.
Popularity in the United States in the 1960s
Although
the 1960s are commonly perceived as a time of rampant marijuana use
compared with the present day, in a 1969 Gallup poll only 4% of American
adults had tried marijuana and 34% did not know its effects.
In contrast, later Gallup polls show that the percentage of adults who
had tried marijuana had risen to 33% by 1985 and 34% by 1999.
MDMA (ecstasy)
The third most common illicit drug that is the source of urban legends is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA),
better known as "ecstasy." In the United States, this substance was
banned in 1985, and other countries followed suit as well. Among
American youth, MDMA was most popular in the 1990s and early 2000s,
peaking in 2001 and declining thereafter.
It was during this time of rather faddish use that numerous urban
legends and misconceptions began to surface and be spread through the
media, and not all of them necessarily originated from anti-drug
organizations.
Holes in the brain
A common legend that surfaced around the year 2000 was that ecstasy can put holes in the brain, akin to Swiss cheese,
which are presumed to be permanent. Actually, the only drugs known to
cause anything similar to this are PCP and ketamine, which have been
posited to cause small holes in the cortex known as Olney's Lesions.
However, structural changes observed over time in the brains of
methamphetamine users, and various other substances (e.g., neurotoxins),
though not 'holes' in any manner, can still be significantly damaging.
The concept of "holes" most likely comes from a misinterpretation of SPECT
(and other) scans which show the levels of activity (or lack thereof)
in certain areas of the brain, by measuring glucose usage, blood flow,
and other proxies for activity. Such scans do not, however, show the physical structure of the brain. This misconception was likely popularized by an episode of MTV's True Life,
"I'm on Ecstasy" (2000), which featured a former poly-drug user
(including heavy use of MDMA) whose brain scan showed several areas of
greatly diminished activity.
MDMA causes Parkinson's disease
Another legend, often mentioned together with the "holes in the brain" myth discussed above, is that MDMA causes Parkinson's disease,
possibly with even one night of exposure. This was partially based on
an animal study that found neurotoxicity to dopaminergic neurons after
administering the drug to monkeys. However, the study has been
retracted by the researchers who conducted it because they had
accidentally given methamphetamine instead of MDMA to the animals, given
the similar chemical names (MDMA stands for
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine). Ironically, it is now being investigated as a possible treatment for Parkinson's disease.
The neurotoxicity of MPTP was first hinted at in 1976 after Barry Kidston, a 23-year-old chemistry graduate student in Maryland, synthesized MPPP (a synthetic opiate related to pethidine and the prodines)
with MPTP as a major impurity, and self-injected the result. Within
three days he began exhibiting symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The
National Institute of Mental Health found traces of MPPP, MPTP, and
other pethidine analogues in his lab. They tested the substances on
rats, but due to rodents' tolerance for this type of neurotoxin nothing
was observed. Kidston's parkinsonism was successfully treated with
levodopa but he died 18 months later from a cocaine overdose. Upon
autopsy, destruction of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra was discovered.
In 1982, seven people in Santa Clara County, California were
diagnosed with Parkinsonism after having used MPPP contaminated with
MPTP. The neurologist J. William Langston in collaboration with NIH
tracked down MPTP as the cause, and its effects on primates were
researched. Eventually the motor symptoms of two of the seven patients
were successfully treated at Lund University Hospital in Sweden with
neural grafts of fetal tissue.
Like MDMA, MPPP is a designer drug,
but its effects are more akin to morphine or other opiates. Despite the
similarity in name, MDMA and MPPP are unrelated and should not be
conflated.
MDMA drains spinal fluid
This myth appears to be derived from research in 1994 in which serotonin breakdown products were measured in the spinal fluid of ecstasy users. However, it was the researchers, not the drug, who drained the fluid (for the purpose of testing).
Nonetheless, this legend (and related ones about it damaging one's
spinal cord and/or spinal column, which is also false) was popularized
in 2000 by Eminem's songs "Drug Ballad" and "The Kids."
"Stacks"—Single, double, triple etc.
