Drug abuse is “a maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress” (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p.114-115 ). The difference between drug use and abuse depends on three things: what the drug is used for, the amount of drug used, and the effect the drug has on the person. Drug abuse generally involves the excessive use of drugs, whether the drug is legal or illegal. For example, marijuana is illegal in some states, but not others. It is legal if you use the medicine for a specific reason with the written consent of a doctor. You may use a drug, like marijuana, excessively, which may cause the person to abuse it. Like alcohol, it is legal, but if you drink a lot you can become drunk, increasing your risk of getting into trouble with the law. The line is therefore thin between “use” and “abuse”. Abuse has a lot to do with “the law and other social norms” (Macionis, 2010, p. 211). In order to understand what drug abuse is, we need to understand what exactly a drug is. What is a drug? Additionally, what types of drugs are there? A drug is “any chemical substance other than food or water that affects the mind or body” (Goldstein, 2004; Macionis, 2010, p. 208). Six different types of legal and illegal drugs in the world are stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, cannabis, steroids and prescription drugs. Stimulants affect a person's mood while using this medication. It also provides alertness and increases your energy (Macionis, 2010). Examples of stimulants are caffeine, nicotine, cocaine and crack. Caffeine is one of the most popular drugs used in the United States ... middle of paper ...... that is prescribed by a doctor or directed to over-the-counter medications. Drug abuse is the process by which an individual overdoses or uses drugs in an inappropriate and illegal manner. A person may abuse their own prescribed medications by taking more than recommended or taking other drugs at the same time. medication they were originally intended to take. There have been advertisements in inner cities advocating prescription drug abuse and posting information on urban subways about how to dispose of expired medications so they don't fall into the wrong hands. This topic was something important to the author of this article. The author of this article can relate to the topic of drugs and how they affect the individual because the author of this article has experience with drug use and abuse..