Types of Psychoactive Drugs

12 Key excerpts on "Types of Psychoactive Drugs"

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  Adolescents and Substance Use

  • Philip James, Catriona Kearns, Ann Campbell, Bobby nP. Smyth(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  33 CHAPTER 3 An overview of substances used by adolescents INTRODUCTION Many psychoactive substances are accessible to teenagers today. Alcohol, illegal drugs, illicitly obtained prescribed drugs, and so-called ‘head shop’ products are readily used. In order to effectively educate and support teenagers, practi-tioners need a working knowledge of these substances and their effects. This chapter will define and classify various drugs used by teenagers. These drugs will be explored in terms of their effects, risks and prevalence. WHAT IS A PSYCHOACTIVE DRUG? Psychoactive drugs are substances that change the user’s consciousness, mood or cognitive processes. 1 Essentially, drugs act on areas of the brain that regulate a person’s mood, thoughts and motivations. Psychoactive drugs can be legal or illegal and can be used for medical, recreational and spiritual reasons. Classification of psychoactive drugs Psychoactive drugs can be classified in a number of ways. Perhaps the sim-plest way is to consider their effect. Notably, some drugs, such as cannabis, have properties that are evident in more than one category. Later in this chap-ter, we will examine the most commonly used depressants, stimulants and hallucinogens. 34 ADOLESCENTS AND SUBSTANCE USE BOX 3.1 Central nervous system depressants Central nervous system (CNS) depressants are drugs with a sedating effect. The physiological effect is one of slowing down, bringing on drowsiness or putting the user to sleep. Alcohol and cannabis are commonly used depressant drugs. BOX 3.2 Central nervous system stimulants Stimulants do exactly what they say, they stimulate the CNS. Adolescents who use them experience a sense of speeding up, high energy levels and elevated alertness. Cocaine is an example of a CNS stimulant. BOX 3.3 Hallucinogens Hallucinogens alter the perceptions of the user.

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  Key Concepts in Drugs and Society

  • Ross Coomber, Karen McElrath, Fiona Measham, Karenza Moore, SAGE Publications Ltd(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  non-medical use of drugs, criminalising the possession and trafficking (supply, intent to supply, import/export, production) of controlled drugs. These drugs are classified into classes A-C in accordance with perceived levels of harm, and schedules 1–5 in accordance with ease of access. Other jurisdictions have similar classification systems. Recently these classifications have been subject to dispute (Nutt et al., 2010), raising concerns about the relative arbitrariness of such supposedly ‘objective’ measures of harm which form the basis for legal classification of ‘drugs’.

  PHYSICAL/PSYCHOACTIVE DEFINITIONS OF DRUGS

  Second, in terms of defining drugs by their attributed physical or psychoactive effects, there are four broad pharmacological categories of drugs:  

  1. Stimulants (‘uppers’) are drugs that speed up the central nervous system, make the user feel more alert and energetic, causing people to stay awake for long periods of time, decrease appetite and make the user feel euphoric. For example, cocaine, amphetamines, nicotine, caffeine.
  2. Depressants (‘downers’) are drugs that slow down the functions of the central nervous system and make the user less aware of the events around them. For example, alcohol, opiates (painkillers, for example, opium, morphine, heroin, codeine, methadone, Demerol, Percodan), sedatives/hypnotics (for example, barbiturates, such as Seconal, sleeping medications, tranquilisers such as Valium, Librium and diazepam).
  3. Hallucinogens (psychedelics) are drugs that distort the senses and one’s awareness or perception of people and events, possibly resulting in hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that do not exist). For example, LSD, PCP (angel dust), mescaline (buttons), psilocin (contained in ‘magic’ mushrooms).
  4. Deliriants

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  Adult Psychological Problems

  An Introduction

  • Lorna Champion, Michael Power(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  There is a vast range of psychoactive drugs which can be used to excess, some illicit but many legal. The effects they produce vary, and the consequences of heavy sustained use differ, depending partly on the particular drug and partly on personal characteristics of the drug user. Some people, for example, become intoxicated with much smaller amounts of alcohol than others, and this is influenced by their sex, their body mass, their recent daily intake of alcohol, and so on. Likewise, the likelihood that someone will turn to crime to finance their drug use will be affected by factors such as opportunities for legal employment and their personal moral code. Drugs can nevertheless be classified according to the psychoactive effects which they produce through their action on the central nervous system (the CNS, which includes the brain), and one such classification system is described in the following section.

