Ergot: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Ergoline.png|right|thumb|The ergoline skeleton looks not entirely unlike a cock-n-balls.]]
[[File:Ergoline.png|right|thumb|The ergoline skeleton looks not entirely unlike a cock-n-balls.]]


Ergot is pronounced ur-git, '''not''' er-go. Highly toxic, it ought not be consumed. Properly modified, it has many uses, primarily due to fortuitous similarity between the ergoline skeleton and the monoamide neurotransmitters (e.g. serotonin, dopamine, adrenaline)...
Ergot is pronounced ur-git, '''not''' er-go. Highly toxic, it ought not be consumed. Properly modified, it has many uses, primarily due to fortuitous similarity between the ergoline skeleton and the monoamide neurotransmitters (e.g. serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline)...


Ergot alkaloids ergonovine and ergotamine (and their salts) are both original List I controlled precursors under the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act 1970 Controlled Substances Act]. Ergocristine was added to List I in 2010 (see the DEA's 2010-03 ''[https://www.erowid.org/library/periodicals/microgram/microgram_2010-03.pdf Microgram Journal]''). Derivatives lysergic acid and its amide ("ergine") are Schedule III controlled substances under the CSA, and ergine is a Class A precursor in the United Kingdom. Subsequent derivative lysergic acid diethylamide is an original Schedule I controlled substance, and its functional analogues (any chemical "substantially similar", as if that had any kind of precise meaning) are treated as Schedule I due to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Analogue_Act 1986 Federal Analogue Act]. Ergotamine, lysergic acid, and ergometrine (ergonovine) are all on Table I of the INCB Red List, and are thus EU Category 1 precursors. So there's clearly something worth knowing about ergot!
Ergot alkaloids ergonovine and ergotamine (and their salts) are both original List I controlled precursors under the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act 1970 Controlled Substances Act]. Ergocristine was added to List I in 2010 (see the DEA's 2010-03 ''[https://www.erowid.org/library/periodicals/microgram/microgram_2010-03.pdf Microgram Journal]''). Derivatives lysergic acid and its amide ("ergine") are Schedule III controlled substances under the CSA, and ergine is a Class A precursor in the United Kingdom. Subsequent derivative lysergic acid diethylamide is an original Schedule I controlled substance, and its functional analogues (any chemical "substantially similar", as if that had any kind of precise meaning) are treated as Schedule I due to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Analogue_Act 1986 Federal Analogue Act]. Ergotamine, lysergic acid, and ergometrine (ergonovine) are all on Table I of the INCB Red List, and are thus EU Category 1 precursors. So there's clearly something worth knowing about ergot!