Terminology

insomnia 

difficulty in going to sleep or in getting enough sleep

joints 

marijuana cigarettes

LD50 

the amount of a material, given all at once, which causes the death of 50% (one half) of a group of test animals. The LD50 is one way to measure the short-term poisoning potential (acute toxicity) of a material

local anaesthetic 

involves numbing an area of the body using a type of medication called a local anaesthetic

myocardial infarction 

a heart attack

nystagmus 

rapid involuntary rhythmic movement of the eyes

optical sliding 

described as a physical effect which inhibits the coordination and control of one's eyes by suppressing their ability to keep them still. This results in the orientation of one's eyes continuously moving in a variety of directions and the sensation of not being able to stare motionless at any particular point becoming present

paranoia 

suspicion, distrust or fear of other people

PIED 

performance and image enhancing drugs

placebo 

A substance that has positive effects as a result of a patient's perception that it is beneficial rather than as a result of a causative ingredient. It is an inactive substance or preparation used as a control in an experiment or test to determine the effectiveness of a medicinal drug

polydrug use 

the use of several different drugs over a short period of time, or two or more drugs used simultaneously

psychonauts 

a person who explores, experiences, and studies their subconscious and subjective reality through the use of a range drugs

psychotic 

this is a mental state when you see or hear things which aren't there and have delusions

quality of life 

the overall enjoyment of life, a sense of well-being, and the ability to carry out routine activities

R 

the unit of South African currency - the Rand

ROA 

route of administration - how the drug gets into your body

schizophrenia 

a severe mental disorder with symptoms such as hallucinations, paranoia, and disorganised thinking

spontaneous tactile sensations 

these can be described as the physical experience of an activation of nerve endings across the body occurring without any obvious or immediate physical trigger. The experience of this results in feelings of distinct random tactile input and general tingling sensations. Depending on the psychoactive substance consumed, these vary greatly in their alternative styles of sensation, but can be broken down into three basic levels of intensity. These are described and listed here - 1. Mild - The lowest level of the sensation can be described as light and fleeting tingling sensations across the body that do not impair physical motor control and can essentially be ignored if one wishes to do so, and - 2. Distinct - At this level, the sensation becomes impossible to ignore. It can be described as distinct tingling sensations which are intense enough to partially impair a person’s motor control and cause a significant portion of mental focus to be directed towards these sensations, and - 3. Overwhelming - The highest level occurs when the tingling sensations have increased enough to become a powerful, uncontrollable focus point of attention. This feels completely overwhelming and impairs a person's motor control, consistently leaving them either lying or sitting down, incapable of standing up, or writhing in the all-encompassing sensations

stimulant 

a drug that acts on the Central Nervous System, increasing some rates of function such as heart-rate

SSDS 

sudden sniffing death syndrome

styptic 

a drug used to staunch bleeding

synaesthesia 

a condition in which normally separate senses are fused, in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualisation of a colour

tachycardia 

rapid pulse rate

teratogenic 

having the ability to disturb the growth and development of an embryo or foetus

trisma 

jaw clenching

VSA 

stands for Volatile Substance Abuse. It has previously been called "Glue Sniffing" and "Solvent Abuse". The VSA term is now used to include all the volatile substances including gases such as butane and Aerosols which can be "sniffed" for their effects