Newsgroups: alt.drugs,alt.psychoactives
Subject: Re: Updated version of "Marijuana Myths"
From: [m--st--m] at [qedbbs.com] (Mark Thompson)
Date: 20 Jul 93 08:13:30 GMT
> I recall an earlier article which compared the LD50's of various
> substances, and it showed that the illicit drugs are no more
> dangerous, or sometimes even less dangerous, in that respect. I think
> another useful comparison would be of the various latencies (is that
> the correct term?) of various substances, in order to expose that the
> illicit drugs are also (supposedly) no more dangerous in this respect
> as well.
>
> Does anyone have such a list already compiled, or at least access to
> such information or cites?
>
> - Paul
LD50s for Various Substances
(with ratios regarding relative safety/toxicity)
========================================================================
Typical "Safety Ratio"
Substance LD50 route animal Human Dose LD50=Doses/50Kg
-------------- ------------------------------ ---------- ----------------
LSD 46 mg/Kg iv mice 0.25 mg o 9200
16.5 mg/Kg iv rats 3300
.3 mg/Kg iv rabbits 60
Psilocybin 285 mg/Kg iv mice 12-20 mg o 1187 - 712
280 mg/Kg iv rats 1166 - 700
12.5 mg/Kg iv rabbit 52 - 31
DMT 110 mg/kg im mouse 60 mg im 91
DET 28 mg/kg iv mouse 60 mg im/po 23
5-MeO-DMT 115 mg/kg ip mouse 6 mg p 958
DPT 20 mg/kg iv mouse 60 mg po 16
DIPT 26 mg/kg iv mouse 30 mg o 43
THC 1270 mg/Kg o rats(male) 20mg o 3175
730 mg/Kg o rats(female) 20mg o 1825
105.7 mg/Kg iv rats 5mg(smoked) 1057
42 mg/Kg (inhalation) rats 5mg(smoked) 420
Caffeine 127 mg/Kg o mice (male) 100-200mg o 63 - 31
137 mg/Kg o mice (female) 68 - 34
230 mg/Kg o hamster(male) 115 - 57
249 mg/Kg o hamster(female) 124 - 62
355 mg/Kg o rat(male) 177 - 88
247 mg/Kg o rat(female) 123 - 61
246 mg/Kg o rabbit(male) 123 - 61
227 mg/Kg o rabbit(female) 113 - 56
Nicotine 230 mg/Kg o mice
9.5 mg/Kg ip mice .7mg(smoked) 675
.3 mg/Kg iv mice 21
Aspirin 1100 mg/Kg o mice 325mg o 169
1500 mg/Kg o rats 230
Acetaminophen 338 mg/Kg o mice 500mg o 33.8
500 mg/Kg ip mice 50
Vitamin A 2570 mg/Kg o mice 10-20mg o 12850 - 6425
1510 mg/Kg ip mice 7550 - 3775
Strychnine .96 mg/Kg iv rats .25mg o 192
(relative to 1 hit of LSD)
Succinyl Choline .45 mg/Kg iv mice
VX (nerve gas) .0154 mg/Kg iv rabbits 0 mg none
-------------- ------------------------------ ---------- ----------------
Substance LD50 route animal Human Dose LD50=Doses/50Kg
Typical (safety ratio)
========================================================================
================================================================
Substance Reckoned Safety Ratio (Closest Available Analogy)
-------------- -------------------------------------------------
Vitamin A 9637 (mice oral:human oral 15mg)
LSD 4816 (rodents iv:human oral 0.25mg),averaged
5-MeO-DMT 958 (mice intraperitoneal:human parenteral 6mg)
Psilocybin 641 (rodents iv:human oral 16mg),averaged
THC 420 (rats inhaled:human smoked 5mg)
Aspirin 199 (rodents oral:human oral 325mg),averaged
DMT 91 (mice intramuscular:human intramuscular 60mg)
Caffeine 84 (rodents oral:human oral 150mg),averaged
Acetaminophen 34 (mice oral:human oral 500mg)
Nicotine 21 (mice iv:human smoked 0.7mg)
VX (Nerve Gas) 0 (just a hunch)
===============================================================
Abbreviations:
iv = intravenous (injected into vein)
ip = intraperitoneal (injected into body cavity)
im = intramuscular (injected into muscles)
o = oral (swallowed or eaten)
p = parenteral (not by mouth / usually means 'inhaled' or
'snorted')
mg/Kg = milligrams of drug per Kilogram of body weight
mg = milligrams of drug
NOTES:
All LD50's are normalized to milligrams/Kilogram of animal's body
weight.
All LD50 data were found in the "The Merck Index, 11th edition".
The "LD50" is the dose of a substance that will kill a selected
species of experimental animal 50% of the time.
"Typical Human Dose" info is taken from various sources, including
"Burger's Medicinal Chemistry", "Journal of Psychedelic Drugs",
"The Merck Manual", "NIOSH Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical
Substances",
cigarette packages, No-Doz bottles, etc.
The "Safety Ratio" was fabricated for the purpose of this information
file
based on notions of relative toxicity expressed in various pharmacology
textbooks and in a taped lecture by Andrew Weil MD.
The "Safety Ratio" is based on the dubious assumption that a human
has the same LD50 as an experimental animal in relation to body weight.
The Typical Human Dose for "recreational" or therapeutic purposes
is expressed in milligrams and the number of those doses required
to reach the corresponding LD50 for a 50 Kilogram (110 pound) human
is computed. The assumption here is that the margin of safety for a
drug is proportional to the number of typical doses a person would have
to take in order to have a 50% chance of dropping dead were they a
giant rodent. According to this reasoning, the higher the "Safety Ratio"
is, the less toxic the drug is at normal dosages.
One might well argue that it is of questionable utility to compare toxic
responses between various species using different routes of
administration.
Needless to say, many rodents have died for our sins.
==============================================================
It was later pointed out that what is called above a "safety ratio"
is roughly equivalent to the pharmacological measure known as
the "Therapeutic Index". The therapeutic index is a measure of
the toxicity of a drug relative to it's usual therapeutic dose.
The NIOSH Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances also lists
most published LD50 measurements, but does so uncritically. It's
quite useful as a point of reference.