With any drug, risks and side effects depend on the dose. Most people are familiar with consuming an amount of alcohol that makes them feel relaxed and flushed. Ten times that amount would bring on hallucinations, and twenty times that amount could kill. When scopolamine is abused,* it’s with very much higher doses than the theraputic doses used to treat motion-sickness.

*Using drugs to induce hallucinations in other people without their knowledge may be a *weird* kind of drug abuse, but I still think it’s drug abuse.

I got a second chance to ride and NASA were out of Scope-Dex but had Dramamine. That worked almost as well, and a lot better than Bonine (because they shortly ran out of Dramamine too).

The James Town Weed (which resembles the Thorny Apple of Peru, and I take to be the plant so call’d) is supposed to be one of the greatest Coolers in our World. This being an early Plant, was gather’d very young for a for a boil’d Salad, by some of the soldiers sent thither, to pacify the troubles of Bacon; and some of them eat plentifully of it, the Effect of which was a very pleasant Comedy; for they turn’d natural Fools upon it for several days; One would blow up a Feather in the air; another would dart Straws at it with much Fury; and another stark naked was sitting up in a Corner, like a Monkey, grinning and making Mows at them; a Fourth would fondly kiss, and paw his Companions, and snear in their Faces, with a Countenance more antick, than any in a Dutch Droll. In this frantick Condition they were confined, lest they should in their Folly destroy themselves; though it was observed, that all their Actions were full of Innocence and good Nature. Indeed, they were not very cleanly; for they would have wallow’d in their own Excrements, if they had not been prevented. A Thousand such simple Tricks they play’d, and after Eleven Days, return’d to themselves again, not remembering any thing that had pass’d.

Scopolamines are specific to the Solanaceae, not the Daturas.

Their amnesia-inducing properties were a great cheat at the time that they were used to treat pain during labor. It wasn’t so much that the women didn’t feel pain; scopolamine is no great shakes as an analgesic. The trick was that they didn’t remember the pain afterward.

To avoid motion sickness, fix your eyes on the horizon, and center your chi.

“The process which causes the local phenomenon of necrotic arachnidism involves circulatory disturbances which result in ischemia, or lack of adequate blood flow in the affected tissues. Following venom injection, rapid coagulation of blood occurs in the smaller blood vessels of these tissues. This produces a centralized area which does not receive enough blood, and the area literally dies as a result of oxygen starvation. ”

http://www.srv.net/~dkv/hobospider/poison.html

If you get an infected lesion treatment with antibiotics often does not help as the venom continues to act over time on the small blood vessels around the wound restricting flow.

Scopolamine patches open the vessels and keep them open over time so that tissue necrosis is reduced and the body’s immune system response or antibiotics can reach the lesion.

Early reccomendations are to put a patch or doughnut cutout from a patch on as soon as the bite is identified. Apparently this can effectively reduce most of the subsequent necrotic effects.

“In medicine scopolamine has 3 primary uses: treatment of nausea and motion sickness, treatment of intestinal cramping, and for ophthalmic purposes.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopolamine

I remember that scopolamine used to be used to relieve pain in childbirth. The scopolamine gave amnesia, which is also why it’s used as a date rape drug.

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=12883

The fact that this is derived from datura is not surprising– I’ve read harrowing accounts of datura trips; it creates dangerously realistic hallucinations, and gives hangovers that last days (as well as being one of those drugs where it’s very easy to overdose).

Most common theme: huge time loss, major halucinations involving friends and disucssions, and the constant inability to keep track of one’s cigarette.

A few more like VBS and TV will be dead to me (yay!)

It is AMAZING the lengths that people will go to to avoid smoking marijuana.

Pot still is the Champion anti-nausea drug.

Bottom line: in heavy-G pullup period, stay still, don’t move your head, keep your eyes fixed on one spot, other things you can do to trick your physiology into not freaking out. It’s not the weightless parts that make you sick, it’s the heavy-g parts before or after.

I’ve flown zero g multiple times, and never used even over-the-counter drugs for motion sickness on those flights. I’ve had a few woozy moments, but never puked or had enough probs that the experience was unenjoyable.