A drug is any substance (other than food that provides nutritional support) that, when inhaled, injected, smoked, consumed, absorbed via a patch on the skin, or dissolved under the tongue causes a temporary physiological (and often psychological) change in the body.[2][3]
In pharmacology, a drug is a chemical substance of known structure, other than a nutrient of an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect.[4] 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.[2] Traditionally drugs were obtained through extraction from medicinal plants, but more recently also by organic synthesis.[5] Pharmaceutical drugs may be used for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.[6]
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.[7][8] 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.[9]
Psychoactive drugs are chemical substances that affect the function of the central nervous system, altering perception, mood or consciousness.[10] They include alcohol, a depressant (and a stimulant in small quantities), and the stimulants nicotine and caffeine. These three are the most widely consumed psychoactive drugs worldwide[11] and are also considered recreational drugs since they are used for pleasure rather than medicinal purposes.[12] Other recreational drugs include hallucinogens, opiates and amphetamines and some of these are also used in spiritual or religious settings. Some drugs can cause addiction [13] and all drugs can have side effects.[14] 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.
