Have you ever wondered what the real effects of drugs are? There are many types of drugs in our society that are both legal and illegal. Drugs can be classified into many different categories or groups. The main groups of drugs are stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens. These groups of drugs are classified by the effects they have both on the body and on the mind. After reading this, you will know what the real affects stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens have on your body.
Stimulants are a class of drug that elevate mood, increase feeling of well being and increase energy and alertness. There are many different kinds of stimulants such as cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA (better known as ecstasy,) caffeine, and nicotine. Cocaine comes in a powder form made from the leaf of a coca plant. Crack is a smoking form of cocaine that is processed with ammonia and water, and then heated to remove hydrochloride. Meth is an extremely dangerous drug. It comes in a crystal or powder form. Meth can be made in houses in the United States by the use of common household items. Ecstasy is also known as the “club drug” because that is where it is often used. Ecstasy makes the user feel like everyone is their friend. It’s usually taken in pill form. These pills come in different colors, shapes, and sizes. The pills also usually have some type of object or letter imprinted into them. Caffeine and nicotine are both legal stimulants. Caffeine is found in almost all the leading brands of pop. Coffee also contains a large dose of caffeine. There is three times more caffeine in one cup of coffee than in one can of pop. Caffeine is the most widely consumed stimulant. Caffeine can be addictive if used on a daily basis. Nic...
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...r to concentrate on a task. Depending on the amount of THC the users heart rate may increase anywhere from 20 to 50 beats more per minute. It may be hard to believe, but less than one percent of people who use marijuana become addicted to it. Most people do not know this, but marijuana can’t cause any permanent mental illness.
Now you know a little bit about each of these three classes of drugs. Stimulants speed up the central nervous system, affecting the heart rate and blood pressure. Caffeine is the most used stimulant in our society. Depressants slow down most of the body functions, like breathing, heart rate, and coordination. Alcohol is the most used depressant. Hallucinogens distort senses, causing you to see and hear things that aren’t really there. Hopefully now users will take a second to think about what they are really doing to their body.
Marijuana is a drug that is harmful to a person¡¯s health. It has been found to have adverse impacts on one¡¯s mental processes such as memory, attention, judgement, and problem- solving (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2004, p.415). Also, marijuana can interfere with a person¡¯s ability to think rationally and logically. Thus, the lapse in judgement caused by the drug use can lead to risky sexual behaviours and this may result in increasing sexually transmitted disease such as AIDS. Moreover, the long-term use of marijuana may cause chronic breathing problems and cancer ...
This article connects with other articles because it also highlights how some college students fail to realize the adverse side effects of taking and selling prescription stimulants due to the fact that it is a common practice in their environment, and there is little negative stigma attached to taking pills. The article from the Society for Prevention Research because found that when it comes to college students and drugs, there is a prevalent misuse of prescription stimulants due to dangerous misconceptions of the risks posed by misusing prescription stimulants. This article also gives an example of a study conducted by Amelia Arria in “2006 found that students who perceive prescription stimulants as relatively harmless are ten times more likely to use them than those who think that the drugs are extremely harmful”(Society for Prevention Research, 2008). This relates to the article from the University of South Carolina because they both thoroughly explain how the common misconceptions of prescription stimulants influence the prevalence of college students who misuse them. The article by Christian Teter, Sean McCabe, Kristy LaGrange, James Cranford, and Carol Boyd gives an overview of various reasons why some
Brecher, Edward M. (1972) Licit and Illicit Drugs; The Consumers Union Report on narcotics, stimulants, depressants, inhalants, Hallucinogens, and marijuana- including caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. New York, 291-390
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse marijuana causes the user to feel euphoric by acting on the brain’s reward system. The euphoria is caused by the release of dopamine it to the user system. Other effects can include heightened sensory perception (e.g., brighter colors), laughter, altered perception of time, and increased appetite. Marijuana also inhibits the formation of new memories and causes coordination and balance to be degraded. These reactions are caused by binding the receptors in the cerebellum and base ganglia. The effect is similar to the impairments that are normally associated with consuming alcohol. Habitual users can also develop acute psychosis, a fundamental derangement of the mind (as in schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality especially as evidenced by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech and behavior (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The IQ level of a marijuana users also decreases over time according to a Duke University study conducted by clinical psychologist Madeline Meier “people who bega...