Many
ecstasy users describe the potency of various ecstasy pills in terms of
their stack such as double stack or triple stack pills. These claims
are dubious as there is no way to verify potency objectively without
proper testing. The term "stack" is not intended to measure potency of
ecstasy pills, but it is used as a measurement of mass. Single stacks
weigh in at 0.20 grams, doubles at 0.40 grams, and triples at
0.60 grams. Furthermore, a high percentage of what is sold as "ecstasy"
may contain a combination of MDMA and one or more other substances or
may in fact contain no MDMA at all. For these reasons, the "stack"
system of strength description is not necessarily trustworthy—as is
commonly the case in the underground drug market.
Methamphetamine
Though initially there were not very many urban legends about methamphetamine
("crank", "crystal meth," "ice"), the "meth epidemic" of the late 1990s
and early 2000s (especially in the USA) led to quite a few new legends.
Lung damage from recrystallization
Perhaps
the best-known of the meth legends refers to the method of
administration in which the user will heat/melt crystal methamphetamine
and inhale the resulting methamphetamine vapor. The legend states that
the drug, once inhaled, will re-crystallize in large amounts inside the
lungs, damaging them in the process. This is a false claim as
crystallized methamphetamine is always in the form of a salt (usually
methamphetamine hydrochloride), which is highly soluble in water, as
well as hydrophilic, and is instantly absorbed into the user's blood
stream via the alveoli.
However, intravenous methylphenidate
(Ritalin) use results in a type of lung damage commonly known as
"Ritalin lung." Methylphenidate tablets are crushed and dissolved into
solution for IV injection. The tablets contain talc and other particulates which can deposit in the lung (talcosis) and result in severe emphysema affecting all the lobes of the lung.
The "Ritalin lung" effect could be a possible source of how rumors
about methamphetamine damaging the lungs could have surfaced.
Strawberry Quik
Another meth legend is that dealers are selling colored and flavored meth resembling candy (often with names like Strawberry Quick, originating from an idea that dealers would mix the drug with strawberry-flavored Nesquik)
to entice children to buy it. It was first reported in 2007 in the
western United States, and children were allegedly ingesting it thinking
it was candy, and ending up in the ER. According to Snopes.com there is
no hard evidence, as of October 2008, that flavored meth is being handed out in schoolyards, nor that children are mistaking meth for candy.
Heroin
Cotton fever
Cotton fever is a high fever supposedly caused by injecting cotton fibers into the blood stream when shooting up heroin.
Cotton is sometimes used as a crude filter for particulate matter
prior to IV injection. Other commonly blamed substances include fiberglass if a cigarette filter was used (cigarette filters do not contain fiberglass), or dirt if Mexican heroin was injected.
In general, cotton fever refers to a fever that users believe is caused
by inanimate particulate matter injected into the blood stream. In
reality, the particulate matter causing cotton fever is bacteria from
lack of sterile technique. Most cases of cotton fever resolve as the
body clears the infection. Users will often seek medical attention when
cotton fever persists. Persistent cotton fever is often infective endocarditis. Although endotoxin shed by the bacteria Enterobacter agglomerans, which colonizes cotton plants, has been implicated as the cause of cotton fever, most clinical cases demonstrate blood cultures positive for skin and fecal bacteria.
"Cheese"
"Cheese" or "Tylenol with Smack" is a heroin-based recreational drug
that came to the attention of the media inside and outside the United
States
after a string of deaths among adolescents in the Dallas-Fort Worth
Metroplex, between 2005 and 2007. It is generally reported to be a
mixture of heroin and Tylenol PM (an OTC acetaminophen and diphenhydramine combination) or its generic equivalent, in varying ratios.
It seems likely that the concept was originally created as a
joke, and after seizures of low purity heroin cut with paracetamol
(acetaminophen) "validated" the claims, the DEA issued a warning.
Although the source of the original hoax is gone, newspapers and media
outlets continue to reference each other with no mention of any primary
sources, perpetuating the myth of cheese as "starter heroin" for
children. However, there may have been some ostension of this legend in
2007 involving a few individuals in Texas.
