in coffee and tea, and for nicotine in tobacco—that the poison quali-
ties of cocaine confer protection on the plant from being consumed
by insects and other leaf-munching predators. Just as cocaine can
produce an overstimulation of the human nervous system, it can also
produce aversive overstimulation of nervous systems in insects.
Amphetamine-type stimulant drugs. Related to cocaine by their effects
on the nervous system and behavioral attributes, although not at all
related to cocaine in origin or molecular structure, are amphetamine
and several of its chemical relatives.
NH> HN ~ |Or on” ou
Ampheiamine Methamphetamine tH
OH - 0
HN NH>
MethylphenidateEphedrine CathinoneThe structures of these molecules are similar to one another. Amphet-
amine (commercial brand names include Dexedrine and Adderall),
methamphetamine (Desoxyn) and methylphenidate (Ritalin), are syn-
thetic pharmaceutical drugs and, in the case of methamphetamine,
illicit street “speed.” Ephedrine is present in many plants of the genus
Ephedra, found worldwide. Cathinone comes from the khat plant,
Catha edulis, native to a region of northeastern Africa, including
Ethiopia and Somalia and, across the Red Sea, Yemen.
The primary identified neurochemical action of amphetamine and
related molecules is at synapses using norepinephrine or dopamine