What are the different types of drugs available?
A drug is basically something that changes the way you think or feel. Drugs include alcohol, tobacco, caffeine and medical drugs. Drugs can be divided into the following groups:- • Analgesics – drugs which kill pain e.g. heroin. • Depressants – drugs which slow everything down e.g. alcohol, gases, glues and aerosols. • Hallucinogens – drugs which act on the mind, altering the way the user sees and hears things e.g. cannabis, L.S.D. and magic mushrooms. • Stimulants – drugs which make everything seem as if they’re going faster e.g. cocaine, crack, ecstasy, poppers, speed and tobacco. What are some of the risks of taking drugs? All drugs carry risks and drugs affect different people in different ways but the major risks involved with taking illegal drugs are as follows : – • The user may never know exactly what it is they are taking. What is bought is unlikely to be pure and you can never be sure what it has been mixed with. • You can never be sure what effect a drug might have, even if
