LSD - Between Good and Bad Trip

Few years back, I got a frantic phone call from a friend. It was 4 AM so between my annoyance being woken up before dawn, I asked him what the hell happened. He told me he was on this party and they did some drugs. At that moment, I just knew this wouldn’t be a nice phone call. He said he took some ‘acid’ and now he didn’t feel well. Everything around him seemed distorted. He was ‘seeing sounds’ and ‘hearing colours’. When I told him to go to the hospital, he fearfully told me he couldn’t because the medics would turn him in.

He had a good point, though ... the laws concerning narcotics in Indonesia is pretty strict. So out of desperation, I told him to find himself a green coconut water somewhere. What else could I do? His friends left him when he got too ‘high’. They just dumped him back at his place and left. So much for good friends.

Some of you might heard about LSD or ‘Acid’. They usually looked like stamps and people put them on their tongue. It was known as drugs used by hippies, besides marijuana. There is even a song about it, ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’. There are several positive ‘reviews’ on how LSD influence arts and society. Many said it was an enlightning experience, getting high on acid. However, I’m going to write a little bit about LSD and its effect.

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Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a classic hallucinogen drug. It worked by binding to the serotonin receptors in human brain, that mediates the hallucinogenic effect by activating the frontal cortex glutamate transmission. It mimics the effect of the chemicals on your brain called ‘glutamate’, causing an increasing activity of the part of your brain – the sensory and cognitive processing. LSD also binds the adrenergic and dopaminergic receptions, which is not the case for other classic serotogenic hallucinogens.

On a studies using validated psychometric scale on 2017, the subjective effects of LSD were predominantly positive in controlled settings. However at the dose of 200 μg negative effects also reported. LSD at this dose also used in LSD-assisted psychotherapy in Switzerland.

 

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The picture showed us which part of the brain activity is increasing after LSD exposure (right). This lasts for about eight hours. The hallucination or ‘psychadelic’ effect, was said to be a result of the increasing visual cortex communication with the other areas of the brain. This was similar to the psilocybin or ‘magic mushroom’. There was also a reduce in blood flow, so the neurons that normally act together lost its synchronization. Some volunteers in the experiment said that they feel themselves ‘becoming less a singular entity and melded with people and things around them’. However, the ‘good’ effects are vary. Some reported effects include : flashbacks, euphoria, anxiety and paranoid. 

LSD is relatively safe when used in medical settings and according to safety guidelines. However in unsupervised settings LSD could causes harm to the users. Acute adverse effects up to 10–24 hours after LSD administration included difficulty concentrating, headache, dizziness, lack of appetite, dry mouth, nausea, imbalance, and feeling exhausted. Headaches and exhaustion may last up to 72 hours. In my friend’s case, he said he’s not feeling well for good three days afterwards.

A case report on 2015 wrote that the user of LSD experience feelings of ‘trapped’, increasing heart rate, hallucinations and the subject was driven to the point of attempted suicide. The LSD was ‘25I-NBOMe’ a hallucinogen synthesized for research purposes. It has even higher affinity in the receptor. Thus, the ffects are also stronger. Most common adverse reaction is an acute episode of anxiety or panic (“bad trip”) that resolves with reassurance and the use of benzodiazepines. This NBOMes also caused tachycardia, palpitations, clonus, pyrexia, elevated creatine kinase, severe agitation, delirium, tonic-clonic seizures, renal failure, fatal overdoses and traumatic deaths.

There isn’t any ‘directions’ on the drugs one get form the street. The risks of overdose are pretty high, because one cannot measure the dose alone. We also can never tell which one is the real LSD and which one is not, as well as when will we get the good or the bad ‘trip’. The NBOMes is one of the drugs that difficult to detect, due to the high potency and small dose ingested. In conclusion, when one wishes to get high or hallucinating using the ‘acid’ they get from the street, they must remember that (1) the careless way the maker might use to make it and (2) one should not use it alone without a sober ‘friend’ and last but not least (3) the narcotics law.

Further reading : 

Cormier, Z., 2016. Nature.com. [Online]

Available at: https://www.nature.com/news/brain-scans-reveal-how-lsd-affects-consciousness-1.19727 [Diakses 14 July 2019].

Liechti, M. E., 2017. Modern clinical research on LSD. Neuropsychopharmacology, XLII(11).