  GENERAL CLASSES OF PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

  The Royal College of Psychiatrists (1987) has listed five main categories of psychoactive drugs which are frequently misused: opiates, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and minor tranquillisers. Examples of drugs falling into each category, with details of their main effects are as follows.

  The opiates

  These include natural extracts from the opium poppy (e.g. morphine, codeine), drugs derived from these via some chemical modification (e.g. heroin), and a range of synthetic compounds which have similar chemical structures (e.g. methadone, dihydrocodeine). Opiates are medically prescribed for pain relief, but also tend to produce pleasant mood states, and in some cases a transient euphoric “high” or “rush”, which occurs shortly after drug ingestion. They are capable of inducing tolerance and physical dependence, and the withdrawal syndrome includes severe ‘flu-like symptoms such as sweating, shaking, weakness, runny eyes and nose, aching, and nausea. As yet no permanent medical consequences have been directly associated with opiate use, though, as discussed later, lack of care in the way the drugs are used may lead indirectly to numerous health hazards.

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  Essentials of Clinical Psychology

  An Indian Perspective

  • S. K. Mangal, Shubhra Mangal(Authors)
  • 2023(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  In looking into the list of disorders classified as substance-related addictive disorders, given earlier, we see that each of these disorders is related to the abuse of one or the other types of psychoactive substances. Depending upon the nature of their effects, these psychoactive substances may, then, be classified as (A) Depressants or Sedatives, (B) Stimulants, and (C) Deliriant or mind-blowing drugs. Let us know about them.

  A. Depressants or Sedatives

  The substances included in this category are termed depressants or sedatives on account of their characteristics of exercising an inhibiting effect on one’s central nervous system that results in diminishing the responses of the brain and nervous system and slowing down the individual’s activities. As a result, these are used to relieve anxiety, stress or pain, as well as induce sleep. However, their abuse turns into a variety of problems, including one or the other types of substance-related addictive disorders. Among the psychoactive substances included in this category, alcohol is the most consumed and abused substance all over the globe. The others include the drugs classified as Opioids and Sedative-Hypnotic drugs.

  • Alcohol: More specifically termed ethyl alcohol or ethanol, alcohol is a psychoactive substance that is produced by the fermentation of sugars, usually in agricultural products such as fruits, cereals, and vegetables, with or without subsequent distillation. As a depressant it has an inhibiting effect on one’s central nervous system, allowing the individual to relax in moments of tension and stress. It is this relaxed feeling that draws an individual to take alcoholic beverages. However, on account of the intoxicating effects, one is forced to take more and more doses for experiencing the same pleasure-giving effect, and is thus caught in the vicious cycle of falling victim to the ill consequences of alcohol abuse. The ill consequences of alcohol abuse result in the following types of impairment and damage:
    • In terms of physiological damage, almost every tissue and organ of the body and its functioning is adversely affected by alcohol abuse, including the immune system of the body, making one an easy victim of diseases.
    • In terms of psychological and behavioral functioning damage, alcohol abuse may cause: (i) severe deterioration in the thought processes and damage to intellectual functioning, to the extent of leading an individual to “black out” causing an inability to remember what he said or did, (ii) a quite significant deterioration in motor coordination, balance, speech, sensation and perception, (iii) deterioration in sex behavior in the form of sexual incapacity or impotence, and indulgence in sexual deviations and sex crimes, (iii) severe personality or character disorders to the extent of terming one a criminal and antisocial personality, (iv) making one victim of a number of neurological and psychotic disorders (brain syndromes) such as pathological intoxication, delirium tremens, alcoholic hallucinosis, alcoholic deterioration, and Korsakoff syndrome.

