Stimulants are drugs that keep a person awake and give them a great deal of energy. There are legal stimulant prescription drugs such as Ritalin or Adderall that are prescribed to treat disorders such as Attention Deficit Disorder. These drugs are sometimes abused when a person they are prescribed to shares or sells them to others or someone steals another person’s medications. Illegal stimulants include cocaine and methamphetamine.
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug made from the leaves of the coca plant native to South America. While cocaine can be used for valid medical purposes as a local anesthesia for some surgeries, the recreational use of cocaine is illegal. As a street drug it is a fine, white powder.
For information on COCAINE:
- Cocaine DrugFacts | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (NIH.gov)
- Cocaine (DEA.gov)
- Cocaine: MedlinePlus.gov
Methamphetamine is another powerfully addictive drug that can lead to serious health problems or death. It can come in a pill form or powder form, most often it is crystal meth. Crystal meth is a colorless, odorless substance resembling small fragments of glass of shiny little rocks of various sizes.