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Chloroform

This article is a stubmissing:
Subjective Effects
Pharmacology
Interactions
Tolerance
History & Culture
Chloroform molecule structureChloroform molecule structure

Dosage & Duration

Duration

After Effects1-6 hours

Subjective Effects

Subjective Effects not written up yet

Pharmacology

Pharmacology not written up yet

Interactions

Interactions not written up yet

An unlisted combination is an unknown one, not a safe one. Check a dedicated combination chart before mixing.

Check TripSit

Tolerance

Tolerance not written up yet

Harm Potential

Addiction & Dependence

Psychological

Low

Classified as habit-forming, though limited documentation exists on psychological addiction patterns specific to chloroform use.

Toxicity

Cardiovascular

Chloroform has a pronounced tendency to cause fatal cardiac arrhythmias, a phenomenon analogous to 'sudden sniffer's death' that led to its abandonment as an anesthetic; this risk is present even at doses intended for anesthesia.

Hepatic

Chloroform exposure can cause severe hepatotoxicity including liver necrosis and degeneration; following anesthesia, patients have experienced jaundice, hyperthermia, and coma due to hepatic dysfunction.

Renal

Nephrotoxicity has been documented as a consequence of chloroform exposure.

Respiratory

Respiratory failure has occurred following chloroform-induced anesthesia and contributed to deaths during its historical use as an anesthetic.

Carcinogenicity
Possible

Chloroform is suspected of causing cancer and is classified as possibly carcinogenic (IARC Group 2B) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Evidence Basis
Animal Models
None

History & Culture

History & Culture not written up yet

Legality

By Country

Controlled / restricted1
United States flagUnited StatesRestricted

References

Citations

  1. 2025 Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Part 216 — Human Drug Compounding. govinfo.gov (n.d.). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2025-title21-vol4/xml/CFR-2025-title21-vol4-part216.xml1
  2. List of Drug Products That Have Been Withdrawn or Removed From the Market for Reasons of Safety or Effectiveness, 64 Fed. Reg. 10944. govinfo.gov (n.d.). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1999-03-08/pdf/FR-1999-03-08.pdf1
  3. Additions and Modifications to the List of Drug Products That Have Been Withdrawn or Removed From the Market for Reasons of Safety or Effectiveness, 81 Fed. Reg. 69668. federalregister.gov (n.d.). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/text/2016/10/07/2016-24333.txt1
  4. eCFR API version history for Title 21, Part 216. ecfr.gov (n.d.). https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/versions/title-21.json?part=2161

Article Status

  • Josie Kins avatar
    Step 1 · Automated synthesis

    An autonomous workflow built by Josie Kins compiled this article's foundation from information published across the web.

  • Step 2 · First-pass reviewPending

    Not yet reviewed: this article is pending editorial review by Lyrea.

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    No one has reviewed this article's citations yet. That second pass checks each claim against the source it cites.

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