First off it is important to understand the effects of cannabis use and its history. When smoking cannabis THC is the leading stimulant released.
The effects of marijuana are minimal. The high has a feeling of euphoria, peacefulness and well-being. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the active chemical in marijuana. It’s estimated that a person would have to ingest a dose 20,000 to 40,000 times the average dose before death would occur. In the early 1990’s sophisticated research on marijuana began. The scientists discovered THC stimulates special receptors in the brain. Researchers have now isolated a natural substance that appears to produce the same effects as THC in the brain. Recently the medical uses of marijuana are being more and more accepted, and many marijuana smokers wonder how it can be harmful if it helps/treats patients.
According to Szara Braude, marijuana slows down reactions, causing problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking, and loss of coordination (Marijuana as a medicine 53). Many people use this drug, not knowing what they are doing to their body and how they are actually harming themselves by smoking it so much.... ... middle of paper ... ... Many times it is out of peer pressure that people try this drug to begin with.
In the history of mankind, the hallucinogens have probably been the most important of the narcotics. Their fantastic effects made the...
People usually smoke marijuana in cigarettes or pipes, but it also can be mixed with food and beverages. Short-term effects of marijuana include both psychological and physical reactions. These reactions usually last for three to five hours after a person has smoked marijuana. The psychological reaction, known as a high consists of changes in the user´s feelings and thoughts. Such changes are caused mainly by THC. The effects of a marijuana high vary from person to person and from one time to another in the same individual. In most cases, the high consists of a dreamy, relaxed state in which users seem more aware of their senses and feel that time is moving slowly. Sometimes, however, marijuana produces a feeling of panic and dread. The different reactions result partly from the concentration of THC in the marijuana. Other factors, such as the setting in which marijuana is used and the userÕs expectations, personality, and mood, also affect a personÕs reaction to the drug. Long-term effects of marijuana are not completely known, but studies have shown that some people have used marijuana regularly for several months or longer have develop serious long-term problems. Among males, marijuana use can reduce the production of sperm and of the male sex hormone testosterone. Among females, it can cause menstrual irregularity and reduced fertility. Extended use of marijuana also has a long-term psychological effect on many people. These individuals loose interest in everything.
Controversies over drugs and the effects they have physically, mentally, and emotionally have been around for centuries. Some argue the fact that smoking marijuana has no health effects on the body. Some also say that other drugs have no long term mental consequences to suffer. Now, thanks to technology and hours of studies, answers have came to show the true long term health effects of drugs on the human body and mind.
Web. The Web. The Web. Retrieved from http://www.thegooddrugsguide.com/cocaine/effects.htm. ECSTASY PILLS.
Many students and young people trying to leave marks on their jobs now use brain-enhancing "smart" pills to help boost their exam grades or their ability to work long hours without tiring. It's quite possible that employers will start to demand that employees use stimulants. Drugs, originally made for dementia patients and children diagnosed with ADHD, are now available without prescription. Healthy individuals use them solely to improve their memory, motivation and attention, without any prior consult with their doctors. Many of these drugs are available on the Internet which comes in handy to young people who want to save their money for the future. What they do not take into consideration when buying stimulants on the Internet is the risk of not knowing for certain what they are getting. Moreover, long-term consequences and safety of the technologies are not known. Scientists haven’t done enough research to know how much of an impact even a short period of using such substances leaves on our brains.
With the use of drugs being such a controversial issue in today’s society we felt as a group it was important to further explore this issue. As we possess a high interest in how drugs affect a number of social groups. These groups of course range from young teens to high-class older individuals who will have different reasons and different acceptable standards of behaviour.
4. Some short-term effects of marijuana include distorted perception, increased heart rate, and a loss of motor coordination.
The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.