English

Noun

pharmaceuticals

1. Plural of pharmaceutical

A drug, broadly speaking, is any chemical substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in medicine, government regulations, and colloquial usage.

In pharmacology, Dictionary.com defines a drug as "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being."

Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system, such as narcotics or hallucinogens. Some recreational drugs can cause addiction and habituation. Consistent with that definition, the U.S. separately defines narcotic drugs and controlled substances, which may include non-drugs, and explicitly excludes tobacco, caffeine and alcoholic beverages.

Etymology

From Dutch droog = "dry", referring to medicinal plants preserved by drying them.

See also

• Drug abuse
• Drug addiction
• Drug development
• Drug injection
• Narcotics
• Enzyme inhibitor
• Generic drug
• Illegal drug trade
• Lifestyle drug
• List of drugs is an extensive alphabetical list of drugs by name.
• Medication
• Placebo (origins of technical term)
• Prescription drug
• Psychedelic plants
• Psychoactive drug
• Recreational drug use
• Prodrug
• War on Drugs

References

External links

• Get rid of drugs. Drug Addiction Treatment Useful resource website with detailed information on drugs and how to treat drug addiction. "Say NO to drugs" May 4 2007
• The Cult of Pharmacology: How America Became the World's Most Troubled Drug Culture by Richard DeGrandpre, Duke University Press, 2006.
• 'don't drug + drive' German web-site providing information on the influence of recreational drugs in driving.