Drug

Information about Drug

Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive substance in the world.

A drug, broadly speaking, is a substance used as a medicine or narcotic.^[1] There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in medicine, government regulations, and colloquial usage.^[2]

In pharmacology, Dictionary.com defines a drug as "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being."<ref name="diccom" /> Drugs may be prescribed for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.^[3]

Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system, such as narcotics or hallucinogens.<ref name="ahsci" /> They may be used for perceived beneficial effects on perception, consciousnesss, personality, and behavior.<ref name="ahsci" />^[4] Some recreational drugs can cause addiction and habituation.<ref name="mwmed" />

Drugs are usually distinguished from endogenous biochemicals by being introduced from outside the organism. For example, insulin is a hormone that is synthesized in the body; it is called a hormone when it is synthesized by the pancreas inside the body, but if it is introduced into the body from outside, it is called a drug.

Many natural substances such as beers, wines, and some mushrooms, blur the line between food and drugs, as when ingested they affect the functioning of both mind and body.

Medication

Main article: Medication

A medication or medicine is a drug taken to cure and/or ameliorate any symptoms of an illness or medical condition, or may be used as preventive medicine that has future benefits but does not treat any existing or pre-existing diseases or symptoms.

Dispensing of medication is often regulated by governments into three categories — over-the-counter (OTC) medications, which are available in pharmacies and supermarkets without special restrictions, behind-the-counter (BTC), which are dispensed by a pharmacist without needing a doctor's prescription, and Prescription only medicines (POM), which must be prescribed by a licensed medical professional, usually a physician.

In the UK, BTC medicines are called pharmacy medicines which can only be sold in registered pharmacies, by or under the supervision of a pharmacist. However, the precise distinction between OTC and prescription drugs depends on the legal jurisdiction.

Medications are typically produced by pharmaceutical companies and are often patented to give the developer exclusive rights to produce them, but they can also be derived from naturally occurring substance in plants called herbal medicine. Those that are not patented (or with expired patents) are called generic drugs since they can be produced by other companies without restrictions or licenses from the patent holder.

Drugs, both medicinal and recreational, can be administered in a number of ways:

Orally, as a liquid or solid, that is absorbed through the stomach.
Inhaled, (breathed into the lungs), as a vapor.
Injected as a liquid either intramuscular or intravenous (put under the skin, into a vein or muscle tissue with the use of a hypodermic needle).
Rectally as a suppository, that is absorbed by the colon.
Vaginally as a suppository, primarily to treat vaginal infections.
Bolus, a substance into the stomach to dissolve slowly.

Many drugs can be administered in a variety of ways.

Recreation

Main article: Recreational drug use

Further information: Prohibition (drugs)

Recreational drug use is typically the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than medical or spiritual purposes. Many governments across the world regulate and ban various recreational drugs, and the exact laws are often politically controversial. Canada is following the Netherlands' lead in largely decriminalizing marijuana.

Legal definition of drugs

Some governments define the term drug by law. In the United States, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act definition of "drug" includes "articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or other animals" and "articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals."^[5] Consistent with that definition, the U.S. separately defines narcotic drugs and controlled substances, which may include non-drugs, and explicitly excludes tobacco and alcoholic beverages.^[6]

References

1. ^ "Drug." WordNet 3.0, Princeton University, via dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
2. ^ "Drug." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1), Random House, Inc., via dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
3. ^ "Drug." The American Heritage Science Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin Company, via dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
4. ^ "Drug." Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., via dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
5. ^ "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act" (Website.) U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
6. ^ "21 USC Sec. 802." (Website.) U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.

External links

Get rid of drugs. Drug Addiction Treatment Useful resource website with detailed information on drugs and how to treat drug addiction. "Say NO to drugs" May 4 2007
The Cult of Pharmacology: How America Became the World's Most Troubled Drug Culture by Richard DeGrandpre, Duke University Press, 2006.
'don't drug + drive' German web-site providing information on the influence of recreational drugs in driving.

