Editing Recreational drug use (section)

==Routes of administration==
[[File:Caffeineinsufflation.JPG|thumb|[[Insufflation (medicine)|Insufflation]] of powdered drug]]
[[File:Injecting Heroin.JPG|thumb|[[Drug injection|Injection]] of heroin]]

Drugs are often associated with a particular [[route of administration]]. Many drugs can be consumed in more than one way. For example, [[marijuana]] can be swallowed like food or smoked, and [[cocaine]] can be "sniffed" in the nostrils, injected, or, with various modifications, smoked.

* [[inhalation]]: all intoxicative inhalants (see below) that are gases or solvent vapours that are inhaled through the trachea, as the name suggests
* [[Insufflation (medicine)|insufflation]]: also known as "snorting", or "sniffing", this method involves the user placing a powder in the nostrils and breathing in through the nose, so that the drug is absorbed by the [[mucous membranes]]. Drugs that are "snorted", or "sniffed", include [[History and culture of substituted amphetamines|powdered amphetamines]], [[cocaine]], [[heroin]], [[ketamine]], [[MDMA]], and [[Snuff (tobacco)|snuff tobacco]].
* [[Subcutaneous injection]] (see also the article [[Skin popping]]): injection of drug into the third lowest layer of skin.
* [[Intramuscular injection]]: injection of drug into a muscle.
* [[intravenous injection]] (see also the article [[Drug injection]]): the user injects a solution of water and the drug into a vein, or less commonly, into the tissue.<ref name="Wang-Maher 2019"/> Drugs that are injected include [[morphine]] and [[heroin]],<ref name="Wang-Maher 2019"/> less commonly other opioids. Stimulants like [[cocaine]] or [[methamphetamine]] may also be injected.<ref name="Wang-Maher 2019"/> In rare cases, users inject other drugs.
* oral intake: caffeine, ethanol, cannabis edibles, psilocybin mushrooms, [[coca tea]], [[poppy tea]], [[laudanum]], [[Gamma-hydroxybutyrate|GHB]], ecstasy pills with [[MDMA]] or various other substances (mainly stimulants and psychedelics), prescription and over-the-counter drugs (ADHD and narcolepsy medications, benzodiazepines, anxiolytics, sedatives, cough suppressants, morphine, codeine, opioids and others)
* [[Sublingual administration|sublingual]]: substances diffuse into the [[blood]] through [[Tissue (biology)|tissues]] under the tongue.  Many psychoactive drugs can be or have been specifically designed for sublingual administration, including [[barbiturate]]s, benzodiazepines,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://home.intekom.com/pharm/akromed/ativansl.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040204200938/http://home.intekom.com/pharm/akromed/ativansl.html | archive-date = 4 February 2004 |title= Ativan 1 mg Sublingual Tablets | work = Malahyde Information Systems | date = 3 May 1985 | access-date = 8 July 2016 }}</ref> [[opioid]] [[analgesics]] with poor gastrointestinal bioavailability, [[LSD]] blotters, [[Coca plant|coca]] leaves, some hallucinogens. This route of administration is activated when chewing some forms of [[smokeless tobacco]] (e.g. [[dipping tobacco]], [[snus]]).
* [[Rectal (medicine)|intrarectal]]: administering into the rectum, most water-soluble drugs can be used this way.
* [[smoking]] (see also the section below): tobacco, cannabis, [[opium]], [[Methamphetamine|crystal meth]], [[phencyclidine]], [[crack cocaine]], and heroin (diamorphine as freebase) known as [[chasing the dragon]].
* transdermal patches with prescription drugs: e.g. [[methylphenidate]] (''Daytrana'') and [[fentanyl]].<ref>{{Citation |last1=Ruiz |first1=María Esperanza |title=Routes of Drug Administration |date=2018 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-99593-9_6 |work=ADME Processes in Pharmaceutical Sciences |pages=97–133 |editor-last=Talevi |editor-first=Alan |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-99593-9_6 |isbn=978-3-319-99592-2 |access-date=2022-03-27 |last2=Scioli Montoto |first2=Sebastián |editor2-last=Quiroga |editor2-first=Pablo A. M.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Verma |first1=P. |last2=Thakur |first2=A.S. |last3=Deshmuhk |first3=K. |last4=Jha |first4=A.K. |last5=Verma |first5=S. |title=Routes of Drug Administration |url=https://romanpub.com/resources/ijpsr%20v11-2020-7.pdf |journal=International Journal of Pharmaceutical Studies and Research}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Latkin |first1=Carl A |last2=Knowlton |first2=Amy R |last3=Sherman |first3=Susan |date=2001-09-01 |title=Routes of drug administration, differential affiliation, and lifestyle stability among cocaine and opiate users: Implications to HIV prevention |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899328901000700 |journal=Journal of Substance Abuse |series=SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND HIV |language=en |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=89–102 |doi=10.1016/S0899-3289(01)00070-0 |pmid=11547627 |issn=0899-3289}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gossop |first1=Michael |last2=Marsden |first2=John |last3=Stewart |first3=Duncan |last4=Treacy |first4=Samantha |date=August 2000 |title=Routes of drug administration and multiple drug misuse: regional variations among clients seeking treatment at programmes throughout England |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2000.95811976.x |journal=Addiction |volume=95 |issue=8 |pages=1197–1206 |doi=10.1046/j.1360-0443.2000.95811976.x |pmid=11092067 |issn=0965-2140}}</ref>

Many drugs are taken through various routes. Intravenous route is the most efficient, but also one of the most dangerous. Nasal, rectal, inhalation and smoking are safer. The oral route is one of the safest and most comfortable, but of little [[bioavailability]].