Suzuki, J., Poklis, J. L. & Poklis, A., 2015. My friend said it was good LSD : a suicide attempt following analytically confirmed 25l-NBOMe I

Gorilla Marijuana

Gorilla marijuana / gorilla 'tobaco' is one of the terms for synthetic marijuana sold in Indonesia. The news had shown a lot of people got caught due to this. What is gorilla marijuana? What makes it more 'special' than regular marijuana? Well, the name of 'gorilla marijuana' was given because the effect of this synthetic marijuana was like 'being squashed by gorilla'. People who do drug abuse often said that the drug is a lot better than regular marijuana, the effect is more severe. Because some articles mentioned that marijuana is actually less harmless than some substances, it msut be safe, no?

Well first of all, the therapeutic use of synthetic cannabinoid is inconclusive. We all have heard the medical use of marijuana. But first, I want to introduce the two receptor of cannabinoids in our body. Receptors are parts of our cells that accept chemical (such as active substance from drugs) and the binding between the two will lead to chain reactions that create the drug effect. There are two cannabinoid receptors in our body :

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The research goal is to find synthetic marijuana without the psychoactive effect, yet work well in modulating the immune cells (that binds more to CB2 receptors). Some research also seek for the therapeutic use of synthetic cannabinoid for nervous system disturbance such as Alzheimers or Dementia. The results, however, is still inconclusive and in need of further research.

The synthetic cannabinoid manufactured outside medical purposes, however ... are more potent and efficacious cannabinoid receptor agonists than THC plus they have additional ingredients such as preservatives, additives, fatty acids, amides, esters, benzodiazepines, and O-desmethyltramadol- an active metabolite of the opioid medication tramadol. The mixtures were used to mask the result of the drug examinations. 

Now, synthetic cannabinoid is different from the regular one because the effect is a lot more potent. Synthetic cannabinoid is not derived from cannabis, they're the full agonists at cannabinoid receptors with biologically active metabolites. Thus, the effect. Adverse effects including respiratory difficulties, hypertension, tachycardia (raise of heart rate), chest pain, muscle twitches, acute renal failure, anxiety, agitation, psychosis, suicidal ideation, and cognitive impairment. To put in summary : it is definitely not a recreational drug. 

In Indonesia, there was a report on a pilot of commercial airplane, who used this 'Gorilla tobacco' . Before the flight, the pilot was seen staggering during his walk accross the x ray. Passengers started to get panic when they heard he's slurring words from the cockpit. The worried, scared and angry passengers approached the cockpit. 

How bad was it? Well ... : 

During the x ray examination: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lxKlhzaR9w 

On the cockpit : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYRkdlDX0GY

The translation of the dialogue : 

People are trying to make him cancel the flight, but he's saying "No! I don't wanna get off this plane. You know me right? I'm just tired. I'm just woken up. I'm okay. Let's go!" 

He's obviously suspended after the incident. There are also a lot of case reports regarding the adverse effect of synthetic cannabinoid abuse. They are not 'just getting high' and could easily being laughed off *until someone gets hurt, that is. You can read the case report here, but some of the cases are : 

1. 13 years old girl who was found intermittently responsive and combative at her home after using synthetic marijuana called 'K2'. Her heart rate increases rapidly and after sedated at the hospital, her respiratory rate decreasing. She's finally being put in intubation to help her breathing.

2. 13 years old boy was found unresponsive in a park. At the hospital he required significant amounts of sedatives due to periods of agitation and combativeness. During his hospitalization the patient developed aspiration pneumonia, but could finally discharged. 

3. 40 years old woman admitted into the hospital with a seizure after using synthetic marijuana. The EKG (heart recording) showed increasing heart rate. The electroenchepalogram (brain wave recording), also showed unremarkable abnormality. She was put into sedated state and using intubation as well. 

4. 20 years old man admitted into the hospital waith hyperthermic (rise of body temperature), increasing heart rate and unconscoious with decorticate position. Laboratory analysis demonstrated significant rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure. Later, the clinical examination was consistent with anoxic brain injury. A brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan confirmed these findings. Care was eventually withdrawn due to the grim prognosis, and the patient died on HD seven.

There are still some case reports regarding the adverse use of synthetic cannabinoids. So please, do be careful in using new 'exciting' substance. Putting yourself in serious danger in order to be 'edgy' is not worth it. Many people survive drug abuse effects, but it's always like Russian roulette. You might survive, but next time you might not be so lucky. Also, people who 'make' these kind of drugs are getting more and more experimental, mixing various substances here and there in order to increasing the effect / masking the drug tests result / etc. when the adverse effect started to get too bad, the 'mixtures' might clash with the life-saving efforts in the hospital. 

