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Psychoactive Drugs

Psychoactive drugs, as opposed to medicinal drugs, have psychological effects, meaning that they change sensory experience, perception, mood, thinking, and behavior. Psychoactive drugs are sometimes called recreational drugs, though some have legitimate medical uses.

Types of Recreational Drugs

Researchers usually classify recreational drugs into four types: stimulants, sedatives, narcotics, and hallucinogens.

  • Stimulants: drugs that stimulate the central nervous system
  • Sedatives: drugs that slow down the central nervous system
  • Narcotics: also called opiates; drugs that can relieve pain
  • Hallucinogens: drugs that cause sensory and perceptual distortions

Drugs derived from the cannabis plant, such as marijuana and hashish, have features of more than one of these drug types, so researchers sometimes consider cannabis to be a separate, fifth drug type.

 
Drug typeExamplesEffectsNegative effects
StimulantsNicotine, caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines, crystal methIncreased alertness and energy, excitation, euphoria, confidenceAnxiety, restlessness, irritability, sleeplessness, paranoia, increased aggressiveness, feelings of panic
SedativesAlcohol, Valium, Xanax, barbiturates, such as SeconalEuphoria, relaxation, less anxietyImpaired coordination, depression, lethargy, drowsiness, mood swings
NarcoticsMorphine, heroin, opium, codeine, hydrocodone, such as VicodinEuphoria, relaxation, less anxiety, less sensitivity to painLethargy, drowsiness, nausea, impaired coordinated, constipation
HallucinogensLSD, mescaline, psilocybinEuphoria, changed perception, hallucinations, insightful momentsNausea, paranoia, anxiety, feelings of panic, mood swings, impaired judgment, jumbled thoughts
CannabisMarijuana, hashishEuphoria, relaxation, increased awareness, changed perceptionSluggishness, anxiety, impaired memory

How Psychoactive Drugs Work

Psychoactive drugs work by affecting neurotransmitter function. A single drug can affect the function of more than one neurotransmitter. Drugs can:

  • Cause more or less of a neurotransmitter to be released at synapses
  • Block reuptake of a neurotransmitter by presynaptic cells
  • Stimulate or block neurotransmitter receptors on postsynaptic cells

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are sensory or perceptual experiences that happen without any external stimulus. Hallucinogenic drugs fool the brain into perceiving sights, sounds, and tastes that aren’t actually present, and they may confuse a person’s sense of space and time. For example, a man who takes a hallucinogenic drug may hear voices in his head.

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