name this drug!

[Anonymous Coward]

In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (movie, not book), Duke and Gonzo occasionally indulge in a drug which is broken open and then inhaled. Any ideas/guesses what it is? My guess is pills, but why snort pills?

[Trucido]

I believe (from the book) that they were amyls. They snorted it because snorting works faster than ingestion. You did say movie and not book... but in the book they broke open amyls and snorted them at several points.

[douglips]

Ether is my guess. But then I don't know if amyl nitrate is a solid, liquid, or gas. From the book:

two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half-full of cocaine and a whole galaxy of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers.... A quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls

For other use/misuse of ether, see The Cider House Rules.

[Holly]

Black market Prozac is becoming popular: open the capsule and snort the powder. Supposedly, it gives a high similar to cocaine. The capsules are whitish-beige on one end and medium-green on the other.

Warning to the intellectually impaired: don't try this at home.

[Amazing Magic-Gro Monster]

The items in question were Amyl Nitrate cylanders. A short-term euphoric, kind of like nitrus oxide with a stimulent effect too.

HST wrote a whole article about the days when they were available as an over-the-counter athsma aid and how he'd crack the cylanders open like nuts, ingesting the drug-soaked wad of cotton inside with his morning coffee.

[yabob]

Originally posted by Amazing Magic-Gro Monster
The items in question were Amyl Nitrate cylanders. A short-term euphoric, kind of like nitrus oxide with a stimulent effect too.

HST wrote a whole article about the days when they were available as an over-the-counter athsma aid and how he'd crack the cylanders open like nuts, ingesting the drug-soaked wad of cotton inside with his morning coffee.

Slight correction - yes, amyl nitrate ampules were what the OP is referring to in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". They were originally intended as a treatment for angina.

The OTC asthma aid you are referring to with the soaked cotton wad is a benzedrine inhaler. Yes, they used to be heavily abused as well, which is why they quite allowing the drug OTC.

[Hafnium72]

"But then I don't know if amyl nitrate is a solid, liquid, or gas."

Amyl nitrate is a high volatile liquid, which easily evaporates at ambient temperature. Although sometimes prescribed to relief angina pectoris and as antidote for acute cyanide poisoning, it is mostly employed as recreational drug ("popper"). When sniffed, the effect is immediate (dizziness, alterations in the perception). Drinking the liquid would be a real bad idea - it would cause a violent and immediate irritation (or even ulceration )of the mouth and esophagus. Also, since it causes muscular relaxation it is also popular in some sexual activities (use your imagination). "Side effects" include fainting and increase of ocular pressure - which is specially dangerous for people with glaucoma. Long-term exposure can lead to nausea, breathing problems and mental alterations. There are several deaths attributed both from acute and chronic exposure to amyl nitrite and its similars (butyl nitrite, etc).

[gwar]

Pills are broken up and snorted all the time.

I tried snorting No-Doz before a test, but it was a horrifying experience. I don't recommend it.