PCP
Embalming fluid
A commonly held misconception is that phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust) is the same as (or is synthesized from) embalming fluid. Some people, believing this myth, have actually attempted to smoke cigarettes or cannabis dipped in real embalming fluid (i.e. formaldehyde),
which is highly toxic. Conversely, some users of PCP-laced cannabis
believe (and are often told) that it contains embalming fluid proper and
not PCP, or that the slang term "dust" really means embalming fluid
proper. Sometimes, the two substances are even mixed together, in a
further ostension of this legend. Such concoctions are often called "fry," "wet," "illy," "sherm," "worm," "water-water," "amp," "dust(ed)," or other names.
Rodney King was on PCP at the time of his 1991 beating and arrest
The Rodney King police beating case in Los Angeles
was a source of much controversy and outrage, as well as urban legends.
Because King resisted arrest, with several officers needed to subdue
him, he was assumed to be on PCP at the time since the drug is notorious
for inciting violent and unpredictable behavior coupled with an
inability to feel pain (often misinterpreted as "superhuman" strength).
However, toxicology results show that the only drugs found in his
system were alcohol and traces of marijuana.
Man slices off his face and feeds it to dogs
One
legend holds that a man who, while under the influence of the drug,
thoroughly sliced off pieces of his own face, including his eyes, to
feed to his pet dogs. Some versions of this tale say he suffered
permanent brain damage as well. This legend is remarkably similar to
what the character Mason Verger did in Thomas Harris' 1999 novel Hannibal.
The legend, however, dates back earlier than 1999, and can be traced
to former New York homicide detective Vernon J. Geberth, who writes
about it in his book Practical Homicide Investigation. According
to Geberth, this actually did occur to a man named Michael, and that
Geberth was one of the detectives called to the scene." A 1989 book by Dr. Joseph Sacco also mentions this story, albeit with a few differences in the details.
Superhuman strength
Some reports cite a widely held belief that PCP can give its users "superhuman" strength for the duration of its effects,
and there are several anecdotes alleging this phenomenon. However,
while PCP commonly results in psychotic symptoms (to one degree or
another) coupled with inability to feel pain, thereby making users feel
invincible and appear to have "superhuman" strength, it does not
typically make the user significantly stronger in reality than they
otherwise would be. The exception is when a user experiences excited delirium, a severe and life-threatening reaction that occasionally results from use of PCP as well as various stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines.
Excited delirium has also been reported to occur without any drug use,
and the increased strength that results is most likely caused by a
massive increase in adrenaline.
Psilocybin mushrooms
Inspiration for Super Mario power-up
One legend that is popular among both the drug and video gaming subcultures is that the mushroom powerup in Super Mario games is actually based on psilocybin mushrooms. However, there is no evidence to back up that claim. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the Super Mario series, it was inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,
a story in which eating specific mushrooms cause one to change size.
In fact, Miyamoto decided to call it a "Super Mushroom" instead of a
"Magic Mushroom" in part to avoid the likely association with the psychedelic variety, which often goes by the latter nickname. However, the mushrooms depicted in the game (white circles on red caps) have a similar appearance to Amanita muscaria, which has hallucinogenic properties, though is quite distinct from psilocybin mushrooms ("magic mushrooms"). There is debate over whether Lewis Carroll intended to draw an allusion to psilocybin mushrooms or Amanita muscaria in his book.
Desomorphine (Krokodil)
There have been reports of "krokodil"—according to media reports, a street name for desomorphine, a semi-synthetic opioid which has similar strength and narcotic effect to heroin
(diacetylmorphine) -- appearing with increasing frequency in Russia and
supposedly, more recently, in the United States. Krokodil, which has
been associated with and indeed named after the severe side-effects of
its use, has been described as 'flesh-eating' or, as the name suggests,
causing 'greenish and/or scale-like' flesh in those who inject the drug.
Reports of the drug's appearance and of the severe skin infections
apparently originated in Russia ten years prior to recent appearances in
the Phoenix, AZ area of the United States, in the fall of 2013. It was
also reported in Joliet, Illinois and McHenry, Illinois in October 2013,
but no laboratory tests have confirmed that desomorphine was present in
the blood, urine or tissues of hospitalized krokodil patients. On the
contrary, an October 17, 2013 article in the Lawton Constitution quoted
the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics as saying that reports of krokodil use
on the Internet should be "taken with a grain of salt."
