Drug Law
Drugs and medicines are a complicated part of life in the Orion Spur. Depending on the jurisdiction, there may be no rules--or extreme and severe prohibitions even on the mildest of substances.
Drug Categories
Drugs can be divided roughly into several categories, depending on their danger level, uses, and availability.
Group 1: Recreational Drugs (Deadly)
These drugs are responsible for a significant number of deaths among users. If any drugs at all are illegal, these will be.
- Cocaine is a recreational drug known for its sharp, but short, energy boost. Very commonly used by Cytherians on Venus. Overdosing is easy--and often fatal.
- Contemplus is a variant of cocaine from Venus; it is designed to enhance cognitive abilities.
- Sparkle is a designer variant of cocaine from Venus. Primarily present in the nightlife scene, it is designed to lower a user's inhibitions and increase pleasure.
- Spotlight is designer variant of cocaine from Venus. Commonly used in the acting scene, it is designed to increase the user's confidence.
- Heroin is an extremely potent but dangerous and addictive opiate refined from morphine. Its use is near-universally banned across the Orion Spur. The possession and use of heroin are illegal in the Republic of Biesel.
- Impedrezene is a narcotic that impairs one's ability to think by impeding the function of brain cells in the cerebral cortex.
- Joy is an expensive and illegal drug often abused by those who can find no other means to numb their physical or mental pain. A Joy addict is a truly sad sight.
- Mindbreaker Toxin is an incredibly potent hallucinogen designed to wreak havoc on the brain, resulting in disturbing hallucinations and brain damage. This drug is not pleasant, thus the name; only hardcore addicts use the drug recreationally. It is, however, also a precursor to several useful medications.
- Stimm is a homemade stimulant drug. With its high toxicity and unpleasant side effects, it is the last resort of the desperate or reckless.
Group 2: Recreational Drugs (Dangerous)
In an overdose, these drugs can cause serious damage. They are often illegal, or allowable only in specific circumstances.
- Hyperzine is a complex cardio-synaptic stimulant drug designed to increase the performance of the body. Downsides include violent muscle spasms and tremors.
- Spectrocybin is a hallucinogenic chemical found in a unique strain of fungi. Little research has been conducted into the hallucinogenic properties of spectrocybin, though many spiritual creeds utilise the drug in rituals and claim it allows people to act as mediums between the living and dead.
- Kilosemine is a stimulant that combines the effects of synaptizine and hyperzine without the immediate side effects. Long-term use causes kidney damage.
- Krok Juice is an advanced Eridanian variant of ancient krokodil, known for causing prosthetic malfunctions.
- Nightlife is a liquid narcotic commonly used by the more wealthy drug-abusing citizens of the Eridani Federation. Works as a potent stimulant that causes extreme wakefulness. Lethal in high doses.
- Raskara Dust hails from the gang-ridden slums of Biesel and Sol. A relaxant that produces trance-like states, it can be snorted, inhaled, or injected. Its corrosive nature causes facial disfigurement, and long-term use damages the heart.
Group 3: Recreational Drugs (Mild)
Without a medical use, but also without much danger, these drugs are generally legal. Some particularly strict governments may ban them regardless.
- Ambrosia Extract is a fairly strong relaxant commonly found in Ambrosia plants. It's one of the most widely available drugs in human space.
- Caromeg is a stimulant commonly found in small amounts in oracle products. It encourages sociability and pleasure, but in high doses can cause paranoia, high fever, and even brain damage.
- Nicotine is an ancient stimulant and relaxant commonly found in small amounts in tobacco products. It is highly toxic in large amounts.
- Co'qnixq Wuxi, or Co'qnixq Nootropic, has existed since before Glorsh, and was developed as a cognitive enhancer for Skrell with early dementia. Taking the substance provides a mild energy boost and heightens one's consciousness greatly. Frequently used as a 'smart drug' by students and scientists.
- Mercury Monolithium Sucrose, or MMS, is a synthetic relaxant that lasts twice as long when inhaled. It is both abused and used as a chemical precursor for medication.
- Psilocybin is a strong psychotropic derived from certain species of mushroom.
- Wulumunusha Extract, the extract of the Wulumunusha fruit, can cause hallucinations and muteness.
- Xu'Xi Gas is a recreational drug hailing from Qerr'Malic. It produces a mild high similar to Wulumunusha and is known to make users susceptible to persuasion. Most forms of Xu'Xi Gas that can be bought outside of the Nralakk Federation are cheap, synthetic substitutes. Only works when inhaled.
