 |
|
| |
|
||||
Many drugs are provided in tablet form. A drug is any substance that can be used to treat an illness, relieve a symptom, or modify a chemical process or processes in the body. The word "drug" is etymologically derived from the Dutch/Low German word "droog", which means "dry", since in the past, most drugs were dried plant parts.
TerminologyThe term "drug" is necessarily a vague one, being defined by intent: for example, foods consumed for normal metabolism are not generally considered "drugs", but the same foods consumed for a more specific purpose (such as the use of alcohol as a depressant or caffeine as a stimulant) may be. Depending on the definition used, the same substance may even be considered both a food and a drug at the same time. The term "medication" is frequently applied to drugs used for medical treatment, presumably to avoid conflation with recreational drugs. Legal DistributionIn the United States, medical professionals may obtain drugs from pharmaceutical companies or pharmacies (which in turn purchase drugs from pharmaceutical companies). Pharmacies may also supply a drug directly to patients, authorized by a prescription from a medical professional, if the drug can be safely self-administered. Most drugs are relatively high-cost for patients to purchase directly when first distributed, although health insurance may mitigate some of the cost. When the patent for a drug runs out, a generic drug (some known as simply a "generic") is usually synthesized and released by competing companies, causing the price to drop markedly. Drugs which don't require prescription by a medical professional are known as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and can be sold in stores without pharmacy association. Meanwhile many recreational drugs are illegal almost everywhere, meaning that there distribution is through criminal networks. This results in adulterated products such as soap bar. See Drug policy of the Netherlands. ClassificationDrugs may be classified in many different ways, according to mechanism of action, effects, or even legal status.
RegulationsUsage of most of drugs is regulated to some extent. While details vary with location, these are somewhat usual regulations in the Western world: Not regulated: Regulated to some extent (age or labeling requirements, for example) but available over the counter:
Prescription drugs, prohibited for non-medical use: Varies from tolerated to prohibited for medical use:
Varies from prohibited for non-medical use to prohibited for any use Prohibited for any use, no medical uses currently allowed UN documentsThree international UN treaties regulate drugs laws:
The UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (http://www.undcp.org/) is charged with overseeing these treaties and maintains a list of signatory nations at http://www.undcp.org/treaty_adherence.html. See also
External links
Books about Illicit and Popular Drugs
ca:droga da:Lægemiddel de:Arzneimittel es:Droga ko:마약 nl:Drug pl:Narkotyk pt:Droga sv:Drog ms:Dadah |
|
Copyright 2009 wordIQ.com - Privacy Policy
::
Terms of Use
:: Contact Us
:: About Us This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Drug". |