Editing Recreational drug use (section)

===Depressants===
{{Further|Depressant}}
Depressants are psychoactive drugs that temporarily diminish the function or activity of a specific part of the body or mind.<ref name="urlMSDS Glossary">{{cite web |url= http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/msds/glossary/?page=d | title = Depressant | date =  30 August 2007 | work = MSDS Glossary | publisher = Environmental Health and Safety, University of Texas at Austin |access-date= 1 January 2009 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090117220900/http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/msds/glossary/?page=d |archive-date= 17 January 2009}}</ref> Colloquially, depressants are known as "downers", and users generally take them to feel more relaxed and less tense. Examples of these kinds of effects may include anxiolysis, sedation, and hypotension. Depressants are widely used throughout the world as [[prescription medicine]]s and as [[prohibition (drugs)|illicit substances]]. When these are used, effects may include [[anxiolysis]] (reduction of anxiety), [[analgesia]] (pain relief), [[sedation]], [[somnolence]], cognitive/memory impairment, [[dissociation (psychology)|dissociation]], muscle relaxation, lowered [[blood pressure]]/[[heart rate]], [[respiratory depression]], [[anesthesia]], and [[anticonvulsant]] effects.  Depressants exert their effects through a number of different pharmacological mechanisms, the most prominent of which include potentiation of [[GABA]] or [[opioid]] activity, and inhibition of [[adrenergic]], [[histamine]] or [[acetylcholine]] activity. Some are also capable of inducing feelings of [[euphoria]]. The most widely used depressant by far is [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] (i.e. [[ethanol]]).

Stimulants or "uppers", such as [[amphetamines]] or [[cocaine]], which increase mental or physical function, have an opposite effect to depressants.

Depressants, in particular alcohol, can precipitate [[Substance-induced psychosis|psychosis]]. A 2019 systematic review and meta-analysis by Murrie et al. found that the rate of transition from opioid, alcohol and [[sedative]] induced psychosis to schizophrenia was 12%, 10% and 9% respectively.<ref name="Transition of Substance-Induced, Br">{{cite journal | vauthors = Murrie B, Lappin J, Large M, Sara G | title = Transition of Substance-Induced, Brief, and Atypical Psychoses to Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis | journal = Schizophrenia Bulletin | volume = 46 | issue = 3 | pages = 505–516 | date = April 2020 | pmid = 31618428 | pmc = 7147575 | doi = 10.1093/schbul/sbz102 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

====Antihistamines====
{{Further|Antihistamine}}
Antihistamines (or "histamine antagonists") inhibit the release or action of [[histamine]]. "Antihistamine" can be used to describe any histamine antagonist, but the term is usually reserved for the [[H1 antagonist|classical antihistamines]] that act upon the [[histamine H1 receptor|H<sub>1</sub> histamine receptor]]. Antihistamines are used as treatment for [[allergies]]. Allergies are caused by an excessive response of the body to [[allergens]], such as the [[pollen]] released by grasses and trees. An allergic reaction causes release of histamine by the body. Other uses of antihistamines are to help with normal symptoms of insect stings even if there is no allergic reaction. Their recreational appeal exists mainly due to their [[anticholinergic]] properties, that induce [[anxiolysis]] and, in some cases such as [[diphenhydramine]], [[chlorpheniramine]], and [[orphenadrine]], a characteristic euphoria at moderate doses.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} High dosages taken to induce recreational drug effects may lead to overdoses. Antihistamines are also consumed in combination with alcohol, particularly by youth who find it hard to obtain alcohol. The combination of the two drugs can cause intoxication with lower alcohol doses.

Hallucinations and possibly delirium resembling the effects of [[Datura stramonium]] can result if the drug is taken in much higher than therapeutic doses. Antihistamines are widely available over the counter at drug stores (without a prescription), in the form of allergy medication and some [[cough medicine]]s. They are sometimes used in combination with other substances such as alcohol.
The most common unsupervised use of antihistamines in terms of volume and percentage of the total is perhaps in parallel to the medicinal use of some antihistamines to extend and intensify the effects of opioids and depressants. The most commonly used are [[hydroxyzine]], mainly to extend a supply of other drugs, as in medical use, and the above-mentioned ethanolamine and alkylamine-class first-generation antihistamines, which are – once again as in the 1950s – the subject of medical research into their anti-depressant properties.

For all of the above reasons, the use of medicinal scopolamine for recreational uses is also observed.

====Analgesics====
{{Further|Analgesic}}
Analgesics (also known as "painkillers") are used to relieve [[pain]] (achieve [[wikt:analgesia|analgesia]]). The word ''analgesic'' derives from Greek "αν-" (''an-'', "without") and "άλγος" (''álgos'', "pain"). Analgesic drugs act in various ways on the [[peripheral nervous system|peripheral]] and [[central nervous system|central]] nervous systems; they include [[paracetamol]] (also known in the US as acetaminophen), the [[nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug]]s (NSAIDs) such as the [[salicylate]]s (e.g. [[aspirin]]), and [[opioid]] drugs such as [[hydrocodone]], [[codeine]], [[heroin]] and [[oxycodone]]. Some further examples of the [[Brand|brand name]] [[prescription medication|prescription]] [[opiate]]s and [[opioid]] analgesics that may be used recreationally include Vicodin, Lortab, Norco (hydrocodone), Avinza, Kapanol (morphine), Opana, Paramorphan (oxymorphone), Dilaudid, Palladone (hydromorphone), and OxyContin (oxycodone).

====Tranquilizers====
{{Further|Tranquilizer}}
The following are examples of tranquilizers ([[gamma-Aminobutyric acid#GABAergic drugs|GABAergics]]):
* [[Barbiturate]]s
* [[Benzodiazepine]]s
* [[Ethanol]] (drinking alcohol; ethyl alcohol)
* [[Nonbenzodiazepine]]s
* Others
** [[carisoprodol]] (Soma)
** [[chloral hydrate]]
** [[diethyl ether]]
** [[ethchlorvynol]] (Placidyl; "jelly-bellies")
** [[gamma-butyrolactone]] (GBL, a prodrug to GHB)
** [[gamma-hydroxybutyrate]] (GHB; G; Xyrem; "Liquid Ecstasy", "Fantasy")
** [[glutethimide]] (Doriden)
** [[kava]] (from ''[[Piper methysticum]]''; contains [[kavalactone]]s)
** [[ketamine]], a [[phencyclidine]] (PCP) analog
** [[meprobamate]] (Miltown)
** [[methaqualone]] (Sopor, Mandrax; "Quaaludes")
** [[phenibut]]
** [[propofol]] (Diprivan), a general anesthetic
** [[theanine]] (found in ''[[Camellia sinensis]]'', the [[tea]] plant)
** [[Valerian (herb)|valerian]] (from ''[[Valeriana officinalis]]'')