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[Drugs and their effects].

Introduction Australia is a drug-using society. The most common drugs used are alcohol, coffee, nicotine and various medications. Less commonly used are illegal drugs such as cannabis (marijuana), ecstasy, heroin and amphetamines (speed). At some time most of us will be confronted with drugs or drug-related issues. This fact sheet answers some common questions about drugs and their effects. What is a drug? A drug is any substance, solid, liquid or gas, that brings about physical and/or psychological changes. The drugs of most concern in the community are those that affect the central nervous system. They act on the brain and can change the way a person thinks, feels or behaves. These drugs are known as ‘psychoactive drugs’. How are drugs classified? Drugs are commonly classified according to their legal status or their effects on the central nervous system. Legal drugs Laws and regulations control the availability, quality and price of the 'legal' drugs; for example, tobacco may not be sold to persons under the age of 18. Illegal drugs Because they are illegal, there are no price or quality controls on the illicit drugs such as heroin and ecstasy. This means that a user can never be sure that the drug they are taking is in fact what they think it is; for example, PMA (paramethoxyamphetamine), a toxic form of amphetamine, has been sold as ecstasy. The user also cannot be sure of a drug's strength or purity. Various batches of an illegally manufactured drug may have different mixtures of the drug and additives such as poisons, caffeine or even talcum powder.