English: List of addictive substances: [14,065]

There are dozens of illegal addictive substances such as cocaine and heroin but many others are legal and are actually easy accessible in almost every home. Caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, aerosols and prescription medicines can all be addictive. In fact any substance that is habit forming whether it is legal or not is addictive.

Addictive substances affect the brain in different ways. Stimulants make a person feel more energetic and depressants cause a feeling of relaxation. Hallucinogens change reality for the user. Addictive substances are can also be legal, illegal or prescription only.

Legal addictive substances:

Alcohol: Alcohol is a depressant that affects neurons in the brain which leads to a feeling of relaxation, drowsiness, lack of inhibition, sleep, coma and even death. Addiction to alcohol is call alcoholism. Alcohol includes wine, beer and liquor.

Caffeine: Caffeine is addictive and a person’s body can begin to build a tolerance to it and experience withdrawal when they stop drinking it. Coffee, tea, soda, sports drinks and other sports beverages that have caffeine in it run the risk of being addictive. Coffee though, has twice as much caffeine as other drinks. Three cups or less of coffee per day is considered ok, going above that can cause nervousness, sleeping problems, increased heartbeat, headaches, anxiety and nausea.

Inhalants: Aerosols, solvents and nitrates. These inhalants can range from paint thinners to hair spray and even whip cream cans. The inhalation results in a high similar to that of alcohol, one time use of inhalants can kill or cause heart failure in someone.

Nicotine: Cigarettes, cigars, nicotine patches and nicotine lozenges. Nicotine raises the dopamine levels in the brain and stimulates adrenalin.

Controlled addictive substances:

Amphetamines: Speed, crystal meth. Stimulants give a person more energy and boost alertness as well as concentration. Adderall, Dexedrine and other controlled addictive substances like this are normally prescribed for the treatment of ADD and ADHD.

Benzodiazepines: Benzodiazepines include prescription drugs like Xanax and valium. These are prescribed for insomnia, anxiety, seizures and symptoms of panic disorder.

Opioids: Morphine, oxycodone, codeine and other narcotic pain relievers are very helpful with pain but they are also very addictive. Opioids interfere with the way the pain messages are sent to the brain and how the brain receives them.

Illegal addictive substances:
Cannabis: Marijuana, pot, hashish, grass, bud whatever they are calling it is cannabis. Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States. Long-term use of marijuana is addictive for some people.

(Cannabis and Dependence):
People who develop problems with marijuana may indeed be different from those who do not, but this phenomenon has been observed with other substances of abuse. A comparison with alcohol use and dependence provides a case in point. The great majority of Americans have tried alcohol and continue to drink alcoholic beverages regularly. However, only an estimated 10 to 15 percent of alcohol drinkers develop problems, and only some of these problem drinkers seek treatment. This is also true of those who have tried cocaine or heroin.  That said, the experience of dependence on marijuana tends to be less severe than that observed with cocaine, opiates, and alcohol. On average, individuals with marijuana dependence meet fewer DSM dependence criteria; the withdrawal experience is not as dramatic; and the severity of the associated consequences is not as extreme. The apparently less severe nature of marijuana dependence does not necessarily mean that marijuana addiction is easier to overcome. Many factors besides a drug’s physiological effects—including availability, frequency and pattern of use, perception of harm, and cost—can contribute to cessation outcomes and the strength of addiction. The low cost of marijuana, the typical pattern of multiple daily use by those addicted, the less dramatic consequences, and ambivalence may increase the difficulty of quitting. Although determining the relative difficulty of quitting various substances of abuse is complex, the treatment literature reviewed here suggests that the experience of marijuana abusers rivals that of those addicted to other substances

Cocaine: Cocaine brings an intense euphoria and energy to its user followed shortly after with agitation, depression and mania. Cocaine is also known as powder, coke, and crack. Cocaine is highly addictive.

Cocaine is a sympathomimetic drug with CNS stimulant and euphoriant properties. High doses can cause panic, schizophrenic-like symptoms, seizures, hyperthermia, hypertension, arrhythmias, stroke, aortic dissection, intestinal ischemia, and MI. Toxicity is managed with supportive care, including IV benzodiazepines (for agitation, hypertension, and seizures) and cooling techniques (for hyperthermia). Withdrawal manifests primarily as depression, difficulty concentrating, and somnolence (cocaine washout syndrome).  Most cocaine users are episodic recreational users. However, about 25% (or more) of users meet criteria for abuse or dependence. Use among adolescents has declined recently. Availability of highly biologically active forms, such as crack cocaine, has worsened the problem of cocaine dependence. Most cocaine in the US is about 50 to 60% pure; it may contain a wide array of fillers, adulterants, and contaminants.

