• Cough syrup containing the legal dissociative drug DXM"Medicines" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: coxy (Matt Cox) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  

Alcohol and Tobacco

• Alcohol and tobacco are the most commonly used drugs in the world. According to Nih.gov, approximately 46 million Americans use both alcohol and tobacco annually.
  
  Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, used for its intoxicating effects, which include loss of inhibition, decreased anxiety and euphoric intoxication. Alcohol is capable of causing overdose and physical addiction, in addition to its long-term side effects of liver damage, heart disease and increased risk of several types of cancer.
  
  Tobacco is an addictive, carcinogenic substance with stimulating properties. According to Umn.edu, tobacco is as addictive as heroin as a mood-altering substance, making it one of the hardest drugs to quit. Among the health risks of tobacco abuse are emphysema, heart disease and cancer of the lung, pancreas, breast and esophagus.
  
  

Prescription Drugs

• Prescription medications are legal when prescribed by a doctor. This class of drugs includes stimulants, depressants and muscle relaxants, and is a major source of addiction and drug-related death in the U.S.
  
  Stimulants are prescribed for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and treatment-resistant depression. They go by the brand names of Ritalin, Adderall and Desoxyn and are often abused as study aides by high school and college students.
  
  Depressants are essentially the opposite of stimulants, and include drugs from the benzodiazepine and barbiturate families. They are taken for their alcohol-like effects, which include lowered inhibition, sedation and memory loss. Opiates and muscle relaxants are prescribed to treat severe pain and are often used for their euphoric and relaxing effects. Drugs in this class include codeine, morphine and cyclobenzaprine.
  
  

Over-the-Counter Substances

• The most frequently abused OTC drug is dextromethorphan, or DXM. It is present in many cough and cold preparations and causes dissociative effects similar to ketamine or PCP when taken in high doses. Dangers associated with DXM abuse include: hyperthermia, liver and brain damage, coma and death.
  
  Other OTC substances sometimes used for their intoxicating effects are pseudoephedrine (decongestant), antihistamines (sedatives), and inhalants, such as computer duster or glue.
  
  

Herbal Highs

• Entheogens, or "herbal highs," are an entirely different class of legal substances. Among the most common of this class is the hallucinogen salvia divinorum. It causes LSD-like hallucinations that last approximately ten minutes and are extremely intense. Morning glory seeds and San Pedro cactus are other plant-based drugs with similar psychedelic effects.
  
  Kratom is a plant with opiate-like effects. It causes a high that's nearly identical to that of opiates like morphine and codeine and is similarly addictive. Other common herbal highs include ephedra, amanita mushrooms and the deadly datura, which is responsible for more emergency room visits annually than any other plant-based drug.
  
  

Safety

• As is evident with tobacco and alcohol, a drug's legal status has little to do with its safety. Never assume that a drug is safe because it's legal or natural. In some instances, legal drugs may be even more potent than street drugs, due to pharmaceutical purity standards in prescription medications and unknown alkaloid content in plant-based drugs.