Dragon's Blood incense: misbranded as a drug of abuse?

An unknown red substance was being sold and used with other drugs of abuse in Virginia (often being used in conjunction with marihuana). The red subst ance was identified as Dragon's Blood incense from Daemonorops draco. In bi oassays, Dragon's Blood incense exhibited a low, but measurable cytotoxicit y in in vitro cell lines. Dragon's Blood incense or Volatilized Dragon's Bl ood had no adverse effect on mouse motor performance based on the inclined screen and rotorod tests. Delta (9)-Tetrahydrocannibinol (THC) produced a d ose-related decline in mouse performance on the rotorod test. The combinati on of Dragon's Blood incense or Volatilized Dragon's Blood with Delta (9)-T HC did not contribute further to the impairment of the mice on the rotorod. This data suggests that the abuse potential for Dragon's Blood incense alo ne or in combination with marihuana is minimal. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science I reland Ltd. All rights reserved.