8 ms·
Has the New Cocaine Arrived?
- datakan 3mo agoSurprisingly good article. I wish more time was spent on the negatives. You don't read that its addictive until the last paragraph. Until then it seem to be pro-3MMC in how it's talked about which I think is dangerous. The history of it however is fascinating.
- tancop 3mo agoevery recreational drug is addictive in the same way as weed or sex or anything else that feels good. thats nothing to be concerned about. the problem is when something gives you physical dependence like heroin or heavy drinking where you cant just decide to quit because your body adapts to the drug and you will get sick without it, and i dont know if thats the case with 3-MMC.
- freedomben 3mo agoAgreed, but even some physical dependency seems to be acceptable, though surely only because they're grandfathered in. For example caffeine
- fingerlocks 3mo agoI’ve always been skeptical about caffeine’s alleged physical dependence. I’m a two or three cups a day consumer, but I’ve quit many times and never felt any different. This has been entirely by accident, like forgetting to pack coffee on a 2 week back packing trip, or purchasing decaf coffee by mistake, and didn’t even realize I wasn’t drinking for several days
- hack1312 3mo agoCaffeine’s physical dependence is well documented, you’re by definition an outlier. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-004-2000-x https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-004-2000-x
- HedonicEscal8r 3mo ago"In experimental studies, the incidence of headache was 50% and the incidence of clinically significant distress or functional impairment was 13%." That is by definition not what "outlier" means.
- inigyou 3mo ago"I've quit many times" is a telltale sign of chronic addiction
- card_zero 3mo agoOK, but you didn't apparently read the post you replied to, which says "by mistake, and didn’t even realize".
- cataphract 3mo agoCaffeine withdrawal symptoms don't last more than 1-2 weeks. And we're talking about headaches, feeling sluggish... not dying, like other drugs.
- HedonicEscal8r 3mo agoThe only common drugs that cause deadly withdrawals are alcohol and benzodiazepines. Opioid withdrawals are famously extremely unpleasant but not typically considered life-threatening.
- kevinmchugh 3mo agoIf a drug is compatible with a healthy social or productive lifestyle it would seem unreasonable to ban it. Danger of withdrawals might be a consideration. Caffeine is pretty safe. The withdrawals, for those of us who experience them, are safe if unpleasant. There's prescription drugs that cause dependency but are widely prescribed. Gabapentin is a good example? Alcohol is the drug that best fits the "grandfathered" idea, since it's for many folks not compatible with a healthy lifestyle and the withdrawals can be fatal. Alcohol is impossible to ban, though, because the precursors are in every grocery store on the planet and grow on trees
- inigyou 3mo agoThere are many prohibited substances that are more "compatible with a healthy social or productive lifestyle" than legal substances. The actual criteria for a ban seems to be if it isn't alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, or prescribed by a doctor.
- pfdietz 3mo agoCan cause hyponatremia. Which is where your blood sodium is too low and your brain can swell due to osmosis, destroying it.
- andy99 3mo agoWhen I read things like this I feel like I’ve lived a sheltered life, and am happy about that.
- JKCalhoun 3mo agoReally? You're not a chemsex enthusiast ready to join Captain Zee and his crew of psychonauts aboard the S.S. Khatterprise?
- braebo 3mo agoAnecdotally, I’m long out of my drug and Music festival party phase by now… but they contained some of the best, most insightful and awe inspiring experiences I’ve had, and I’ve carried them with me in ways that have permanently enriched my life. It would feel tragic to have never had them.
- JKCalhoun 3mo agoI agree with that: a safe exposure to drugs (in moderation) is mind expanding.
- inigyou 3mo agoYes, it's called AI. (Now I want to see half of silicon valley come to an illegal AI rave with racks of computer terminals telling them they're absolutely right)
- dcminter 3mo agoBefore clicking through to the article I honestly expected it to be about AI!