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  Psychology

  Modules for Active Learning

  • Dennis Coon, John Mitterer, Tanya Martini, , Dennis Coon, John Mitterer, Tanya Martini, (Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  211 MODULE 25 Consciousness Psychoactive Drugs Many artists, writers, and musicians have celebrated the use of psy-choactive drugs. Others have attributed their creativity to drug- induced experiences. Here, the artist depicts visual experiences he had while under the influence of LSD. Unfortunately, positive images and songs about drug use obscure another, darker reality. Prescription drugs that can ease pain, induce sleep, or end depression also have a high potential for abuse. So do freely available legal drugs, such as nicotine and alcohol. Add to the mix the destruction wrought by illicit drugs, and it’s little wonder that so many lives are damaged by drug abuse. This module provides an overview of commonly abused psychoactive substances. Learning Outcome 25.1 Explain the action of a psychoac-tive drug, distinguish between recreational and instrumental drug use, and outline three reasons for drug abuse One common way to alter human consciousness is to administer a psychoactive drug— a substance capable of altering attention, emotion, judgment, memory, time sense, self-control, or perception. In fact, most Americans regularly use consciousness-altering drugs (don’t forget, caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine are mildly psychoactive). Many psychoactive drugs can be placed on a scale ranging from stimulation to depression ( ➤ Figure 25.1 ). A stimu-lant , or upper , is a substance that increases activity in the body and nervous system.

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  Drug Use and Abuse

  A Comprehensive Introduction

  • Howard Abadinsky(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  Those views shaped society’s responses to drug abuse, treating it as a moral failing rather than a health problem which led to an emphasis on punitive rather than preventive and therapeutic actions. Today, thanks to sci-ence, our views and our responses to drug abuse have changed dramatically. Groundbreak-ing discoveries about the brain have revolutionized our understanding of drug addiction, enabling us to respond effectively to the problem” (Volkow 2007: 10). Distinctions between the biology, sociology, and psychology of drug use are quite arti-ficial (Peele 1985). Thus, for example, brain structure is largely inherited, drug abuse runs in families, and persons with certain brain abnormalities render them vulnerable to drug dependence. However, a study (Ersche et al. 2012) of fifty siblings with the same brain- vulnerable abnormality revealed that half did not use drugs. Although the explanatory value of each by itself is limited, the interaction of these three dimensions can provide an explanation for drug use. Their separation into different chapters is therefore for peda-gogical rather than for scientific purposes. (The biology of drug use also has important treatment and policy implications—topics of subsequent chapters.) In this chapter, we will examine how psychoactive drugs affect the central nervous system (CNS), sometimes referred to as psychopharmacology. In subsequent chapters, we will apply this information to specific drugs. PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES AND THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM The body consists of cells organized into tissues, and specialized cells along the surface of the body receive information about the environment that is translated into electrochemical signals that we experience as sight, sound, smell, and touch. Information from the internal and external environment—collectively known as stimuli —is received by the CNS, consist-ing of the brain and the complex wiring surrounding the spinal cord.

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  Drugs and the Future

  Brain Science, Addiction and Society

  • David J. Nutt, Trevor W. Robbins, Gerald V. Stimson, Martin Ince, Andrew Jackson(Authors)
  • 2006(Publication Date)
  • Academic Press

    (Publisher)

  Internationally, the response to these trends has been diverse and variable accord- ing to the substance. Some increased con- trols have been developed related to tobacco use but not for alcohol. Instead, the avail- ability and relative cheapness of alcoholic drinks has increased, combined with youth 174 PHARMACOLOGY AND TREATMENTS marketing (Room, 2005; McKeganey, 2005). For illicit drugs, the UK has until the recent formation of the National Treatment Agency and the Drugs Intervention Programme, focused on reduction of supply as the main means of reducing prevalence, with changes in criminal law enforcement – this is now accompanied by an increasing focus on prob- lematic illicit drug use as a health issue (Room, 2005). Meanwhile, advances in pharmacology have expanded the drug treatments avail- able for substance use disorders (Lingford- Hughes et al., 2004), including development of partial agonists (eg buprenorphine) and long-acting formulations of known drugs (eg naltrexone). Now, a realisation that treat- ments developed to target one problem drug may ‘cross over’ to prove beneficial for other drugs offers new possibilities for treatments. Already, a recognition exists of the poten- tial for tailoring treatments to subgroups and individuals (eg for levels of dependency). 3.1 Psychopharmacology Psychoactive drugs are known to act through different brain neurotransmitter sys- tems (Figure 6.3). Currently, at least eight neurotransmit- ter systems are definitely implicated in drug actions, but the importance of monoamines, FIGURE 6.3 State of scientific understanding on neurotransmitter targets for psychoactive substances. Examples are given of prototype drugs that act via each known neurotransmitter system, though most psychoactive substances are likely to act via more than one system (eg alcohol acts via GABA, glutamate, and many other systems).

