Recreational drugs

This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Recreational drugs is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:

Related Sponsors

BM Pharmacy Generic pharmaceuticals at unbeatable prices. Insomnia, men's health, hair health, pain control. bmpharmacy.com
Online Pharmacy Carisoprodol, tadalafil, sildenafil, vardenafil and more... xlpharmacy.com
MedBasket.com Discreet. Inexpensive. Fast shipping. Great selection. What more can we say? medbasket.com
Frugalmed 2000 reasons to shop with us first. frugalmed.com
Ads by Tiva

Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than for work, medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear.

Psychopharmacologist Ronald K. Siegel refers to intoxication as the "fourth drive", arguing that the human instinct to seek mind-altering substances has so much force and persistence that it functions like the human drives for hunger, thirst and shelter.[1]

Contents

Distinctions

Responsible drug use

Main article: Responsible drug use

The concept of responsible drug use is that a person can use recreational drugs with reduced or eliminated risk of negatively affecting other parts of one's life or other peoples lives. Advocates of this philosophy point to the many well-known artists and intellectuals who have used drugs, experimentally or otherwise, with few detrimental effects on their lives. Critics argue that the drugs are escapist--and dangerous, unpredictable and sometimes addictive, and have negative and profound effects in geographic areas well beyond the location of the consumer.

Drugs popularly used for recreation

Most Popular Psychoactives

The drugs most popular for recreational use worldwide are:[2]

Other Psychoactives

Other substances often used (street names in italics):[3][4][5]

Barbiturates, including

Benzodiazepines, including

Nonbenzodiazepines, including

Deliriants, including

Dissociative anaesthetics, including

Opium (Papaver somniferum) and opioids, including

Phenethylamines, including, but not limited to

For more information see: PiHKAL.

Stimulants, including

Indole alkaloids, including, but not limited to

For more information see: TiHKAL.

Inhalants, including

Unclassified

Drug use over time

USA

Drug use has increased in all categories since prohibition.[6] Since 1937, 20% to 37% of the youth in the United States have used marijuana. One in four high school seniors have used the drug in the past month; one in ten 8th graders have done so.[7][6] Between 1972 and 1988, the use of cocaine increased more than fivefold.[8] The usage patterns of the current two most prevalent drugs, methamphetamine and ecstasy, have shown similar gains.[6]

Ireland

A 2008 study in Ireland found that:[9]

  • 86% of teenagers, aged 15-19, drink alcohol (the legal alcohol purchase age and public drinking age is 18, although the drinking age in private is zero).
    • One-third of teenagers drink once a week.
    • 51% of teenagers binge drink (defined as five drinks or more at occasion) at least once a month.
    • 19% of teenagers binge drink once a week.
    • 4% of teenagers binge drink more than once a week.
    • Only 14% of teenagers do not drink at all.
    • On a typical teenage drinking occasion, the average amount of alcoholic beverages consumed is 5.75 pints.
    • The average age for taking a first alcoholic drink is 13½.
  • 50% of teenagers have used illegal drugs at least once.
    • 41% of teenagers have used cannabis at least once.
    • The average age of first illegal drug use is 14½.

See also

References

  1. ^ Siegel, Ronald K (2005). Intoxication: The universal drive for mind-altering substances. Vermont: Park Street Press, pp vii. ISBN 1-59477-069-7. 
  2. ^ Lingeman, Drugs from A-Z A Dictionary, Penguin ISBN 0 7139 0136 5
  3. ^ Lingeman, Drugs from A-Z A Dictionary, Penguin ISBN 0 7139 0136 5
  4. ^ a b Erowid.org, Erowid Psychoactive Vaults, http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/psychoactives.shtml
  5. ^ DEA Drug Database, http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/concern.htm
  6. ^ a b c Monitoring The Future
  7. ^ Charles Whitebread: The History of the Non-Medical Use of Drugs in the United States
  8. ^ Controlling Cocaine: Supply Versus Demand Programs
  9. ^ RTÉ News - Half of young people use drink, drugs
  • (2002) Out of It: A Cultural History of Intoxication. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-027977-6. 

External links

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 1 September 2008, at 00:36.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Recreational drugs".

The URL for this specific entry is:

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.