• • [ e] Major Drug Groups
Gastrointestinal tract (A)	Antacids • Antiemetics • H₂-receptor antagonists • Proton pump inhibitors • Laxatives • Antidiarrhoeals
Blood and blood forming organs (B)	Anticoagulants • Antiplatelets • Thrombolytics
Cardiovascular system (C)	Antiarrhythmics • Antihypertensives • Diuretics • Vasodilators • Antianginals • Beta blockers • Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors • Antihyperlipidemics
Skin (D)	Antipruritics
Reproductive system (G)	Hormonal contraception • Fertility agents • Selective estrogen receptor modulators • Sex hormones
Endocrine system (H)	Anti-diabetics • Corticosteroids • Sex hormones • Thyroid hormones
Infections and Infestations (J, P)	Antibiotics • Antivirals • Vaccines • Antifungals • Antiprotozoals • Anthelmintics
Malignant and Immune disease (L)	Anticancer agents • Immunosuppressants
Muscles, Bones, and Joints (M)	Anabolic steroids • Anti-inflammatories • Antirheumatics • Corticosteroids • Muscle relaxants
Brain and Nervous system (N)	Anesthetics • Analgesics • Anticonvulsants • Mood stabilizers • Anxiolytics • Antipsychotics • Antidepressants • Nervous system stimulants
Respiratory system (R)	Bronchodilators • Decongestants • Antihistamines

Medicine is the science and "" of maintaining and/or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of patients. The term is derived from the Latin ars medicina meaning the art of healing.
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narcotic (ναρκωτικός) is believed to have been coined by Galen to refer to agents that benumb or deaden, causing loss of feeling or paralysis.
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Regulation can be considered as legal restrictions promulgated by government authority. One can consider at least two levels in democracies -- legislative acts, and implementing specifications of conduct imposed by administrative agencies through rulemaking supported by a threat of
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Pharmacology is the study of how drugs interact with living organisms to produce a change in function.^[1] If substances have medicinal properties, they are considered pharmaceuticals.
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In medicine, a chronic disease is a disease that is long-lasting or recurrent. The term chronic describes the course of the disease, or its rate of onset and development.
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Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than for work, medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear.
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The central nervous system (CNS) represents the largest part of the nervous system, including the brain and the spinal cord. Together with the peripheral nervous system, it has a fundamental role in the control of behavior.
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hallucinogens can be divided into three broad categories: psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants. These classes of psychoactive drugs have in common that they can cause subjective changes in perception, thought, emotion and consciousness.
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perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing sensory information. It is a task far more complex than was imagined in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was proclaimed that building perceiving machines would take about a decade, but, needless to say,
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Consciousness is a characteristic of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and one's environment.
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Personality may refer to:

Psychology

Personality psychology, a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual differences
Personality development, the study of human personality development over time

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This article or section is written like a personal reflection or and may require .
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Behavior or behaviour
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Drug addiction is a condition characterized by compulsive drug intake, craving and seeking, despite what the majority of society may perceive as the negative consequences associated with drug use.
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The word endogenous means "arising from within", the opposite of exogenous.

Biology

Endogenous substances are those that originate from within an organism, tissue, or cell [1] .
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''Note: This article title may be easily confused with inulin.

Insulin is an animal hormone whose presence informs the body's cells that the animal is well fed, causing liver and muscle cells to take in glucose and store it in the form of glycogen, and
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Beer is the world's oldest^[1] and most popular^[2]^[3] alcoholic beverage. It is produced by the fermentation of sugars derived from starch-based material — the most common being malted barley; however, wheat, corn, and rice are also widely
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Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of grape juice.^[1] The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients.
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Psilocybin mushrooms (also called psilocybian mushrooms) are fungi that contain the psychedelic substances psilocybin and psilocin, and occasionally other psychoactive tryptamines.
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MIND High School

Address
4563 St. Urbain
Montreal, Quebec, H2T 2V9, Canada
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body is the integral physical material of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death. The study of the workings of the body is physiology.
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A medication, medicine or drug is any substance or combination of substances administered to human beings or animals to treat or prevent disease; alternatively to assist in medical diagnosis.
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Illness (sometimes referred to as ill-health) can be defined as a state of poor health.

Introduction

The mode of being healthy includes, as defined by the World Health Organization, " [...
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Generally speaking, preventive medicine is the part of medicine engaged with preventing disease rather than curing it. It can be contrasted not only with curative medicine, but also with public health methods (which work at the level of population health rather than individual
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government is a body that has the power to make and the authority to enforce rules and laws within a civil, corporate, religious, academic, or other organization or group.^[1]
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Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines that may be sold without a prescription, in contrast to prescription drugs. The name "over-the-counter" is somewhat confusing to some, since these items can be found on the shelves of stores and bought like any other packaged product in
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Pharmacy (from the Greek φάρμακον = drug) is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences, and it is charged with ensuring the safe use of medication.
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Pharmacists are health professionals who practice the art and science of pharmacy. In their traditional role, pharmacists typically take a request for medicines from a prescribing health care provider in the form of a medical prescription and dispense the medication to the patient
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