Re: Staying Awake Drug?

From: James Rogers (jamesr@best.com)
Date: Sat Dec 22 2001 - 21:14:07 MST


On 12/22/01 6:59 PM, "Max More" <max@maxmore.com> wrote:
>
> I've used Adrafinil, which I believe is pretty much the same thing. I
> really couldn't notice any effect. If there was one, it was minor.

Adrafinil is the only other drug in the same class as Modafinil ("eugorics"
I believe), and was actually a primitive version of Modafinil. Adrafinil
was cheap, but showed substantial liver toxicity and was poorly targeted in
the brain. Modafinil refined the initial breakthrough that was Adrafinil,
eliminating many of the undesirable side effects and more narrowly targeting
the desired effect.

I believe these are both readily available in many parts of Europe, though I
could be mistaken. They ARE scheduled in the U.S., so possession without a
rather narrow prescription is a crime.

 
>> In addition to its wakefulness-promoting effects and increased locomotor
>> activity in animals, in humans, PROVIGIL produces psychoactive and
>> euphoric effects, alterations in mood, perception, and thinking, and
>> feelings typical of other CNS stimulants.
>
> Unless Modafinil is much more effective than Adrafinil, this seems unlikely
> to me.

One of the hallmarks of eugorics is that the effect is largely unnoticeable.
This has made them unpopular in the recreational drug world. Several
western militaries have adopted modafinil, citing very good real world
performance and a lot of evidence suggesting far fewer long-term
consequences (e.g. brain damage) than the amphetamine type drugs previously
used. The basic operational subtlety from a military standpoint is that
amphetamines prevent sleep, whereas eugorics eliminate the need to sleep.
As I recall, one of the features that the military liked with modafinil was
that most people on it had the ability to sleep at will regardless of where
they were in their dosing cycle. This greatly aided in the use of unnatural
and irregular sleep schedules without significant reductions in performance.

This is all from memory, though, so I could be mistaken.

-James Rogers
 jamesr@best.com



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