Drugs are often divided into different classes, categories, or sections based on their primary effects. Depending on how a person groups them there can be multiple types of categories. For instance, categories could include "Short-Acting Drugs" or "Long-Acting Drugs" while simultaneously having "Stimulant" and "Psychedelic" drugs. Common category headers will be listed and explained here to better indicate which drugs are placed into which groups.
Following the list of defined drug classes, I post my own classifications for purpose in this blog that I feel encompasses the most substances
Prodrug - A compound that, on administration, must undergo chemical conversion by metabolic processes before becoming an active pharmacological agent; a precursor of a drug [http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/prodrug].
Analgesics - I tend to refer to Analgesics as a blanket term of pain-killers. Opiates and opioids come to mind as primary analgesics. According to drugs.com, central nervous analgesics are drugs used to alleviate pain without causing anesthesia. These analgesics are usually used to relieve severe pain [DrugAna xxxx].
Anesthetics - I thought this class of drugs was used to specifically numb an area, however, some research on Britannica.com yielded slightly different results. "Any agent that produces a local or general loss of sensation, including pain" [AnesBrit 2015]. This effect is usually achieved by acting on the brain or peripheral nervous system to suppress responses to sensory stimulation. Being in an unresponsive state is being in a state of anesthesia. General anesthesia involves a loss of consciousness, usually for the purpose of relieving the pain of surgery. Local anesthesia involves the loss of sensation in one area of the body by blocking the conduction in the nerves [AnesBrit 2015].
Anxiolytics - anti-anxiety drugs, also called minor tranquillizers, is any drug that relieves symptoms of anxiety [AnxiBrit 2013]. Anxiety is a state of pervasive apprehension that can be triggered by specific environmental or personal factors. Anxiety states are generally combined with emotions such as fear, anger, or depression. Sometimes anxiety may include symptoms of heart palpitations, nausea, dizziness, chest pains, sleeplessness, and fatigue. Drugs in this class include primarily benzodiazepines and variations of original benzodiazepine structure [AnxiBrit 2013].
Benzodiazepines - A class of drugs primarily used for treating anxiety, but they are also effective in treating several other conditions. The exact mechanism of action is not known, but they appear to be working predominantly on the GABA neurotransmitters in the brain. GABA suppresses the activity of the nerves and scientists believe that excessive activity of the nerves may be the cause of anxiety and other psychological disorders [RxlBenz xxxx]. Benzodiazepines (Benzos) are most useful in treating anxiety, seizures, insomnia, nausea, depression, and panic attacks amongst other things [RxlBenz xxxx].
Cannabinoids - Cannabis, the crude material from Cannabis Sativa contains hundreds of chemicals, of which most of these are found in other plants. However, 61 of these termed cannabinoids are unique to the cannabis plant. A single cannabinoid delta-9-THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) produces almost all the characteristic specific pharmacologic effects of the complex, crude cannabis mixtures. A number of synthetic cannabinoids have similar effects to d9-THC. Other cannabinoids in the plant such as cannabinol are almost inactive pharmacologically or may interact with d9-THC to modify its actions. One cannabinoid, Cannabidiol (CBD) can influence the metabolism of another, d9-THC [DrSciCanna 2006]. Even at the early date, 1982, scientists have established that the key to unlocking the pharmacological secrets of the marijuana plant lies in an understanding of the active ingredients as a chemically distinct family of interrelated molecules [DrSciCanna 2006]. There are 61 known cannabinoids, however they can be further subdivided into 12 categorical types: Cannabigerol (CBG), Cannabidiol (CBD), d9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (d9-THC), d8-Tetrahydrocannabinol (d8-THC), cannabinol (CBN), Cannabinodiol (CBND), and other cannabinoids to name a few [DrSciCanna 2006].
Depressants - In medicine, a depressant is a drug or other agent that slows the activity of vital organs of the body. Depressants act on the central nervous system and include general anesthetics, opiates, alcohol, and hypnotics. Tranquilizing drugs act on the lower levels of the brain by relieving tension without reducing mental sharpness [DeprBrit 2014].
Dissociatives - These drugs do what the name suggests. They break down associations between current experience and all the reference points, memories, and meanings that normally make experience make sense. If enough of a dissociative drug is consumed, the boundaries between what is real and imagined disappears for hours at a time, and even more can cause a user to lose control of muscles as well so walking and talking may become nearly impossible [PsychDiss 2011]. Dissociatives work by blockading the NMDA receptors all over the cortex. These entry ports into neurons allow for communication among distant regions of the brain, but NMDA receptors have a special function. They don't pass on just any information, they are responsible for transmitting information that allows the cortex to make sense. This part of the brain gets seriously messed up with Detromethorphan (DXM, cough syrup), Ketamine, or Phencyclidine (PCP/Angel dust). With this, you can experience things the way they seem to be or the way you want them to be since your brain cortex is in disarray [PsychDiss 2011].
