Table of contents:
- What are illegal drugs?
- Effects of illegal drugs
- Types of illegal drugs
- 1. Illegal depressant drugs
- 2. Illegal stimulant drugs
- Cocaine
- Amphetamines
- 3. Illegal psychedelic drugs
- Hallucinogens
- Cannabis
Since the beginning of time there has been the use of psychoactive substances. The way in which societies use different drugs, the purposes for which they do so (for example, recreational, medical-curative or magical-religious) and the attitudes of their members towards them, are indicators of their evolution, helping us to understand the appearance and consumption of each substance in different cultures. In this Psychology-Online article we will explain the types of illegal drugs, keeping in mind what they are, what their effects are, and what types of illegal drugs exist today.
You may also be interested in: Classification of drugs - WHO and its effects Index- What are illegal drugs?
- Effects of illegal drugs
- Types of illegal drugs
- Illegal depressant drugs
- Illegal stimulant drugs
- Illegal psychedelic drugs
What are illegal drugs?
One of the classifications of drugs is that of legal and illegal swallows. Illegal drugs are those that are not allowed to be consumed or distributed in a certain society. So, a substance can be a legal or an illegal drug depending on the culture. For example, alcohol has different connotations and meaning in a Mediterranean society than in an Anglo-Saxon society, or cannabis is legalized in the Netherlands and not in Spain. Thus, what marks the illegality of the substance are the norms established by each specific society.
Effects of illegal drugs
The effects of the substance will be very different depending on the person who consumes them. The effects of illegal drugs vary according to age (child, adolescent, adult, elderly), weight (plasma concentration per kilogram of weight) and sex. The same substance may have a different effect if it is a mentally healthy adult or a person diagnosed with schizophrenia or another mental illness. The same dose of drug can have different effects on a person depending on their expectations, their mood, their physical state, etc.
It will depend on many factors that the consumption is problematic, creating a physical or mental dependence on the substance and tolerance.
- Physical dependence: it is characterized by the appearance of a series of pathological manifestations when drug administration is interrupted, which are called withdrawal syndrome.
- Psychological dependence: Psychological dependence is a state in which a drug produces a feeling of satisfaction and an urge that leads to periodically or continuously taking the drug to experience pleasure or to avoid or discomfort.
- Tolerance: it is characterized by the decrease in responses to the same amount of drug or by the need to consume a higher dose to achieve the same effect.
On the other hand, there are situations in which drug use has consequences for third parties, such as pregnant women or drivers.
Types of illegal drugs
Drugs can be classified according to their origin, sociological situation, legality, degree of danger, but the most accepted drug classification is that of the WHO. In this classification, drugs are grouped based on their effects on behavior, classifying them as depressant, stimulant and psychedelic drugs. Therefore, the types of illegal drugs are:
- Illegal depressant drugs
- Illegal stimulant drugs
- Illegal psychedelic drugs
1. Illegal depressant drugs
They generate great dependency and tolerance. First, they depress the functioning of the central nervous system, generating less judgment, less ability to think, and more primitive behaviors. Second, they act on the autonomic nervous system. Not all depressant drugs are illegal in Spain, such as alcohol, sedatives, anxiolytics and inhalants (chemical products). However, the depressant drug considered illegal in Spain is opium and its derivatives. In other words, the illegal stimulant-type drugs are opium and derivatives: heroin, codeine, matadone… This group of substances are powerful analgesics, which induce a state of relaxation, indifference, tranquility and euphoria.
Regarding the route of administration of this type of drug, it can be:
- Smoked
- Injected (the one with the highest risk of infections)
- Snort
The effects of illegal depressant drugs are:
- Inner peace
- Tranquility
- Harmony with yourself
- Great addiction
- Intense, fast and powerful effect
In short, it is a very addictive drug that produces very pleasant effects, great tolerance and great psychological dependence, but above all physical. Its effects last between 6 and 8 hours.
2. Illegal stimulant drugs
Illegal stimulant drugs are substances that generate great tolerance and psychological dependence. Within stimulant drugs we can find the presence of legal drugs such as tobacco and xanthines. However, the stimulant drugs considered illegal in Spain are the following:
Cocaine
Coca is the leaf that produces a decrease in sleep, hunger and a high increase in fatigue. On the other hand, cocaine favors vigor, lucidity and omnipotence. It works as a great local anesthetic and the ability to generate addiction depends on the route of administration: intravenous and smoking generates more addiction than snorted.
