Abused Drug Categories

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How are drugs classified?

Drugs and medications of abuse can be grouped together into categories based on similarities between:

How they work.
What effects they will produce in the human body and brain.

A useful categorization scheme follows. We'll consider each class of drugs in turn, but if you want to, you can skip ahead to read about the particular drug class that interests you most.

Central Nervous System Depressants

Alcohol
Barbiturates ['ludes, sleepers, downers, tranquilizers]
Benzodiazepines (Valium, Ativan, Librium, Xanax, Ambien) [sleepers, downers, tranquilizers]

Central Nervous System Stimulants

Cocaine (Crack, Blow, Nose, Snow, Toot, White, Rock, Flake)
Amphetamine & Methamphetamine (Ritalin, Meth, Uppers, Bennies, Crank, Crystal)
Caffeine (Coffee)
Nicotine (Cigarettes, Chew)

Opiates

Heroin (Horse, Junk, Smack, Snow, "H", Brown, Black)
Morphine
Codeine (OxyContin, Tylenol with Codeine)
Methadone, LAAM
Hydrocodone
Oxycodone
Percocet
Tramadol
Vicodin

Cannabinols

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Marijuana (Marinol, Pot, Grass, Weed, Brick, Joint, Thai Stick, Mary Jane)
Hashish (Hash, Ganja, Rope)

Hallucinogens

LSD (Acid)
Mescaline (Cactus)
Psilocybin, ('Shrooms, Mushrooms)
MDMA (Love Drug, "X", Ecstacy)

Inhalants

Aerosol sprays
Glues
Paint Thinner
Gasoline

Other Drugs of Abuse

PCP (Angel Dust)

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