Misusing Volatile Substances for Their Hallucinatory Effects: A Qualitative Pilot Study With Mexican Teenagers and a Pharmacological Discussion of Their Hallucinations

Abstract

This work describes the solvent-induced hallucinatory experiences of 10 male and seven female teenagers in Mexico City from 1998 to . The youth were recruited from public schools through a combined snowball and convenience sampling procedure. Inclusion criteria were: 13–18 years of age, school attendance, living with family, and weekly toluene-based solvent misuse. Interested students were interviewed and transcripts were analyzed. Hallucinations and illusions were common, including changes in color perception, visual, somatic, auditory, and tactile hallucinations. Some users described their hallucinatory experience as being able to be shared by a group and modulated by their environment. The pharmacological linkages with hallucinations are discussed. The study's limitations are noted.

Keywords :

• inhalants
• solvents
• toluene
• hallucinations
• illusions
• students
• adolescents

THE AUTHORS

Silvia L. Cruz, Ph.D., received her Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology from Cinvestav, Mexico, in 1990, and spent a year as an NIDA/INVEST Fellow at the Medical College of Virginia, VCU. She has served as a Graduate Program Coordinator and Chairman of the Department of Pharmacobiology at Cinvestav, where she is currently a Professor. She has published over 45 research papers, 15 book chapters, and two books in the areas of drug addiction and psychopharmacology. Her main area of interest is the study of the mechanisms of action of opioids and inhalants.

Mario Domínguez, Ph.D., is a Sociologist and full-time Researcher in the Mexican Institute on Psychiatry where he served as Head of the Department of Social Researchers on Health from 2004 to 2008. He has taught in a Diploma program about addictions and published over 13 papers and book chapters. His main area of interest is the relationship between sociocultural variables and drug use among youth.