A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when

consumed.Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support.
Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, absorption via a patch on the
skin, suppository, or dissolution under the tongue.

In pharmacology, a drug is a chemical substance, typically of known structure, which, when administered
to a living organism, produces a biological effect.A pharmaceutical drug, also called a medication or
medicine, is a chemical substance used to treat, cure, prevent, or diagnose a disease or to promote well-
being. Traditionally drugs were obtained through extraction from medicinal plants, but more recently
also by organic synthesis.Pharmaceutical drugs may be used for a limited duration, or on a regular basis
for chronic disorders.

Pharmaceutical drugs are often classified into drug classes—groups of related drugs that have similar
chemical structures, the same mechanism of action (binding to the same biological target), a related
mode of action, and that are used to treat the same disease. The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical
Classification System (ATC), the most widely used drug classification system, assigns drugs a unique ATC
code, which is an alphanumeric code that assigns it to specific drug classes within the ATC system.
Another major classification system is the Biopharmaceutics Classification System. This classifies drugs
according to their solubility and permeability or absorption properties.

Psychoactive drugs are chemical substances that affect the function of the central nervous system,
altering perception, mood orconsciousness.] These drugs are divided into different groups like:
stimulants, depressants, antidepressants, anxiolytics, antipsychotics, and hallucinogens. These
psychoactive drugs have been proven useful in treating wide range of medical conditions including
mental disorders around the world. The most widely used drugs in the world include caffeine, nicotine
and alcohol,which are also considered recreational drugs, since they are used for pleasure rather than
medicinal purposes. All drugs can have potential side effects. Abuse of several psychoactive drugs can
cause addiction and/or physical dependence.Excessive use of stimulants can promote stimulant
psychosis. Many recreational drugs are illicit and international treaties such as the Single Convention on
Narcotic Drugs exist for the purpose of their prohibition

Religious use

Some religions, particularly ethnic religions, are based completely on the use of certain drugs, known as
entheogens, which are mostly hallucinogens,—psychedelics, dissociatives, or deliriants. Some drugs used
as entheogens include kava which can act as a stimulant, a sedative, a euphoriant and an anesthetic. The
roots of the kava plant are used to produce a drink which is consumed throughout the cultures of the
Pacific Ocean.
Some shamans from different cultures use entheogens, defined as "generating the divine within"[21] to
achieve religious ecstasy. Amazonian shamans use ayahuasca (yagé) a hallucinogenic brew for this
purpose. Mazatec shamans have a long and continuous tradition of religious use of Salvia divinorum a
psychoactive plant. Its use is to facilitate visionary states of consciousness during spiritual healing
sessions.[22]

Silene undulata is regarded by the Xhosa people as a sacred plant and used as an entheogen. Its roots
are traditionally used to induce vivid (and according to the Xhosa, prophetic) lucid dreams during the
initiation process of shamans, classifying it a naturally occurring oneirogen similar to the more well-
known dream herb Calea ternifolia.[23]

Peyote, a small spineless cactus, has been a major source of psychedelic mescaline and has probably
been used by Native Americans for at least five thousand years.[24][25] Most mescaline is now obtained
from a few species of columnar cacti in particular from San Pedro and not from the vulnerable peyote.
[26]

The entheogenic use of cannabis has also been widely practised[27] for centuries.[28] Rastafari use
marijuana (ganja) as a sacrament in their religious ceremonies.
Psychedelic mushrooms (psilocybin mushrooms), commonly called magic mushrooms or shrooms have
also long been used as enthogens.

Smart drugs and designer drugs

Nootropics, also commonly referred to as "smart drugs", are drugs that are claimed to improve human
cognitive abilities. Nootropics are used to improve memory, concentration, thought, mood, and learning.
An increasingly used nootropic among students, also known as a study drug, is methylphenidate branded
commonly as Ritalin and used for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and
narcolepsy. At high doses methylphenidate can become highly addictive. Serious addiction can lead to
psychosis, anxiety and heart problems, and the use of this drug is related to a rise in suicides, and
overdoses. Evidence for use outside of student settings is limited but suggests that it is commonplace.
Intravenous use of methylphenidate can lead to emphysematous damage to the lungs, known as Ritalin
lung.

