Drug Education Definition of Terms

Acute tolerance - The development of tolerance within the course of a single exposure to a
drug.

Addiction - Implies a very severe form of dependence, one involving an overwhelming

compulsion for the use of a particular drug.

Adulterant - Material used to increase the mass of a controlled substance. Adulterants produce
physiological effects and give the illusion that more controlled substance is present than its
actual content.

Alkaloid - One of a group of nitrogenous organic bases, especially one of vegetable origin,
having a powerful toxic effect on animals and man, such as nicotine, cocaine, strychnine, or
morphine.

Amitriptyline - A tricyclic antidepressant drug, found to impair skilled performance and to be

additive with ethanol in its adverse effects.

Amobarbital - A barbiturate derivative used as a sedative or hypnotic; available in ampules for

intravenous or intramuscular injection for the control of seizures.

Amphetamine - A drug that is representative of a class of structurally related compounds known

as phenethylamines. Basis of a group of hallucinogenic,habit-forming drugs that affect the
central nervous system.The sale and use restricted to physicians; trade name Benzedrine.

Analgesic - Any drugs, such as salicylates, morphine, or opiates used primarily for the relief of
pain.

Anaphylaxis - An allergic hypersensitivity reaction of the body to a foreign protein or drug.

Antidepressant - A drug, such as imipramine and tranylcypromine, that relieves depression by

increasing central sympathetic activity.

Antisera - Injecting human serum into various animals, such as the horse, goat,sheep, rabbit,
duck, hen, or guinea pig, can produce antihuman sera.
Antiserum - Any immune serum that contains antibodies active chiefly in destroying a specific
infecting virus or bacterium.

Barbiturate - A derivative of barbituric acid that produces depression of the central nervous
system and consequent sedation.

Benzoylecognine - A cocaine metabolite.

Butabarbital - A short- to intermediate-acting barbiturate derivative.

Butalbital - An occasionally encountered short-acting barbiturate closely related to Talbutal and

less closely to Amobarbital and Secobarbital. Intoxication can result in lethargy, confusion,
disorientation, and ataxia.

Cannabidiol - A constituent of cannabis, which, upon isomerization to a

tetrahydrocannabinol, has some of the physiologic activity of marijuana.

Cannabinol - (C21H26O2) A physiologically inactive phenol formed by spontaneous

dehydrogenation of tetrahydrocannabinol from cannabis.

Cannabis - A genus of tall annual herbs in the family Cannabaccae having erect stems, with 3 to
7 elongated leaflets and pistillate flowers in spikes along the stem. Commonly known as
marijuana or sometimes referred to on the street as grass or pot.

Chronic - Persistent, prolonged, repeated.

Chronic effect - A pathologic process caused by repeated exposures over a period of long
duration.

Chronic tolerance - The gradual decrease in degree of effect produced at the same blood
concentration in the course of repeated exposure to that drug.

Cocaine - A colorless to white crystalline powder. Used as a local anesthetic (medicine or

dentistry), usually as the hydrochloride. Also known by street names, such as coke, snow, or
freebase.

Codeine - A narcotic alkaloid that is used in medicine and cough syrups; highly toxic and habit-
forming narcotic.
Concentration - The amount of a substance in a stated unit of a mixture or solution. Common
methods of stating concentration are percent by weight,percent by volume, or weight per unit
volume. Amount of a drug in a unit volume of biological fluid, expressed as weight/volume.

Confirmatory test - Second test by an alternative chemical method for unambiguous

identification of a drug or metabolite.

Crack - Concentrated form of cocaine, which is used in vapor form. It is smoked or inhaled
through crack pipes. It is a highly addictive drug that causes psychotic behavior, which is often
violent. Almost pure form of the drug cocaine hydrochloride, obtained from a shrub native to
Bolivia and Peru. It can cause increased alertness and energy, runny nose, and decreased appetite
when snorted, injected, or smoked.

Cut-off concentration - Concentration of a drug in a specimen or sample used to determine

whether the specimen or sample is considered positive or negative. In some circumstances it is
recommended that the cut-off concentration should be set equal to the limit of detection.

Depressants - Drugs that depress the action of the central nervous system such as phenobarbital,
pentobarbital, and alcohol.

Designer drugs - Drugs that are produced illicitly by means of chemical technology.They can
cause uncontrollable tremors, chills, or sweating and faintness and paranoia when injected or
taken in pill form.

Diazepam - (valium) The second benzodiazepine derivative to have been approved for human
usage has been one of the most frequently prescribed drugs in the United States. It is
administered as an antianxiety agent,muscle relaxant, or anticonvulsant.

Drug - Any natural or synthetic substance that is administered to produce specific physiological
or psychological effects.