Downers - See Depressants
Entheogen - Substances which generate god or spirit within. Peyote and psilocybin mushrooms are traditional examples of this. Entheogens are psychoactive sacraments, plants or chemical substances taken to create spiritual or mystical experience. Entheogenic literally means 'becoming divine within' and this term was derived from an obsolete Greek word describing religious communion with visionary drugs, prophetic seizures, and erotic assion. Pharmacologists and phytochemists have yet to agree on a term to categorize their pharmacological action. Hallucinogenic is usually an encompassing term for this category despite the fact that most drugs in this category produce little to no hallucinations in a clinical sense [TermEro 2015].
Empathogens - When the word is dismantled, empathy (identification with the feelings of others) and gen (creation) is revealed. These are substances often cause or help one to identify with the feelings of others or feel a sense of connectedness with others. MDMA is a good example [TermEro 2015].
Hallucinogens - Hallucinogenic compounds are found in some plants and mushrooms (or their extracts) and have been used for centuries, most often during religious rituals. Most hallucinogens contain nitrogen, and are classified as alkaloids. A lot of these hallucinogens have a chemical structure similar to those of natural neurotransmitters such as serotonin or acetylcholine. The mechanism of action is often unclear, research suggests these drugs work by temporarily interfering with neurotransmitter action [DrAbuse 2014]. Hallucinogen drugs are highly variable and unreliable, and can produce different effects in different people at different times. Hallucinogens can cause hallucinations which are profound distorions in a person's perception of reality. People might see images, hear sounds and feel sensations that seem real but are not. Emotional swings might occur depending on the drug as well as interference in body regulation, mood, hunger, sexual behavior, sensory perception, or muscle control [DrAbuse 2014].
According to Erowid.org, "hallucinogen" becomes a catchall term for a variety of psychoactive substances including vastly pharmacologically different chemicals such as cannabinoids, NMDA receptor agonists like ketamine and PCP, MDMA, salvia, and LSD. The term is so often used in medical and research journals but is rarely given a precise definition and when used in its most general sense it is vague. It adds confusion to complex neuropharmacological issues and almost becomes meaningless [EroHallu 2005].
Opiates - A narcotic analgesic that directly depresses the central nervous system. Natural opiates are derived from the "milk" of the opium poppy, while synthetic opiates are usually manufactured in chemical laboratories with a similar chemical structure. Natural and synthetic opiates are collectively known as opioids [IsateOpia xxxx].
Opioids - Opioids attach to proteins called opioid receptors which are found in the spinal cord, brain and gastrointestinal tract [IsateOpia xxxx]. Drugs in this category include codeine, morphine and other related drugs in this category are usually called narcotics. Many opioids are used for their analgesic (pain-relieving) properties. Examples of opioids include oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), codeine, and hydromorphone (Dilaudid) [IsateOpia xxxx].
Pain-Killers - see Analgesics
Psychedelics - These substances have the ability to expand human awareness
https://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/essential_psychedelic_guide/essential_psychedelic_guide.pdf
Stimulants
Synthetic Cannabinoids
DrugAna xxxx
Analgesics
http://www.drugs.com/drug-class/analgesics.html
Author: Drugs.com, Date Published: ????
AnesBrit 2015
Anesthetic - Medicine
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/24338/anesthetic
Author: Alan William Cuthbert, Date Updated: 4 February, 2015
AnxiBrit 2013
Antianxiety drug
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/27724/antianxiety-drug
Author: Floyd E. Bloom, Date Updated: 10 October, 2013
IsateOpia xxxx
Institute for Substance Abuse Treatment Evaluation - Opiate
http://www.isate.memphis.edu/opiate.html
Author: ISATE, Date Published: ????
RxlBenz xxxx
Benzodiazepine Drug Information
http://www.rxlist.com/benzodiazepines/drugs-condition.htm
Author: Annette Ogbru, Date Published: ????
DrSciCanna 2006
The 1995 Marijuana Rescheduling Petition - Institute of Medicine Report: Cannabinoid Pharmacology
http://www.drugscience.org/Petition/C8G.html
Author: ????, Date Published: Website copyright 2006
DeprBrit 2014
Depressant
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/158336/depressant
Author: Britannica.com, Date Updated: 8 September, 2014
PsychDiss 2011
The True Self: Unveiled by Dissociative Drugs? Part 1
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addicted-brains/201111/the-true-self-unveiled-dissociative-drugs-part-1
Author: Marc Lewis Ph.D., Date Published: 21 November, 2011
TermErow 2015
Terminology
https://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/psychoactives_def.shtml
Author: Erowid.org, Date Updated: 10 February 2015
DrAbuse 2014
DrugFacts: Hallucinogens - LSD, Peyote, Psilocybin, and PCP
http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/hallucinogens-lsd-peyote-psilocybin-pcp
Author: National Institute of Drug Abuse, Date Revised: December 2014
EroHallu 2005
The Neuropharmacology of Hallucinogens
https://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/pharmacology/pharmacology_article2.shtml
Author: BilZ0r, Date Published: August 2005
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