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Drug Guide

A comprehensive and up-to-date source of substance-specific information.

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Besides recreational use, some early studies and personal reports or personal stories and experiences suggest that 5-MeO-DMT might help with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. However, further research is needed to know if it’s safe and effective, as it has been linked to deaths
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Medetomidine is an animal tranquilizer increasingly being found in the drug supply. Even though medetomidine is made for animals, it can be dangerous if people use it.
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Nitazenes are powerful lab-made opioids, such as metonitazene and isotonitazene, with no approved medical use. They are potentially 40 times stronger than fentanyl and are difficult to detect through standard drug tests or testing strips.
The FDA and many state health agencies are raising the alarm about tianeptine, also called “gas station heroin." It is illegally marketed in smoke shops, convenience stores, gas stations and online as a dietary supplement, research chemical or brain enhancer. Some of the more common brand names include ZaZa, Pegasus, Neptune’s Fix and Tianna Red.
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Ibogaine is a natural substance found in the root of a plant that grows in West Africa. In small amounts, ibogaine works as a mild stimulant, and people have been using it for a long time to fight tiredness, hunger, and thirst. When taken in larger amounts, it can create strong mind-altering experiences.
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Ayahuasca is a plant-based brew that can result in a mind-altering experience. As more people around the world have discovered it, retreats and ceremonies involving ayahuasca have become more and more common.
Despite its widespread availability, Kratom can be unhealthy and even dangerous. Learn more about what it is, why it’s used and how you can protect your loved one.
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Psilocybin and psilocyn are the hallucinogenic compounds contained in certain mushrooms. These “magic” mushrooms (other names include caps and shrooms) are generally grown in Mexico and Central America and have been used in native rituals for thousands of years.
LSD (D-lysergic acid diethylamide) is the most common hallucinogen, a group of drugs that alter awareness of perception, thoughts and feelings.
Known for its mind-altering properties, Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, has been the subject of both recreational use and scientific research.
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Easily recognized as one of the most popular substance use trends among teens, vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling an aerosol produced by an e-cigarette, vape pen, or similar devices commonly known as “vapes”.
Fentanyl and similar compounds like carfentanil are powerful synthetic opioids 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
MDMA or Ecstasy (3-4-methylenedioxymethampheta-mine), is a synthetic, psychoactive drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties.
Speed, Uppers, Addies — Stimulants were used historically to treat a variety of ailments, before their potential for abuse and addiction became apparent.
Opium is a narcotic made from the white liquid in the poppy plant. It shares many of the same characteristics and risks as other opioids like heroin.
Methcathinone is a stimulant that is a structural analogue of methamphetamine. It is illegally manufactured from readily available chemicals.
In its illicit form, meth is a crystal-like powdered substance that sometimes comes in large rock-like chunks -- inspiring many of its slang terms.
Khat is a stimulant made up of fresh leaves of the Catha edulis shrub found in East Africa and southern Arabia. It contains a variety of chemicals.
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Heroin is a highly addictive drug derived from morphine, which is obtained from opium poppy plants — otherwise known as an opioid.
Cocaine is a drug extracted from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a potent brain stimulant and one of the most powerfully addictive drugs.
These “club drugs” are psychoactive or hallucinogenic compounds similar to mescaline.
Cannabis (marijuana), the most-used illegal drug in this country. A product of the hemp plant, the main active chemical in marijuana is THC.
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic (causes a person to feel detached from reality) used in human anesthesia and veterinary medicine.
K2 is a mixture of herbs, spices or shredded plant material that is sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids chemically similar to THC.
Inhalants are ordinary household products that are inhaled or sniffed to get high. Hundreds of products can be misused as inhalants.
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