Types of Drugs

As you can imagine, there are many different drugs, but we can put some of them into three groups, by the effect that they have on the human brain.

Stimulants:
Stimulants speeds things up. Sometimes called ‘uppers’

Effects of Stimulants on the individuals:

o Speeds up the central nervous system.
o Desired effects would include a sense of well being or euphoria, or an
enhanced ability to think and function.
o The heart beats faster
o Blood pressure goes higher
o It can be hard to get sleep/restlessness
o The body is so busy it sometimes doesn’t feel hungry/reduced appetite.
o A feeling of being “shaky”.
o Other effects include anxiety, paranoia.

These drugs include caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy.

Depressants:
Depressants slow things down. Sometimes called ‘downers’

These drugs have the opposite effect to stimulants. They slow down the central nervous system.

Effects of Depressants on the individuals:

o Slows down the central nervous system.
o The heart beats slower.
o Blood pressure goes down.
o Breathing gets slower.
o The body may feel relaxed.
o One desired effect is feeling of relaxation and feeling more at ease in
social situations.
o Another desired effect is a release from inhabitations, enabling us to “let
loose” and enjoy ourselves.
o Slow down messages from the brain to muscle impair our reflexes, the reduce
reaction time and impair our coordination and our ability to drive is
impaired.
o You would experience this as a slurring of speech, stumbling when you walk,
or weaving and a loss of balance.
o Hand-eye coordination is reduced.
o Thought and judgments are impaired because messages between the neurons in
the brain are slowed down.
o Reduced inhibitions and impaired judgment can lead to increased risk for
violent behavior.

These drugs include alcohol, tranquillizers (say tran-kwill-eye-zers), cannabis and inhalants (say in-hay-lants) and solvents (like glue).

Narcotics:
Narcotics slow things down and block pain.

Effects of Narcotics on the individuals:

o Have the same effects as the depressants – they slow down the central
nervous system.
o They have other effects that depressants do not have, which would include:
 Pain relief
 Suppress cough reaction

Hallucinogens:
Hallucinogens mix things up, speeding up and slowing down. They are
sometimes called ‘psychedelic drugs’.

Effects of Hallucinogens on the individuals:

o These drugs alter how a person feels and thinks.
o They can have lots of different effects on the mind.
o The senses – sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell – may be affected,
giving a false idea of what is happening around the body.
o ”Mixes up” the central nervous system, speeds things up and then slows
things down randomly.
o Our perception of time can be affected.
o Thought processes are affected, poor short term memory, alternating
inability to focus and enhanced ability to focus, reduced ability to learn,
and giddiness. (everything is funny)
o Other effects would include A) increased heart rate B) increased blood
pressure and C) increased appetite.

These drugs include LSD and magic mushrooms.

Field Test and Laboratory Tests:

With the increase in rapid diversification of drugs of abuse, it involves a increase both in frequency and volume of seizures of different forms of abused drugs. Owing to ingenuity of producers and promoters combination of drugs appearing in latest kinds, an additional challenge has been founded with forensic analyst. Many thousand drugs are currently available licitly, either over the counter or upon the presentation of the prescription from medical store. Considerable number of drugs with potential for abuse is further controlled by the law. New products appear continuously, often in a variety of presentations. The forensic analyst examiner may be asked to examine many products ranging from tablets and capsules bearing easily identifiable manufacturers and markings to illicit products of poor quality and unknown composition.
A number of methods are available for the detection and identification of drug of abuse, from sample field testing procedures to the use of most sophisticated instruments in analytical chemistry. These methods are discussed as follows:

 Chemical Spot Tests
 Field Tests
 Microcrystal Test
 UV Spectroscopy
 IR Spectroscopy
 Chromatographic Techniques
 Mass Spectrometry
 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometry
 Immunochemical Method


Facts on Drugs: –

Abuse and addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and illegal substances cost Americans upwards of half a trillion dollars a year, considering their combined medical, economic, criminal, and social impact. Every year, abuse of illicit drugs and alcohol contributes to the death of more than 100,000 Americans, while tobacco is linked to an estimated 440,000 deaths per year.

People of all ages suffer the harmful consequences of drug abuse and addiction.

• Babies exposed to legal and illegal drugs in the womb may be born
premature and underweight. This drug exposure can slow the child's
intellectual development and affect behavior later in life.6
• Adolescents who abuse drugs often act out, do poorly academically,
and drop out of school. They are at risk of unplanned pregnancies,
violence, and infectious diseases.
• Adults who abuse drugs often have problems thinking clearly, remembering,
and paying attention. They often develop poor social behaviors as a result
of their drug abuse, and their work performance and personal
relationships suffer.
• Parents' drug abuse often means chaotic, stress-filled homes and child
abuse and neglect. Such conditions harm the well-being and development
of children in the home and may set the stage for drug abuse in the next
generation.

 The most common drugs used by kids, are inhalants and analgesics, sometimes
called ‘painkiller’.
 The most used drug in Australia is caffeine.
 Tobacco and alcohol cause the most drug-related deaths in World.

