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Article: Drug Types
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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DRUG TYPES
There are many ways to classify drugs, depending on the purposes for the classification. For example, a classification can be based on the chemical properties of drugs and may actually disregard the effects the drugs have on the body, or it may be based on legal principles, such as legal versus illegal, or prescription versus over-the-counter (prescription not needed). For purposes of discussion and teaching, the various drugs that are used and abused by humans for nonmedical purposes are usually grouped into several major categories, each based on their pharmacological actions and their subjective effects. Although the mechanisms of action may vary among drugs within a single ...