The article pointed out that a prior case of drug overdose in Oklahoma
had been linked to krokodil, but that toxicology tests revealed no
desomorphine in the victim's body, but rather morphine, which can appear
in tissue as a metabolite of heroin. In Illinois, heroin is known to be
extremely cheap and unusually pure, making it unlikely that a drug user
would make or purchase krokodil. Further, krokodil is a liquid, while
heroin is a powder, and drug users would not be likely to confuse one
with the other. In the linkedin.com discussion group "Emerging Drugs of
Abuse," with 2500 members in the United States and 43 other countries,
toxicology, street drug pharmacology, medical, public health and law
enforcement experts expressed doubts about the validity of the krokodil
reports after a wave of media stories about the appearance of krokodil
in the Chicago area poured from radio, television and print sources. The
group believes that the symptoms displayed by krokodil users in the
United States are due to a bacterial infection such as necrotizing
faciitis, a "flesh eating" disorder that is spread through the sharing
of dirty hypodermic needles. This and the fact that krokodil has never
been identified anywhere in the world other than Russia bolster the
contention that this drug is not in the US.
However, the increasing popularity of krokodil is likely related
to the ability of lay persons (with little or no chemistry training or
equipment) to chemically produce a heroin-like opiate drug, at home,
using readily available solvents and internet-obtained 'recipes' which
are posted on drug forums and chat rooms. By using the available, though
dangerously unreliable, instructions, users are converting the much
cheaper and easier-to-obtain drug codeine, which is often available
over-the-counter or with an easily obtained prescription, into
desomorphine, a much stronger opiate. With the street price for heroin
or oxycodone much higher than the cost of the codeine and chemicals,
users manufacture krokodil for a cheaper, comparable high. However,
lacking proper equipment, training, and testing equipment, users are
extremely unlikely to produce desomorphine in a pure form at home, and
as a result end up injecting a highly impure mixture of codeine,
desomorphine, and the toxic chemicals used in the crude reaction such as
lye or acetone. While studies are as yet unavailable of various samples
of krokodil seized in different regions, it is likely that the drug is
in fact not a single chemical, recipe, or 'designer' drug, but rather
the medical symptoms caused by the injection of toxic chemical used in a
variety of 'home-bake' drug synthesis methods, although traditionally
such processes are used by methamphetamine home producers.
While there have been no detailed studies of desomorphine in its
pure form publicly available, it is highly likely that it is not causing
the severe inflammation, necrosis, and flesh-eating symptoms of
krokodil. Such damages are much more likely to be related to the toxic
chemicals used in the crude at-home synthesis than to desomorphine
itself. There is no indication that desomorphine - one of hundreds of
known opioids which differ primarily in strength and duration of action -
has any unique 'qualities' which would make it desirable to opiate
users in its pure form, nor that in pure form desomorphine would cause
the symptoms associated with krokodil.
More research is needed to fully define whether krokodil is a
drug or a collection of symptoms associated with injecting toxic
chemical by-products of home drug chemistry, but since desomorphine is
one of hundreds of known opiates in a chemical family with no
association to the symptoms, it is much more likely that the drug is a
set of symptoms associated with the injection of household chemicals,
rather than a specific drug itself. A comparison could be made to the
effects of methanol poisoning from illicitly produced alcohol during the
U.S. prohibition. Methanol was sometimes added to the distillate to
enhance profits. There are many home-based drug 'recipes' which could,
and likely do, result in users injecting highly impure, dangerous, and
toxic chemicals, causing krokodil symptoms. Although drawing attention
to the dangers of trying to produce or alter drugs using kitchen
chemistry and internet 'recipes' is important and valuable, that
krokodil is a single drug is unproven and highly unlikely.
Designer drugs
The advent of novel illegal or quasi-legal designer drugs intended as substitutes or alternatives to illegal drugs has given rise to several new legends as well.
Cannibalism from bath salts
In 2012, various drugs nicknamed "bath salts" were implicated in several violent attacks, including a few cases of cannibalism. However, the most well-known cannibal attacker from Miami, Rudy Eugene,
tested negative for all drugs known to be nicknamed "bath salts" and
every other known psychoactive substance except traces of cannabis.
