Comments | little_details: Does a drug like this exist?

amitywall in little_details

Does a drug like this exist?

Jan 18, 2013 11:59

My current project is set in a slightly advanced Victorian era with steampunk technology. One of the main characters was a drug addict who had recently escaped from an asylum, and for that I needed a new drug. So I created lethe ( Read more... )

~victorian era, ~medicine: drugs, ~recreational drugs, ~medicine: poisoning, ~medicine: historical

Comments 14

ffutures January 20 2013, 10:07:53 UTC

See Kipling's story "In The Same Boat" (1911)

http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/8321/

This has a fictional drug called Najdolene that might fit your needs. Real drugs around at the time include laudanum (dilute opium in alcohol), cocaine (used medicinally and recreationally by Sherlock Holmes etc.), codeine, morphine and heroin (1874)

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brujaoscura January 20 2013, 14:13:37 UTC

Many people familiar with Robert Heinlien stories will recognize the name but not the effects. In his stories- Lethe is a drug used to heal- each pain is a separate individual thing, and leaving no memory of the pain. It has no ill side effects except for some memory loss. Read "The Cat That Walks Through Walls" to get an idea of what it does.

charlycrash January 20 2013, 16:39:41 UTC

Sounds a bit like some of the more hardcore benzodiazapines up to a point.

Actually, looking at it again, you're more or less describing plain ol' alcoholism. Of course booze isn't that addictive, but its effects are similar to that described, and alcohol withdrawal is seriously nasty.

philippos42 January 20 2013, 17:16:20 UTC

Maybe a hypnotic drug?

It sounds a lot like "anti-anxiety" drugs that are actually prescribed. I don't know if Valium can do what you describe or not, but opiates probably can.

rosefox January 21 2013, 02:33:23 UTC

I've taken Valium and it very definitely is not like that. Opioids are your best bet.

anonymous January 21 2013, 08:10:54 UTC

As far as effects, I would also suggest ketamine or something similar. You can get it in liquid and powder form, and it can be snorted, injected, or ingested. It will definitely produce a cam forgetful feeling at lower doses, but sedation or serious side effects (e.g K hole) if too much is taken. It's a dissociative so it can also cause weird effects in different people. Loss of inhibition (confidence?) would fit there. It can also cause hallucinations, and I'm not entirely sure on this part, but I think the hallucinations are usually visual and much more common at higher doses or in a dark room. It's used medicinally in humans and animals as a sedative, analgesic, and anesthetic ( ... )