Illegal drugs

Drugs are any chemical substances that effect a physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral change in an individual. Drug abuse is the use of any licit or illicit chemical substance that results in physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral impairment in an individual. Illegal drugs are drugs whose possession and/or use is forbidden by law (in most jurisdictions) due to their harmfulness and, usually, lack of therapeutic use. The most common illegal drugs are:

• Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is the common hemp plant, which provides hallucinogens with some sedative properties, and includes marijuana (pot, Acapulco gold, BC bud, brick weed, ditch weed, schwag, mids, nugs, dank, grass, reefer, boo, tea, gage, muggles, weed, ganja, griefa, lamb's bread, northern lights, blueberry, strawberry cough, Thai stick, Matanuska Thunder, sinsemilla), tetrahedrolcannabinol (THC, Marinol), hashish (hash), and hashish oil (hash oil). Although marijuana is illegal there are many groups researching its therapeutic properties and pain relieving properties for people with chronic pain or disease.

• Coca (mostly Erythroxylum coca) is a bush with leaves that contain the stimulant used to make cocaine. Coca is not to be confused with cocoa, which comes from cacao seeds and is used in making chocolate, cocoa, and cocoa butter.

• Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca bush.

• Hallucinogens are drugs that affect sensation, thinking, self-awareness, and emotion. Hallucinogens include tryptamine derivatives such as LSD (acid, blotter, sunshine, trip tickets, geltabs microdot), and others (psilocybin, psilocyn), , phenylethylamines -- amphetamine variants (MDA, STP, DOM, mescaline, MDMA (aka ecstasy, X), mescaline and peyote (mesc, buttons, cactus), dissociatives such as phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust, hog)& phencyclidine analogues (PCE, PCPy, TCP).

• Hashish is the resinous exudate of the cannabis or hemp plant (Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica).

• Heroin (junk, shit, Diamorph, dope, H, smack, H, horse) is diacetylmorphine, a semisynthetic derivative of morphine.

• Marijuana is the dried female flowers and/or leaves of the cannabis or hemp plant (Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica).

• Opium (Hop) is the brown, gummy exudate of the incised, unripe seedpod of the opium poppy.

• Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is a source of natural and semisynthetic narcotics.

• Poppy straw is the entire cut and dried opium poppy-plant material, other than the seeds. Opiates are extracted from poppy straw in commercial operations that produce drugs for medical use. Poppy straw is also brewed into a tea for medicinal or recreational use.

• Qat (kat, khat) is a stimulant from the buds or leaves of Catha edulis that is chewed or drunk as tea.

Legal (pharmaceutical) drugs are also often used for recreational (i.e., non-therapeutic) purposes. Such use is usually illegal. Drugs often illegally abused in this manner include:

• Some cough suppressants, mainly any formulation such as Robitussin or Delsym which contain dextromethorphan (DXM), are used in high doses to produce dissociative hallucinations, much like phencyclidine or ketamine. Lower doses are used to potentiate opiates, giving more bang for the buck from narcotics such as heroin or oxycodone. Althouth available over the counter in most states, frequent or long-term use of these high doses can lead to toxic psychosis.

• Depressants (sedatives) are drugs that reduce tension and anxiety and include chloral hydrate, barbiturates (Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal, phenobarbital), benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, Ativan), methaqualone (Quaalude or Mandrax), glutethimide (Doriden), and others (Equanil, Placidyl, Valmid).

• Narcotics are drugs that relieve pain, often induce sleep or a type of "euphoria," and refer to opium, opium derivatives, and synthetic substitutes. Natural narcotics include opium (paregoric, parepectolin), morphine (MS-Contin, Roxanol), codeine (Tylenol #3, Empirin with codeine), and thebaine. Semisynthetic narcotics include heroin (horse, smack), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid, dillies). Synthetic narcotics include meperidine or Pethidine (Demerol), hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone, oxymorphone, methadone (Dolophine, Methadose, Actiq), and others (Darvon, Oxycontin).

• Stimulants are drugs that relieve mild depression, increase energy and activity, and include cocaine (coke, snow, crack), amphetamines (Benzedrine, Dexedrine, Dexamyl, Desoxyn, Dexedrine), ephedrine, phenmetrazine (Preludin), methylphenidate (Ritalin), and others (Cylert, Sanorex, Tenuate).