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.
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. Laws and coroporate guidelines may differ between the two species.
- 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, but its use may be regulated for Vaurca.
- 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 poisonous or indigestible to anyone else.
- Koko Reed Juice has a stimulant effect on Unathi, and is safe for other non-Vaurca species. It is sold in energy bars or drinks.
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. When they come in injectable form, they are often distributed in autoinjectors to be used by the unskilled. Particularly strict jurisdictions may require a prescription for all medications regardless of safety.
- Antidexafen. Cough syrup. Can be abused if overdosed.
- Cetahydramine. Used to treat allergies and as a sleeping pill.
- Dexalin. Phoron-based medication that encourages blood oxygenation. Available in oxygen deprivation emergency kits. Unlike most OTC medications, Dexalin can cause brain and eye damage in an overdose; but it is so life-saving that it is available nonetheless.
- Dylovene. Anti-toxin; very safe, carried and used by personnel that work with toxic substances.
- Hyronalin. Anti-radiation medication commonly available to personnel at risk of radiation exposure.
- Inaprovaline. All-purpose stabilizer and mild painkiller. Distributed in emergency kits.
- 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. It is available in first-aid kits to workers in EVA jobs such as Mining.
- Regenerative-Muscular Tissue Supplements help mitigate an off-worlder human's muscle weakness in high-gravity areas. They are generally either widely prescribed or freely available.
- 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 tends to be prescription-only, though.
- Verunol Syrup induces vomiting. An unpleasant, though effective, way to empty the stomach in an emergency.
Group 5
Group 5 is for medication that isn't generally considered abusable, but still takes skill to use properly. Generally available only by prescription, 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)
Patients taking these medications tend to develop a tolerance, becoming unable to function normally without them. However, they are not generally used recreationally. Doctors must take care to manage their patients' tolerance levels, or use them only short-term to prevent tolerance altogether.
- Emoxanyl
- Minaphobin
- Neurostabin
- Orastabin
- Parvosil
Group 4: Medication (Prescription, Addictive, Abusable)
Group 4 includes medication that has 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
- Nerospectan
- Neurapan
- Morphine
- Tramarine
- Mortaphenyl
- Oxycomorphine
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.
- Psilocybin
- Wulumunusha Extract
- Xu'Xi Gas
- Caromeg
- Nicotine
- Ambrosia Extract
- Co'qnixq Wuxi
- Mercury Monolithium Sucrose
- Raskara Dust
Group 2: Recreational Drugs (Dangerous)
In an overdose, these drugs can cause serious damage. They are often illegal, or used only in specific circumstances.
- Hyperzine
- Spectrocybin
- Krok Juice
- Nightlife
Group 1: Recreational Drugs (Deadly)
These drugs are responsible for a significant number of deaths among users.
- Impedrezene
- Kilosemine
- Cocaine
- Contemplus
- Heroin
- Joy
- Mindbreaker Toxin
- Sparkle
- Spotlight
- Stimm
Dangerous or Unethical Substances
Some drugs are simply not categorized. Their use tends to come under laws addressing medical malpractice, the use of dangerous chemicals, police misbehavior, or war crimes.
- Condensed Capsaicin
- Sanasomnum
- Tremble
- Truth Serum
- Bluespace Dust
- Paxazide
- Aphrodite
- Red Nightshade