OFFICIAL NAMES: Caffeine

STREET NAMES: None

DRUG CLASSIFICATIONS: Not scheduled, stimulant

Overview

Doubtlessly the most widely used drug today, caffeine is consumed daily by 90% of the world's people. Evidence of its use exists as far back as the Stone Age, and today, children, teens, and adults everywhere ingest it in coffee, tea, and soft drinks.

Legend has it that the stimulant effect of the coffee bean was first noted by an Ethiopian shepherd guarding his flock, a thousand years ago. Sufi monks steeped the berries in hot water and found that the brew helped them stay awake for long nights of prayer. Meanwhile, written records show that, during the Tang dynasty, which lasted from the seventh to the tenth century, the Chinese were already steeping and consuming tea as a drink believed to lengthen life.

By the Middle Ages, coffee was a popular drink...