Definition of recreational drug

The term "recreational drug" emerged in the 1960s as a way to distinguish certain drug use from medical or therapeutic use. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines it as "a drug taken to induce a pleasure or desirable experience or to relieve emotional or psychological stress, rather than for medical purposes." Before the 1960s, drugs were generally categorized as either medicinal or illicit, and their recreational use was often seen as a criminal or immoral activity. However, as drug use in Western cultures became more accepted and normalized in certain subcultures, there arose a need for a more nuanced classification scheme. The term "recreational drug" was coined to highlight the fact that some people use drugs outside of medical contexts for pure enjoyment or pleasure, rather than out of physical or psychological necessity. This distinction also serves to differentiate recreational drug use from addiction, which is defined by the OED as "a state characterized by strong, often irrepressible, craving for a habit-forming substance, whether or not its use has physiological benefits or inflicts harm." In short, the word "recreational drug" represents a shift in the way society views drug use, reflecting a greater understanding of the complex and varied motivations that drive people to take certain substances and a recognition that drug use is, in some cases, a multifaceted and socially-contextual phenomenon.