- elmer2 3mo ago"It did have a moreish quality that could trigger compulsive redosing for some users, but it was also easy to get." What an odd way of saying that it's addictive.
- cluckindan 3mo agoAlmost any thing humans enjoy is addictive to some people.
- Joel_Mckay 3mo agoThere are a lot of exotic compounds now, and the law doesn't cover many of them. However, the human brain has finite known chemistry (if I recall it is under 14 types of possible highs excluding hallucinogens), and note many malformed neurotransmitters from Erythroxylum coca can make people sociopathic or psychotic during the 10 month average withdrawal period. The schizophrenic symptoms a highly poisonous Datura stramonium family causes has almost no one lining up to ever experience a nightmare trip rolling in their own excrement for 10 days. However, some native tribes still guide young folk through the experience as a rite of passage ceremony. Addiction is a nuisance by comparison, but some experiences go well beyond synthetic catharsis or a chemical lobotomy. Most drugs are legal in my country now, but it hasn't made people healthier or more responsible. Most of these plants grow naturally in many areas, and there are worse things around... which is why one should always garden with gloves on, and never burn unknown greenery. =3
- Aurornis 3mo agoNot the same. A substance that literally travels into your dopamine system and modifies it is going to be more addictive than eating some sugar or playing a slot machine Bad false equivalence.
- cluckindan 3mo agoThat is not true. All forms of addictive behavior are mediated by the same mechanism: the delta-FosB variant of the FosB protein. Drugs, sex, food, gambling. All the same. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOSB#DeltaFosB https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOSB#DeltaFosB
- 64e23275635e 3mo ago[flagged]
- inigyou 3mo agoAccount 4 minutes old, randomised hex name, only two comments, comment contains no substance, comment repeats government propaganda.
- 64e23275635e 3mo ago[flagged]
- QuercusMax 3mo agoIt's actually quoting South Park
- codevark 3mo ago[dead]
- toymin 3mo agoIt arrived at least 6 years ago, at least in Europe. Before the fairly recent ban you could get it delivered to your mailbox from a website
- inigyou 3mo agoI imagine that after the ban, you still can
- ck2 3mo agosurprised it's not being used in war Soviets/Russia came up with a whole bunch of abusive drugs to deal with cold and exhaustion (racetams, etc) Sometimes I go read the WADA banned list just to see what people are messing with (cathinones and derivatives already banned by WADA) A lot of the stuff comes out of horse racing
- cluckindan 3mo agoThere are so many drugs used in wars. In addition to the standard stimulants and painkillers, some Russian soldiers in Bucha were using ED pills (viagra) in their campaign to denazify elderly people and children.
- TheMayorOfDunce 3mo agoIn 2014, the U.S. military distributed almost $85 million of Viagra to their ranks. More than 100,000 prescriptions to active-duty soldiers. I get what you are implying but there is usually a rational reason when armies are distributing ED medication.
- phatfish 3mo agoWas this to test the limits of "don't ask don't tell"?
- cluckindan 3mo agoActive duty sure, but were they at the front line using them?
- xg15 3mo agoHow do you know it's not used in the wars? Though I wonder if there is a risk of causing accidents. Feeling focused is not the same as being focused, especially if on drugs. The effect might be ok to get some slick sales presentation over or do some programming work, but that doesn't mean I'd like to be in a car driven by someone on that thing or in the proximity of their weapon.
- 3mo ago
- ta20240528 3mo ago"you can’t stop talking about yourself, but from an earnest yearning to share authentically". Well, that killed it for me. Talking? Honestly? Dear lord, no.
- jeffrallen 3mo agoI know, and worse yet, LISTENING. Ugh. /s
- josh-wrale 3mo agoNSFW site...
- swiftcoder 3mo agoFor all that Playboy may have some NSFW attached, their articles section is pretty tame. Also published a lot of good sci-fi over the years...
- hack1312 3mo agoYeah the “I read it for the articles!” claim does have a nugget of truth to it, lots of well known authors published stories in the magazine, Jimmy Carter even sat for an interview with the magazine.
