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A drug, broadly speaking, is any chemical substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function.






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A drug, broadly speaking, is any chemical substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, and colloquial usage.

In pharmacology
Pharmacology

Pharmacology is the study of drug action. More specifically it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and exogenous chemicals that alter normal biochemical function....
, 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." Drugs may be prescribed for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders
Chronic (medicine)

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....
.

Recreational drugs
Recreational drug use

Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than for employment, Medicine or Spirituality purposes, although the distinction is not always clear ....
 are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system
Central nervous system

The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that functions to coordinate the activity of all parts of the bodies of multicellular organisms....
, such as opioid
Opioid

An opioid is a chemical substance that has a morphine-like action in the body. The main use is for analgesia. These agents work by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract....
s or hallucinogens. They may be used for perceived beneficial effects on perception
Perception

In psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sense information. It is a task far more complex than was imagined in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was predicted that building perceiving machines would take about a decade, a goal which is still very far from fruition....
, consciousness
Consciousness

Consciousness is a difficult term to define, because the word is used and understood in a wide variety of ways, so that it frequently happens that what one person sees as a definition of consciousness is seen by others as about something else altogether....
, personality
Personality psychology

Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and individual differences. One emphasis in this area is to construct a coherent picture of a person and his or her major psychological processes ....
, and behavior
Behavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the action s or reactions of an object or organism, usually in Relational theory to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or Unconscious mind, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary....
. Some drugs can cause addiction
Drug addiction

Drug addiction is widely considered a Pathology. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute drug use to the development of drug-seeking behavior, the vulnerability to relapse, and the decreased, slowed ability to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli....
 and habituation.

Drugs are usually distinguished from endogenous
Endogenous

The word endogenous means "arising from within", the opposite of exogenous....
 biochemicals by being introduced from outside the organism. For example, insulin
Insulin

Insulin is a hormone with extensive effects on both metabolism and several other body systems . Insulin causes most of the body's cells to take up glucose from the blood , storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle, and stops use of fat as an energy source....
 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 beer
Beer

Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and Fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal?the most common of which is malted barley, although wheat, maize , and rice are widely used....
s, wine
Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage often made of fermentation grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients....
s, and some mushrooms, blur the line between food and drugs, as when ingested they affect the functioning of both mind
Mind

Mind refers to the aspects of intellect and consciousness manifested as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, free will and imagination, including all of the brain's conscious and unconscious cognitive processes....
 and body
Body

With regard to organism, a body is the integral physical material of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death....
.

Medication

A medication or medicine is a drug taken to cure and/or ameliorate any symptoms of an illness
Illness

Illness can be defined as a state of poor health.It is sometimes considered a synonym for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist....
 or medical condition, or may be used as preventive medicine
Preventive medicine

Preventive medicine or preventive care is measures taken to prevent illness or injury, rather than curing them. This type of care is best exemplified by hand washing and immunizations....
 that has future benefits but does not treat any existing or pre-existing diseases or symptoms.

Dispensing of medication is often regulated by government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
s into three categories — over-the-counter
Over-the-counter drug

Over-the-counter drugs are medications that may be sold to a customer without a medical prescription. The term "over-the-counter" is somewhat counter-intuitive, since these items can often be found on the shelves of stores and bought like any other packaged product in some countries in contrast to prescription drug which are more likely to l...
 (OTC) medications, which are available in pharmacies
Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemistrys, and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of medication....
 and supermarkets without special restrictions, behind-the-counter (BTC), which are dispensed by a pharmacist
Pharmacist

Pharmacists are health professionals who practice the 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 and counsel them on the proper use and adverse effects of that medic...
 without needing a doctor's prescription, and Prescription only medicines (POM), which must be prescribed by a licensed medical professional, usually a physician
Physician

A physician, medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, or medical doctor practices medicine, and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and injury....
.

In the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, BTC medicines are called pharmacy medicines which can only be sold in registered pharmacies, by or under the supervision of a pharmacist, these medications are designated by the letter P on the label, the precise distinction between OTC and prescription drugs depends on the legal jurisdiction
Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility....
.

