What are the top 3 psychoactive drugs?

What are the top 3 psychoactive drugs?

More… 3.3 Based on the different ways in which they affect the brain, psychoactive drugs can be divided into four main groups: depressants (e.g., alcohol and sedatives), stimulants (e.g., nicotine and ecstasy), opioids (e.g., morphine and heroin), and hallucinogens (e.g., PCP and LSD).

What are 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.

Is a sedative a psychoactive drug?

Depressants (“downers”), including sedatives, hypnotics, and opioids. This category includes all of the calmative, sleep-inducing, anxiety-reducing, anesthetizing substances, which sometimes induce perceptual changes, such as dream images, and also often evoke feelings of euphoria.

What are the four types of psychoactive drugs?

There are four classifications of psychoactive drugs. These are depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and opiates.

Is there a perfect classification system for psychoactive drugs?

Furthermore, the aforementioned four classifications of psychoactive drugs do not collectively form a perfect classification system. Some drugs have effects that might gear more on a particular class depending on dosage and formulation. For example, an MDMA might be used as a hallucinogen.

What are the side effects of psychoactive drugs?

Examples of effects include paranoia, depersonalization (a sense of not being real), hallucinations, erratic behavior, and increased blood pressure and heart rate. Effects of excessive use may include problems thinking and speaking, memory loss, depression, and weight loss. Medical emergencies seldom occur.

How are opiates different from other psychoactive drugs?

4. Opiates: Psychoactive drugs that have effects similar to depressants but with added analgesic or pain-relieving functions are classified as opiates. Note that the primary difference of opiates from depressants is that they act on opioid receptors to produce analgesic effects.