Cocaine in usually volatilized and inhaled, but it may be snorted, or injected IV. For inhalation, the powdered hydrochloride salt is converted to a more volatile form, usually by adding NaHCO3, water, and heat. The resultant precipitate (crack cocaine) is volatilized by heating (it is not burned) and inhaled. Onset of effect is quick, and intensity of the high rivals IV injection. Tolerance to cocaine occurs, and withdrawal from heavy use is characterized by somnolence, difficulty concentrating, increased appetite, and depression. The tendency to continue taking the drug is strong after a period of withdrawal.

Effects:
Cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant that increases levels of dopamine, a brain chemical (or neurotransmitter) associated with pleasure and movement, in the brain’s reward circuit. Certain brain cells, or neurons, use dopamine to communicate. Normally, dopamine is released by a neuron in response to a pleasurable signal (e.g., the smell of good food), and then recycled back into the cell that released it, thus shutting off the signal between neurons. Cocaine acts by preventing the dopamine from being recycled, causing excessive amounts of the neurotransmitter to build up, amplifying the message to and response of the receiving neuron, and ultimately disrupting normal communication. It is this excess of dopamine that is responsible for cocaine’s euphoric effects. With repeated use, cocaine can cause long-term changes in the brain’s reward system and in other brain systems as well, which may eventually lead to addiction. With repeated use, tolerance to the cocaine high also often develops. Many cocaine abusers report that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first exposure. Some users will increase their dose in an attempt to intensify and prolong the euphoria, but this can also increase the risk of adverse psychological or physiological effects

Hallucinogens: Hallucinogens can include LSD and ecstasy. Hallucinogens change the way the user perceives time, motion, colors, sound and their own thoughts. Hallucinogens depending on which they are can be addictive.

LSD (d-lysergic acid diethylamide)—also known as acid, blotter, doses, hits, microdots, sugar cubes, trips, tabs, or window panes — is one of the most potent moodand perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. It is a clear or white, odorless, water-soluble material synthesized from lysergic acid, a compound derived from a rye fungus. LSD is initially produced in crystalline form, which can then be used to produce tablets known as 'microdots' or thin squares of gelatin called 'window panes.' It can also be diluted with water or alcohol and sold in liquid form. The most common form, however, is LSD-soaked paper punched into small individual squares, known as 'blotters.

LSD Effects:
Sensations and feelings change much more dramatically than the physical signs in people under the influence of LSD. The user may feel several different emotions at once or swing rapidly from one emotion to another. If taken in large enough doses, the drug produces delusions and visual hallucinations. The user’s sense of time and self is altered. Experiences may seem to “cross over” different senses, giving the user the feeling of hearing colors and seeing sounds. These changes can be frightening and can cause panic. Some LSD users experience severe, terrifying thoughts and feelings of despair, fear of losing control, or fear of insanity and death while using LSD.

LSD users can also experience flashbacks, or recurrences of certain aspects of the drug experience. Flashbacks occur suddenly, often without warning, and may do so within a few days or more than a year after LSD use. In some individuals, the flashbacks can persist and cause significant distress or impairment in social or occupational functioning, a condition known as hallucinogen-induced persisting perceptual disorder (HPPD).

Most users of LSD voluntarily decrease or stop its use over time. LSD is not considered an addictive drug since it does not produce compulsive drug-seeking behavior. However, LSD does produce tolerance, so some users who take the drug repeatedly must take progressively higher doses to achieve the state of intoxication that they had previously achieved. This is an extremely dangerous practice, given the unpredictability of the drug. In addition, cross-tolerance between LSD and other hallucinogens has been reported

Phencyclidine (PCP): PCP is also known as angel dust. PCP is approved only for use in animals. It is a hallucinogen that has sedating qualities and also produces a dissociative state or out of body experience along with euphoria. Those who use PCP can become violent or suicidal.

PCP or phencyclidine is a crystalline synthetic illegal substance that offers anesthetic properties. PCP was originally developed as a surgical anesthetic under the name Sernyl in the 1950’s but was never used in medicine due to bizarre and seriously negative side effects that included agitation, delusions and irrational thinking.  This is a controlled substance, produces its hallucinogenic effects as a NMDA receptor antagonist in the brain that blocks the activity of NMDA receptors in the brain and is significantly more dangerous than other categories of hallucinogens, such as ketamine (“Special K”), nitrous oxide (“whippets”), tileamine, and the cough-suppressant dextromethorphan. Used recreationally, the sedating effects of PCP, known on the streets as “angel dust,” “illy,” and “wet,” lead to a trance-like state during which people feel detached from their bodies and the environment around them. Many people who use PCP report feeling as if they are observing themselves from up above.  PCP may be a tablet, capsule or colored powder. Most frequently sold on the streets as a powder or liquid it is abused by swallowing, snorting, smoking or injecting. The strong taste of PCP is masked by applying it to herbs such as the leaves of mint, oregano, parsley or tobacco. Sometimes PCP is applied to marijuana leaves to create a more potent effect.

