“A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect.”
Thanks, that’s a good one one. I was wondering where exactly you disagreed with the previous definition, and that’s reasonable.
Not trying to gotcha or anything, I just think it’s fun, but niacin is an example of a substance that is a nutrient but can also produce a drug effect (“niacin flush”) when taken in large (non-nutritive) quantities.
So for me personally, whether something is a drug or not depends less on the identity of the substance, and more on the specific interaction with the organism, and what effect is most salient to observers. I don’t have a pithy definition handy, though.
Tabers was the first proper medical dictionary I found on DDG search. It is one I have a physical copy of on the shelf in the room behind me. I merely copied the definition, and gave examples of substances (“any substance”). U/cattywampus, have I upset some sort of applecart that you were holding onto? I once had a lawyer attempt to impune my credentials in a depostion, by asking if I prescribed drugs. He wouldn’t define the term. In that case it’s best to find an accepted reference, and submit that definition. In the moment I did not, alas. All the same my client won their case. Moral: Don’t let lawyers play word games with you; call them on that immediately and with references.
That’s not a useful definition of drugs and you know it
I want to hear your definition of drugs.
“A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect.”
Thanks, that’s a good one one. I was wondering where exactly you disagreed with the previous definition, and that’s reasonable.
Not trying to gotcha or anything, I just think it’s fun, but niacin is an example of a substance that is a nutrient but can also produce a drug effect (“niacin flush”) when taken in large (non-nutritive) quantities.
So for me personally, whether something is a drug or not depends less on the identity of the substance, and more on the specific interaction with the organism, and what effect is most salient to observers. I don’t have a pithy definition handy, though.
Tabers was the first proper medical dictionary I found on DDG search. It is one I have a physical copy of on the shelf in the room behind me. I merely copied the definition, and gave examples of substances (“any substance”). U/cattywampus, have I upset some sort of applecart that you were holding onto? I once had a lawyer attempt to impune my credentials in a depostion, by asking if I prescribed drugs. He wouldn’t define the term. In that case it’s best to find an accepted reference, and submit that definition. In the moment I did not, alas. All the same my client won their case. Moral: Don’t let lawyers play word games with you; call them on that immediately and with references.
edited for clarity.