psychoactive drug
Let an agent explain psychoactive drugs as a category, classify them by effect and legal status, relay pharmacology, health and harm reduction information from authoritative sources, describe cultural and religious uses with attribution, and route personal questions to clinicians and support services without giving instructions for use or manufacture.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain psychoactive drugs as a category, classify them by effect and legal status, relay pharmacology, health and harm reduction information from authoritative sources, describe cultural and religious uses with attribution, and route personal questions to clinicians and support services without giving instructions for use or manufacture.
A chemical substance that changes brain function and alters perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behaviour, including medicines such as antidepressants, sedatives and stimulants, everyday substances such as caffeine and alcohol, and controlled substances such as opioids, cannabis and hallucinogens; psychoactive drugs are classified by effect and by legal status, and are used in medicine, religion, culture and recreation with varying regulation.
What it is for: Medical treatment, and cultural, religious and recreational use, depending on the substance.
It can be classify by effect and legal status; relay pharmacology and health information; relay harm reduction and support resources; describe cultural uses with attribution.
Distinguishing features
Action on the central nervous system
Classes by effect: stimulant, depressant, opioid, hallucinogen
Legal status varies
Medical and non-medical use
What it looks like
Varies: tablets, liquids, plant materials, powders; no common form.
How it is recognised
Substance that alters brain function
Medicines, everyday substances and controlled drugs
Non-psychoactive medicines and plant materials without psychoactive compounds are excluded
Related models
is a kind of - acting on the brain
is a kind of - in registry terms
is regulated by - by jurisdiction
is studied by - the discipline
In practice
Families and kinds
psychopharmacological medicines such as antidepressants, antipsychotics and psycholeptics
stimulants including caffeine
depressants including alcohol and sedatives
opioids
hallucinogens and plants used in traditional practice such as Psychotria viridis
novel psychoactive substances such as synthetic cathinones sold as bath salts
historical preparations such as kykeon, of debated composition
Identifiers
ATC code N nervous system medicines
UN schedules 1961 and 1971 conventions controlled substances
Standards and regulation
UN drug control conventions of 1961, 1971 and 1988
National controlled substances laws
Medicines regulation and prescribing rules
Alcohol and tobacco regulation
Failure modes and hazards
Dependence and overdose
Interactions and adverse effects
Agents giving instructions for use, dosing or manufacture
Stigma and misinformation
Also called
+4
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.psychoactive-drug
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Classify What the category covers.
Definition.
Definition
Definition and classes.
Definition
Definition.
- What is a psychoactive drug, and how are they classified by effect? definition
- Is the user asking about their own use or a crisis, which needs a clinician, poison centre or emergency services first? boundary
Legal
Legal status.
Legal
Legal.
- How are psychoactive drugs classified in law, and how does status vary by jurisdiction? provenance
- Which entry fits the specific substance? action
Science Pharmacology and health.
Sources.
Pharmacology
Mechanisms.
Pharmacology
Pharmacology.
- How do the main classes act on the brain, in general terms? provenance
- Is the presentation free of instructions for use, dosing or manufacture? boundary
Health
Health effects.
Health
Health.
- What do health bodies report about benefits, risks, dependence and interactions? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Society Policy and culture.
Attribution.
Policy
Policy and harm reduction.
Policy
Policy.
- What policy approaches exist, from prohibition to regulation and harm reduction, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Culture
Cultural and religious use.
Culture
Culture.
- How are psychoactive substances used in religious and cultural traditions, with attribution? provenance
- Which entry fits the specific tradition? action
Support Support and research.
Support.
Support
Support services.
Support
Support.
- What support and treatment services exist for problematic use? provenance
- Which entry fits addiction treatment? action
Research
Research.
Research
Research.
- What are current research directions, such as psychedelic-assisted therapy trials, with findings attributed? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- Should each class be a separate entry?
- How should drug control schedules be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming plants, a historical preparation and slang; should they be split off?