Drug addiction

Drug addiction, or substance dependence is the compulsive use of drugs, to the point where the user has no effective choice but to continue use. This phenomenon has occurred to some degree throughout recorded history (see "opium"), though modern agricultural practices, improvements in access to drugs, and advancements in biochemistry have exacerbated the problem significantly in the 20th century with the introduction of purified forms of active biological agents, and with the synthesis of hitherto unknown substances, such as methamphetamine and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB). While "addiction" has been replaced by "dependency" as a clinical term, the terms are used interchangeably here.

Drugs considered to be addictive (Some may be debatable)

• Alcohol
• Anabolic steroids
• Analgetics
• Barbiturates
• Buprenorphine
• Butorphanol
• Chloral hydrate, trichloroethanol and derivatives
• Cocaine
• Codeine
• Dextroproxyphene
• Dextromethorphan
• Ethchlorvynol
• Fentanyl and its analogs
• Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB)
• Glutethimide
• Heroin (Diacetylmorphine)
• Hydrocodone
• Hydromorphone (Dilaudid®)
• Ketamine
• Laxatives
• Levo-alpha-acetylmethadol (LAAM)
• Meperidine
• Meprobamate
• Methamphetamine and other Amphetamines
• Methaqualone and related sedative-hypnotics
• Methadone
• Methcathinone
• Morphine
• Nicotine
• Oxycodone
• Opium
• Synthetic opioid agonists and partial agonists not considered here
• Semi-synthetic opiates not considered here
• Xanax
• Paraldehyde (Paral®)
• Phencyclidine (PCP)
• Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol®)