Define " Drug"

[Macroman]

A few members on IRC had a discussion about this, and I thought it would be interesting to bring to the something for all forum.

The Questions asked:

What exactly is a drug

Why isn't music, Water, Sex etc a drug.

What is a drug,

Now we tried to define the meaning of " Drug" before we continued on.

WikiPedia states ( yer i know its a freely editable source;

, broadly speaking, is any chemical substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function[5]. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in medicine, government regulations, and colloquial usage.[6]

In pharmacology, Dictionary.com defines a drug as "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being."[6] Drugs may be prescribed for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.[7]

Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system, such as narcotics or hallucinogens.[7] They may be used for perceived beneficial effects on perception, consciousness, personality, and behavior.[7][8] Some recreational drugs can cause addiction and habituation.[8]

Drugs are usually distinguished from endogenous biochemicals by being introduced from outside the organism.[citation needed] For example, insulin is a hormone that is synthesized in the body; it is called a hormone when it is synthesized by the pancreas inside the body, but if it is introduced into the body from outside, it is called a drug.[citation needed]

Many natural substances such as beers, wines, and some mushrooms, blur the line between food and drugs, as when ingested they affect the functioning of both mind and body.



But, not all drugs have to be chemical,

Why aren't the other things drugs

Next we had a discussion about, what makes something a drug, and what doesn't make it a drug. We talked for example based on our description of a drug, that anything with chemical properties is a drug, nothing else.



Now, For the debate...

What is a drug?

And What makes something a drug?

DEBATE!

 

[qaz cav]

Why isn't alcohol considered a drug to most people, yet weed is? Why isn't caffeine considered a drug to most people, yet coke is? I think the definition of 'drug' is decided by the government, not the people.

 

[dam prayer noobs]

Drug is whatever society views as bad/life corrupting, no matter how ignorant their views are.

 

[porman]

Why isn't alcohol considered a drug to most people, yet weed is? Why isn't caffeine considered a drug to most people, yet coke is? I think the definition of 'drug' is decided by the government, not the people.

Alcohol and caffiene are drugs...

"broadly speaking, is any chemical substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function" i think that sums it up enough.

water isnt a drug as it doesnt alter our normal functioning, music isnt a chemical substance, it cannot be consumed, music doesnt alter your bodily function.

 

[Reappeh]

Legal drugs:

Alcohol
Caffeine
Nicotine
On and on...

Now, I fully support the use of drugs for positive use, don't get me wrong. But there's so many people who think weed is a serious drug.

"Soft" drugs:
THC
LSD


"Medium" drugs:
Caffeine

"Hard" drugs:
Alcohol
Nicotine
Opiates (heroin, opium, morphine)
Cocaine
Amphetamines



When you look at that, alcohol and nicotine can ruin someone's life just like heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine. So yeah, they should be made illegal. The government only keeps the drugs they can make profit off legal, the ones they can't, illegal. There should be major restrictions on cigarettes, loading them up with nicotine, formaldehyde, benzol, ammonia, and all that other nasty shit they put in them is wrong. The government only thinks about what benefits them. If they legalized marijuana and made alcohol and nicotine restrictions, the world would be better. Marijuana isn't a brutal life-ruining drug, it's simply fun. No other way to put it. Having alcohol legal is like giving heroin to anyone over 18/19/21. A drug is defined as ANYTHING that alters the mind. There's way more things that can do that. Well, end of post...

 

[porman]

Legal drugs:

Alcohol
Caffeine
Nicotine
On and on...

Now, I fully support the use of drugs for positive use, don't get me wrong. But there's so many people who think weed is a serious drug.

"Soft" drugs:
THC
LSD


"Medium" drugs:
Caffeine

"Hard" drugs:
Alcohol
Nicotine
Opiates (heroin, opium, morphine)
Cocaine
Amphetamines



When you look at that, alcohol and nicotine can ruin someone's life just like heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine. So yeah, they should be made illegal. The government only keeps the drugs they can make profit off legal, the ones they can't, illegal. There should be major restrictions on cigarettes, loading them up with nicotine, formaldehyde, benzol, ammonia, and all that other nasty shit they put in them is wrong. The government only thinks about what benefits them. If they legalized marijuana and made alcohol and nicotine restrictions, the world would be better. Marijuana isn't a brutal life-ruining drug, it's simply fun. No other way to put it. Having alcohol legal is like giving heroin to anyone over 18/19/21. A drug is defined as ANYTHING that alters the mind. There's way more things that can do that. Well, end of post...

LSD a soft drug?!? LSD is some serious shit. Also, do you now the effects of smoking marijuana, if you smoke to much you literally go insane. I know a guy that was/is a huge pot smoker, now he is a permanently on a different planet, you would think he was born retarted but it was just the marijuana that did it.