Other drugs known as designer drugs are produced. An early example of what today would be labelled a
'designer drug' was LSD, which was synthesised from ergot. Other examples include analogs of
performance-enhancing drugs such as designer steroids taken to improve physical capabilities and these
are sometimes used (legally or not) for this purpose, often by professional athletes. Other designer drugs
mimic the effects of psychoactive drugs. Since the late 1990s there has been the identification of many
of these synthesised drugs. In Japan and the United Kingdom this has spurred the addition of many
designer drugs into a newer class of controlled substances known as a temporary class drug.

Synthetic cannabinoids have been produced for a longer period of time and are used in the designer
drug synthetic cannabis.

Recreational drug

Recreational drug use is the use of a drug (legal, controlled, or illegal) with the primary intention of
altering the state of consciousness through alteration of the central nervous system in order to create
positive emotions and feelings. The hallucinogen LSD is a psychoactive drug commonly used as a
recreational drug.

Ketamine is a drug used for anesthesia, and is also used as a recreational drug, both in powder and liquid
form, for its hallucinogenic and dissociative effects.

Some national laws prohibit the use of different recreational drugs; and medicinal drugs that have the
potential for recreational use are often heavily regulated. However, there are many recreational drugs
that are legal in many jurisdictions and widely culturally accepted. Cannabis is the most commonly
consumed controlled recreational drug in the world (as of 2012).] Its use in many countries is illegal but
is legally used in several countries usually with the proviso that it can only be used for personal use. It
can be used in the leaf form of marijuana (grass), or in the resin form of hashish. Marijuana is a more
mild form of cannabis than hashish.

There may be an age restriction on the consumption and purchase of legal recreational drugs. Some
recreational drugs that are legal and accepted in many places include alcohol, tobacco, betel nut, and
caffeine products, and in some areas of the world the legal use of drugs such as khat is common.

There are a number of legal intoxicants commonly called legal highs that are used recreationally. The
most widely used of these is alcohol.

Administration of drugs

All drugs, can be administered via a number of routes, and many can be administered by more than one.

~Bolus is the administration of a medication, drug or other compound that is given to raise its
concentration in blood to an effective level. The administration can be given intravenously, by
parenteral,by indovenous, by intramuscular, intrathecal or subcutaneous injection.

~Inhaled, (breathed into the lungs), as an aerosol, inhaler, vape or dry powder (this includes smoking or
vaping a substance).

~Insufflation, as a nasal spray or snorting into the nose.

~Orally, as a liquid or solid, that is absorbed through the intestines.

~Rectally as a suppository, that is absorbed by the rectum or colon.

`Sublingually, diffusing into the blood through tissues under the tongue.

`Topically, usually as a cream or ointment. A drug administered in this manner may be given to act locally
or systemically.[39]

`Vaginally as a pessary, primarily to treat vaginal infections.

Control of drugs

There are numerous governmental offices in many countries that deal with the control and oversee of
drug manufacture and use, and the implementation of various drug laws. The Single Convention on
Narcotic Drugs is an international treaty brought about in 1961 to prohibit the use of narcotics save for
those used in medical research and treatment. In 1971, a second treaty the Convention on Psychotropic
Substances had to be introduced to deal with newer recreational psychoactive and psychedelic drugs.

The legal status of Salvia divinorum varies in many countries and even in states within the United States.
Where it is legislated against the degree of prohibition also varies.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States is a federal agency responsible for
protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety, tobacco
products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter medications, vaccines,
biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices,
cosmetics, animal foods and veterinary drugs.

In India, the Narcotics Control Bureau (abbr. NCB), an Indian federal law enforcement and intelligence
agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India is tasked with combating drug
trafficking and assisting international use of illegal substances under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act.