Harmful Consequences:

Drugs can be considered harmful, when their use causes physical, mental, social, legal or economical problems. Not all drugs are equally hazardous. Drugs sold legally for medicinal purposes are generally considered safe when taken according to the advice/directions of the doctor. However, some of these drugs may produce unpleasant side effects even when used under medical guidance. Drugs obtained illegally are more likely to be hazardous. Many drugs are harmful when used in large doses, or in combination with other drugs. These are some of the most common hazards or problems

a) Physical health problems
b) Violence and Crime
c) Safety Hazards
d) Mental Health Problems
e) Tolerance
f) Physical Dependence
g) Overdose
h) Hazards of Using Drugs illegally
i) Psychological Dependence
j) Combing (Mixing) Drugs
k) Legal Problems

The Law and Drugs:

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (61 of 1985) An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to narcotic drugs, to make stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances 1*[ to provide for the forfeiture of property derived from, or used in, illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, to implement the provisions of the International Conventions on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances].and for matters connected therewith. BE it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-sixty Year of the Republic of India

Definitions - In this Act,
2(i)"addict" means a person addicted to any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance;
2 (iii) "cannabis (hemp)" means—
(a) charas, that is, the separated resin, in whatever form, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant and also includes concentrated preparation and resin known as hashish oil or liquid hashish;
(b) ganja, that is, the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant
(c) any mixture, with or without any neutral material, of any of the above forms of cannabis or any drink prepared there from;
2(iv) "cannabis plant" means any plant of the genus cannabis;
2(v) "coca derivative" means—
(a) crude cocaine, that is, any extract of coca leaf
(b) ecgonine and all the derivatives of ecgonine from which it can be recovered; (c) cocaine, that is, methyl ester of benzoyl-ecgonine and its salts; and
(d) all preparations containing more than 0.1 per cent. of cocaine;

2(vi) "coca leaf" means—the leaf of the coca plant except a leaf from which all ecgonine, cocaine and any other ecgonine alkaloids have been removed;
[2(viia) "controlled substance" means any substance declared in the official gazette to be a controlled substance,]
(xiv) “Narcotic drug” means coca leaf, cannabis (hemp), opium, poppy straw and includes all manufactured drugs;
(xv) “Opium” means – The coagulated juice of the opium poppy and any mixture of the coagulated juice but does not include any preparation containing not more than 0.2 percent of morphine.
(xxiii) "Psychotropic substance" means any substance, natural or synthetic, or any natural material or any salt or preparation of such substance or material included in the list of psychotropic substance-specified

[(xxiiia) "Small quantity", in relation to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, means any quantity lesser than the quantity specified by the Central Government by notification in the Official-Gazette.]

Classification of Abused Substances

A) Legal Substances
Legal substances approved by law for sale over the counter or by doctor’s prescription, include caffeine, alcoholic beverages, (alcohol) nicotine (smoke) and inhalants (nail polish, glue, inhalers, gasoline) Prescription drugs such as tranquilizers, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, steroids and analgesics can be knowingly or unknowingly overprescribed or otherwise used improperly. In many cases, new drugs prescribed in good conscience by physicians turn out to be a problem later. For example, diazepam (valium) was widely prescribed in the 1960’s and 1970’s before its potential for serious addiction was realized. In the 1990’s sales of fluoxetine (Prozac) helped create a $3 billon antidepressant market in the United States, leading many people to criticize what they saw as the creation of a legal drug culture that discouraged people from learning other ways to deal with their problems. At the same time, readily available but largely unregulated herbal medicines have grown in popularity; many of these are psychoactive to some degree, raising questions of quality and safety. Prescription drugs are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

B) Illegal Substances
Prescription drugs are considered illegal when diverted from proper use. Some people shop until they find a doctor who freely writes prescriptions; supplies are sometime stolen from the labortaries, clinics or hospitals. Morphine, a strictly controlled opiate, and synthetic opiates, such as fentanyl, are most often abused by people in the medical profession, who have easier access to these drugs. Other illegal substances include cocaine and crack, marijuana and hashish, heroin, hallucinogens drugs, such as LSD, PCP, (phencycline or ‘angle dust’) designer drugs such as MDMA, (Ecstasy) and party drugs, such as GHB. (gamma hydroxybutyrate)

In addition

• Our country has Laws to protect us, from harms.
• There are Laws, about what can be put into food and drinks.
• There are Laws, about the essential commodities.
• There are Laws, which allow us to use some drugs for illness only, with a
prescription (script) from the Doctor.
• There are Laws, which say which drugs can be sold out, without a
prescription (script).
• There are Laws, about how old you have to be to buy some drugs.
• It is against the Law, for someone to sell you, alcohol or tobacco product,
unless you are 18 or older.

Thus…
 There are Laws, which make the buying, growing or using of some drugs illegal. This means that a person could be fined or go to jail for being involved with illegal drugs. These drugs are also called illicit drugs.
 Some people don’t care, about the Laws; they only care about making money. These people won’t worry if young people take drugs and became addictive. (Addictive means that once you start you don’t want to stop or you can’t stop.)

Source of information. Forensic Sciecne A report and NDPS Act

Thank You
Sukhraj Singh Sandhu
Advocate