Psychoactive drug

Psychoactive drugs are chemicals that affect the mental state of individuals who ingest them. Different drugs cause various effects in users. Humans have harvested, created, and used psychoactive drugs for thousands of years. Some drugs are more dangerous than others. Many are controlled or illegal.

Most psychoactive drugs fit into one of five categories: depressants, opioids, stimulants, hallucinogens, and cannabis. Stimulants generally cause feelings of excitement, and include nicotine and caffeine. Depressants generally cause feelings of relaxation and reduced tension. The most commonly used depressant is alcohol. Opioids are based on the opium plant and are typically powerful painkillers. Hallucinogens cause vivid auditory and visual hallucinations, as well as feelings of disassociation. Cannabis causes feelings of euphoria and changes in sensory perception.

Some psychoactive drugs are safe in controlled doses. For example, most individuals are unlikely to experience serious negative side effects from drinking a cup of coffee. Other drugs, such as many opioids, are extremely addictive or unpredictable. Such drugs can cause heart palpations, coma, or death.

Background

Throughout most of human history, humans have used drugs and alcohol to attain an intoxicated state. A Neanderthal burial site from fifty thousand years ago contains elements of herbal stimulants made from ephedra. Some evidence also suggests that the first agriculture, which occurred around 10,000 BCE, included psychoactive plants. These include tobacco, cannabis, and mandrake plants. One burial site in Spain, dating from roughly 4,200 BCE, contained seed pods from the opium poppy plant, suggesting that the people then understood or used the properties of the plant.

Soon afterward, the Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Sumerians developed processes to create early beer and wine. These processes spread throughout the Mediterranean, with bronze-age vessels showing evidence of once holding alcohol. Ancient Asian civilizations in the year 3000 BCE also cultivated cannabis and coca.

The popularity of alcohol and other psychoactive substances continued to increase throughout the ages. Europeans brought the tobacco plant back from the New World, and smoking tobacco became popular throughout the continent. During the seventeenth century, establishments dedicated to serving coffee, which contains the stimulant caffeine, spread throughout England.

During the nineteenth century, chemists began to isolate the psychoactive drugs from naturally occurring plants. Scientists developed morphine from opium in 1805, isolated caffeine from coffee in 1819, and isolated cocaine from coca leaves in 1859. This allowed scientists to create more concentrated, and thus more powerful, psychoactive substances.

During the early twentieth century, Western governments began to limit the use of psychoactive drugs. In the United States, cocaine and opiates were made illegal for recreational use. In 1920, the United States banned the recreational use of alcohol. However, despite these restrictions, use of psychoactive substances continued. In 1933, the United States repealed prohibition, making recreational use of alcohol legal again.

Also in 1933, chemist Albert Hofmann became the first person to synthesize the powerful psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. By the late 1960s, LSD had become a controversial recreational drug popular throughout the United States and Europe. Other manmade psychedelic drugs, such as MDMA and ketamine, soon followed.

Overview

Psychoactive drugs, also called psychotropic substances, are chemical substances that change the user’s mental state. In many cases, the changes induced by psychoactive substances are mild, as when an individual ingests a small to moderate dose of caffeine. However, other drugs, such as psychedelic substances, may result in sudden and drastic changes to users’ mindset.

Most psychoactive drugs fall into one of five categories: stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, opioids, and cannabis. Stimulants include drugs that increase energy, excitability, alertness, and mood. Most stimulants tend to increase blood pressure and heart rate. Some stimulants, such as caffeine and nicotine, are legal and socially accepted throughout most of the Western world. Caffeine is commonly found in coffee and other beverages, while nicotine is found in tobacco and various vaporized substances. Other stimulants, such as cocaine and amphetamines, are considered dangerous and illegal. Ingesting excessive amounts of stimulants can sometimes induce chest pain, heart palpitations, hallucinations, and death.

Depressant psychoactive drugs induce feelings of relaxation and reduced anxiety. The most commonly used depressant is alcohol, which is recreationally used for its depressive tendencies across the world. However, the depressant classification also includes tranquilizers such as barbiturates. Excessive use of depressants can result in shallow breathing, a weak pulse, coma, and death.

Hallucinogens include drugs that result in erratic behavior, paranoia, depersonalization, delusions, and visual or auditory hallucinations. They include LSD, ketamine, peyote, and many other drugs. Excessive use of hallucinogens may lead to difficulty in thinking, difficulty in speaking, and depression. However, hallucinogen use rarely induces medical emergencies like depressants and stimulants.

Opioids are all derived from the opium poppy, which is used to make morphine. Most opioids are powerful painkillers, such as oxycodone and codeine. However, in addition to their pain-relieving qualities, opioids cause feelings of euphoria and drowsiness. Most opioid-based painkillers are extremely addictive and are prescribed carefully by doctors. If used excessively, opioids can cause nausea, convulsion, coma, and death.

Cannabis is the sole psychoactive drug in its category. When used, it induces appetite changes, impaired memory, reduced tension, and feelings of euphoria. It can also cause changes in blood pressure, anxiety, and reduced physical coordination.

Some drugs are specifically manufactured to skirt legal requirements. These drugs, often called designer drugs, can be based on drugs from any category. In some cases, designer drugs are a cocktail of drugs from multiple categories. These psychoactive drugs include spice, bath salts, and many other chemicals. Many variations of these drugs are rapidly manufactured as older variants are outlawed, making designer drugs extremely difficult to legislate.

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