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Types of Drugs

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Stimulants

Description: Increase activity in the central nervous system, leading to heightened alertness, energy, and heart rate.

Examples: Amphetamines, cocaine, and caffeine

Depressants

Description: Slow down the central nervous system, promoting relaxation and reducing anxiety.

Examples: Alcohol, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates

Opioids

Description: Powerful pain-relieving substances that can also produce feelings of euphoria. Opioids carry a high risk of dependence and addiction.

Examples: Morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, and heroin

Opioids are a class of drugs that include heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and prescription pain relievers (see below). All opioids are chemically related and interact with opioid receptors on nerve cells in the body and brain. Opioid pain relievers are generally safe when taken for a short time and as prescribed by a doctor, but because they produce euphoria in addiction to pain relief, they can be misused.

Opioid misuse is the use prescription drugs without a prescription, or in a different way than prescribed. Opioid use disorder is a problematic pattern of opioid use that causes significant impairments or distress at work, school, or home.

Opioid-Examples

  • Drooping eyelids
  • Constricted pupils
  • Reduced respiratory rate
  • Scratching (due to histamine release)
  • Head nodding

Objective Opioid Withdrawal ScaleSubjective Opioid Withdrawal ScaleClinical Opioid Withdrawal Scale
Yawning Runny nose Goose bumps (observe arm) Sweating Shedding or secretion of tears Tremor (hands) Fixed (dilated) pupil Hot and cold flushes Restlessness Vomiting Muscles twitches Abdominal cramps AnxietyI feel anxious I feel like yawning. I’m perspiring. My eyes are tearing. My nose is running. I have goose flesh. I am shaking. I have hot flashes. I have cold flashes. My bones and muscles ache. I feel restless. I feel nauseous. I feel like vomiting. My muscles twitch. I have cramps in my stomach. I feel like shooting up now.Pulse Sweating Restlessness Pupil size Bone or joint aches Runny nose Tearing GI upset Tremor of outstretched hands Yawning Anxiety or irritability Gooseflesh skin

(source: the ASAM National Practice Guideline for the Use of Medications in the Treatment of Addiction Involving Opioid Use)

Fentanyl

Fentanyl is typically 50-100x stronger than morphine—designed and approved for cancer and later-in-life harm, overdose, and death in the U.S are linked to illegally manufactured and non-prescribed fentanyl.  

SAFE Project – Have A Safety Plan

The high potency of fentanyl greatly increases risk of overdose, especially if a person who uses drugs is unaware that a powder or pill contains it. They can underestimate the dose of opioids they are taking, resulting in overdose (NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse, June 2021).

Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths.

  • extreme happiness
  • drowsiness
  • nausea
  • confusion
  • constipation
  • sedation
  • problems breathing
  • unconsciousness

People addicted to fentanyl who stop using it can have severe withdrawl symptoms that begin as early as a few hours after the drug was last taken. These symptoms include:

  • muscle and bone pain
  • sleep problems
  • diarrhea and vomiting
  • cold flashes with goose bumps
  • uncontrollable leg movements
  • severe cravings

Fentanyl test strips can detect the presence of fentanyl. However, it is important to know that a negative result does not mean there is no fentanyl present.

Fentanyl-Test-Strips

The high potency of fentanyl greatly increases risk of overdose, especially if a person who uses drugs is unaware that a powder or pill contains it. They can underestimate the dose of opioids they are taking, resulting in overdose.

Illegal fentanyl is being mixed with other drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and MDMA. This is especially dangerous because people are often unaware that fentanyl has been added.

For example, fentanyl may exist in an untested area of a pill, or the pill may contain a different synthetic opioid product (See the image of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Effect).

Chocolate-Chip-Cookie-Effect

Xylazine

Xylazine is a non-opioid sedative that is approved by FDA for animal use, but not for people. Xylazine is increasingly added to other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, or fentanyl to enhance the effect or increase street value. Xylazine is dangerous because it can depress breathing, blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature to critical levels and, in combination with fentanyl, can make overdose reversal challenging.

Nitazenes

Nitazenes is a synthetic opioid with 40 times more power than fentanyl. It is also called “gas station heroin.” People may not be aware that they have taken nitazenes, as they may be added to other substances, including fentanyl, heroin, and benzodiazepines. Like all opioids, Nitazenes can slow breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate to dangerously low levels, potentially contributing to overdose. (NIDA).

Hallucinogens

Description: Increase activity in the central nervous system, leading to heightened alertness, energy, and heart rate.

Examples: Amphetamines, cocaine, and caffeine

Cannabis

Description: Can produce both depressant and hallucinogenic effects, affecting mood, perception, and coordination.

Examples: THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol)

Inhalants

Description: Volatile substances that produce mind-altering effects when inhaled. Many are commonly found in household products.

Examples: Glue, paint thinners, aerosols, and nitrous oxide

Synthetic and Club Drugs

Description: Often unregulated substances associated with party or club settings and may have unpredictable effects.

Examples: MDMA (Ecstasy), ketamine, synthetic cannabinoids, and synthetic cathinones (“bath salts”)

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