Basic Terminology
ROA - An acronym for "Route of Administration". This is how you describe how a drug was taken or administered. The main ROA's are: insufflation, intravenous, oral, rectal, and inhaled. Remember that not all substances are able to be administered with every ROA. Make sure to do your research before deciding to try something different. Also, when considering different ROA's, remember that the ROA can determine how able a hospital is to help you in case of an overdose. This mostly applies with substances which are usually administered orally, when they are used intravenously or rectally, simply because their stomach cannot be pumped.
Insuffulation - The act of snorting something (to insuffulate)
Intravenous - A type of injection in which the substance is injected into a vein
Sublingual - Put and held under the tongue
Bioavailability - Usually expressed as a percentage, this term describes how much of an administered substance will enter circulation unchanged and cause an effect when taken with a specific ROA. All percentages are being compared to intravenous use. This is because IV use is - by definition - always 100% bioavailability. Rectal administration and insuffulation usually hold a higher bio-availability than inhalation or oral administration. As a general rule, the higher the bio-availability of an ROA, the easier it is to overdose, and the more physically risky the actual act of administration is for your body. Intravenous administration is the most bio-available ROA for all substances. Rectal administration is generally the second most bio
Psychoactive - A term describing any drug which alters one's behavior, mood, or perception
Drug Classes
There are a lot of words that are used to describe different substances. This is a brief overview of the terminology around drug classification. Here are some of the most important takeaways before we go into more depth:
- Stimulants and depressants should never be mixed together, especially in heavy doses.
- It is never safe to mix alcohol with anything except marijuana and hallucinogens, though alcohol and LSD is known to cause unpleasant cognitive effects. A very small amount of alcohol (one drink or less) is often safe, but there is no reason to risk dying over one drink.
- Marijuana and most hallucinogens are physically safe to mix with anything, though alcohol is known to cause negative cognitive effects with hallucinogens, and some hallucinogens have a stimulant effect and can increase heart strain or anxiety when mixed with stimulants.
- It is not safe to mix two drugs just because they are in the same class. Mixing drugs in the same class can lead to easier overdoses, increased heart strain and risk of brain damage (for stimulants), and increased risk of respiratory depression (for depressants and opioids).
- If you are taking a medication which acts on your serotonin receptors (most anti-depressants and many anti-anxiety medications), stimulants and hallucinogens hold higher potential for brain damage. If you take any kind of medication and plan to take any kind of recreational drug, check online to see if it has any negative interactions with the substance.
Most psychoactive drugs with any recreational potential, fit into the classifications of stimulants, depressants, or hallucinogens. When we use these terms, we are talking about how the drug effects your central nervous system. The term "psychoactive" refers to any substance which alter mood, perception, or behavior. There are other ways that we classify drugs, and I will often use more than one when talking about a substance. We will also describe benzodiazepines and opioids. These are both depressants, but they have their own set of dangers, interactions, and effects, so they are important to understand individually. When talking about a depressant that is a benzodiazepine or an opioid, those terms are usually used over "depressant" when describing it, because it is assumed that any benzodiazepines or opioids are depressants.
Psychedelic, deleriant, dissociative, and entactogen, are words mostly used to describe the cognitive effects of substances. We still use stimulant and depressant to describe stimulants and depressants, because their chemical classification usually lines up well with the cognitive effects. Psychedelic is more commonly used than hallucinogen when talking about cognitive rather than physical effects, but they are describing the same substances.
Brief Descriptions of Drug Classes
Depressants -
Depressants are substances at suppress or slow the activity of the brain and nerves. Common effects of depressants are relaxation, sedation, euphoria, delirium, memory suppression, and dehydration. Depressants should never be mixed with stimulants. Doing so sends conflicting messages to your body, and can cause serious impairment, including increased risk of respiratory depression and heart strain. Mixing with other depressants, especially alcohol, can lead to increased risk of respiratory depression. The most commonly used depressants are alcohol, benzodiazepines, and opioids.
Hallucinogens -
Hallucinogens alter your perception, cause hallucinations, and sometimes temporary delusional states. Psychedelics have little to no addiction potential. The urge to use often decreases with use, and they are even know to dampen addiction to other substances. Long term or heavy use can lead to psychosis, and most types of research chemicals sold as LSD can cause other types of brain damage.
In general, hallucinogens will not cause physical issues on their own, or when mixed with other substances. This, of course, doesn't apply to research chemicals, as they aren't something we can't truly speak for.