Reference / Further Reading :  

1. Cohen K and Weinstein AM (2018) Synthetic and Non-synthetic Cannabinoid Drugs and Their Adverse Effects-A Review From Public Health Prospective. Front. Public Health 6:162. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00162. 

2. Katz et al (2016) Case Series of Synthetic Cannabinoid Intoxication from One Toxicology Center. West J Emerg Med 17 : 3. doi : 10.5811/westjem.2016.2.29519 

3. Mills et al (2015). Synthetic Cannabinoids. American Journal of Medical Sciences 350 : 1. doi :  https://doi.org/10.1097/MAJ.000000000000046

Autopsy of Jane Doe

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That night, the investigator from Semarang Police Department arrived at the mortuary. They delivered a human remain. They said, the deceased was found in an abandoned place. A body bag was put on the autopsy table. When we opened it, I couldn't help but took few deep breaths. The deceased was a very young girl, probably around her twenties, she had long straight hair, caramel-coloured skin and wearing a pair of pajamas. When we moved her from the bag, I could see bruises and abrasion wounds on her neck. Some of the wounds were crescent-shaped - one of the special characteristics of strangulation marks.

"We couldn't find any ID yet.", said one of the investigator, "There weren't any witnesses either."

"Well, the area where we found her was kind of vulnerable place.", another investigator said, "It was dark, far from crowded place."

I sighed. I looked at the deceased contorted face. She was obviously in a lot of pain and fear before her death. When we started the outer examination, besides the obvious wounds on her neck we also found signs of sexual assault. We cut some of her nails and took swabs from the genitalia area for DNA examination. As for the autopsy, we needed to find her identity so we could tell her family first.

I didn't know why, but I wanted the case to be solved so bad. Perhaps I made a mistake by feeling sympathetic towards the deceased. What happened to her was tragic. She was probably sexually assaulted and then strangled to death. I couldn't imagine the pain and the horror she felt seconds before she died. That was my mistake, I couldn't think objectively. I forgot that as forensic pathologist, we also got our limits in order to involved in a case.

For the past few days, I kept waiting for the news from the investigator. They haven't found her identity yet. Even after the autopsy finally conducted without any notification for the family of the deceased, I still didn't hear about her identity. During the autopsy, we found the thyroid and cricoid bone badly broken. Her stomach were empty. There were obvious signs of asphyxia such as darker and aqueous blood, petechiae all over some organs such as lungs and heart. We found small amount of urine in her bladder. It was negative for alcohol and other illegal drug test. The cause of death were blunt force injury on the neck, causing a blockade of airway passage that causes asphyxia.

The swab from the vaginal area showed spermatozoa and positive for PSA. That made me even more upset. She was raped and killed. I couldn't just let the perpetrator get away with it, could I? I thought that I needed to do something.

So for few days afterwards, I became obsessed with that case. I searched for announcements on missing person on internet. Even those outside Java island. I became frustrated when I couldn't find any missing person announcement with similar characteristics. It lasted for two months and I still did not find any clue let alone a result. According to the rule, the decased would be burried in cemetery for the unidentified.

Few days before the day of the burial, my husband (At that time, my fiance) visited his mother in Yogyakarta so I took the usual morning travel to meet him there. I talked to him about the case before.

"So there's still no clue, huh?" he asked.

"Yes. I didn't know where I went wrong!" I sighed in frustration, "I tried evey damn thing to find her and..."

"That's where you went wrong.", he interrupted.

"What do you mean?"

"You let your emotion blinded you. I don't know why you became so obsessed with this case, but you shouldn't be. Listen, we humans have our limits ... if we already tried anything within our limits and our competency but we didn't have the result the way we wanted it ... that's life! Accept it."

"We cannot save the whole world.", he told me, "So for the sake of your own, just let it go."

I couldn't argue back. He was right. Perhaps at some point, my emotion made me careless as well as arrogant. I think with the science I studied, I could save the whole world. I became frustrated, because I forgot that science was merely human's way to understand God's creation - despite the fact that some of those who study science might not have faith in Him.

At some point, I remember the story of The Prophet Khidr and Moses  my husband once told me. The story told how Prophet Moses was impatient when he was a lot of unjust deeds during his journey with Prophet Khidr. In the end, Prophet Khidr showed Prophet Moses that the unjust deeds were actually done under divine guidance of Allah SWT.

Such is the interpretation of those things over which thou wast unable to hold patience. 

With that, I finally tried to let go. As human, we have our limits. We were nothing but a speck of dust. If we couldn't understand something... it means that we might not understand it just yet, or we won't understand it.