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  Drug Abuse in the Modern World

  A Perspective for the Eighties

  • Gabriel G. Nahas, Henry Clay Frick, Gabriel G. Nahas, Henry Clay Frick(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Pergamon

    (Publisher)

  ADDICTIVE DRUGS AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGI CAL TQXl CITY The effects of addictive drugs on the brain neurotransmitters and specialized functions of the limbic structure produce neuropsychological anomalies, which result in behavior alterations. These are numerous and different according to the drug. They include: Alteration of arousal and awareness increased (psychostimulant) decreased (opiates, psychodepressants) Impairment of normal steep, EEG patterns sleepi ness i nsomn î a Impairment of psychomotor performance Opiate, psychodepressants, cannabis Motor incoordination, tremor (alcohol) Impairment in memory and learning Distortion of sensory preceptions (hallucinogens) The manifestation of these symptoms are related to the respective biochemical changes induced by the drug at the neuronal or structural level of the brain. Some drugs which are addictive, such as nicotine or caffeine (in moderate amount) and alcohol (in small amount) do not produce any measurable symptoms of neuro-psycholog i cal toxicity. Some pharmacologists have associated these symptoms of neuropsychological tox-icity with behavioral toxicity, which include in addition: suppression of normal anxiety reduction in motivation ηοη-purposîve or inappropriate behavior However, the later behavioral symptoms do not present markers which may be measurable in societies accepting as normal a wide range of life styles. DRUG ABUSE IN THE MODERN WORLD 17 THE PRIMARY PLEASURABLE REWARD OF ADD!CTIVE DRUGS When addictive drugs are not consumed for medical purpose but for their immediate euphoriant and calming effect on the brain, they become drugs of abuse. It follows that these drugs trigger brain mechanisms which predispose to their continued self administration.

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  Beyond Drugs

  • Stanley Einstein(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Pergamon

    (Publisher)

  We generally classify it as a beverage, sometimes as a food, infrequently as a medicine, and rarely, if ever, as a drug. Cigarettes, which contain the active ingre- 32 Beyond Drugs dient nicotine and which have, since the Surgeon General's report in 1954, been known to cause serious chronic ailments such as emphysema and cancer, are never considered to be drugs. How we classify a drug and why we do so are obviously important as-pects of the contemporary drug scene and the drug dilemma that many of us experience. To react to people as drug users and offer them the same kind of help, when their drugs of choice range from heroin, barbiturates, amphetamines, LSD, marijuana, or glue, is highly questionable practice. To hospitalize the heroin user and refuse hospitalization to the alcoholic—a fairly common practice—must be seriously reconsidered. To incarcerate the marijuana smoker when nutmeg is legitimately available at the supermarket is also questionable. For the lay and professional com-munity to condemn the use of certain drugs, when as recently as 1968 more than 50 percent of the prison population were individuals who com-mitted crimes while under the influence of alcohol, is a condemnation of questionable merit. Obviously, we shall continue to develop new systems for classifying drugs, each with its own rationale. What is also needed is a classification system of reactions to drugs, drug use, and drug users which will point out the consequences of our own reactions. THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AND DRUGS While it is true that drugs affect a person's entire system, the drugs that we are presently most concerned about primarily affect the central nerv-ous system. Pharmacological classifications are developed in terms of the particular part of the central nervous system that is most affected, or in terms of drug-related behavior that reflects a reaction by a given part of the central nervous system.