You have your list abit wrong, alcohol is only bad if you bindge drink, it damages your liver. if you drink moderately it will have no adverse effects.

If you repeatively take any drug it will have a bad effect to your body. if your taking panadol everyday its really not good for you.

Cigarettes will never be illegal, not only because the government makes so much money from it, but then everyone would have to turn to crime and the black market.

edit: If your dependent on marijuana it will fuck up your life alot more then what cigarettes will.

 

[Ughster]

LSD a soft drug?!? LSD is some serious shit. Also, do you now the effects of smoking marijuana, if you smoke to much you literally go insane. I know a guy that was/is a huge pot smoker, now he is a permanently on a different planet, you would think he was born retarted but it was just the marijuana that did it.

You have your list abit wrong, alcohol is only bad if you bindge drink, it damages your liver. if you drink moderately it will have no adverse effects.

If you repeatively take any drug it will have a bad effect to your body. if your taking panadol everyday its really not good for you.

Cigarettes will never be illegal, not only because the government makes so much money from it, but then everyone would have to turn to crime and the black market.

edit: If your dependent on marijuana it will fuck up your life alot more then what cigarettes will.

LSD is physically harmless... it's mental harmfulness is up for debate, but generally speaking when used in the appropriate settings and not abused it is a *very* safe drug. The harm comes when people who are too young or people who don't know what they are doing use it in the wrong setting and end up having traumatic experiences, and even then, the traumatic experience can only effect you if you let it, just like any traumatic experience.

Here's some stats I found

UK drug death figures: deaths per annum
Alcohol[1]: 4,235
Tobacco[1]: 120,000
The Herb[1,2]: 1
LSD[1]: 0
Peanuts[3]: 7
Viagra[3]: 7
Ecstasy[1]: 4

[1] Hansard figures for 1995.
[2] Death caused by inhaling vomit [Lord's Hansard report on medicinal cannabis]
[3] BBC news

http://www.urban75.com/Drugs/drugdeath.html



The reason LSD is illegal and largely propagated as a "dangerous" drug is because it promotes very alternative ways of thinking. In the 1960's there was a gigantic amount of LSD usage (it was still legal for some of this time) and many of the frequent users (who were the first hippies) became involved in a gigantic cultural revolution which has affected our society immensely. This revolution made our government nervous and they believe the drug was largely responsible (as it likely was) and so they have made it illegal and done their best to suppress most of the information regarding it.

This is not conspiracy, this is all facts you can read if you take the time.

 

[porman]

LSD is physically harmless... it's mental harmfulness is up for debate, but generally speaking when used in the appropriate settings and not abused it is a *very* safe drug. The harm comes when people who are too young or people who don't know what they are doing use it in the wrong setting and end up having traumatic experiences, and even then, the traumatic experience can only effect you if you let it, just like any traumatic experience.

Here's some stats I found



http://www.urban75.com/Drugs/drugdeath.html

true, tho im sure LSD would be like ecstasy where by taking it, it kills brain cells. So mentally it is quite damaging.

Also alot of bad effects from LSD and ecstasy is from what its been cut from.
Alot of people that die from E is due to either mixing drugs or dehydration. or they take to many due to delayed effect.

I wasnt trying to sound like a drug nazi, I am really curious to know what ecstacy is like, And know I will try it one day. Tho i dont think i would do acid.

 

[Ughster]

Trust me when I say I've done A LOT of drugs and A LOT of research on the matter... I've never found any evidence to support that LSD kills any notable amount of brain cells, if you can find some, post it.

Also, LSD is never cut, however there are a few chemicals that resemble LSD that are being sold as LSD (though this is not very common yet), but they aren't... such as DOC, DOI, DOB, DOM, Bromodragonfly, and occasionally others. These are still not incredibly dangerous but no where near as much research has been done on them so it is hard to know the long term effects.

Ecstasy on the other hand is cut very frequently, probably more often than it isn't... and not just cut with random stuff, it's normally cut with amphetamine / methamphetamine / caffeine / ketamine / and occasionally other things... it is not uncommon for it to not even be ecstasy at all. Never buy pills without testing them to find out what's in them, this is the main thing that makes ecstasy dangerous. Pure MDMA (the chemical that we call ecstasy) is actually relatively safe as long as it isn't used more than once a month.