General
In
addition to legends about specific drugs, there are also some more
generic ones that are often applied to several types of drugs.
Typically, these legends involve rather morbid themes and/or targeted
children, but some are told with more levity for the purpose of humor.
Drugs smuggled in baby's corpse
This
legend, dating back to the early 1970s and first appearing on the
Internet in 1996, claims that drug traffickers are smuggling illegal
drugs (typically cocaine) in hollowed-out dead babies to avoid
detection.
Allegedly, tourists' babies are kidnapped, killed, cut open, filled
with drugs, and sewn shut so the contraband can be more readily sneaked
over the border. However, according to U.S. Customs and other law
enforcement agencies, there are no verifiable reports of this ever
happening, and thus this myth is unfounded.
Drug-laced candy or lollipops given to schoolchildren
This
legend, which surfaced on the Internet just in time for Halloween in
October 2004, claimed that drug dealers were giving lollipops laced with
drugs, typically a combination of THC and PCP, to unsuspecting children
and causing them great harm. Such suckers are allegedly referred to as
"dro pops" or something to that effect, and various towns around the
country have had their own versions of the legend.
According to the U.S. DEA, suckers containing THC and/or PCP have been
found and confiscated in Chicago in the spring of 2004. They also
report that in 2003 and 2004 some psilocybin mushroom chocolate candies
were seized near Amarillo, Texas, and that hollowed-out lollipops filled with heroin have been seized in New York City.
The goal of doing so was likely to evade detection by law enforcement
by disguising the drugs as candy. There is no evidence that these were
ever given to children, much less that any such children were harmed, or
even that such lollipops have been found outside of these specific
locations or anywhere since early 2004. Thus, this legend can be considered to be in a similar vein as the infamous blue star tattoo legend.
Related to the above legend, various drugs have also found their way into the more general and perennial Halloween poisoning legends.
Allegedly, unsuspecting trick-or-treaters are given candy (or
sometimes fruits) laced with poisons, needles, razor blades, and drugs
by strangers. However, virtually all reports of this happening are now
known to be either hoaxes, events unrelated to Halloween candy, or
non-random poisonings by relatives made to look random. The latest manifestation of drug-related Halloween legends was a prediction
by Sheriff Lee Baca of Los Angeles that cannabis edibles (from medical
marijuana dispensaries) would possibly end up in the hands of
trick-or-treaters on Halloween in 2010. Baca even went so far as to
confiscate cannabis edibles from circulation in an attempt to prevent
this from happening, and displayed them on television two days before
Halloween. Again, there is no evidence that cannabis-laced treats were
ever given out to trick-or-treaters in 2010 or in any other year.
"Gnome" legend
Another legend involves a group of teenagers who, while drunk and/or tripping on some sort of hallucinogen, find what they perceive to be a gnome (sometimes a dwarf, hobgoblin or smurf),
capture it, and bring it home. They sleep off the drug's effects, and
the next morning they find out that the "gnome" was really a lost (and
very frightened) child. Though the story may be told by some tellers in
a negative light, it may also have a positive spin in that the teens
become unwitting heroes in finding a missing child whose parents (as
well as the police) had been unable to find. According to Snopes.com,
the legend had first surfaced in 2004, and as of 2007 the legend's truth
status remains undetermined and unverifiable. In some versions of a legend the "gnome" is not a child but a midget or a person with Down Syndrome; some have even gone as far to say it was a dead babies.
"Homeopathic" drug water
In
2004–2005, an Internet rumor was going around that said that LSD (and
other drugs) were being diluted with water to extremely low
concentrations, which allegedly made the drugs more powerful, yet cheaper and undetectable. This is related to the pseudo-scientific "Law of Infinitesimals," one of the principles behind homeopathy.
However, there is no evidence that this actually has effects different
from a placebo, or that a significant number of users or dealers were
ever actually doing this. If this were true, drinking any amount of
water would be toxic as any water exposed to drugs would maintain the
effects of the drugs which were diluted in them.
Drug testing
The increasingly common practice of drug testing,
especially urinalysis, has led to an increase in the number of drug
users looking for ways to beat the tests, and has spawned a number of
urban legends as a result. One should note that time is the only
scientifically proven method for certainly passing a test, apart from
not consuming any substances at all that are likely to be tested for.