During the day of the burial, I sent Al-Fatihah for the decased before the ambulance arrived. It was my second cold case. I probably would face another cold cased in the future ... but hopefully I could handle it wiser than I did before.

Because in the end, we were only humans.

What I Learned From Infanticide Cases

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Since I started working in forensic pathology on 2012, there are a lot of 'first time'-s that I could not forget. One of them is having my first infanticide case. According to Indonesian law, infanticide means "A mother who for the execution of a decision driven by fear of the discovery of her forthcoming confinement, takes the life of her chidl at or soon after its birth." The penalty is seven years in prison, and nine years in prison of it is proven that she has deliberate intent. Working in a big city such as Jakarta, had a remains of a baby delivered to the morgue is somehow common thing to happen. Most of them remained cold case, but some were discovered as well.

There is one discovered case that I would not forget. It was when I got a case of a baby boy, covered in batik cloths and the mother of the child had been caught. She was a student in health care related faculty, aged less than twenty years old and she took an 'abortion pill' she found at the internet. I got to examined both of them. The baby died due to asphyxia, there was a signs of smothering found and the mother admitted that she smothered her unwanted baby as soon as he was born by clamping her hands on his face. Police told me that she told her friend to bury the baby at public cemetery, but the administration office demands official letters (certificate of death from the hospital). They only got feeble excuse, so the administration got suspicious and reported them. 

When I met the mother, I realized that we known each other. She was one of my students when I got a teaching job. She didn't dare to look me in the eye, lowering her bloodshot eyes. She was obviously been crying a lot. I decided not to say anything unecessary, only explaining the procedure needed. The signs of the pregnancy and birth on her was obvious. How did she hide the pregnancy? She was a bit of a big girl, and she wore loose clothings. None of her friends suspect anything. When she told the guy who was responsible for her pregnancy (her boyfriend), he told some of his friends to find the abortion pill. Thus, the abortion happened.

I know that the constitution regarding reproduction health only allows abortion on some condition such as emergency situation that theratens the safety of the mother and rape that could cause trauma to the mother. And it could only be done of the age of the pregnancy was less than fourty days. Speaking about abortion outside that constitution would cause lengthy debate whether it should be legalized or not. I don't want to talk about pro life and pro choice ... but instead why do this kind of thing still happens? Why do I get at least three to four abortion / infanticide cases each months? 

The mother of the baby, for example ... she's studying in health care related faculty, already at the legal age to do consensual sexual intercourse, she knew the risks and consequences and yet ... this still happened. What happened to those who do not know about these things? I understand that for some people, sex education still considered taboo and somehow means 'teaching people to perform adultery', thus ... some people are afraid to discuss it. They prefer finding informations by themselves on the internet and believe me, there are tons of misleading informations on the internet. 

The mother of the baby told me, "I found the pill seller on social media. He guaranteed that it's safe. All I need to do is drink a couple and it will finished." 

he police show me the advertisement and I read the 'menstruation pills'. One of the testimonial terrifyingly said : I did not get my period on two months and felt bloated, but after I took a couple of these pills... I instatly got my period. It's like cleansing! Lots of blood and clotts. 

I need to take a couple of deep breaths after I read it, the abscence of menstruation could be caused by a lot of factors, pregnancy, hormones instability, nutrition issues, even malignancy on the reproduction organs. Second of all, taking pills to end pregnancy is not the same as constipation where we can just take mild laxative and problem solved! There are a lot of dangerous consequences regarding unsafe abortion. Massive bleeding, shock and infections were only some of the consequences. For example, if a woman takes a pill that causes contractions, even if there is a small part of the products left in her womb, the uterus will continue to do contractions as the body's response to alien objects, she could got shock due to the massive pain or bleeding. 

Third of all, the psychological impacts. Baby is different from having a tumor removed from our body. There's always attachment involved between the mother and the child. That's why the constitution regarding abortion also invloves 'psychological and spiritual guidance' during the abortion. If the psychological problems aren't treated properly, they could lead to mental illness. 

Those are some of the reasons why I think sex education is more than necessary these days. We need more than 'the bird and the bees' story nowadays. It should be given according to age and the risks. For example, teenagers should know about how to maintain reproduction health and body awareness. Older people (at the legal age) should know about safe sexual behavior, as well as consensual sexual intercourse and its consequences. Non-consensual sexual intercourse and statutory rape should be known by everyone and everyone should know where to seek help. The last thing we want is another thread in social media, about a victim of a date rape who is too afraid to seek help or another baby remains delivered to the forensic department, with their mothers somewhere dealing with the physical and psychological impacts.