1. Basic Drug Information

A Guide to Addiction Information Referral for Settlement Services Professionals

What is a drug?

A drug is any substance that has the capacity to alter the mood, state of mind, or state of being of the user (Youth and Drugs, 1991). Alcohol is considered a drug.

Types of drugs

Drugs classified according to their psychoactive effects are divided into three categories: stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens.

Stimulants elevate a person’s mood and eliminate or reduce fatigue by stimulating the central nervous system. Not all stimulants have the same effect: nicotine and caffeine have a much milder effect on the nervous system than cocaine. Examples of stimulants are caffeine, nicotine and cocaine.

Depressants have the opposite effect of stimulants. They slow down the body by depressing the central nervous system. In large quantities, depressants induce sleep, coma and even death. Some drugs within this category are more powerful than other ones: a glass of wine may relax a person; a dose of barbiturates will put a person to sleep. Combining two depressants has a much stronger effect and can be extremely dangerous. Examples of depressants are alcohol, sleeping pills, barbiturates and benzodiazepines.

Narcotics are often treated as a sub-category of depressants, although they have properties that set them apart from depressants. Narcotics are derived from the opium poppy and are sometimes called opiates. They alter a person’s pain perception so that, although pain is still present, the sensation is perceived differently. Morphine and codeine are two naturally derived narcotics. Heroin is a semi-synthetic narcotic, made in the laboratory by altering the molecular structure of morphine. Heroin is three times more potent than morphine with fewer side effects. Examples of narcotics are morphine, codeine, heroin, dilaudid and Demerol.

Hallucinogens cause the user to hallucinate - to see, hear or feel things that are not there - yet they do not cause serious disturbances in the nervous system. Examples are LSD and marijuana.

Inhalants have characteristics in common with both depressants and hallucinogens. They slow down the central nervous system and they produce hallucinations. The effects depend on the amount of drug absorbed. In small quantities, inhalants are relaxing and cause euphoria; in large amounts, they cause hallucinations. Inhalants cause more severe psychological and physical damage than other hallucinogens. The sense of euphoria may induce a person to feel invincible, which could lead to actions resulting in accidental or deliberate injury. Long-term use appears to result in brain damage.

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