Classification of drugs

According to the effects that the drugs produce, they can be classified as follows:

Major psychostimulants

Cocaine

The cocaine is the most important alkaloid of the leaves of cocaine, a shrub growing in Peru and Bolivia. It is a powerful stimulant of the Central Nervous System, reduces the feeling of fatigue. It produces hypertension, vasoconstriction and tachycardia. Unlike other drugs, cocaine enhances alertness and sensory perception. Its greatest danger is the high risk of dependency it generates.

By Mikael Häggström.When using this image in external works, it may be cited as:Häggström, Mikael (2014). "Medical gallery of Mikael Häggström 2014". WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.008. ISSN 2002-4436. Public Domain.orBy Mikael Häggström, used with permission. (All used images are in public domain.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Amphetamines

At first they were created by chemical laboratories as slimming products, since they stimulate the satiety center of the brain causing loss of appetite. At higher doses, they stimulate the CNS and produce euphoria, especially if they are mixed with alcohol. At higher doses they can cause visual hallucinations and psychosis. Overdose can lead to death.

Minor psychostimulants

A group of substances that are widely used, legal but capable of causing dependence, are grouped together.

Nicotine

The nicotine contained in tobacco smoke acts as a CNS stimulant. The dependence it creates is high, with a deprivation syndrome characterized by irritability, nervousness, and decreased intellectual acuity. Lung problems caused by snuff ranging from chronic bronchitis until emphysema and cancer, but also causes deterioration of cardiac and vascular.

The caffeine

The caffeine is another stimulant that raises the metabolism, stimulates surveillance and accelerates the heart rate. Even with the risk of dependence, it has not been possible to clearly associate it with any pathology.

Psychodepressants

Alcohol

The Alcohol is a colorless liquid based on natural products fermented. It is absorbed in the stomach and small intestine and diffuses very homogeneously through body fluids, and is capable of crossing the placental barrier. It is a depressor of the SNC. Produces a sense of self - confidence and well-beingwith loss of vigilance and coordination, as well as violent behaviors. In extreme doses it can cause loss of consciousness, coma and death from cardiorespiratory arrest. Chronic alcoholism is associated, in addition to behavioral alterations, with a whole series of pathologies, both physical (from neuropathies to cirrhosis, gastritis, and other gastrointestinal disorders) and mental (“delirium tremens” crises, which are paranoid states with hallucinations).

Varias botellas de vino en un restaurante

Activity: Breathalyzer calculator.

Scientific-political curiosity: José María Aznar, president of Spain between 1996 and 2004, does not like to be told that he cannot drink if he has to drive.

Barbiturates

From barbituric acid they derive a series of substances with hypnotic effects and in high doses, anesthetics, with elimination of sensitivity and reflexes. Its repeated use creates dependency. Acute intoxication is characterized by a deep coma, with death from cardiovascular collapse.

Curiosity: Marilyn Monroe, Jimi Hendrix.

Cannabis

It is a plant cultivated since ancient times both to obtain its fibers and for its euphoric properties, which are due to an alkaloid, THC. Cannabis derivatives have both psychostimulant and psychodepressant properties, and at high doses they are also hallucinogenic. Derivatives are: marijuana, hashish and hashish oil , ordered in increasing order according to their THC content. Inhaling a few milligrams causes a drunken state that lasts for 2 to 4 hours. Acute poisoning can cause antidepressant and / or psychotic reactions.

By Mikael Häggström (All used images are in public domain.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Hallucinogens

Many of them have been and are associated with certain practices of a religious or initiatory nature in certain societies and cultures, since they are located in some plants. Among them are mescaline, the alkaloid of peyote (a fungus) and psilocybin (also a Mexican mushroom). Years ago they were used in psychiatry although they are no longer used, they are CNS stimulants. Their effects are distortion of images, anxiety, unfolding of the personality and disorientation. The greatest danger does not lie in the toxicity of these substances but in the psychotic states that they can provoke with aggressive and / or suicidal behaviors.

Opiates

Derivatives of opium and other synthetic substances. Opium contains up to twenty alkaloids, among which are codeine and morphine. Morphine and its many derivatives are characterized by being both excitatory and depressant of the CNS. They are also powerful pain relievers. They create a strong dependency that determines strong withdrawal syndromes. Serious poisonings usually come from adulteration of these compounds and from overdose, which triggers a rapid hypothermic coma.

Designer drugs (DD)

These are hallucinogens and psychostimulants with effects analogous to those of LSD and amphetamines, created synthetically for profit. In humans it causes stages of extreme violence and insensitivity to pain.

Volatile substances

Gasoline and solvents contained in paints, lacquers, glues, aerosols, etc. Usually CNS depressants. They cause a state of drunkenness similar to that of alcohol. They cause dependence with deprivation syndrome, their continued use determines tolerance. The toxic effects are manifold. As they are absorbed through the lungs, their effects are quick and brief. Overdose can lead to death from respiratory arrest, suffocation, and severe cardiac arrhythmias.

Activity: Stimulants and depressants.