Which of the following drugs may induce a psychosis that is easily confused with, or misdiagnosed as, paranoid schizophrenia?
a. Barbiturates
b. Heroin
c. Benzodiazepines
d. Amphetamines
e. Chlorpromazine
d. Amphetamines
(Hales, 3/e, p 402.) Amphetamine intoxication can result in a psychosis very closely resembling acute paranoid schizophrenia with symptoms including paranoid delusions and visual hallucinations. Some investigators feel that prominent visual hallucinations and a relative absence of thought disorder are more characteristic of amphetamine psy- chosis, but other investigators feel the symptoms are indistinguishable. Other drugs that produce psychoses similar to schizophrenia include phen- cyclidine (PCP) and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).