2.5.9 Poppers

Poppers #

Common Nomenclature Alkyl Nitrites
Street & Reference Names TNT; Liquid Gold; Amyl; Rush
Reference Dosage Not Available
Anticipated: Onset / Duration 10 Seconds / 2 Minutes
Maximum Dose Experienced Not Known
Form / RoA Liquid (Vapour) / Inhaled
Source / Jurisdiction Retail / UK

SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE #

I can’t help feeling that I am scraping the barrel by including these. Are they even psychoactive?

Certainly, on inhaling I felt a rush: but it didn’t go anywhere. I also felt flushed, and warm, but not in a healthy sort of way. Then it passed, quickly. I was left wondering whether I had done something wrong.

I hadn’t.

Alkyl nitrites do not have a direct action upon the brain: they simply increase blood flow. Indeed, this is considered to be so “peripheral” by the UK government that poppers were specifically exempted from its psychoactive blanket ban.

Poppers tend to be used during sex, as they relax muscles in the vagina and anal sphincter. Some people also subjectively claim that the head rush can intensify or prolong orgasm, although this was the last thing on my mind during my experiment.

Finally, it is reported that the use of poppers can cause headaches and nausea, and that they should be avoided by anyone with pre-existing cardiac or circulatory problems. Also bear in mind that the fluid itself is can burn the skin, and is highly flammable.

This is not an experiment I am ever likely to repeat.