Define drug: A drug is a substance that may have intoxicating, medical, or performance-enhancing properties, among other effects, when introduced into the body of an animal or human and is not considered neither a food nor a food. What is considered a drug and what is a food differs slightly or greatly depending on the culture, and in some cultures the distinctions between foods and drugs and their types are placed in laws and range from prevention to limiting drug use. Clinical trials: When researching the start of a new drug, they must ensure that all conditions are met that it must be effective, safe, stable and able to be successfully taken in and removed from the body. It usually takes more than a decade and a few hundred million pounds before we see them as mainstream drugs. The reason for the testing is to ensure that the drug is not harmful to the environment, wildlife or, most importantly, to human users from adult to unborn child. An example of this occurred in the 1950s, when a medicine called Thalidomide was created as a sleeping pill and as a way to treat morning sickness. However, no tests were carried out to see how this would affect the fetus, and many women who took the drug gave birth to babies with limb deformities. After the so-called "thalidomide tragedy", a new standard for testing all medicines was passed called the Medicines Act 1968. Legal and Illegal Drugs: Drugs are chemicals that affect the body, or in the case of psychoactive drugs, the brain. Legal medications are not that difficult to find and can be purchased in medical stores or prescribed by a doctor if you are of the right age and it is necessary. Illegal drugs are much more powerful drugs that affect you to the point of harm. The... center of the card... ilia, chest pain, asthma, fever, rhinorrhea, bruxism, itching and increased risk of heart attack. Caffeine: Caffeine is a bitter white crystalline xanthine alkaloid and a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in variable quantities in the seeds, leaves and fruits of some plants. It is commonly consumed by humans from extracts of the coffee plant and various kola nut-based foods and drinks. Adverse side effects include anxiety, dependence, increased blood pressure and vasoconstriction, reduced control of motor movements, and urinary stimulation.Alcohol: Alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxyl (-OH) functional group is bonded to a carbon atom. The carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds with three other atoms. Negative side effects include brain development disorders, memory disorders, hepatitis, hallucinations and many others.