Psychoactive Addiction

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Frequently asked questions

What are psychoactive drugs?

Psychoactive drugs are substances that, when taken in or administered into one's system, affect mental processes, e.g. perception, consciousness, cognition or mood and emotions. Psychoactive drugs belong to a broader category of psychoactive substances that include also alcohol and nicotine.

What are the 4 types of psychoactive drugs?

Psychoactive drugs include four groups of drugs: depressants like alcohol and sleeping pills; stimulants like nicotine and ecstasy; opioids like heroin and pain medications; and hallucinogens like LSD.

How do psychoactive drugs affect the brain?

The drug affects three neurotransmitters in the brain: serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine (or noradrenaline). When the drug enters the brain, it leads to these neurotransmitters being released from their synaptic vesicles in neurons. This results in increased neurotransmitter activity.

What happens after repeated use of a psychoactive drug?

An important aspect of the pharmacology of psychoactive drugs is that the repeated use of the drug may cause changes in the neurochemistry of the brain that can reduce the amount of control the person has over their use of the drug, and repeated use can also alter the drug's psychopharmacological effects.

What are New psychoactive substances (NPS)?

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are a range of drugs that have been designed to mimic established illicit drugs, such as cannabis, cocaine, MDMA and LSD.

What are the 4 main categories of new psychoactive substances?

One pragmatic classification system is to divide NPS into one of four groups: synthetic stimulants, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic hallucinogens and synthetic depressants (which include synthetic opioids and benzodiazepines).

What is spice?

Spice is a mix of herbs (shredded plant material) and laboratory-made chemicals with mind-altering effects. It is sometimes misleadingly called “synthetic marijuana” or "fake weed" because some of the chemicals in it are similar to ones in marijuana.

What are the problems that are caused by psychoactive drugs?

Some of the dangers of psychoactive drugs include: Short-term physical effects include higher blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, problems with sleeping and eating, nausea and vomiting, shakiness, or dizziness. Long-term effects such as cardiovascular illness, respiratory difficulties, kidney or liver damage.
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