Hacker News with Generative AI: Drugs

Nitazenes: Battle with Deadly Synthetic Opioids and Drug Trade Links to China (postimees.ee)
On December 7, 2023, police responded to a domestic violence call at an apartment in the Kopli district of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Upon arrival, they identified a man in his 30s, Sergei, and his partner, both of whom appeared to be extremely intoxicated. Sergei carried a mini-grip plastic bag containing 15 grams of a dirt-coloured substance, according to court files inspected by Postimees.

Drugs, Crime, China

6 points by type0 3 days ago | 0 comments

Ketamine-Fueled 'Psychedelic Slumber Parties' Get Tech Execs Back on Track (wired.com)
“Ketamine is helpful for getting one out of the negative frame of mind,” Elon Musk told an interviewer last year. The unelected man currently gutting US federal programs isn’t the only one who thinks so. Ketamine, approved decades ago as a surgical anesthetic and long used as a party drug, is the off-label mental-health treatment of the moment.

Mental Health, Technology, Drugs, Psychedelics

5 points by impish9208 3 days ago | 1 comments

Forget Psychedelics. Everyone's Microdosing Ozempic Now (hollywoodreporter.com)
On a chilly January evening, Samira Shamoon, a 44-year-old health and beauty publicist, walked into an Italian restaurant to meet friends. They were stunned by the incandescence of her skin. Her cheekbones appeared more defined. After a flurry of questions about which dermatologist or plastic surgeon she had visited, she said, beaming, “I’m microdosing!”

Health, Drugs, Society, Trends

22 points by adrian_mrd 12 days ago | 17 comments

Canadian MP proposes life sentence for trafficking over 40mg of fentanyl (ctvnews.ca)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says major drug trafficking super labs linked to criminal networks are killing people across Canada and other countries.

Canada, Drugs, Crime, Politics, Law

6 points by philip1209 16 days ago | 5 comments

How does fentanyl get into the US? (bbc.com)
President Donald Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods, citing Beijing's failure to stop the export of chemicals used in the production of the powerful opioid fentanyl.

Fentanyl, Drugs, Trade, China, United States

83 points by tartoran 17 days ago | 191 comments

A dose of MDMA transformed a white supremacist (bbc.com)
Brendan was once a leader in the US white nationalist movement. But when he took the drug MDMA in a scientific study, it would radically change his extremist beliefs – to the surprise of everyone involved. Rachel Nuwer investigates what happened.

Drugs, Psychology, Extremism, Social Change

44 points by fzliu 28 days ago | 13 comments

Viagra-laced 'erectile honey' is flooding into France, officials warn (politico.eu)
France last year seized record quantities of illegally imported “erectile honey” laced with Viagra and other medications, customs officials said Monday.

France, Health, Drugs, Sexual Health, Illegal Imports

41 points by mschuster91 32 days ago | 49 comments

An 'uncensored' dark web AI is offering step-by-step guides on how to make meth (dailydot.com)
An anonymous developer launched an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot on the dark web in an effort to provide “uncensored” access to information.

Artificial Intelligence, Dark Web, Drugs, Censorship

8 points by gscott 46 days ago | 2 comments

'Barbarians' May Have Been Inspired by Opium When Attacking Rome, Study Suggests (haaretz.com)
The Romans thought the barbarian monsters on their borders should settle for alcohol, but the drug spoons the Germanic warriors carried into battle suggest they didn't agree

History, Ancient Rome, Drugs, Anthropology

10 points by wslh 52 days ago | 0 comments

Fentanyl Almost Killed Michael Brewer. Now He Wants Snap to Pay (bloomberg.com)
We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

Fentanyl, Lawsuits, Social Media, Drugs, Health

9 points by petethomas 64 days ago | 6 comments

Promising early data in triple negative breast cancer (statnews.com)
New data suggests researchers may have found one of their most promising candidates yet for the next generation in immunotherapy drugs — bispecific antibodies targeting two key proteins in cancer, PD1 or PD-L1 and VEGF.A small early trial on one such bispecific compound was presented by researchers working with BioNTech at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on Tuesday. The bispecific compound, called BNT-327, had positive results in patients with triple negative breast cancer.

Cancer, Immunotherapy, Drugs, Clinical Trials

10 points by doener 72 days ago | 1 comments

Russia's Dead Drop Drug Revolution (globalinitiative.net)
There has been a groundbreaking shift in the global drug trade, pioneered in Russia and now spreading globally.

Russia, Drugs, Global Trade, Crime

57 points by nkko 79 days ago | 33 comments

Weight-loss drug found to shrink muscle in mice, human cells (ualberta.ca)
Trendy weight-loss drugs making headlines for shrinking waistlines may also be shrinking the human heart and other muscles, according to a new University of Alberta study whose authors say should serve as a “cautionary tale” about possible long-term health effects of these drugs.

Health, Science, Medicine, Weight Loss, Drugs

372 points by Eumenes 93 days ago | 445 comments

GLP-1s are among the most important drug breakthroughs (economist.com)
IN THE HISTORY of medicine, a few drugs tower above all others. Humira for rheumatoid arthritis; Prozac for depression; statins to prevent heart disease and strokes. All have helped patients far beyond doctors’ initial expectations and continue to benefit millions of people every day. A new class of drugs is set to join their ranks and has the potential to eclipse them all—GLP-1 receptor agonists.

Pharmaceuticals, Medicine, Health, Science, Drugs

58 points by car 114 days ago | 147 comments

Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Getting Much, Much Stronger (wired.com)
Cultivators are turning to genetic sequencing and cellular-manipulation techniques to breed highly potent mushrooms—leaving some unprepared psychonauts in distress.

Psychedelics, Science, Drugs, Genetics

7 points by bookofjoe 132 days ago | 12 comments

On 17th century "cocaine" (resobscura.substack.com)
Earlier this year, amid a sea of bones in the vaulted crypt beneath Milan’s Ca’ Granda hospital, Italian researchers made an intriguing discovery. Analyzing mummified brain tissue from two men who died at the hospital in the seventeenth century, they found evidence of coca use—the earliest ever detected outside of South America.

History, Archaeology, Drugs, Italy

161 points by benbreen 135 days ago | 209 comments

Science Says Everything You Know about Food, Diet and Drugs Is Wrong (newsweek.com)
Science can't provide definitive answers.

Science, Nutrition, Health, Diet, Drugs

3 points by paulpauper 149 days ago | 0 comments

Scientists Discover 17th Century Bones Contained Cocaine (popularmechanics.com)
The surprising discovery reveals Europeans sniffed around much earlier than we thought.

Archaeology, History, Drugs, Cocaine

6 points by gmays 165 days ago | 0 comments

Forensic toxicology backdates the use of coca plant in Europe to the early 1600s (sciencedirect.com)

Forensic Science, History, Drugs, Europe

30 points by benbreen 177 days ago | 5 comments

From Opium to Saffron, the Ancients Knew a Thing or Two About Drugs (thenation.com)