Examples of Common Controlled Substances

Schedule I: (all non-research use prohibited) heroin, LSD, mescaline, marijuana, peyote, PCP, hashish, metaqualone (Quaalude), MDMA (ecstasy)

*even though CA and AZ voted to allow marijuana to be prescribed for medicinal uses, the FDA and DEA overruled it, saying that it is a schedule I controlled substance and that overrides any voter initiative.

Schedule II: (triplicate prescription form; no refills) cocaine, codeine, fentanyl (sbulimaze), hydrocodone, hydromorphone (dilaudid), meperidine (Demerol), methadone (dolophine), opium, oxycodone, oxymorphone, amphetamine, methylphenidate (Ritalin), amobarbital, pentobarbital, secobarbital, phenmetrazine (preludin), morphine, methamphetabmine (desoxyn, tx for narcolepsy)

Schedule III: (prescription must be written after 6 months or 5 refills) barbital, butabarbital, glutehimide (doriden), barbiturate suppositories, Marinol, limited quantities (alone or combination) of: codeine, dihydrocodeine, opium alkaloids, morphine.

Molecular targets that individual drugs work on are well known. Opioids work on Mu receptors, sedative-hypnotics work on GABA receptor, stimulants effect the dopamine transporter, cannabinoids have specific cannabinoid receptors, nicotine has the nicotinc receptors, alcohol effects the GABA receptor, NMDA glutamate receptor, and multiple other targets. There are no antidotes for alcohol toxicity or cocaine toxicity.

Note: Ephedrine (Ma Huang, a thousand year old Chinese drug with legitimate uses) is a sympathomimetic amine and acts on alpha and beta receptors, and also causes a significant release of catecholamines. Ephedrine is now emerging as a problem because people are having ephedrine parties in which they take a lot of this drug and are extraordinarily stimulated for a long time (from CNS stimulant response to the drug) and die of exhaustion and dehydration.

Category: Pharmacology Notes