However, this does not stop users from getting creative in their
attempts to somehow shorten the detection times and/or mask the contents
of their fluid specimens, with varying degrees of success or lack
thereof.
Secondhand exposure will cause you to fail
This
legend is technically true but highly misleading. According to a U.S.
Army study, the amount of secondhand cannabis smoke needed to cause a
false positive result (failure) is quite large indeed, and would require
being sealed in an unventilated car or small room filled with marijuana
being actively smoked for several hours (often referred to as a
"hotbox"). Hair testing, however, is a different matter, particularly
with passive exposure to crack/cocaine, which can deposit onto hair and
be readily incorporated into it. With regards to cannabis, however,
typically only metabolites (produced by the body and thus not found in
smoke) are tested rather than THC, so failure is unlikely to result from
non-extreme passive exposure.
High doses of niacin will help you pass
Niacin,
also known as Vitamin B3, is speciously claimed by some to "burn it
out" of one's system when taken at high doses (250–500 mg per day).
While some Internet (and other) sources claim that this works wonders,
there is no supporting scientific evidence. Very high doses can also cause adverse side effects.
This legend may have been (inadvertently) inspired by Narconon, a Scientology-based drug rehabilitation
program that uses exercise, saunas, and dangerously high doses of
niacin (and other vitamins) to detox. It is also part of L. Ron
Hubbard's general Purification Rundown, which can supposedly remove pollutants as well as drug residues. Although some drug users claim that this has worked, there are currently no peer-reviewed scientific studies to back these methods up.
Poppy seeds cause false positives for opiates
This partially true, but exaggerated, legend has been featured in several movies and television shows, such as Seinfeld and The Big Bang Theory. Poppy seeds do contain trace amounts of opium alkaloids, including morphine. Poppy seed-filled pastries (such as hamantashen or kolaches),
contain enough opiates to potentially cause a false positive test
result, even when a fairly high cutoff level is used. However, drug
tests rarely screen for the actual drug used; instead they detect
metabolites or increased enzyme levels as markers indicative of drug
use. When substance use has been established (and the drug type, i.e.
opiate or amphetamine), one can then be tested to identify the specific substance by means of more expensive Gas Chromatography drug screens.
An episode of MythBusters
tested this legend and found that as little as three poppy-seed bagels
was enough to cause a positive result for the remainder of the day they
were eaten (though participants tested clean the following day).
The results of this experiment are inconclusive, however, because a
test was used with an opiate cutoff level of 300 ng/mL instead of the
current SAMHSA recommended cutoff level used in the NIDA 5 test, which was raised from 300 ng/mL to 2,000 ng/mL in 1998 in order to avoid such false positives from poppy seeds.
Despite these measures, false positives do still occur, such as
in the case of a mother whose newborn baby was taken into care for five
days after she tested positive for opiates because of an "everything"
bagel from Dunkin' Donuts.
In addition, poppy seed consumption does not serve as a defense for heroin consumption. This is because a unique metabolite (6-monoacetylmorphine)
is produced from heroin use that is never produced from consuming any
other substance, even other opiates like the ones present in poppy
seeds. Modern tests can thus readily determine whether it was heroin or
some other opiate that was ingested, should someone who had used heroin
try to claim he or she merely ate poppy seeds. It is widely believed
that there is no way to distinguish between poppy seeds and any other
kind of opiate. However, a study published by the University of Connecticut's Department of Chemistry proposed that thebaine
could be used as a marker of poppy seed consumption. They examined the
urine of test subjects given 11 grams of poppy seeds, the urine of heroin users and clean urine spiked with thebaine, as a reference for GC-MS. They also tested street heroin, one morphine tablet and one codeine tablet. Urine specimens were screened by EMIT and confirmed for thebaine by GC-MS using a solid-phase extraction method.
Only the subjects who had consumed the poppy seeds had thebaine in
their urine, with concentrations ranging from 2 to 81 ng/mL with a limit
of detection of 0.5 ng/mL. Thebaine was not detected in any of the
tested powdered drugs (street heroin, morphine tablet, codeine tablet)
or the urine of the heroin users.