Some hallucinogens have a stimulant effect (such as LSD), so one should be careful when mixing with stimulants, especially if predisposed to hypertension, anxiety, seizures, or any kind of heart condition. The most commonly used hallucinogens are lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), Psilocybin (the active ingredient in mushrooms), Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and Mescaline (the active ingredient in peyote).
Stimulants -Hallucinogens alter your perception, cause hallucinations, and sometimes temporary delusional states. Psychedelics have little to no addiction potential. The urge to use often decreases with use, and they are even know to dampen addiction to other substances. Long term or heavy use can lead to psychosis, and most types of research chemicals sold as LSD can cause other types of brain damage.
In general, hallucinogens will not cause physical issues on their own, or when mixed with other substances. This, of course, doesn't apply to research chemicals, as they aren't something we can't truly speak for.
Some hallucinogens have a stimulant effect (such as LSD), so one should be careful when mixing with stimulants, especially if predisposed to hypertension, anxiety, seizures, or any kind of heart condition. The most commonly used hallucinogens are lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), Psilocybin (the active ingredient in mushrooms), Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and Mescaline (the active ingredient in peyote).
Stimulants are substances which accelerate the activity of the central nervous system. Some common effects of stimulants are increased energy or focus, and euphoria. They can also cause anger and paranoia. Stimulants should never be mixed with depressants. Doing so sends conflicting messages to your body, and can cause serious impairment, including increased risk of respiratory depression and heart strain. Mixing stimulants with other stimulants can increase heart strain, and neurotoxicity. The most commonly used stimulants are methamphetamine, cocaine/crack, methylphenidate (Ritalin), and dextroamphetamine (Adderall) MDMA and MDA are also known to have stimulant effects.
Benzodiazepines -
Benzodiazepines (also known as "benzos") are drugs used in the treatment of anxiety and sleep disorders. They cause sedation, memory suppression, euphoria, anxiety suppression, and relaxation. Benzodiazepines should never be mixed with other depressants, especially alcohol. Mixing with stimulants can cause heart strain, or dysrhythmias. It can also lessen an individuals awareness of an overdose. Benzodiazepines are highly additive, and sudden withdrawals can be fatal. Benzodiazapines are commonly prescribed for anxiety, and even people who are taking them legally and only at their prescribed dosage, will develop a physiological dependence if they are taking them for an extended period of time. You do not need to feel high on benzodiazapines in order to develop a benzodiazapine addiction. The most commonly used benzodiazepines are alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin), and lorazepam (Ativan).
Opioids -
The words "opioid" and "opiate" both refer to drugs that act on the opioid receptors in the brain. "Opiates" specifically refers to substances deriving from opium extracted from opium poppy plants. "Opioids" includes opiates, as well as synthetic substances which imitate opiates and act on the same receptors. They most commonly cause sedation, pain relief, euphoria, nausea, itching, and dehydration. Unlike many other drugs, heavy and or long term use of opioids has not been shown to result in any loss of cognitive function. Opioids are one of the most addictive kinds of substances. Opioids are commonly prescribed for pain, and even people who are using them legally and only at their prescribed dosage, will develop a physiological dependence on opiates if they are taking them for an extended period of time. You do not need to feel high on opioids in order to develop an opioid addiction. Nalaxone is a substance which can be used to temporarily counteract an opioid overdose, and is legally available in many places. The most commonly uses opioids are heroin, codeine, morphine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and kratom. There are also a few substances which act on the opioid receptors which are used for opiate replacement therapy such as buprenorphine, methadone, and naltraxone.
Deliriants -
Deliriants are hallucinogens which, even at low doses, cause hallucinations. Their primary effect is delirium, while many other hallucinogens cause a feeling of clarity. The most commonly used deleriant is diphenhydramine (Benadryl).
Dissociatives -
Dissociatives are hallucinogens which cause a notable detachment from reality, and their emotional attachments to reality, during use. This is separate from the delusions sometimes caused by psychedelics, because not every psychedelic experience will include dissociation, while essentially all dissociative experiences will. Though many dissociated cause hallucinations, this distinction is still valuable. The most commonly used dissociatives are ketamine, phencyclidine (PCP), salvinorin A (Salvia), and dextromethorphan (DXM).
Entactogens -
Entactogens cause experiences of emotional communion, oneness, relatedness, and emotional openness. They heighten empathy and sympathy, as well as willingness to be open with others. The most commonly use entactogens are MDMA and MDA.
Psychedelics -
Psychedelic is a word used to describe hallucinogens when referring to the cognitive effects, rather than the physical effects. It is also used as an informal term for hallucinogens. The most commonly used psychedelics are lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), Psilocybin (the active ingredient in mushrooms), Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and Mescaline (the active ingredient in peyote).
