Classification of Drugs

Drugs are classified based on legality and nature:

• Legality: Either legal or illegal.

• Nature: Drug specifications and effects.

The major classification in terms of nature includes:

Opiates/Narcotics/Painkillers

Opiates – derived from opium poppy.

Narcotics – produce sleep or stupor and relieve pain from the medical context. Legally a narcotic is any drug regulated under the dangerous drugs act and can only be obtained with a doctor’s prescription.

Painkillers – take away pain. They stop people from reacting to pain or emotional worries. Opium, Heroine, morphine, cocaine, synthetic, methadone, pethidine.

Sedatives/Depressants/Downers

Sedatives slow down the nervous system; they make people feel less anxious, more relaxed and cheer up a depressed mood. They also slow down physical reactions and causes sleepiness or unconsciousness. They include: Alcohol (beers, wines, spirits), sleeping pills (choral hydrates, barbiturates), Valium, and Librium, just to name a few.

Stimulants/uppers

They speed up body reactions making people more alert and less tired. They are often used recreationally but also with the objective of remaining alert or increasing concentration and courage. When in high doses they cause nervous anxiety and paranoia. Alcohol can be a stimulant if taken in slightly a larger amount; Cocaine, nicotine, caffeine ;Synthetics like Amphetamine, dexamphetamine.

Mind benders/Perception distorters/ Hallucinogens

They produce profound alterations in perception. Users may see, hear, or feel things that do not exist and may exhibit psychotic behavior. Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), phencyclidine (PCP), cannabis/marijuana (also a sedative)’ hashish

Volatile/Solvent/Inhalants/ Deliriants

They are known for causing mental confusion. Some authorities consider inhalants as depressants with hallucinogens qualities. However, in this article we classify them separately because of their ready availability and their varied scope (ranging from benign inhalants to highly dangerous ones); their sniff-able contents are the compounds released when the inhalants is brought into contact with the atmosphere. The include: Glue, kerosene, petroleum components, aerosols.

Steroids

Anabolic steroids foster the formation of living tissue. They can strengthen and increase muscular mass, which is why they are widely used as doping agents in sports; prominent and mediocre athletes use steroids to boost their strength and improve their performance. Bodybuilders also use anabolic steroids in order to shape their figure. For instance, coca leaf, betel, etc.

Effects of various Drugs

ALCOHOL

Mode of use: Drinking.

Short and Long term Effects: Hangovers, too much or too little sleep, memory loss, brain damage, lack of appetite, staggering, poor hygiene, inability to control finances, marital problems, black outs, unclear speech, poor health, and cant reason properly. Health problems e.g. liver cirrhosis, poor eye sight, loss of weight etc. Crime, imprisonment, family violence, violence child abuse, dysfunctional family. Spiritual deterioration, talks a lot or abnormally quiet, happy feelings followed by sadness, Hallucinations. Health risks e.g. STI’s etc., due to irresponsible sexual behavior, poor public relations, headache, employment problems, lack of sexual drive, and/or impotence.

BHANG

Mode of use: It’s smoked or ingested.

Short and Long term Effects: Confusion, brain damage, anxiety, Irritability, loss of employment; Increased/decreased appetite; Psychosis (raving mad when not used), vivid imaginations, hilarity, poor judgment, loss of memory, reflexes (muscle pulls) itching, and redness of the eyes and dilation of pupils; Change of perception of time and space, hallucinations, Impairment of coordination and in cognition (far things seemingly near and vice-versa), loss of inhibitions (extreme depression and vice versa); Reduced immunity, respiratory, motor and hormonal disorders, paranoid psychosis, slow and confused thinking, tachycardia, loss of energy in drive, conjunctivitis; Relaxation, drowsiness, Insanity, psychiatric; poor motor in coordination and/or death.

KHAT

Mode of use: Chewed

Short and Long term Effects: Confusion, decreased sexual drive, lack of appetite, lack of sleep, vivid imaginations, lack of concentration, mental alertness, depression, excitement, aggressive behavior, increased/decreased sexual drive; Gum disease, Irritability, palpitations (increased heart rate) (H.B.P.), migraine, low body temperature and/or toxic effects to liver.

TOBACCO

Mode of use: Sniffed/snorting, smoked, and/or ingested.

Short and Long term Effects: Bad odor, stained teeth, cancer – lungs, mouth, throat, breast; Pollution, lack of concentration, premature face wrinkles, deformed babies, still births, irritability, anxiety, restlessness, insufficient oxygen in the blood resulting in breathing difficulties, low mood, impotence and infertility, deformed sperms; Heart attacks, chest pains, strokes, cataracts, vascular constrictions, osteoporosis, weakened immune system, lower birth weight, spontaneous abortion, raspy voice, and/or dependence (addiction).

HEROIN

Mode of use: Smoked, snorted, sniffed, and/or injected.

Short and Long Term Effects: Running nose, yawning, sweating, agitated sleep, poor appetite, tremors, depression, pain in the joints, memory loss, impaired judgement, personality change, black outs (memory), mental cloudiness, emotional depression, weight loss, euphoria, slow and slurred speech; Severe weakness, anemia, dental cavities, risk of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, STIs, analgesia, dependence, acute withdrawal syndrome, nausea, vomiting, droopy eyelids, Impotence or infertility, insomnia, paranoia, propensity to infections, constipation, libido problems, death, sudden infant death syndrome(SIDS), spontaneous abortion and/or still birth.

COCAINE

Mode of use: Smoked, sniffed, injected, ingested, and/or snorted.

Short and Long term effects: Reduced tiredness, inhibited sexual desire, convulsions , stoke, heart failure, faster breathing, paranoid ideas, Increased hear rate, death, weight loss; Erratic & violent behavior, panic and paranoid psychosis, irritability, anxiety & false sense of greatness; Destruction of nose tissues, nasal septum perforation, respiratory problems, vascular risks, loss of sense of smell and ulceration of the mucus membrane; Hallucinations, reduced sleep and appetite, constipation, infectious diseases if injected, frequent infections due to lowered immunity; Excitement, talkativeness, sociable euphoria; High blood pressure, collapsed veins, dependence, and/or long periods of sleep followed by depression, insomnia.

AMPHETAMINES

Mode of use: Ingested as pills.

Short and Long term Effects: Mental sharpness, delirium, energetic, paranoid ideas, hallucinations, verbosity, sense of power & superiority, depression, aggressiveness, bizarre, erratic & violent behavior, dependency; Tachycardia, lack of appetite, digestive disorder, insomnia, restlessness, irritability, arrhythmia, lack of appetite, stroke, internal hemorrhage or heart failure, increased blood pressure, respiratory problems, disorientation, apathy, confusion, and/or convulsions/seizures.

ECSTASY

Mode of use: Ingested as pill.

Short and Long term Effects: Euphoria, depression, empathy, panic, tremors, anxiety crisis; Dehydration, arrhythmia, tachycardia, convulsions, hallucinations, liver failure, and/or vascular risks.

LSD

Mode of use: Ingested in various forms.

Short and Long term Effects: Mental sharpness, perception alterations, panic reactions, delirium, mental confusion, suicide ideation & attempts, death, verbosity, flashbacks, mysticism, euphoria, tachycardia, and/or poor motor coordination.

PSYCHO CHEMICALS

Mode of use: Ingested as pills.

Short and Long term effects: Anxiety, dependence, lack of inhibitions, insomnia, drowsiness, irritability, panic attacks, convulsive crises, risk of poisoning, and/or risk of coma.