Inebriants are substances that induce intoxication or inebriation, and comprise mainly alcohols, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and chloral hydrate.
· Alcohols are actually (hydroxy) derivatives of (aliphatic) hydro-carbons. There are 3 categories of alcohols—
· Monohydroxy alcohols : They have only one hydroxyl(OH) group, e.g. ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, etc.
· Dihydroxy alcohols : They possess two hydroxyl groupsand are referred to as glycols, e.g. ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, etc.
· Trihydroxy alcohols : They are not really alcohols, butonly derivatives, e.g. propane derivative glycerol or glyc-erine.