Drug abuse - The nonmedicinal use of a drug in a manner that is not socially acceptable.

Drug dependence - The primary hazard of the abusive use of drugs is the likelihood for some
individuals to develop a “need” or compulsive desire that may occur as a result of a
psychological or a physical craving.

Hallucinogens - Drugs like marijuana, LSD, PSP, and ecstasy that produce changes in mood,
thought and perception.
Hashish - Purified resin prepared from the flowering tops of the female cannabis plant and
smoked or chewed as a narcotic or an intoxicant.

Impramine - The prototype of the tricyclic antidepressant drugs.

Marijuana - Popular name for the dried flowers and leaves of Cannabis sativa.

Meperidine hydrochloride - A fine, white, odorless, crystalline powder; very soluble in water,
soluble in alcohol, and used in medicine as a narcotic.

Methadone hydrochloride - A synthetic narcotic. Used medicinally as a sedative and also

useful in treating heroin addiction.

Methamphetamine - Colorless, volatile liquid; characteristic strong odor and slightly burning
taste. Highly toxic, flammable, as well as a dangerous fire risk. Basis of a group of
hallucinogenic, habit-forming drugs that affect the central nervous system.

Morphine - White crystalline alkaloid, slightly soluble in water, alcohol, and ether; highly toxic,
narcotic, habit-forming drug.

Mushroom - (Drugs) Umbrella-shaped fungus, some varieties of which contain a drug that can
cause hyperventilation, tremors, and hyperactivity when the fungus is chewed, smoked, or
ground and infused in water and drunk as a tea.

Narcotic - Pharmacologically, any substance that produces narcosis, a stuporous state

resembling sleep, and characterized by loss of sensation. Addictive substance that reduces pain,
alters mood and behavior, and usually induces sleep or stupor.

Opiates - Natural, semi-synthetic, or synthetic substances with morphine-like effects in the

body. They are primarily employed as analgesics and can be considered narcotic in their effects.

Opium - A highly toxic plant alkaloid that is a habit-forming narcotic; one source of opium is
morphine.

Overdose - An excessive dose of medicine or narcotic substance.

Peyote - The common name for the small Mexican cactus, Lophophora williamsii,which
contains the hallucinogen, mescaline.

Pharmacodynamics - The study of the relationship of drug concentration to drug effects.

Pharmacokinetics - The study of the time course of the processes (absorption,distribution,
metabolism, and excretion) a drug undergoes in the body.

Pharmacologic - Relating to the study of drugs and their origin, natural properties,and effects on
living organisms.

Phencyclidine (PCP) - Has an anesthetic activity and is manufactured legitimately for use as a
veterinary anesthetic. It has no legitimate use in humans because of its hallucinogenic actions.
The effects on humans are considered euphoric, but at times depression or anxiety and
aggressive behavior are produced. Common street names are PCP, peace pill,hog, and angel dust.

Picking - Adherence of a drug to the face of the punch used to produce a tablet.Picking creates
holes in the surfaces of pressed tablets, usually near letters such as A or R.

Propoxyphene - A mildly effective narcotic analgesic, somewhat less potent than codeine, that
bears a close structural relationship to methadone.

Qualitative test - A test that determines the presence or absence of specific drugs or metabolites,
proteins, or enzymes in the specimen or sample.

Quinine - Bulky, white, amorphous powder or crystalline alkaloid; very bitter taste; odorless and
levorotatory. Used in medicine as an antimalarial drug.

Secobarbital - A barbiturate derivative of short duration of action; used as either a sedative or

hypnotic.

Solvent - A substance capable of dissolving another substance (solute) to form a uniformly

dispersed mixture (solution) at the molecular or ionic size level.

Stimulants - Drugs that increase the activity of the central nervous system, creating feelings of
confidence and energy. A drug that produces a temporary increase of functional activity or
efficiency. A drug that increases alertness and motor activity and, at the same time, reduces
fatigue, allowing the individual to remain awake for an extended period of time. It can cause
weight loss, increased respiration and heart rate, blurred vision, and anxiety when
snorted,injected, smoked, or swallowed in capsule, tablet, or pill form.

Strychnine - An alkaloid found together with the less active brucine in the seed of Strychnos
nux-vomica, a tree indigenous to India. It is a potent central nervous system stimulant and
convulsant, acting by the selective blockage of postsynaptic neuronal inhibition.
Substance abuse - Use of alcohol or drugs that results in adverse effects on the user. Substance
abuse is a major health and social problem in the United States among adolescents.

Tolerance - A state that develops after long-term exposure to a drug. Metabolic tolerance infers
a faster removal and oxidation by the liver. Functional tolerance infers a change in sensitivity of
the organ to the effects of the drug.