This article refers to the phenomenon of an increasing number of people abusing drugs in the 20th century. In addition to the natural types of narcotics there are many other semi-synthetic and fully synthetic substances made available to the market by chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The use of narcotics and psychoactive substances usually causes adverse and often irreversible health effects. In Department of Laboratory Diagnostics of the Institute of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health in Sosnowiec tests for presence of drugs are among routinely conducted analyses. The presence of drugs has been revealed in 898 cases between the years 2004 and 2008. On top of the list of the most frequently detected narcotics were: amphetamine, cannabis, opiates, methamphetamine and cocaine. At the same time the most popular psychoactive substances are atropine, scopolamine and psilocybin. Additionally, the laboratory analyses indicated in many cases the presence of derivatives of benzodiazepines, trycyclic antidepressants and alcohol. Regional Centre of Acute Intoxication in Sosnowiec, Poland, hospitalized 78 patients due to overdose of drugs, narcotics or psychoactive substances as a result of experimenting with such substances. Half of the hospitalized cases patients have tried to commit suicide; one of the attempts has led to death. According to patients’ history their problems with reaching out for the use of psychoactive substances and narcotics were mainly caused by socio-psychological disorders.