A drug is any substance that can be used to treat an illness, relieve a symptom or modify a chemical process in the body for a specific purpose. The term is necessarily a vague one, being defined by intent: for example, foods consumed for normal metabolism are not generally considered "drugs", but the same foods consumed for a more specific purpose (such as the use of alcohol as a depressant or caffeine as a stimulant) may be.
Opiates are also used as recreational drugs. They are very addictive.
Acetaminophen and other non-opiate painkillers are often used in drug mixes[?] for recreational purposes.
Many enhancing drugs are also used for recreational purposes.
Not regulated:
Regulated to some extent (age or labeling requirements, for example) but available over the counter:
Prescription drugs[?], prohibited for non-medical use:
Varies from tolerated to prohibited even for medical use:
Varies from prohibited for non-medical use to prohibited for any use
Prohibited for any use, no medical uses currently allowed most of the time
Three international UN treaties regulate drug laws:
The UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (http://www.undcp.org/) is charged with overseeing these treaties and maintains a list of signatory nations at http://www.undcp.org/treaty_adherence.html.
See also: Drug addiction, medication, illegal drug trade
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump