altitude effects on medication

[johnnyd]

I didn't want to hijack the "flying high" thread so I started this one.
Does anyone know if the effects of medications are increased with altitude? What about the effects of marijuana ?
I know that it works on alcohol...(the higher you go, the higher you get.)

[robert l]

When Nixon was president there was a big study on pot, they did test on monkeys and human volunteers. Imagine, getting paid by the government to stay stoned. No evidence was found to show that it was harmful, (of course, science has come a long way since then) so the Nixon administration held back the results for several years.
Bob

[1600vw]

Yes altitude has an effect on any medication or alcohol. When living at an altitude of 10,000 feet if I drank two beers it was like drinking a 6 pack or more. It has to do with less oxygen to blood or some crap. Someone here can give a more technical answer then I. That is in more "lay-man's" terms or answer. Also why you do not drink so many hours before climbing into the pilots seat. You may feel totally fine when standing on the ground, then once in the air all of a sudden you are now drunk or have that feeling of being drunk again. Because you are.

Fly smart and safety follows. My Motto.

Tony

[1600vw]

You know after posting this I am not so sure about medications. Good question. When I became ill I was living at 10,000. I then moved back to 600'. My meds did not change and their effect on me did not change that I was aware of anyway. I would like someone who actually knows the answer to this question to answer this. Very good question.

It does seem to me when I heard people talk about smoking marijuana up at that altitude they said its effect was greater then when at lower altitude.

Tony