Drosophila melanogaster Meigen (Diptera: Drosophilidae) was used as a model organism and fed on an artificial diet with different clinically important drugs under laboratory conditions. The effects of fluconazole, acyclovir, and piperazine on the survivorship, development, adult longevity, fecundity, and hatching rate of the insect were investigated. The results showed that the highest concentration of fluconazole (1250 mg/L) significantly decreased both the rate of larvae reaching the 3rd instar and the rate of pupation from 93.00 +/- 2.95% to 11.00 +/- 2.59% (chi(2) = 134.696; df = 1; p = 0.0001). The highest concentration of acyclovir (200 mg/L) significantly reduced the rate of larvae reaching the 3rd instar and the pupation rate from 91.00 +/- 2.17% to 26.00 +/- 3.31%. Developmental times were significantly prolonged by high concentrations of all drugs. The high dietary concentrations of drugs also significantly decreased adult longevity to about 7 days. Piperazine was the most negative drug for fecundity (2.45 eggs per female) and hatching (2.87%). Future studies involving combinations of the substances would shed light on the use of more effective drug mixtures to control pest insects that will require smaller quantities and have minimal toxic impact on the environment and nontargets.