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As someone who has an entire YouTube channel talking about drugs, and performed a lot of self experimentation, I think I'm in a unique position to answer this question. That being said, I'm not a physician and I speak to my experience, not to medical advice of any kind.
Not All Drugs Are Created Equal
When asking about the dangers of drugs, many may presume the "drugs" in question are ones classified as illegal in the area they live. This presumption isn't something that inherently good or bad, but it's important to remember at least two things:
1. Types of government regulation don't always correlate to types of danger: for example, the United States has categorized cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug - meaning - no medical benefit. This is, of course, ridiculous and bureaucrats often arbitrarily categorize things incorrectly and irresponsibly. Cannabis is also illegal at a federal level (even though some States have legalized it in various ways.)
2. A lack of government regulation doesn't equate to safety. There are plenty of drugs, like JWH compounds (which used to be available in gas stations) and other synthetics forms of currently illegal drugs which can cause a lot of harm.
What Is A Drug?
Dictionary.com has an incredibly vague definition: "a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body." Practically everything in that "other substance" category that we regularly ingest (like food) has physiological effects on the body. So, really, we're talking about:
How Can We Broadly Categorize Drugs?
There's too many categorize to list even speaking vaguely, but if we remove the medicinal component (yeah, that cold & congestion medicine or that stomach acid reviler you bought is a drug but might not make it into the categories below.)
Uppers: Stimulants that temporarily increase subjective sensations & feelings of alertness & energy. Examples include Meth (highly illegal,) Adderall (highly regulated,) Smart Drugs & Nootropics like Aniracteam (not really regulated in the U.S.) Stimulants might increase neurotransmitter (chemicals in the brain) activity like dopamine and/or norepinephrine.
Downers: You can think about these types of drugs in the opposite way you think of stimulants. Downers tend to slow physiological processes rather than stimulate them. Examples might include Heroin (highly illegal,) Xanax (highly regulated,) and things like Phenibut, L-Theanine (this is actually an amino acid,) & Kava (lowly regulated.) Downers might increase neurotransmitter activity like GABA, but certainly can work on others too in the upper category (like dopamine.)
Psychedelics: The definition of the word psychedelic means to bring parts of the unconscious mind to the conscious mind. In the drug world, this means things like: altered states of consciousness, hallucinations, and personal insight, among other things. Examples include LSD (highly illegal,) Salvia (moderately regulated,) and Nutmeg (not regulated.) Psychedelics often work on the neurotransmitter serotonin, in various ways.
Not All Danger is Created Equal
This isn't a fear piece (more on this below.) However, there's A LOT of information to consider in order to protect yourself before using any drug or supplement. This is why consulting with a physician is key.
Here are some dangers that apply to every category of drug discussed:
Here are some example dangers of, but not limited to, Uppers:
Here are some example dangers of, but not limited to, Downers:
Just Say KNOW
This is not a blog post to induce fear. This has written primarily to answer the question, however, also to make a point I believe to be incredibly important: knowledge can save your life. Independent research and consulting with professionals like physicians increase the likelihood of staying safe.
Resources I Use (in addition to my Doctor.)
Drug Interaction Checker: https://www.webmd.com/interaction-checker/default.htm
Poison Control Hotline: https://www.poison.org/
Erowid Center: https://www.erowid.org/
The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Book by James Fadiman
Thanks for reading!
And, oh yeah, don't do drugs. This post is about my experience and education. I don't promote drug use.