- josh-wrale 3mo agoConcern is more about folks that work at places that don't understand about article quality. Otherwise, +1
- xtiansimon 3mo ago> “Stories come tumbling out, not because you can’t stop talking about yourself, but from an earnest yearning to share authentically and be received, while simultaneously promoting deeper listening and presence.” In this age of turning away from network media and embracing video podcasts, this seems like something some talk show host would offer—coffee? Water? Chatty drugs?
- bitmasher9 3mo agoNo, it’s just another designer drug and not a particularly new one. If you want a productivity drug there are more effective, more studied alternatives. If you want a party drug then you should probably take whatever is at the party. I think half of this article is selling fomo to people that haven’t been to ‘those parties’
- xg15 3mo agoI was amused by the compulsively positive way this article is written. I don't think I've had read about "falling in love" with a designer drug or about "chemsex enthusiasts" before. All good, let people do what they want to do, but no downsides at all, even for the other drugs mentioned? Cocaine's problem is "the irritation", Ecstasy has too much of a "hard comedown"? And all of them are addictive, but that's just a "potentially fatal flaw"? Interesting parallel universe you got there. Oh and: > Perhaps it will turn out to be like MDMA, which saw its recreational market explode after being banned. So far, 3-MMC’s supply chains, which trace back to industrial labs in China and India, have held steady. With its irresistible mix of pleasure and productivity, 3-MMC might just be the drug for our time. Illegality? Details, details...
- fingerlocks 3mo agoFor every addict, there are many responsible adults that can set healthy boundaries and have a positive relationship with recreational drugs. This article is for them.
- xg15 3mo agoI don't see an audience description in the article. Especially if you're a responsible adult, wouldn't you want to be informed about the downsides?
- znpy 3mo agoAwful take on the matter. They’re all responsible adults until something goes wrong and they do something horrible.
- fingerlocks 3mo agoA responsible adult prepares in advance for any risk of something horrible happening. This is why sober Trip Sitters exist. There is actually a market for this; you can pay someone to be your designated driver of drugs. Very common
- bpavuk 3mo ago
- kvetching 3mo ago4-MMC / Mephedrone is one of the most useful compounds for researching the phenomenology of bliss
- OutOfHere 3mo agoWhat is its mechanism of action?
- IAmGraydon 3mo agoLike most drugs of this class, monoamine reuptake inhibitor. It basically keeps your nerve cells from breaking down excess dopamine, seratonin, and norepinephrine. Same way MDMA, meth, etc work. The difference is really in the ratio of reuptake inhibition between neurotransmitters.
- OutOfHere 3mo agoThat could inevitably downregulate dopamine receptors, and so it could stop working at the same dose, otherwise risk psychosis.
- onlyrealcuzzo 3mo ago> “When you take it, you don’t feel ‘high,’ ” he explained. “You just feel better, with a little bit of pep in your step. It’s a functional tool, and it’s also very stealth. The outside world can’t really tell that you’re on drugs.” This sounds like Brave New World.
- IAmGraydon 3mo agoThing is, it’s just not true. 3-MMC spins you up hard and it would be extremely obvious in a work setting, for example. These are just the words of a user that wants to believe that no one knows when they’re using.
- HedonicEscal8r 3mo agoNot that I recommend being on 3-MMC at work, but it's just a matter of dosage. People take pharmaceutical doses of Adderall at work and 10x higher recreational doses at clubs.
- senordevnyc 3mo agoIt sounds like coffee.
- Aurornis 3mo agoIt sounds like the thing every addict tells themself at the beginning. There’s a term for it: Delusions of sobriety.
- lifestyleguru 3mo agoI never understood clubbing. After one hour standing there like an utilty pole and having spend over 100 euro for entrance and two beers or drinks I'm already tipsy enough, I'm out of cash, and I need to visit the filthy toilet. Then I realised "they are all on drugs, that's why they're enjoying it".
