219 Description of Some Major Substances
Alcohol
Alcoholic beverages are consumed in most countries of the world. Each nation has laws that regulate their production, sale, and consumption. In particular, such laws specify the minimum age at which a person may legally buy or drink them. This minimum age varies between 16 and 25 years, depending upon the nation and the type of drink. Most nations set this minimum age at 18 years.
The production and consumption of alcohol occurs in most cultures of the world, from hunter-gatherer peoples to nation-states. Alcoholic beverages are often an important part of social events in these cultures. In many cultures, drinking plays a significant role in social interaction — mainly because of alcohol’s neurological effects. Alcohol is a physiological depressant, which accounts for its ability to display similar symptoms to dysthymia or antisocial personality disorder, when the ability to self-regulate is inhibited.
A person using alcohol can develop physiological dependence characterized by evidence of tolerance or symptoms of withdrawal (4th ed., text rev.; DSM–IV–TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_beverage
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/alcohol/alcohol.shtml
Nicotine- Tobacco
Nicotine is a stimulant commonly found in the tobacco plant. Nicotine from the plant is consumed in many different forms, some of which include: cigars, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and pipe tobacco. Users of nicotine are at risk for nicotine intoxication, abuse, dependence, and withdrawal (4th ed., text rev.; DSM–IV–TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000).
In addition to intoxication, abuse,dependence, and withdrawal, the substance, when smoked (via cigarette, cigar, or pipe tobacco), has been linked to an increased risk for developing many forms of cancer (Herata, Sekino, & Kanda, 2010; Tournier & Birembaut, 2010). There are also several indicated positive effects of nicotine, such as: increased cognitive performance (Herman & Sofuoglu, 2010), increased fine motor abilities, improved alerting-attention accuracy and response time, decreased orienting attention response time, improved short-term episodic memory-accuracy, and decreased working memory response time (Heishman, Kleykamp, & Singleton, 2010).
Amphetamines
Amphetamine is a psychostimulant drug that is known to produce increased wakefulness and focus as well as decrease fatigue and appetite. Amphetamine is related to drugs such as methamphetamine and lisdexamfetamine, which are part of a group of potent drugs that act by increasing levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain, inducing euphoria. The group includes prescription CNS drugs commonly used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Amphetamine is also used to treat symptoms of traumatic brain injury, the daytime drowsiness symptoms of narcolepsy, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Initially, amphetamine was