The depressants (Downers)

These are drugs which suppress vital body functions especially those of the brain or central nervous
system with the resulting impairment of judgment, hearing, speech and muscular coordination. They
dull the minds, slow down the body reactions to such an extent that accidental deaths and/or suicides
usually happen. They include the narcotics, barbiturates, tranquilizers, alcohol and other volatile
solvents. These drugs, when taken in, generally decrease both the mental and the physical activities of
the body. They cause depression, relieve pain and induce sedation or sleep and suppress cough.

Narcotics- are drugs, which relieve pain and produce profound

sleep or stupor when introduced to the body.
Medically, they are potent painkillers, cough depressants and as
an active component of anti-diarrhea preparations. Opium and
it derivatives like morphine, codeine and heroin, as well as the
synthetic opiates, meperidine and methadone, are classified as
narcotics.

Opium- derived from a poppy plant - Papaver somniferum

popularly known as "gum", "gamot", "kalamay" or "panocha".
A plant that can grow from 3 to 6 ft in height originally in
Mesopotamia. Its active ingredient is the "meconic" acid the
analgesic property.

Morphine-most commonly used and best used opiate.

Effective as a painkiller six times potent than opium, with a
high dependence - producing potential. Morphine exerts
action characterized by analgesia, drowsiness, mood changes,
and mental clouding.

Heroin - is three to five times more powerful than morphine

from which it is derived and the most addicting opium
derivative. with continued use, addiction occurs within 14
days. It may be sniffed on swallowed but is usually injected in
the veins.

Codeine-derivative of morphine, commonly available in cough

preparations. These cough medicines have been widely
abused by the youth whenever hard narcotics are difficult to
obtain. Withdrawal symptoms are less severe than other
drugs

Paregoric- a tincture of opium in combination with camphor.

Commonly used as a household remedy for diarrhea and
abdominal pain.

Demerol and Methadone - common synthetic

drugs with morphine - like effects. Demerol is
widely used as a painkiller in childbirth while
methadone is the drug of choice in the
withdrawal treatment of heroin dependents
since it relieves the physical craving for heroin.
 Barbiturates - are drugs used for inducing sleep in persons
plagued with anxiety, mental stress, and insomnia. They are also
of value in the treatment of epilepsy and hypertension. They are
available in capsules, pills or tablets, and taken orally or
injected.

Seconal - commonly used among hospitality girls. Sudden

withdrawal from these drugs is even more dangerous than
opiate withdrawal. The dependent develops generalized
convulsions and delirium, which are frequently associated with
heart and respiratory failure

Tranquilizers- are drugs that calm and relax and diminish

anxiety. They are used in the treatment of nervous states and
some mental disorders without producing sleep.

Volatile Solvents- gaseous substances popularly known to

abusers as "gas", "teardrops". Examples are plastic glues, hair
spray, finger nail polish, lighter fluid, rugby, paint, thinner,
acetone, turpentine gasoline, kerosene, varnishes and other
aerosol products. They are inhaled by the use plastic bags,
handkerchief or rags soaked in these chemicals.

Alcohol - the king or all drugs with potential for abuse. It is

considered the most widely used, socially accepted and most
extensively legalized drug throughout the world. In the field of
medicine, it is "valuable" as disinfectant, as an external remedy
for reducing high fever among children, and as preservative and
solvent for pharmaceutical preparations like elixirs, spirits and
tincture.

The Stimulant (Upper)

They produce effects opposite to that of depressants, Instead of bringing about relaxation and sleep,
they produce increased mental alertness, wakefulness, reduce hunger, and provide a feeling of well
being. Their medical users include narcolepsy - a condition characterized by an overwhelming desire to
sleep. Abrupt withdrawal of the drug from the heavy abuser can result in a deep and suicidal depression.

Amphetamines - used medically for weight reducing in obesity,

relief of mild depression and treatment.

Cocaine - the drug taken from the coca bush plant (Erythroxylon
Coca) grows in South America. It is usually in the form of powder
that can be taken orally, injected or sniffed as to achieve euphoria
or an intense feeling of "highness".

Caffeine - it is present in coffee, tea, chocolate, cola drinks, and

some wake-up pills.
 Shabu/ "poor man's cocaine" - chemically known as
methamphetamine hydrochloride. It is a central nervous system
stimulant and sometimes called "upper" or "speed". It is white,
colorless crystal or crystalline powder with a bitter numbing taste.
It can be taken orally, inhaled (snorted), sniffed (chasing the
dragon) or injected.
Nicotine - an active component in tobacco which acts as a
powerful stimulant of the central nervous system. A drop of pure
nicotine can easily kill a person.

The Hallucinogens (Psychedelic)

These are group of drugs that consists of a variety of mind-altering drugs, which distort reality, thinking
and perceptions of time, sound, space and sensation. The user experiences hallucination (false
perception) which at times can be strange. His "trips" may be exhilarating or terrifying good or bad. They
may dislocate his consciousness and change his mood, thinking and concept of self.

Marijuana - It is the most commonly abused hallucinogen in the

Philippines because it can be grown extensively in the country many
users choose to smoke marijuana for relaxation in the same way
people drink beer or cocktail at the end of the day. The effects of
marijuana include a feeling of grandeur. It can also produce the
opposite effect, a dreamy sensation of time seeming to stretch out.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) - This drug is the most powerful of
the psychedelics obtained from ergot, a fungus that attacks rye kernels.
LSD is 1, 000 times more powerful than marijuana as supply, large
enough for a trip can be taken from the glue on the flab of an
envelope, from the hidden areas inside one's clothes. LSD causes
perceptual changes so that the user sees color, shapes or objects more
intensely than normal and may have hallucinations of things that are
not real..The user may experience frequent bizarre hallucinations, loss
spatial perceptions, personality diffusion and changes in values. Usually
users perceive distortion of time, colors, sounds and depth. They
experience "scent" music and sounds in "color".

Peyote - Peyote is derived from the surface part of a small gray brown
cactus. Peyote emits a nauseating odor and its user suffers from
nausea. This drug causes no physical dependence and therefore, no
withdrawal symptoms; although in some psychological dependence
has been noted

Mescaline-it is alkaloid hallucinogen extracted from the peyote cactus

and can also be synthesized in the laboratory. It produces less nausea
than peyote and shows effects resembling those of LSD although
milder in nature.

STP (Serenity, Tranquility, and Peace) - It is a take -off on the motor oil
additive. It is a chemical derivative of mescaline claimed to produce
more violent and longer effects than mescaline dose. Its effects are
similar to the nerve gas used in chemical warfare. It is less potent than
LSD although its effects are similar to those of psychedelics.
Psilocybin - This hallucinogenic alkaloid from small Mexican mushrooms
are used by Mexican Indians today. These mushrooms induced nausea,
muscular relaxation, mood changes with visions of bright colors and
shapes, and other hallucinations. These effects may last for four to five
hours and later may be followed by depressions, laziness and complete
loss of time and space perceptions.
Morning Glory Seeds - The black and brown seeds of the wild tropical
morning glory are used to produce hallucinations. The seeds are ground
into flour, soaked in cold water, then strained though a cloth and drunk.
They are sold under the names of іне мальу неве, мсте балсето, апо
треаль Васао although less potent. The reactions are likened to those
resulting from LSD. Prolonged psychosis is also one of its effects.