PCP is also a very addictive drug, which further increases the negative consequences associated with its use. Individuals who abuse PCP will develop a tolerance to the drug, and if they quit using, they may experience withdrawal symptoms. Once an addiction to PCP has developed, it can be extremely challenging to overcome without effective professional help.

Statistics:  For individuals 12 and older the previous year prevalence rate was estimated at 0.10% while the lifetime prevalence rate was estimated at 2.5%.  However, there appears to be a significant age difference in use of this substance. For adolescents ages 12-17 the estimated prevalence rate for the past year was 0.20% while the lifetime prevalence rate was estimated at 0.40%.  For young adults ages 18 to 25 the past month estimate was 0.2% while the lifetime estimate was 1%. Finally, for those ages 26 or older estimates for the past year prevalence rate was 0.00% while the lifetime estimate was estimated at 3.00%.

Disorders:
PCP addiction and abuse commonly occurs with a number of different disorders.  including: Alcoholism,  Bipolar disorder,  Schizophrenia; and, Substance Abuse.

Causes of PCP Abuse:
Genetic: Those who have a first-degree relative who abuses drugs are more likely to abuse drugs than others without a similar family history. While there is only limited research related to hallucinogens, there is some support suggesting that those with a first-degree relative who used hallucinogens is at greater risk for abusing hallucinogens.

The brain chemistry:
PCP, like all drugs of addiction, affects the brain’s reward center.  Under normal circumstances the brain responds to situations that are pleasurable by releasing the dopamine, a neuro - transmitter responsible for communication within the brain. PCP among other drugs, interferes with the communication process, causing the neurons in the brain to flood the brain with dopamine. The increased amount and length of dopamine flooding is what causes the high associated with taking PCP.

Brain chemical imbalances:
Sometimes individuals have certain chemical imbalances with the brain. Some individuals have chemical imbalances that lead to lower levels of pleasure or increased negative mood states. When individuals come into contact with a substance that improves these states and creates pleasure it is very difficult to decide to return to the former state.

Environmental:
While it is clear that there is a genetic predisposition to developing drug-related disorders including PCP abuse, this does not mean that everyone with the predisposition will develop such a disorder. Research shows that life stressors and other environmental influences account for about 50% of the risk that someone with such a predisposition will go on to develop the disorder.

Symptoms of PCP usage and / or abuse:

Mood:
Psychological cravings, Continued use despite awareness that it is resulting in psychological problems, Sedation or becoming overly calm; Euphoria; Mood swings, and, Intense anger

Behavioral:
Drug is used in higher doses or more frequently than intended; Unsuccessful attempts to cut down; The individual spends a lot of time obtaining, using, or recovering from PCP; Inability to fulfill major life responsibilities; Important activities given up due to the use of PCP Loss of important relationships; Unusual behavior results in individuals ostracizing the individual;     Social withdrawal due to odd perceptions of others and living in a dreamlike state which precludes the ability to interact, and,  Loss of relationships due to arguments over drug use.

Consequences of drug intoxication:  Physical fights

Physical:
Physical cravings; Continued use despite being aware that it is resulting in physiological problems; Tolerance or the need for increasing amounts of the drug to produce the desired feelings; Numbness; Slurred speech; Blank, wall-eyed stare; Hypertension; Tachycardia Muscle spasms; Lung secretions, and, Stuttering

Psychological:
Inability to make decision; Amnesia; Lack of motivation; Getting caught up in a delusional system to the point the individual believes that is reality all the time; Difficulty paying attention;     Hallucinations; Delusions; Paranoia, and, Psychosis.

Effects
The effects of long-term PCP addiction and abuse affect nearly every aspect of an individual’s life. Some of the effects of PCP use and abuse include:

Feeling numb;Lack of coordination; Darting eye movements; Auditory hallucinations; Feeling invincible; Feeling of no pain;Willingness to harm self;Lacks rational judgement;Memory loss;    Anxiety; Sense of impending doom; Paranoia; Extreme violence; Intense aggression; Psychosis;    Brain damage, and, Suicidal thoughts

Withdrawal from PCP is a very dangerous process that should only be performed under the careful supervision of trained medical professionals. Withdrawal symptoms of PCP include the following:
.
Decreased reflexes; Weight loss; Memory loss; Confusion; Anxiety; Speech difficulties; Depression; Lack of impulse control; Coma; Suicide, and, Death

Fortunately, there are treatment options available that can help abusers of PCP overcome their addictions and rediscover a sober life.

As always, be safe !

bird

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