# Strychnine **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2000, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strychnine/18555 "2000-05-04T14:56:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f17d59/32.png) [@kaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaos)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2000, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strychnine/18555/1 "2000-05-04T14:56:59Z")
Hey everyone, i am dong a research project for school on the drug Strychnine and it’s uses in the world of sports. I need a breif description of the drug, how it is used, the benefits of this drug, the symptoms of this drug, the side effects or associated problems with this drug, and possible treatments. I know that I am supposed to be doing this project but you guys on here have served me so well with my inquiries. If you don’t want to answer, i understand, but if you did, it would be greatly appreciated. thanx ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2000, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strychnine/18555/2 "2000-05-04T20:11:21Z")
I’ve used strychnine to kill several athletes, but I don’t think that’s what your looking for. And, honestly, I like hemlock better. It’s got a minty freshness that no other poison can compare to. ---
**Author:** ![Nurlman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Nurlman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurlman)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2000, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strychnine/18555/3 "2000-05-04T20:14:50Z")
Heck, this one’s about to drop off page one with nary a response. That’s what you get for not asking a question about sex or food. Britanica.com has this entry on strychnine: > [@](#): > > **strychnine** : a poisonous alkaloid that is obtained from seeds of the nux vomica tree (S. nux-vomica) and related plants of the genus Strychnos. . . > > Strychnine has been used in rodent poisons and in smaller doses as a stimulant in veterinary practice. It increases the reflex irritability of the spinal cord, which results in a loss of normal inhibition of the body’s motor cells, causing severe contractions of the muscles; arching of the back is a common symptom of poisoning. Strychnine rapidly enters the blood, whether taken orally or by injection, and symptoms of poisoning usually appear within 20 minutes. The symptoms begin with cramps and soon culminate in powerful and agonizing convulsions that > subside after a minute but recur at a touch, a noise, or some other minor stimulus. Death is usually due to asphyxiation resulting from continuous spasms of the respiratory muscles. I can’t really imagine how strychnine can have much use in the world of sports, but with all the weird shit that football players put in their bodies, who knows? Beyond that, Bubba, you’re on your own. I’m sure there is other information on the web about this, and since you’re in school, it wouldn’t hurt to **do your own research**. ---
**Author:** ![Xenopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/49beb7/32.png) [@Xenopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xenopus)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2000, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strychnine/18555/4 "2000-05-04T22:51:33Z")
Strychnine is used in small doses to turn off inhibitory neuronal control in the pyramidal tracts in the brain. In short . . . There are a group of neurons in the body whose responsibility is to downplay the incoming signals to the brain. For exapmle, you do not usually “feel” your wristwatch, but when the clasp breaks, you become instantly aware of it. This is because a set of neurons is giving off inhibitory signals to kind of slow the general input of sensory information into the brain. It would only confuse you if you continually felt like you were wearing a watch, but if you became numbed to it, you would never feel it falling off. It just so happens that these nerves that “inhibit” neural activity are exquisitely sensitive to strychnine. When you get a small dose of strychnine, the inhbitory effects of these neurons are lessened. This leads to both an increase in musclular contraction, but also a large increase in extraneous information making it into the brain. In the good old days, LSD was “laced” with strychnine. This wasn’t because your local drug dealer wanted to injure you, but strychnine enhances many effects of hallucinogenic drugs. LSD “short circuits” the correct pathways that are used for interpretation of the senses. When strychnine is present, there is a huge increase in the information coming in from the senses. Strychnine has a large potentiating effect on almost all hallucinogens and psychoactive compounds. Therefore a small hit of acid boosted with strychnine gives the same basic effect as a large hit of acid. Therefore the dealer could cut his pure LSD with strychnine and increase his profits while still maintaining the potency of his material. Nowdays, good strychnine is harder to get than decent acid, so you never see the two combined anymore. I believe that this is entirely due to the fact that the old acid cookers had PhD’d in chemistry, and new some of the pharmacology behind their cooking, while the new batch of freakoids never got out of high school. As for strychnine’s effects on athletes, it also has to do with the lessening of the activity of the inhibitory tracts of the brain. It is a “bass-ackwards” stimulant: it doesn’t perk you up per se, but suppresses the body’s way of calming down. Therefore it also enhances the effects of any true stimulant you took with it. Like Emo Phillips used to say, I always thought that my brain was my most important organ until I realized who was telling me that. ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2000, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strychnine/18555/5 "2000-05-08T12:56:06Z")
[sings] Some folks like water, some folks like wine, But I like the taste of straight strychnine