Inside-out with Toxicity

[Miss_Methylene]

First of all, the word 'Toxic' is defined as "poisonous, deadly, or dangerous". Many drugs, including prescription and a few over the counter drugs may become toxic if misused or abused. By a toxic drug, I am refering to those effects of drugs that interfere with normal functioning in such a way as to produce dangerous or potentially dangerous consequences.
We could easily consider alcohol to be toxic, since it can cause a person to be so disoriented that the person may not be able to undergo normal behaviors, such as driving a car. This is an example of "behavioral toxicity".
Another distinction we make for the purpose of discussion is 'acute' v.s. 'chronic'. Acute condition is one that comes on suddenly, as opposed to a chronic or longlasting condition. When talking about drug effects, we can think of the acute effects as those that result from a single administration of a drug or a direct result of the actual presece of the drug in the system at the time. For example, taking an overdose of heroin can lead to acute toxicity. By contrast, the chronic effects of a drug are those that result from longterm exposure and can be present whether or not the substance is actually still in the body's system at that given point.

Examples of Four Types of Drug-Induced Toxicity:
Acute:
Behavioral: "Intoxication" from alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs that impair behavior and increase danger to the individual.
Physiological:
Overdose of herion or alcohol causing the user to stop breathing.

Chronic:
Behavioral: Personality changes reported to occur in alcoholics. (amotivational syndrome)
Physiological: Heart disease, lung cancer, and other effects related to smoking; liver damage resulting from chronic alcohol exposure.

[nanobrain]

hmm, a good start, what of exo vs endogenous, technogenic, teratogenic, mutagenic, carcinogenic, etc.

dont forget your GP's favorite, the iatrogenic toxicity.

what about emotional toxicity, like psychic vampires?

[Octo42o]

Originally Posted by nanobrain

what about emotional toxicity, like psychic vampires?

You mean Psychosis?

[nanobrain]

no, i mean those who feed off your bioenergeticc emissions, their mere presence leaves you feeling drained, toxified, sometimes with a desire to wash your hands. know what i mean?

[ponygirl]

I know what you mean. Damn those people. There are ways you can protect yourself against them, buy shielding techniques that put up energy shields. Also...carry a bit of hematite with you.

Edited: Missed a couple of crucial words. Way past bedtime...hands not working

[Nicaine]

SWIM believes sleep deprivation should count, i.e. in the case of stimulants. Acute/chronic sleep deprivation is a "toxic" state that can cause a lot of problems, including physical health problems. This may be one of the most dangerous aspects of stimulant use (and hardcore opiate withdrawal as well), but it isn't normally looked at as a toxic effect of certain substances; in SWIM's opinion, it ought to be.