I consider hard drugs to be anything that causes physical harm, horrid withdrawals, or causes the greatest number of people to lose everything they care about in life.
In order:
1. Methamphetamine. Not Desoxyn, but ice, shards, glass, etc. That shit has to be one of the worst things for your body/mind in existence. It depletes your body of vital nutrients, causes physical deterioration over time, and has one of the lowest recovery rates of any drug. Not to mention all the lovely chemicals it contains. (Shudders).
2. Heroin. If not for the question of purity and the fact that so many people inject it, I'd probably have a different opinion of it. It's extremely addictive, causes many overdose deaths, and the whole needle sharing thing spreads disease like no other. Pure, med-grade heroin, taken orally/intranasally and in moderation, would still be a hard drug, but not as harmful.
3. Crack/Freebase. Smokable cocaine that causes an instant "orgasmic" rush? No thanks. Maybe not physically addictive, but the mental draw would be ungodly.
4. Inhalants--gasoline, glue, duster, etc. The most "dangerous" substances; more of a poison than a drug. Something like 30+% of inhalant deaths are by first time users. Scary.
5. PCP. Anything that just makes you go completely out of your mind and body scares me.
6. Ecstasy. Often cut with adulterants ranging from caffeine to meth to DXM and depletes stores of a vital neurotransmitter. The jury's still out on neurotoxicity. While its intoxicating effects are generally benign and even desirable, it can take quite the toll on a person's mental state, memory, moods, and energy after awhile. The stimulant effects obviously aren't any better for the body than those of other stimulants, and the way it makes people grind their teeth, sweat, and roll their eyes back in their heads is just scary. This is a drug you do maybe 5 times over the course of a lifetime, if that.
And finally, alcohol. It's legal, easy to obtain, and carries few of the social stigmas of illegal drugs, but its effects on society are serious. Causes mini-seizures in the brain leading to brain damage over time, cirrhosis of the liver, dangerous withdrawals, alcohol poisoning, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and total loss of inhibitions, which carries risks of its own. You never know how it's going to affect you: maybe you'll be all warm and lovey, maybe you'll cry for 4 hours, maybe you'll start a fight...or worse. I've always hated alcohol...it's right up there with meth in my book.
Sorry so long, and no offense to any afficianados of these drugs.
