The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances.
Khat or qat is a flowering plant native to eastern and southern Africa. Khat contains the alkaloid cathinone, a stimulant, which is said to cause excitement, loss of appetite, and euphoria. Among communities from the areas where the plant is native, khat chewing has a history as a social custom dating back thousands of years analogous to the use of coca leaves in South America and betel nut in Asia.
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, medical, and criminal justice contexts. In some cases, criminal or anti-social behavior occurs when the person is under the influence of a drug, and long-term personality changes in individuals may also occur. In addition to possible physical, social, and psychological harm, the use of some drugs may also lead to criminal penalties, although these vary widely depending on the local jurisdiction.
Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax, among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of medium duration in the triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD) class, which are benzodiazepines (BZDs) fused with a triazole ring. It is most commonly used in management of anxiety disorders, specifically panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Other uses include the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea, together with other treatments. GAD improvement occurs generally within a week. Alprazolam is generally taken by mouth.
Methcathinone is a monoamine alkaloid and psychoactive stimulant, a substituted cathinone. It is used as a recreational drug due to its potent stimulant and euphoric effects and is considered to be addictive, with both physical and psychological withdrawal occurring if its use is discontinued after prolonged or high-dosage administration. It is usually snorted, but can be smoked, injected, or taken orally.
Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent is to enable the patient to confront substance dependence, if present, and stop substance misuse to avoid the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences that can be caused.
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It represents action in line with treaty commitments under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as indexed by Clarivate's Web of Science.
The gateway drug effect is a comprehensive catchphrase for the often observed effect that the use of a psychoactive substance is coupled to an increased probability of the use of further substances. Possible causes are biological alterations in the brain due to the earlier substance exposure and similar attitudes of people who use different substances across different substances. In 2020, the National Institute on Drug Abuse released a study backing allegations that marijuana is a "gateway" to more dangerous substance use, though not for the majority of people who use substances. A literature review by the United States Department of Justice found no conclusive evidence that the link is causal.
Nimetazepam is an intermediate-acting hypnotic drug which is a benzodiazepine derivative. It was first synthesized by a team at Hoffmann-La Roche in 1964. It possesses powerful hypnotic, anxiolytic, sedative, and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. Nimetazepam is also a particularly potent anticonvulsant. It is marketed in 5 mg tablets known as Erimin, which is the brand name manufactured and marketed by the large Japanese corporation Sumitomo. Japan is the sole manufacturer of nimetazepam in the world. Outside of Japan, Erimin is available in much of East and Southeast Asia and was widely prescribed for the short-term treatment of severe insomnia in patients who have difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep. Sumitomo has ceased manufacturing Erimin since November 2015. It is still available as a generic drug or as Lavol.
Etizolam is a thienodiazepine derivative which is a benzodiazepine analog. The etizolam molecule differs from a benzodiazepine in that the benzene ring has been replaced by a thiophene ring and triazole ring has been fused, making the drug a thienotriazolodiazepine.
O-Acetylpsilocin is a semi-synthetic psychoactive drug that has been suggested by David Nichols to be a potentially useful alternative to psilocybin for pharmacological studies, as they are both believed to be prodrugs of psilocin. However, some users report that O-acetylpsilocin's subjective effects differ from those of psilocybin and psilocin. Additionally, some users prefer 4-AcO-DMT to natural psilocybin mushrooms due to feeling fewer adverse side effects such as nausea and heavy body load, which are more frequently reported in experiences involving natural mushrooms. It is the acetylated form of the psilocybin mushroom alkaloid psilocin and is a lower homolog of 4-AcO-MET, 4-AcO-DET, 4-AcO-MiPT and 4-AcO-DiPT.
The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (JSAD) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original research articles on various aspects of the use and misuse of alcohol and other drugs. Topics covered include the biological, medical, epidemiological, social, psychological, and legal aspects of alcohol and other drug use, abuse, and dependence. The journal was established in 1940 as the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, changed its name in 1975 to Journal of Studies on Alcohol, before obtaining its current name in 2007. The journal appears bimonthly and publishes supplements at irregular intervals. The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs is a not-for-profit journal based in the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University.
25I-NBOMe is a synthetic hallucinogen that is used in biochemistry research for mapping the brain's usage of the type 2A serotonin receptor; it is also sometimes used for recreational purposes. A derivative of the substituted phenethylamine 2C-I family, it is the most well-known member of the 25-NB family. It was discovered in 2003 by chemist Ralf Heim at the Free University of Berlin, who published his findings in his PhD dissertation. The compound was subsequently investigated by a team at Purdue University led by David Nichols.
Benzodiazepine use disorder (BUD), also called misuse or abuse, is the use of benzodiazepines without a prescription, often for recreational purposes, which poses risks of dependence, withdrawal and other long-term effects. Benzodiazepines are one of the more common prescription drugs used recreationally. When used recreationally benzodiazepines are usually administered orally but sometimes they are taken intranasally or intravenously. Recreational use produces effects similar to alcohol intoxication.
Substituted cathinones, which include some stimulants and entactogens, are derivatives of cathinone. They feature a phenethylamine core with an alkyl group attached to the alpha carbon, and a ketone group attached to the beta carbon, along with additional substitutions. Cathinone occurs naturally in the plant khat whose leaves are chewed as a recreational drug.
AH-7921 is an opioid analgesic drug selective for the μ-opioid receptor, having around 90% the potency of morphine when administered orally. It was discovered in the 1970s by a team at Allen and Hanburys located in the United Kingdom. The drug is considered a new psychoactive substance (NPS) in which it is synthetically created in laboratories to mimic that of controlled substances. The substance has also been sold on the internet since 2012 as a "research chemical". When sold online it may be called the alternative name doxylam, not to be confused with doxylamine. AH-7921 has never progressed to clinical trials. The DEA is not aware of any medical usage in the United States, and has not insisted the Health and Human Services department (HHS) to conduct any medical research of the substance's uses.
6-APB is an empathogenic psychoactive compound of the substituted benzofuran and substituted phenethylamine classes. 6-APB and other compounds are sometimes informally called "Benzofury" in newspaper reports. It is similar in structure to MDA, but differs in that the 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl ring system has been replaced with a benzofuran ring. 6-APB is also the unsaturated benzofuran derivative of 6-APDB. It may appear as a tan grainy powder. While the drug never became particularly popular, it briefly entered the rave and underground clubbing scene in the UK before its sale and import were banned. It falls under the category of research chemicals, sometimes called "legal highs." Because 6-APB and other substituted benzofurans have not been explicitly outlawed in some countries, they are often technically legal, contributing to their popularity.
Methiopropamine (MPA) is a thiophene ring-based structural analog of methamphetamine originally reported in 1942. Chemically it is not a phenethylamine or amphetamine and is not their functional analog either. It originally appeared for public sale in the UK in December 2010 as a "research chemical" or "legal high", recently branded as Blow. It has limited popularity as a recreational stimulant.
The opioid epidemic, also referred to as the opioid crisis, is the rapid increase in the overuse, misuse/abuse, and overdose deaths attributed either in part or in whole to the class of drugs opiates/opioids since the 1990s. It includes the significant medical, social, psychological, and economic consequences of the medical, non-medical, and recreational abuse of these medications.