Group 4: Medication (Prescription, Addictive, Abusable)
Group 4 includes substances that have a medical use, but can also be used recreationally. Where it is illegal to purchase without a prescription, black markets often divert it from medical clinics to the addicted public.
- Corophenidate is prescribed for ADHD and narcolepsy. It is also used as a "smart drug" by students and workers.
- Tranquilizers Nerospectan and Neurapan are prescribed for mental illness, but also used for their calming effects.
- Narcotic painkillers come in different strengths. Here they are listed from weakest to strongest; the stronger, the more addictive and dangerous:
- Mortaphenyl, the most commonly used but weakest of the narcotics, treats moderate pain.
- Morphine, which can be refined from poppies, and its synthetic cousin Tramarine, treat severe pain.
- Oxycomorphine is a last-resort painkiller for extreme pain, often in dying patients. It is phoron-based, which makes it more expensive.
Group 5
Group 5 is for medication that isn't generally considered abusable, but still takes skill to use properly. It is usually available only by prescription, but some jurisdictions allow anyone to purchase it.
Medication (Prescription, Non-Addictive, Non-Abusable)
Some medications are available only by prescription because it takes a doctor to use them correctly. It may technically be against the law to get them without a prescription, but because they're neither addictive, nor do they produce any sort of a "high", laws about possessing them tend to focus on safety. Some medications have side effects that make them unsafe to take while doing delicate or dangerous work.
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*Causes impairment.
Medication (Prescription, Addictive, Non-Abusable)
These physically addictive medications are used to treat mental illness. Patients taking these medications tend to develop a tolerance, becoming unable to function normally without them. To prevent tolerance, doctors may prescribe these medications for short periods and at low doses--but tolerance may be an acceptable trade-off for some patients dealing with long-term mental illness. If they need to stop taking the medication, patients reduce their dose gradually under a doctor's supervision to avoid painful, unpleasant, and sometimes dangerous withdrawal symptoms.
- Emoxanyl: Treats concussion, anxiety, depression, and epilepsy.
- Minaphobin: Treats anxiety disorders.
- Neurostabin: Anti-psychotic; also treats muscle weakness.
- Orastabin: Treats anxiety disorders and speech impediments.
- Parvosil: Treats anxiety disorders, phobias, and social anxiety.
Group 6: Medication (Non-Prescription)
Group 6 is the sort of medication you would expect in a home first-aid kit. Widely available from vendors, shops, in emergency cupboards, and on request at most medical clinics, over-the-counter medication is relatively safe and requires no prescription in most places. Overdoses tend to be annoying or painful but not deadly. Particularly strict jurisdictions may require a prescription for all medications regardless of safety.
Some medications usually only used by medical professionals are so useful in an emergency that they have been made available in pre-measured doses in pills, autoinjectors, or autoinhalers, often in color-coded and clearly labeled emergency pouches, to be used by the unskilled.
- Antidexafen is a type of cough syrup. Good for soothing a sore throat; occasionally abused by people who should really know better.
- Cetahydramine is used to treat allergies and, at higher doses, as a sleep aid.
- Dexalin is a phoron-based medication that delivers oxygen directly to the blood, bypassing the lungs. It is available in oxygen deprivation emergency kits. Unlike most OTC medications, Dexalin is moderately dangerous because an overdose can cause brain and eye damage--though luckily only at doses much higher than the pills and autoinjectors available in emergency pouches.
- Dylovene is a broad-spectrum anti-toxin. Emergency doses are carried and used by personnel who work with toxic substances or venomous xenofauna.
- Hyronalin is an anti-radiation medication commonly available to personnel at risk of radiation exposure.
- Inaprovaline is an all-purpose stabilizer and mild painkiller. 5u autoinjectors are issued to each crew member aboard the Horizon.
- Oculine. Refined oculine is generally a prescribed medication, but carrots have been genetically modified so that eating them helps heal mild eye damage. An odd example of a medication that is over-the-counter--at the cafeteria.
- Perconol is a mild painkiller that also treats fever and inflammation. It can be abused if taken in an overdose, which causes hallucinations. Low doses are generally over-the-counter, but injectable or high-dose perconol tends to be by prescription.
