# What Are "Hard Drugs" and "Soft Drugs"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 17, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523 "2010-12-17T16:51:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/1 "2010-12-17T16:51:22Z")
I love the old Australian soap opera, _Prisoner_ (_Prisoner: Cell Block H_) and in one episode Reb who has taken over as “Top Dog” is talking to Myra the former “Top Dog” and says she against hard drugs but hasn’t a problem with soft drugs like Coke, Hash, Valium and uppers. It appears heroine (smack) is the only hard drug, at least on that show. It was set in the late 70s / early 80s, so I know the defintion of hard and soft has changed. So my question is, what are “hard drugs” to you? And what are “soft drugs” to you? I am of course referring to street drugs ---
**Author:** ![Keith\_Berry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/22d042/32.png) [@Keith\_Berry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith_Berry)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/2 "2010-12-17T16:52:58Z")
I wound define hard drugs as ones that are highly addictive and have the highest risk of dependancy…opiates, cocaine, barbituates. Soft drugs: weed, hashish, etc. I wouldn’t consider benzos (Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Ativan) to be soft drugs because they can be highly addictive and very tricky to detox from. I knew a girl who went into seizures when she tried to go cold turkey off of Xanax. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/3 "2010-12-17T17:02:35Z")
It’s an artificial distinction based roughly on the perceived danger of addictiveness, severity of abuse, and level of social acceptability about said drugs. IMP(rofessional)O, if a person’s behavior is problematic on heroin or cocaine, they should probably avoid pot and alcohol too. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/4 "2010-12-17T23:48:46Z")
Sildenafil is the hardest drug of them all. It’s all subjective. I would probably consider Ecstasy to be more serious than most people take it, and think heroin (NO E) isn’t as bad as it’s said to be (but not good). ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/5 "2010-12-18T00:13:15Z")
Soft Drugs==pot. Hard Drugs==everything else. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/6 "2010-12-18T00:14:29Z")
Whenever I say “hard drugs” I’m referring to something that isn’t alcohol, tobacco or marijuana. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/7 "2010-12-18T01:15:31Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > It appears heroine (smack) is the only hard drug, at least on that show. It appears the heroine is talking about heroin. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/8 "2010-12-18T01:19:20Z")
\ It begins already… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/9 "2010-12-18T01:22:29Z")
The Thai legal system seems to classify all drugs as “narcotics,” even amphetamines, which I’ve always found odd. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/10 "2010-12-18T01:27:33Z")
Hard drugs: Viagra… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/11 "2010-12-18T01:33:52Z")
While acknowledging that it’s fairly arbitrary, here’s what I’ll assume you mean if we’re having a conversation about it: Soft drugs: cannabis, psychedelic mushrooms, peyote, ayahuasca (although almost nobody uses that recreationally) and probably LSD Hard drugs: PCP, heroin and morphine, cocaine and crack, oxycontin I would have to ask you about Ecstasy and benzos, including Valium, because I’ve heard them many times mentioned in both groups and wouldn’t assume I knew what you meant. If you add LSD to the “Hard drugs”, I’ll probably roll my eyes internally, but won’t waste the breath fighting you on it. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/12 "2010-12-18T01:39:11Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The Thai legal system seems to classify all drugs as “narcotics,” even amphetamines, which I’ve always found odd. I always thought it odd too, until it occurred to me that, in context of legal and police work, “narcotics” is a convenient shorthand for any drug that’s absolutely banned, or placed under strict regulatory controls. The word ‘narcotics’ rolls off the tongue a lot more easily than “drugs that are listed in controlled substance schedules listed in the Controlled Substances Act.” On the other hand, I have a little less patience when journalists do this, because then the type of “narcotic” could be a significant factor in the story. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/13 "2010-12-18T01:59:52Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I always thought it odd too, until it occurred to me that, in context of legal and police work, “narcotics” is a convenient shorthand for any drug that’s absolutely banned, or placed under strict regulatory controls. The word ‘narcotics’ rolls off the tongue a lot more easily than “drugs that are listed in controlled substance schedules listed in the Controlled Substances Act.” I’ve been trying to work “improper use of the term narcotics” to the Cops drinking game, with little success. This idea has only taken with one person I know, while everyone else just kind of rolls their eyes at me, and wants to stick to the basics, like drinking to shirtless perps, and cops with outdated moustaches. Why can’t they just use the term “illegal drugs” or just “drugs”? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/14 "2010-12-18T03:29:53Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > If you add LSD to the “Hard drugs”, I’ll probably roll my eyes internally, but won’t waste the breath fighting you on it. Heh. I have enough breath to waste a bit on that lost cause: If you consider a drug with no potential for addiction and an LD50 which is more than 250 times the usual dose to be a hard drug, you probably haven’t got a clue what constitutes “hard” drugs. I remember one time in my youth when I accidentally ingested ~30 times more LSD than was usual. Result: I may not have been fully 100% at work the next day, largely because I didn’t have my head together enough to try to sleep at an appropriate time. I believe that ingesting 30X your usual dose of heroin will take you out of the labour pool permanently, virtually every time. _That’s_ hard. Alcohol is a _much_ harder drug than LSD, in that its usual forms of abuse can easily be fatal, and also in that heavy users will experience a difficult withdrawal should they decide that they’d like to stop using it regularly. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/15 "2010-12-18T03:35:55Z")
I have also encountered the attitude that “doctor prescribed drugs” are “soft drugs”, while “hard drugs” are anything “illegal or illicit”. When in reality, the prescribed drugs out there on the market have led to the hardest plagues, crimes, and addictions of the last hundred years. Many people die because they are naieve. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/16 "2010-12-18T03:48:32Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Alcohol is a _much_ harder drug than LSD, in that its usual forms of abuse can easily be fatal, and also in that heavy users will experience a difficult withdrawal should they decide that they’d like to stop using it regularly. When detoxing from heroin, you may have a rough few days and see dead babies crawling on the ceiling, but providing you stay hydrated and such you will live through it. Alcohol is one of the few (or the only???) drugs that can **kill** you during withdrawal, and hardcore alcoholics should have medical supervision. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/17 "2010-12-18T05:02:35Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Alcohol is one of the few (or the only???) drugs that can **kill** you during withdrawal, and hardcore alcoholics should have medical supervision. Barbituate withdrawal can also kill you if not treated properly. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/18 "2010-12-18T05:23:51Z")
As someone who experimented some in his life, and has drank for most of my life I’ve always felt alcohol is one of the harder drugs and definitely the hardest drug that has widespread social acceptance. It’s easily, easily a harder drug that marijuana. I’ve never known anyone to smoke so much pot (or for that matter do so much coke) that they literally black and and still continue to walk and walk and do all sorts of things (some of them so out of character as to be unbelievable.) ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/19 "2010-12-18T05:29:56Z")
You think beer is worse than heeerwin? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523/20 "2010-12-18T05:53:21Z")
I know it’s not correct, but I’ve always thought of hard drugs as ones you inject. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-hard-drugs-and-soft-drugs/564523.md?page=2)