 

[Reappeh]

Ecstasy is EXTREMELY dangerous, many dealers have mixed amphetamines into it. LSD, however, if you get from the right person, is just fine. Little sugar cubes . Anyway, LSD and pot cause brain damage to a point. And like you said, MARIJUANA IS ONLY DANGEROUS IN LARGE AMOUNTS! Just like alcohol. Now, marijuana isn't a really bad drug, it has some side effects. Alcohol, you have almost no control over your body. Studies have proven that even moderate drinking can lead to heart failure. So yeah, alcohol is NOT harmless, it can ruin lives. Pot just makes you kinda stupid.

 

[Ughster]

Ecstasy is EXTREMELY dangerous, many dealers have mixed amphetamines into it. LSD, however, if you get from the right person, is just fine. Little sugar cubes . Anyway, LSD and pot cause brain damage to a point. And like you said, MARIJUANA IS ONLY DANGEROUS IN LARGE AMOUNTS! Just like alcohol. Now, marijuana isn't a really bad drug, it has some side effects. Alcohol, you have almost no control over your body. Studies have proven that even moderate drinking can lead to heart failure. So yeah, alcohol is NOT harmless, it can ruin lives. Pot just makes you kinda stupid.

Ecstasy in it's pure form is only dangerous if abused.

Even so, several people buy and frequently abuse ecstasy in it's unpure form cut with meth/amphetamine, and other things and even still, only 2 out of every 100,000 people who take it will die (and this includes people doing stupid shit like driving). If you compare this number to similar stats regarding alcohol... well.. yea. it's either 50 or 150 people out of every 100,000 for alcohol, I forget.



As for the actual question in the topic... all chemicals that alter your brain in some way are drugs.

Sugar is a drug.
Marijuana (THC) is a drug.
Alcohol is a drug.

The misconception people are having here is that drugs only count the things that are illegal, that is not the case. There's a difference between legal and illegal drugs, though not much of one.

 

Sugar is a drug.

Sugar necessarily cannot be a drug, because it is part of the natural processes of life and is necessary input to those processes.


I think everyone in this thread misses the main point. Drugs -- whatever your definition -- promote undeserved wellbeing. The government outlaws a subset of these substances "for your own good" and yet you can still obtain them as easily as cigarettes, except they are more dangerous because there is no contract of sale and no legitimate manufacturing industry. So obviously the laws don't work and should be abolished, and the appropriate amendments should be made to prevent government restricting substances again.

No one has the moral authority to tell you not to put substances into your own body. No one.

 

[Ughster]

Sugar necessarily cannot be a drug, because it is part of the natural processes of life and is necessary input to those processes.

Forgive me if I'm not following your logic correctly, but would this mean that DMT is not a drug? (dimethyltryptamine, a chemical that occurs naturally in your brain but can also be extracted from certain plants and smoked in order to produce intense psychedelic effects).

 

Forgive me if I'm not following your logic correctly, but would this mean that DMT is not a drug? (dimethyltryptamine, a chemical that occurs naturally in your brain but can also be extracted from certain plants and smoked in order to produce intense psychedelic effects).

Its not necessary input to the body.

 

[Swan]

I drink a lot of coffee, don't see how you could define caffeine as a "Medium" drug over LSD etc - It only keeps you awake, maybe a bit of excess energy if over consumed.

 

[Ughster]

I drink a lot of coffee, don't see how you could define caffeine as a "Medium" drug over LSD etc - It only keeps you awake, maybe a bit of excess energy if over consumed.

The main problem with caffeine is the way we excessively consume it... it's in all our drinks and the average American probably consumes more than a healthy amount, I've tried to stop drinking it for the most part and it feels a lot better.

All the same, calling it a medium drug is kinda a stretch, it's definitely a soft drug.

 

[porman]

This thread has made me wanna go to armin van buuren and pop some pills

 

[Ughster]

If you do ecstasy make sure you buy a pill testing kit so you can make sure they don't have anything dangerous in them.

Or if your too lazy to buy a test, http://www.pillreports.com/ has a list of different pills they have tested and their contents, however it isn't as reliable.

 

[Swan]

The main problem with caffeine is the way we excessively consume it... it's in all our drinks and the average American probably consumes more than a healthy amount, I've tried to stop drinking it for the most part and it feels a lot better.

All the same, calling it a medium drug is kinda a stretch, it's definitely a soft drug.

I've only excessively consumed caffeine once or twice in the past few months - there was 12L of cola to be split among 4 people, so ya ... xD

I drink a cup of coffee every day either before or after school, and after that it's really only tea and green tea for me.

 

[Ughster]

I've only excessively consumed caffeine once or twice in the past few months - there was 12L of cola to be split among 4 people, so ya ... xD

I drink a cup of coffee every day either before or after school, and after that it's really only tea and green tea for me.

The daily use of any drug is bad, even many prescription medications.

People who drink coffee every day eventually develop a mild dependence to it and can't function normally without it.