- Pneumalin helps heal lung damage and can save a life if administered in an emergency to someone who has been exposed to vacuum. Pre-measured one-dose autoinhalers are available in specialized low-oxygen lockers aboard shuttles for workers doing EVA-heavy jobs.
- Regenerative-Muscular Tissue Supplements help mitigate an off-worlder human's muscle weakness in high-gravity areas. They are either widely available to the public, or routinely prescribed.
- Tricordrazine is an older, safer, and slower version of bicaridine and kelotane. It is safe enough to be used as a food or drink ingredient. Liquid, injectable tricordrazine is still used by doctors to encourage healing of minor injuries.
- Verunol Syrup induces vomiting. An unpleasant, though effective, way to empty the stomach in an emergency.
Intoxicating Drinks
Often consumed socially, these drinks tend to be legal because of the ubiquity of fermented beverages throughout the history of most sapient organic species. Weakly intoxicating drinks in small quantities have little or no effect; but in large quantities or when particularly strong, they cause impaired judgment, impaired motor skills, and eventually alcohol poisoning, which can be deadly. Laws may be different for weak drinks versus strong ones; or there may be a limit on the level of intoxication allowed while doing delicate or dangerous work.
- Ethanol, otherwise known as simply alcohol, is the intoxicating drink of choice for humans. Skrell may drink it, too, but it affects them much more strongly.
- Butanol is the basis of intoxicating drinks for Unathi. Other species feel little effect unless they drink large quantities.
- Toothpaste, usually used to clean teeth, contains fluoride, which is intoxicating to Vaurca. Toothpaste is freely available to humans.
- Royal Vaurca Jelly, a slimy nutrient concentrate that has stimulant and mildly hallucinatory effects, was originally created to feed Varuca larvae. It has since been canned and distributed to other species, which generally find it to be very tasty.
Stimulant Drinks
These drinks have a mild stimulant effect, but do not cause impairment. They are safe to consume in reasonable quantities. Overdose tends to involve jitters and anxiety.
- Caffeine, found in tea and coffee and added to other beverages, is ubiquitous among humans.
- Energy Drinks, containing various stimulants (often caffeine or Vaurca jelly), are stronger than tea and coffee. Their use is regulated in some jurisdictions for safety reasons.
- Mate de Coca, originally from the Andes on Earth, is a popular drink on Mictlan. Since it is derived from the coca plant, which can also be refined into cocaine, it is illegal in some places despite its status as a safe, mild stimulant.
- Diesel is a stimulant used by Dionae. It is indigestible to anyone else.
- Koko Reed Juice has a stimulant effect on Unathi, and is safe for other species. It is sold in energy bars or drinks.
Other Regulated Substances
Some drugs are simply not categorized. If they are regulated at all, their use tends to come under laws addressing medical malpractice, the use of dangerous chemicals, police misbehavior, or war crimes.
- Aphrodite is the name given to the chemical diona nymphs inject into organics when they bite. It serves the dual purpose of dulling the pain of the wound and gathering deep-seated fragments of languages, skills, and memories.
- Bluespace Dust is composed of microscopic bluespace crystals. Exposure to the dust causes space-time instability.
- Condensed Capsaicin is the main component of pepper spray. Despite being a less-lethal weapon, pepper spray is not guaranteed non-lethal; the pain of exposure has been known to cause heart attacks.
- Paxazide is an expensive psychoactive drug that suppresses regions of the brain responsible for anger and violence. Paxazide can be psychologically addictive due to its tranquilizing properties. Its potential for controlling populations of workers or citizens is obvious--and obviously unethical.
- Red Nightshade is an illegal combat performance enhancer originating from the criminal syndicates of Mars. The drug stimulates regions of the brain responsible for violence and rage, inducing a feral, berserk state in users. It is incredibly hard on the liver, and overdoses are deadly.
- Sanasomnum is a cocktail of biomechanical stem cells which induce a regenerative state of unconsciousness capable of healing almost any injury in minutes. However, usage nearly guarantees long-term irreversible complications, and it is banned from medical use throughout the Spur.
- Tremble is an ancient tribal Unathi narcotic based on the outer gel layer of the seeds of a poisonous flower. The chemical itself acts as a very potent omni-healer when consumed; however, as the chemical metabolizes, it causes immense and crippling pain which can send the patient into potentially fatal shock.
- Truth Serum is an expensive and unethical psychoactive drug capable of inhibiting defensiveness and impairing reasoning, causing those under the effects of the drug to be very open to telling the truth.