- brookman64k 3mo agoI have heard this take many times. But I don’t get it. For me 80% of the experience is the music. I can easily enjoy a club for a whole night without taking any drugs if I like the bands or DJs. Choose the night/venue accoring to your music taste and then it’s just like a really long concert.
- skeeter2020 3mo agoWhat about getting tired, both physically and sleepy? Also if everyone around you is on drugs and you are not it's either really annoying or boring AF.
- xyzsparetimexyz 3mo agoYou're going to the wrong clubs if you're spending €100
- lifestyleguru 3mo agoLondon, Paris, southern Spain, Balearic. If you're a male then 100eur per night is a bargain.
- emsign 3mo agoThe title is misleading. 3-MMC differs from Cocaine in that it doesn't turn you into an egomaniac asshole, which is due to its acting on the Serotonin receptors.
- skeeter2020 3mo ago>> "you can’t stop talking about yourself, but from an earnest yearning to share authentically" Kinda sounds like a rationalizing egomaniac asshole.
- pitchlatte 3mo agomost drugs get people talking but there’s something especially cocky about the cocaine types. i’ve never done it but i can occasionally tell when someone’s used it regularly because of a particular bluster they develop.
- isoprophlex 3mo ago"It’s a functional tool, and it’s also very stealth. The outside world can’t really tell that you’re on drugs." Okay then
- Aurornis 3mo agoThis is a weird article. 3-MMC has been around for a long time and was banned in both Europe and America years ago because it’s not new. The article even says so right in the middle. I wonder if this was written by someone who recently discovered 3-MMC and is in the honeymoon phase where they think their use is only positive and the good times will never end. Quotes like this are not something you’ll hear from experienced users of this type of drug: > “When you take it, you don’t feel ‘high,’ ” he explained. “You just feel better, with a little bit of pep in your step. It’s a functional tool, and it’s also very stealth. The outside world can’t really tell that you’re on drugs.” There’s a subreddit dedicated to discussions of these research chemicals. It’s a strange place because it’s filled with stories that start out like this, which attract dozens of comments from more experienced users trying to warn the new user that those feelings aren’t going to last and that their altered state isn’t as covert as they believe. There are also a lot of posts from people desperate for advice about how to recover after hitting rock bottom from months of using these drugs, having discovered that they could not, in fact, take it forever like they original thought. I don’t know what this article is, but if it made you think 3-MMC is a secret to partying hard and being productive forever without any notable downsides (other than the oh by the way it’s a little addictive aside) then you should know that this is what all of the honeymoon phase stories look like with every drug addiction stories.
- woodpanel 3mo agoBasically that’s her schtick. Every second insta post is „Drugs are good mhmkay?“
- c87aad3f84e2bc 3mo agoPoorly researched too as 4-MMC aka. Mephedrone didn't get it's slang name "Meow meow" from supposedly smelling like cat piss*. It's derived from its name 4-methylmethcathinone which was shortened to "M-Cat" and the various other cat-related slang followed on from there. * It actually tends to smell like a pungent cross between freshly manufactured PCBs and the greasy kitchen ventilator outlet of a fried food takeaway.
- woodpanel 3mo agoStatements uttered by „(socially/professionally) functional junkies“: > The outside world can’t really tell that you’re on drugs. And if you believe that sentence, you’re already a junkie and the drug altered your psychology/character – or you’re being primed for becoming a consumer. As if khat or cocaine users aren’t noticeable as such. Doesn’t this article read a bit like „it’s not really a drug“? It’s hard to tell what’s even more despicable: making people perpetually high or contributing to Dr. Zee’s sales by promoting mental and physical deprivation as just another hobby. Look it feels warmer than X, smells better than Y. Now go have some „chem-sex“ with strangers getting your occasional STD. Totally normal
- nutthugger 3mo agoMETAphedrone? i will wait for MEGAphedrone then!