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  Drug Use, Misuse and Abuse

  Psychopharmacology in the 21st Century

  • Cecile A. Marczinski(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Defining Substance Use, Abuse, and Addiction When Is Drug Use Harmful? Earlier in this chapter, we discussed the main reasons people try psychoactive drugs including to feel good, to feel better, to do better, curiosity, and peer influences. The question of course is, if the use of a psychoactive drug makes us feel good, what is the problem? For many people, there is no problem. The data on the widespread use of psychoactive drugs in the United States and worldwide reveals that many people use alcohol and drugs without concern. However, a subset of individuals develops problems that can range from mildly disconcerting to devastating, including death. These problems stem from the fact that the short-term pleasure following use of a drug occurs because the drug alters chemical levels in the brain. These chemicals, called neuro- transmitters, are always in a delicate balance. When this delicate balance is disrupted on a regular basis (as when substance use becomes habitual), the body adapts and changes to accommodate to this new “normal.” For example, if a drug elevates the levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain, the body will produce less of its own dopamine in order to keep dopamine at a desired target. Over time, if drug use continues and escalates, the user will need more drug to elevate dopamine levels and the body will produce less and less of its own naturally occurring dopamine. The user will find that pleasurable activities in life become less pleasurable, and drug use becomes necessary for the user simply to feel normal. These subjective feelings arise because of the adjusted new balance in neurotransmitters in the brain. Unfortunately, there is no medical test to determine when substance use has gone from a pleasurable activity to abuse and addiction. In an ideal future, it would be possible to assess neurotransmitter activity via a medical test.

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  Routledge Library Editions: Addictions

  • Various Authors(Author)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  It is important not to underestimate the contributions that the traditional approaches have made, although actual drug-taking behaviour was 78 Aspects of Psychopharmacology not developed and analysed under controlled experimental con- ditions. The application of the ideas and methods from experimental psychology, especially operant and classical conditioning techniques, have considerably enhanced knowledge of variables which can control drug-taking behaviour. Such work also shows ways in which the phar- macological processes (tolerance and withdrawal syndromes) can be influenced by conditioning. Many of these ideas were embodied in theoretical articles which have been extant for decades, but their practical realization was dependent on recent technological advances and has taken a long time. The fundamental datum of the behavioural approach to depen- dence has been the demonstration that addictive drugs can serve as unconditioned positive reinforcers. In suitable circumstances, animals will self-administer most of the drugs that produce depen- dence in man, and such self-administration is maintained by the positive reinforcing effects of the drugs. The compounds taken in this way include the psychomotor stimulants, narcotic analgesic drugs, barbiturates, benzodiazepine tranquillizers, alcohol, nicotine, and volatile solvents (used by 'glue sniffers'). Many psychoactive drugs not associated with dependence in man are not reinforcing in animal tests; these include some appetite suppressants, antidepressants, neuroleptics, narcotic antagonists and some drugs with a mixture of narcotic and narcotic antagonist effects. The major discrepancy lies with the hallucinogenic compounds and cannabis (including its active constituents); these substances are generally not found to serve as positive reinforcers in animal tests.

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  Drugs of Abuse and Addiction

  Neurobehavioral Toxicology

  • Raymond Niesink, R.M.A. Jaspers, L.M.W. Kornet, J.M. van Ree, Raymond Niesink, R.M.A. Jaspers, L.M.W. Kornet, J.M. van Ree(Authors)
  • 1998(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  Other types of antidepressant drugs are MAO (monoamine oxidase) inhibitors, known since the late 1950s. Three of these drugs, isocarboxazie, phenelzine and tranylcypromine, are referred to as irreversible MAO inhibitors because they produce an irreversible block of MAO, an enzyme involved in decreasing the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. The result is an increased amount of catecholamines at the synapse, which corresponds with an increase in mood. It is believed that because of leakage, there is a basal level of neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft. MAO inhibitors raise this level or set point, resulting in stimulation. 5.4 HALLUCINOGENS Hallucinogens are known under many names, each referring to a particular characteristic of their different mind altering effects: psychedelics, illusinogens, psychotomimetics (psychosis imitating), psychotogens, fantasticas or phantasticants, (illusion producing), psychodysleptics, and psychotaraxics (mind disrupting). Drugs classified as hallucinogens have the capacity to induce visual, auditory, or other hallucinatory experiences, and to increase a sensation of feeling separated from reality. The principal use of such drugs is to induce an altered state of consciousness, the specific nature of which varies 51 LSD Drugs of abuse and addiction: neurobehavioral toxicology with the user's drug experience, set, setting, the nature of the drug taken, and its potency. Individual reactions vary greatly. The many different kinds of hallucinogenic agents that are available differ greatly in their chemical structures and are capable of inducing a broad range of behavioral effects, making it difficult to classify or categorize them into any definitive conceptual framework.

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