Alcohol & Drug Information
Drug Classification and Information

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do I know if I have a problem?
Terminology

How do drugs and alcohol work?

Classification of Drugs and Alcohol
The following drug classification system divides frequently abused drugs into categories according to how they imitate or interfere with messages within your brain and moving between your brain and body.  To find out more about a specific drug, just click on the name of that drug.

The diagram represents the synapse, a space between two nerve or brain cells.  Messages to breathe, move, to control your heartbeat, and carry your thoughts are transmitted down the length of the nerve cell by an electrical signal, and across the synapse by chemicals called neurotransmitters.  Drugs and alcohol interfere with these neurotransmitters. The following diagram represents the normal rate of message transmission between these cells.  

In reality, messages are transmitted much faster, but we have slowed things down to help us examine the effect of drugs.  For a more detailed examination, go to How do drugs and alcohol work?

 

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Depressants

Effects

  • Slows down the central nervous system.

  • One desired effect is a feeling of relaxation and feeling more at ease in social situations.

  • Another desired effect is a release from inhibitions, enabling us to “let loose” and enjoy ourselves.

  • Slowed down messages from the brain to muscle impair our reflexes, reduce reaction time and impair our coordination, and our ability to drive is impaired.

  • You would experience this as a slurring of speech, stumbling when you walk, or weaving and a loss of balance.

  • Hand-eye coordination is reduced.

  • Thought and judgment are impaired because messages between the neurons in the brain are slowed down.

  • Reduced inhibitions and impaired judgment can lead to increased risk for violent behavior.

 

Examples

Alcohol

Seconal

Nembutal

Amytal

Tuinal

Mandrax

Dalmane

Halcion

Valium

Librium

Serax

Ativan

Xanax

Inhalants

 
Narcotics

Effects

  • Have the same effects as depressants in that they slow down the central nervous system.

  • They have other effects that depressants do not have, which would include:

    • Pain relief

    • Suppress cough reaction

 

Examples

Opium

Codeine

Morphine

Heroin

Methadone

Demerol

Dilaudid

Novahistex-DH

Novahistine-DH

Novahistine
Expectorant

Percodan

Talwin

Lomotil

 
Stimulants

Effects

  • Speeds up the central nervous system.

  • Desired effects would include a sense of well being or euphoria, or an enhanced ability to think and function.

  • Other effects include anxiety, paranoia, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, reduced appetite, restlessness, insomnia, and a feeling of being “shaky.”

Examples

Cocaine

Dexedrine

Methedrine

Tenuate

Ionamin

Ritalin

Fastin

Tobacco

Caffeine

 
Hallucinogens

Effects

  • “Mixes up” the central nervous system, speeds things up and then slows things down randomly.

  • Distorts messages within the brain, and this can be felt as a distortion in perception.

  • Can cause hallucinations.

  • Milder hallucinogens are experienced as an enhancement of the senses:  more sensitive to touch, pain can be magnified, music sounds better, hearing is altered, vision can be enhanced or blurred.

  • Our perception of time can be affected.

  • Thought processes are affected:  poor short term memory, alternating inability to focus and enhanced ability to focus, reduced ability to learn, and giddiness (everything is funny).

  • Other effects would include increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, and increased appetite.

Examples

LSD

PCP

MDA

Mescaline or Peyote

DMT

Psilocybin

STP or DOM

PMA

Cannabis

 

There is another class of drugs called Psychotherapeutics.  Some people have disorders that are caused by an imbalance in the chemical neurotransmitters in the brain.  These powerful drugs correct the imbalance and allow those who need them to function normally.  An example is Chlorpromazine, also known as CPZ.  These drugs are seldom abused because the effect on a normally functioning brain is not perceived as pleasant.  There are also powerful side effects to these drugs and usually other drugs are prescribed to be taken with them to control the side effects.  These side effects are usually unpleasant enough to stop anyone abusing the drug from trying it again.

There are several other kinds of drugs such as antibiotics.  Because these are not psychoactive drugs, they are not abused, and they will not be discussed on this site.

 

Sources:

(1).  Straight Facts About Drugs & Drug Abuse, Revised Edition, Health and Welfare Canada, copyright Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1990

(2).  Drugs and Alcohol Behaviour: An Introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology, Second Edition, by William A. McKim, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Prentice Hall, 1991

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