- Adderall: A stimulant designed to treat ADHD. Potentially habit-forming. Often misused by people with no valid prescription.
- Ritalin: A central nervous system stimulant manufactured to treat ADD and ADHD. Carries a high potential for abuse.
Legal Dissociatives
In recent decades, an increasing number of people have turned to a special class of intoxicants called dissociatives—hallucinogens that distort a user’s perceptions and create a sense of detachment from reality. They include:- Synthetic marijuana: When people first heard of synthetic cannabis, they assumed it was a safer, more legal form of marijuana. Nothing could be further from the truth. Also known as K2 and Spice, this designer drug has proven to be highly dangerous. Side effects range from vomiting and headaches to kidney damage and psychosis.
- Salvia divinorum: A psychoactive plant that can give rise to hallucinations, salvia divinorum remains legal in many states.
- Nitrous oxide: Doctors use nitrous oxide, sometimes known as laughing gas, to sedate or anesthetize patients. Others use it illegally to experience a sense of dissociative euphoria.
- Ketamine: Classified as a dissociative anesthetic, ketamine is primarily used to sedate animals. People often use it illegally to enter a dreamlike state or to induce immobilization in “date-rape” victims.