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A drug, broadly speaking, is a substance used as a medicine or narcotic. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in medicine, government regulations, and colloquial usage.

In pharmacology, Dictionary.com defines a drug as "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being." Drugs may be prescribed for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.

Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system, such as narcotics or hallucinogens. They may be used for perceived beneficial effects on perception, consciousnesss, personality, and behavior. Some recreational drugs can cause addiction and habituation.

Drugs are usually distinguished from endogenous biochemicals by being introduced from outside the organism. For example, insulin is a hormone that is synthesized in the body; it is called a hormone when it is synthesized by the pancreas inside the body, but if it is introduced into the body from outside, it is called a drug.

Many natural substances such as beers, wines, and some mushrooms, blur the line between food and drugs, as when ingested they affect the functioning of both mind and body.

Medication

A medication or medicine is a drug taken to cure and/or ameliorate any symptoms of an illness or medical condition, or may be used as preventive medicine that has future benefits but does not treat any existing or pre-existing diseases or symptoms.

Dispensing of medication is often regulated by governments into three categories — over-the-counter (OTC) medications, which are available in pharmacies and supermarkets without special restrictions, behind-the-counter (BTC), which are dispensed by a pharmacist without needing a doctor's prescription, and Prescription only medicines (POM), which must be prescribed by a licensed medical professional, usually a physician.

In the UK, BTC medicines are called pharmacy medicines which can only be sold in registered pharmacies, by or under the supervision of a pharmacist. However, the precise distinction between OTC and prescription drugs depends on the legal jurisdiction.

Medications are typically produced by pharmaceutical companies and are often patented to give the developer exclusive rights to produce them, but they can also be derived from naturally occurring substance in plants called herbal medicine. Those that are not patented (or with expired patents) are called generic drugs since they can be produced by other companies without restrictions or licenses from the patent holder.

Drugs, both medicinal and recreational, can be administered in a number of ways:

• Orally, as a liquid or solid, that is absorbed through the stomach.
• Inhaled, (breathed into the lungs), as a vapor.
• Injected as a liquid either intramuscular or intravenous (put under the skin, into a vein or muscle tissue with the use of a hypodermic needle).
• Rectally as a suppository, that is absorbed by the colon.
• Vaginally as a suppository, primarily to treat vaginal infections.
• Bolus, a substance into the stomach to dissolve slowly.

Many drugs can be administered in a variety of ways.

Recreation

Recreational drug use is typically the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than medical or spiritual purposes. Many governments across the world regulate and ban various recreational drugs, and the exact laws are often politically controversial. Canada is following the Netherlands' lead in largely decriminalizing marijuana.

Legal definition of drugs

Some governments define the term drug by law. In the United States, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act definition of "drug" includes "articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or other animals" and "articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals." Consistent with that definition, the U.S. separately defines narcotic drugs and controlled substances, which may include non-drugs, and explicitly excludes tobacco and alcoholic beverages.

See also

• Drug abuse
• Drug addiction
• Drug development
• Drug injection
• Narcotics
• Enzyme inhibitor
• Generic drug
• Illegal drug trade
• Lifestyle drug
• List of drugs is an extensive alphabetical list of drugs by name.
• Medication
• Placebo (origins of technical term)
• Prescription drug
• Psychedelic plants
• Psychoactive drug
• Recreational drug use
• The Yogurt Connection

References

1. "Drug." WordNet 3.0, Princeton University, via dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
2. ^ "Drug." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1), Random House, Inc., via dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
3. ^ "Drug." The American Heritage Science Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin Company, via dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
4. ^ "Drug." Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., via dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
5. "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act" (Website.) U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
6. "21 USC Sec. 802." (Website.) U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.

External links

• Get rid of drugs. Drug Addiction Treatment Useful resource website with detailed information on drugs and how to treat drug addiction. "Say NO to drugs" May 4 2007
• The Cult of Pharmacology: How America Became the World's Most Troubled Drug Culture by Richard DeGrandpre, Duke University Press, 2006.
• 'don't drug + drive' German web-site providing information on the influence of recreational drugs in driving.

• Drugs