Medications are typically produced by pharmaceutical companies and are often patent
Patent

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a term of patent in exchange for a disclosure of an invention....
ed 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 drug
Generic drug

A generic drug is a medication which isproduced and distributed without patent protection. The generic drug may still have a patent on the formulation but not on the active ingredient....
s 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:

  • Oral
    Mouth

    The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
    ly, as a liquid or solid, that is absorbed through the stomach
    Stomach

    In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
    .
  • Inhaled
    Inhalation

    Inhalation is the movement of air from the external environment, through the air ways, and into the alveoli.Inhalation begins with the onset of contraction of the diaphragm , which results in expansion of the intrapleural space and an increase in negative pressure according to Boyle's Law....
    , (breathed into the lungs), as a vapor.
  • Injected
    Injection (medicine)

    An injection is an route of administration of putting liquid into the body, usually with a hollow hypodermic needle and a syringe which is pierced through the skin to a sufficient depth for the material to be forced into the body....
     as a liquid either: intramuscular, intravenous, intraperitoneal, intraosseous.
  • Rectally
    Rectum

    The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in some mammals, and the Gastrointestinal tract in others, terminating in the anus....
     as a suppository
    Suppository

    A suppository is a drug delivery system that is inserted either into the rectum , vagina or urethra where it dissolves.They are used to deliver both systemically-acting and locally-acting medications....
    , that is absorbed by the colon.
  • Vagina
    Vagina

    The vagina is a fibromuscular cylinder tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles....
    lly as a suppository
    Suppository

    A suppository is a drug delivery system that is inserted either into the rectum , vagina or urethra where it dissolves.They are used to deliver both systemically-acting and locally-acting medications....
    , primarily to treat vaginal infections.
  • Bolus, a substance into the stomach to dissolve slowly.
  • Insufflation
    Insufflation

    Insufflation is the practice of Inhalation substances into a body cavity. Insufflation has limited medical use, but is a common route of administration with many respiration drugs used to treat conditions in the lungs and paranasal sinus ....
    , or snorted into the nose.


Many drugs can be administered in a variety of ways.

Recreation

Recreational drugs use is the use of psychoactive substances to have fun, for the experience, or to enhance an already positive experience. National laws prohibit the use of many different recreational drugs and medicinal drugs that have the potential for recreational use are heavily regulated. Many other recreational drugs on the other hand are legal, widely culturally accepted, and at the most have an age restriction on using and/or purchasing them. These include alcohol, tobacco, betel nut, and caffeine products.

Spiritual and religious use

The spiritual and religious use of drugs has been occurring since the dawn of our species. Drugs that are considered to have spiritual or religious use are called entheogens. Some religions are based completely on the use of certain drugs. Entheogens are mostly hallucinogens
Psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants

The general group of pharmacology agents commonly known as hallucinogens can be divided into three broad categories: Psychedelic drugs, dissociatives, and deliriants....
, being either psychedelics
Psychedelic drug

A psychedelic substance is any psychoactive drugs whose primary action is to alter the thought processes of the brain and perception of the mind....
 or deliriant
Deliriant

The deliriants are a special class of acetylcholine receptor-inhibitor dissociatives. The name comes from their primary effect of inducing a medical state of frank delirium, characterized by stupor, utter confusion, confabulation, and regression to "phantom" behaviors such as disrobing and plucking ....
s, but some are also stimulant
Stimulant

Stimulant drugs are drugs that temporarily increase alertness and awareness. They usually have increased side-effects with increased effectiveness, and the more powerful variants are therefore often prescription medicines or illegal drugs....
s and sedative
Sedative

A sedative is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement.At higher doses it may result in slurred speech, staggering gait , poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes....
s.

Nootropics

Nootropics, also commonly referred to as "smart drugs", are drugs that are claimed to improve human cognitive abilities. Nootropics are used to improve memory, concentration, thought, mood, learning, and many others things. Some nootropics are now beginning to be used to treat certain diseases such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. They are also commonly used to regain brain function lost during aging.

Legal definition of drugs

Some governments define the term drug by law. In the United States, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act , is a set of laws passed by United States Congress in 1938 giving authority to the Food and Drug Administration to oversee the food safety, drugs, and cosmetics....
 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." Consistent with that definition, the U.S. separately defines narcotic drugs and controlled substances, which may include non-drugs, and explicitly excludes tobacco, caffeine and alcoholic beverages.

Governmental controls

In Canada the government has moved to remove the influence of drug companies on the medical system. "The influence that the pharmaceutical companies, the for-profits, are having on every aspect of medicine ... is so blatant now you'd have to be deaf, blind and dumb not to see it," said Journal of the American Medical Association editor Dr. Catherine DeAngelis.

Etymology

Drug is thought to originate from Old French "drogue", possibly deriving later into "droge-vate" from Middle Dutch meaning "dry barrels", referring to medicinal plants preserved in them.

See also


External links

  • Useful resource website with detailed information on drugs and how to treat drug addiction. "Say NO to drugs" May 4 2007
  • by Richard DeGrandpre, Duke University Press, 2006.
  • German web-site providing information on the influence of recreational drugs in driving.