Commonly Used Drugs

by National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health

Commonly Used Drugs

Many drugs can alter a person’s thinking and judgment, and can lead to health risks, including addiction, drugged driving, infectious disease, and adverse effects on pregnancy. Information on commonly used drugs with the potential for misuse or addiction can be found here.

For information about treatment options for substance use disorders, see NIDA’s Treatment pages. For drug use trends, see our Trends and Statistics page. For the most up-to-date slang terms, please see Slang Terms and Code Words: A Reference for Law Enforcement Personnel (DEA, PDF, 1MB).

The following drugs are included in this resource:

➢ Alcohol	➢ Methamphetamine
➢ Ayahuasca	➢ Over-the Counter Medicines--Dextromethorphan (DXM)
➢ Central Nervous System Depressants
➢ Cocaine	➢ Over-the-Counter Medicines--Loperamide
➢ DMT	➢ PCP
➢ GHB	➢ Prescription Opioids
➢ Hallucinogens	➢ Prescription Stimulants
➢ Heroin	➢ Psilocybin
➢ Inhalants	➢ Rohypnol® (Flunitrazepam)
➢ Ketamine	➢ Salvia
➢ Khat	➢ Steroids (Anabolic)
➢ Kratom	➢ Synthetic Cannabinoids
➢ LSD	➢ Synthetic Cathinones ("Bath Salts")
➢ Marijuana (Cannabis)	➢ Tobacco/Nicotine
➢ MDMA (Ecstacy/Molly)
➢ Mescaline (Peyote)

**Drugs are classified into five distinct categories or schedules “depending upon the drug’s acceptable medical use and the drug’s abuse or dependency potential.” More information and the most up-to-date scheduling information can be found on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s website.