He Tried to Create a "Legal High." Instead, He Gave Himself Parkinson's Disease

Barry Kidston had a dream, although not atypical of a young man of his stature. A Chemistry student at George Washington University, Barry hoped to create drugs that he could legally consume.

Creating a legal drug freed him of potential arrests and other legal repercussions. He never considered the possible health risks of his experimentation.

Barry planned to use a loophole in the law to develop designer drugs like Morphine legally.

But, exactly how did he plan to pull off his scheme?

A compound known as MPPP (desmethylprodine), a Demerol analog, had not yet been regulated under controlled substance laws. Barry planned to synthesize the legal compound to create a legal drug.

Improper Temperature Causes Horrific Disaster

Wearing his white coat and carrying determination to get high, Barry headed to the laboratory in 1976. It all started well, but soon took an unnoticed but devastating turn. Barry made a huge mistake in temperature control during the synthesis process. Without high enough temperatures, Barry synthesized MPTP, a toxic byproduct of MPPP.

MPTP looks harmless, so Barry likely did not realize his mistake until much later.

MPPP is a psychoactive; MPTP is not. MPTP crosses the blood-brain barrier and converts into MPP+, which destroys dopamine neurons in the brain, or those that help you move. Researchers learned later that MPP+ is the neurotoxin that mimics Parkinson’s disease, leading to remarkable breakthroughs in its treatment.

Kidston Experienced Parkinson’s Disease-like Symptoms

Within 24 hours of using his synthesized product, Kidston began to experience symptoms similar to those seen in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Medical professionals initially misdiagnosed his condition as catatonic psychosis. Within days, his symptoms had escalated to include muscle rigidity, tremors, memory loss, and others.

His health continued to deteriorate rapidly. Doctors eventually began treating him with L-Dopa, as only a handful of other neuroprotective therapies were available then. The treatment provided temporary relief, but his Parkinson’s disease continued to progress.

Kidston Dies From Overdose

In 1978, Kidston died from a cocaine overdose. Those closest to him suspect he intentionally overdosed as he had become distressed and overwhelmed with the constant pain and his deteriorating life.

Kidston’s Experiment Made an Impact on Science

Barry did not die in vain; his mistake went on to become a miracle for thousands of other people living with Parkinson’s disease.

NIH investigators learned what went wrong when they replicated Kidston’s synthesis process and identified MPTP as the cause. This information was used to understand Parkinson’s disease better, leading to major pathways in how researchers understand dopamine pathways and treat its symptoms.

MPT+ in Today's World

MPT is now listed as a neurotoxin that can induce Parkinson's Disease-like symptoms. It is known to cause severe and irreversible brain damage. Although banned under the Controlled Substances Act, it can act as a contaminant in illicit drugs.

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/07/19/tragedy-has-designer-label/04c2a0b0-c121-4728-b942-f0f9f3630b4f/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jun/16/designer-drugs-legal-highs

https://www.acsh.org/news/2017/01/12/frozen-addicts-garage-drugs-and-funky-brain-chemistry-10728

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