Stimulant Use Disorder

Stimulant drugs refer to those substances that primarily produce psychological and physiological arousal (as opposed to depressant effects) and include cocaine, amphetamines, and methylphenidate, among others. Stimulant use disorder broadly refers to a pattern of repeated stimulant use despite the accrual of negative psychosocial and medical consequences. Stimulant use disorder is differentiated from stimulant addiction in that addiction, despite being commonly accepted terminology, is loosely conceptualized as a state of compulsive use and substance-seeking behaviors (e.g., “He/she is addicted to cocaine”) and [Page 3328]sometimes is also intended to give an explanation for the behavior pattern (“… because he/she is an addict”). Thus, stimulant use disorder is the preferred clinical terminology. This entry discusses several aspects of stimulant use disorder, including diagnostic criteria, stimulant effects, epidemiology, ...