The route of administration of cocaine depends on the format of the substance and can be: coca paste, the first extraction process from coca leaves that is smoked mixed with tobacco or marijuana; the cocaine hydrochloride, ie cocaine popular, which is the alkaloid extracted from the leaves of the plant; and cocaine base, which comes in crystallized form as small 100 mg stones. The popular name of crack comes from the crackling noise produced by cocaine base crystals when they are heated, but especially when they are smoked directly through rolls or a pipe.
Regarding the effects of this type of illegal drug, we can differentiate between the short-term and long-term effects. The short-term effects of cocaine are:
- Euphoria
- Increased energy
- Disinhibition
- Increased curiosity
- Interest in the environment
- Increased self esteem
- Feeling of omnipotence
- Loss of appetite
- Loquacity
On the other hand, the long-term effects of cocaine are as follows:
- Depression
- Increased anxiety
- Irritability
- Paranoia
- Decreased self-esteem
- Decreased energy
- Impaired judgment
- Decreased REM sleep
- Hypervigilance
- Agitation
- Confusion and inability to concentrate
- Tactile hallucinations: bugs under the skin
- Paranoid psychosis that can become chronic
Amphetamines
It is an illegal stimulant drug that is reminiscent of the effects that cocaine gives: it excites, it does not let you sleep and it takes away your hunger. It facilitates the release of neurotransmitters (adrenaline and dopamine) and tolerance is very high.
Regarding the route of administration, it is usually consumed in the form of pills, but it can also be injected or taken as a powder (speed). The most potent and fastest-acting group is methamphetamines.
The effects of this type of illegal drug can be separated into psychological effects and physiological effects. The psychological effects of amphetamines are as follows:
- Excitement
- Agitation
- Euphoria
- Increased self-esteem
- Feelings of greatness
- Verbiage
- Alert and surveillance
- Increased physical activity
- Increased aggressiveness and irritability
On the other hand, the physiological effects of amphetamines are:
- Decrease in hunger
- Tachycardia
- Insomnia
- Dry mouth
- Sweating
- Increased blood pressure
- Incrise of cardiac frecuency
- Jaw contraction
- Decreased feeling of tiredness and fatigue
- Increased body temperature
3. Illegal psychedelic drugs
Psychedelic drugs produce a distortion of perception and sensation, mimicking a psychotic state. It is difficult to objectify psychological or physical dependence. Among these types of illegal drugs we find:
Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens produce their effect by disrupting the interaction of nerve cells and the neurotransmitter serotonin, causing alterations in behavior and perception, including mood, decreased hunger, body temperature, sexual behavior, muscle control, and sensory perception. The risk of its consumption is that there is a crisis or psychotic outbreak and that it reaches a psychotic disorder, however, they have little risk of addiction, because they do not generate physical or psychological dependence. The most common is LSD and its route of administration is oral.
The effects of this type of illegal drug are as follows:
- Altered perception, including self-image
- Sensory hypersensitivity
- Deformation of the perception of time and space
- Hallucinations
- Delusional ideas
- Euphoria
- Mental confusion
- Hyperactivity
- Mystical experience
Cannabis
That is, marijuana or hashish. This type of drug alters perception with euphoria, disinhibition, memory loss, a degree of drowsiness and confusion. Regarding the route of administration, its consumption is mostly smoked.
The effects of this type of illegal drug can be separated into psychological and physiological effects. The psychological effects of cannabis are:
- Relaxation
- Hilarity
- Sensation that time passes very slowly
- Sensory disturbances
- Difficulty in the correct functioning of complex functions (such as expressing oneself clearly, immediate memory, concentration and learning)
- Predominance of sedation in a second phase (drowsiness, relaxation and sleep)
It also has these physiological effects:
- Increased appetite
- Dry mouth
- Bright red eyes
- Tachycardia
- Drowsiness
- Uncoordinated movements
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Types of illegal drugs, we recommend that you enter our Addictions category.
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