This document provides information about classifying drugs into seven categories: stimulants, depressants, opioids, psychedelics, cannabinoids, dissociatives, and empathogens. It defines each category, provides examples of drugs that fall into each category, and describes their general effects on the body. The document is intended to teach students about drug classification as part of a health or drug education class.

1. ALCOHOL &
OTHER DRUGSY E A R 9 H P E
WEEK 1 – CL ASSIFICATION OF DRUGS

2. LEARNING GOALS
• Define what a drug is.
• Identify the seven general categories of psychoactive drugs.
• Identify influences on drug choices.
SUCCESS CRITERIA
• I will be able to define what a drug is.
• I will be able to identify the seven general categories of
psychoactive drugs and list effects and examples of each.
• I will be able to identify factors that influence adolescent drug
choices.

3. QUIZ
What do you already know
about this topic?
What is a drug?
Write your own definition. Fill at
least 2 lines in your book or on
your computer.

4. WHAT IS A DRUG?
The World Health Organisation defines a drug as:
A drug is any substance, except food and
which when taken into the body, changes the
way the body works.

5. CLASSIFYING DRUGS
Drugs can be classified in many ways, for
example:
• Source of the substance (synthetic or plant)
• Legal status (legal or illegal)
• Risk status (safe or dangerous)
• Use (medical or other)
However, one of the most common and useful
ways of classifying a drug is by the effect that it
has on a person’s central nervous system (CNS).

6. CLASSIFICATION OF DRUGS
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) classifies drugs into
seven general categories:
1. Stimulants
2. Depressants
3. Opioids
4. Psychedelics
5. Cannabinoids
6. Dissociatives
7. Empathogens

7. CLASSIFYING DRUGS
Type of Drug Definition Effects on the
body
Examples of
drugs
Street
Names
Depressant
Stimulant
Psychedelics
Opioids
Cannabanoids
1. Go to Moodle
2. Download the “Week 1 - Classifying Drugs Table”
3. Continue through the PowerPoint slides and complete your
table.
Click
Me!

8. FOR MORE INFORMATION…
For more information on the
different types of drugs, you can
visit the following website:
https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/#wheel
Click on the names of the different
drugs on the outside of the drug
wheel to view more information.

9. 1. STIMULANTS
Stimulants are a class of drugs that speed up the
messages between the brain and the body. They
can make a person feel more awake, alert,
confident or energetic.
Large doses of stimulants can cause over-
stimulation, causing anxiety, panic, seizures,
headaches, stomach cramps, aggression and
paranoia. Long-term use of strong stimulants can
also cause a number of adverse effects (ADF,
2020).
Examples:
• Caffeine
• Nicotine (in tobacco)
• Amphetamines

10. TRUE
Stimulants speed up processes between the brain and
body?
QUICK QUIZ
FALSE

11. 2. DEPRESSANTS
Depressant substances reduce arousal and
stimulation. They do not necessarily make a person
feel depressed. They affect the central nervous
system, slowing down the messages between the
brain and the body.
They can affect concentration and coordination. They
slow down the person’s ability to respond to
unexpected situations. In small doses they can cause
a person to feel more relaxed and less inhibited
(ADF, 2020).
Examples:
• Alcohol
• Benzodiazepines – commonly prescribed by
doctors to relieve stress and anxiety.

12. TRUE
Depressants speed up processes between the brain and
body?
QUICK QUIZ
FALSE

13. 3. OPIOIDS
Opioids include any drug that acts on opioid receptors in the brain.
Opioids depress the central nervous system, and slow down
messages between the brain and the rest of the body. This causes
breathing and heart rate to slow down. Opioid receptors also
stimulate the release of dopamine, which leads to sensations of
pleasure and pain relief (ADF, 2020).
Examples:
• Codeine
• Fetanyl
• Oxycodone
• Heroin

14. TRUE
Codeine is an example of an opioid and is commonly
used to provide pain relief?
QUICK QUIZ
FALSE

15. 4. PSYCHEDELICS
Psychedelics (also known as hallucinogens) are a class of
psychoactive substances that produce changes in perception, mood
and cognitive processes. Psychedelics affect all the senses, altering a
person’s thinking, sense of time and emotions. They can also cause a
person to hallucinate—seeing or hearing things that do not exist or
are distorted (ADF, 2020).
Examples:
• LSD (acid)
• Psilocybin (Magic mushrooms)

16. TRUE
Psychedelics and hallucinogens are not the same thing.
QUICK QUIZ
FALSE

17. 5. CANNABINOIDS
The three types of cannabinoids that people use are recreational,
medicinal and synthetic. The two main cannabinoids are delta-9-
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC is the chemical
that is responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis – makes a
person ‘high’.
Cannabinoids produce their effects by interacting with specific receptors,
located within different parts of the central nervous system. Cannabinoids
can affect mood, memory, sleep and appetite (ADF, 2020).
Examples:
• Cannabis (dried leaves and flowers of cannabis plant)
• Hemp (fibre of the cannabis plant)
• Medicinal cannabinoids

18. TRUE
The cannabinoid THC is the chemical that is responsible
for making a person ‘high’?
QUICK QUIZ
FALSE

19. 6. DISSOCIATIVES
Dissociatives (also referred to as 'dissociative anaesthetics') are
a class of psychedelic drug. This class of drug is characterised
by distorted sensory perceptions and feelings of disconnection
or detachment from the environment and self. The word
dissociative means detached from reality (ADF, 2020).
Examples:
• Ketamine (used in surgery)
• PCP
• Nitrous Oxide (nangs)

20. TRUE
Dissociative drugs do not make a person feel detached
from their environment.
QUICK QUIZ
FALSE

21. 7. EMPATHOGENS
Empathogens increase an individual’s feeling of empathy towards
others and increase feelings of being socially accepted by and
connected to others. They can increase friendliness and playfulness,
but can also cause mood swings, dehydration and depression.
Empathogens cause the release of dopamine and serotonin in the
brain. Serotonin controls mood, appetite and sleep, and can make
you feel relaxed (ADF, 2020).
Examples:
• MDMA (Ecstasy)
• PMA

22. TRUE
MDMA is an example of an empathogen.
QUICK QUIZ
FALSE