AOD001 Types of drugs

Types of drugs

Australian Drug Foundation website

Click to go straight to the ADF website

Definitions and a note on the effect of drugs

A drug is any substance - with the exception of food and water - which, when take into the body, alters the body’s function either physically or psychologically.Psychoactive drugs affect the central nervous system and alter a person’s mood, thinking and behaviour. Drugs effect everyone differently based on:

• size, weight and health
• whether the person is used to taking it
• whether other drugs are taken around the same time
• the amount taken
• the strength of the drug (this varies from batch to batch with illegally produced drugs).

Common ways drugs are used(also known as 'routes of administration')

• Smoking (e.g. cannabis, methamphetamine, tobacco)
• Injecting (e.g. heroin)
• Snorting/sniffing (e.g. cocaine)
• Ingesting/swallowing (e.g. alcohol, tablets)
• Inhaling (e.g. paint, nitrous oxide)

Click on the arrows to read more about each category!

Depressants

Categories of psychoactive drugs

Depressants are drugs that decrease alertness by slowing down the activity of the central nervous system

Hallucinogens/Psychedelics

Hallucinogens are drugs that alter perception and can cause the user to see or hear something that is not there

There are more categories, but these are the ones we're focusing on in this unit

Stimulants

Stimulants are drugs that increase the body's state of arousal by increasing the activity of the brain

"Other"

Other includes drugs that do not fit neatly into the other categories but are still clearly psychoactive

Depressants

Depressant substances reduce arousal and stimulation. They do not necessarily make a person feel depressed. They affect the central nervous system, slowing down the messages between the brain and the body. They can affect concentration and coordination. They slow down the person’s ability to respond to unexpected situations. In small doses they can cause a person to feel more relaxed and less inhibited.Examples include: cannabis, alcohol, benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanex), opiates including: heroin, panadeine, codeine, oxycontin.

Stimulants

Stimulants are a class of drugs that speed up the messages between the brain and the body. They can make a person feel more awake, alert, confident or energetic.Large doses of stimulants can cause over-stimulation, which can cause anxiety, panic, seizures, headaches, stomach cramps, aggression and paranoia. Long-term use of strong stimulants can also cause several adverse effects. Examples include: amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, caffeine.

Hallucinogens

Psychedelics (also known as hallucinogens) are a class of psychoactive substances that produce changes in perception, mood and cognitive processes. Psychedelics affect all the senses, altering a person’s thinking, sense of time and emotions. They can also cause a person to hallucinate and see or hear things that do not exist or are distorted. Examples include: LSD/acid and plant based: magic mushrooms, DMT Ayahuasca, peyote/mescaline.

"Other"

Examples include: MDMA (ecstasy), cannabis, volatile substances (petrol, glue, paint) Note: Both ecstasy and cannabis can produce hallucinations, especially in cases of heavy use or inexperienced users. However they are primarily considered central nervous system stimulants and depressants respectively as these effects are almost always present.

Polydrug use: effects and interactions

‘Polydrug use’ is a term for the use of more than one drug or type of drug at the same time or one after another. Polydrug use can involve both illicit drugs and legal substances, such as alcohol and medications. Please click the button to go to the ADF webpage on Polydrug use to read more information.

Thanks for reading!