Depressants include barbiturates, sedatives, and anti-anxiety drugs. They are usually taken orally. They depress not only the activity of the brain, causing an effect on the heart and respiration, but also muscle tissues. Short-term physical effects include drowsiness, slurred speech, irritability, stupor, and impaired judgment, memory, and attention. Long term effects include disrupted sleep, psychosis, respiratory depression, and coma, and neuropsychological and structural brain damage.
Withdrawal can produce extreme anxiety, insomnia, convulsions, and death.
Narcotics include opium, morphine, heroin, codeine and synthetic substances that can be taken orally, snorted, smoked, or injected into the skin or a vein. They relax the central nervous system and appear to be able to reduce anxiety levels, promote drowsiness, and allow sleep in spite of severe pain. Short-term physical effects include pinpoint pupils, lethargy, skin abscesses, chronic constipation, nausea, and respiratory depression. Psychological effects include anxiety, irritability, mood swings, depression, drug seeking, and antisocial behavior. Cocaine is a white crystalline powder, often diluted with other ingredients.