Drug | Health Current Event Drugs

The problem of drug abuse is now increasing globally and ultimately it leads to international tension. There are various tensions and reasons which can lead to drug abuse. These may include social and economic problems, unemployment, lack of strong community cohesiveness etc.

Drug addiction is a serious threat, which is characterized by illicit drug use. All abused drugs have some things in common. They can alter the function of the human’s body. For example, they can alter the function of the brain by their repeated use.

Some individuals have experienced prescription drugs without knowing anything about their consequences and addiction. For lots of people drug abuse causes serious problems in relationships, at work, home etc.

Drugs acting on CNS (central nervous system) both stimulants and depressants generally have greater potential for abuse and may cause effects like euphoria, mood swings and hallucinations.

Drugs which have potential for abuse can be arranged in schedule on five. Schedule I, II, III, IV and V. Drugs with highest abuse potential and which are not safe to consume, having no accepted medicinal use, are grouped into schedule I. While other drugs that can be used medically and have safety profile and lesser potential for abuse can be placed into Schedule II, III, IV, or V.

Drug addiction

People willfully abuse drugs for the purpose of pleasure, to change the state of mind and to cut off from daily problems of life.

Occasionally, intense drug abuse results into the drug addiction. Incidences of drug abuse are increasing day by day and in some countries drug addiction is above the alarming level and the number of addicts still increasing.

Commonly abused drugs are marijuana, heroin and cocaine.

Some researchers support the scientific evidence and consider drug addiction a brain disorder.

Excessive exposure to some drugs like cocaine and heroin interfere with brain function and may alter brain structure. Which in turn leads to drug addiction.

In contrast, some scientific literature emphasize on the fact that drug abuse and drug addiction should not be considered as chronic disease. Courts will not be able to work against the problems of drug addiction if it is not considered to be a disease.

What are illegal drugs?

A drug substance may alter the functions of the body. When drug is considered as “illegal” it means it is prohibited by the law. There are many factors that interacts with various effects of illegal drugs on various people. These effects are unacceptable and menacing the younger generation.

The effects of a drug are influenced by:

The type of drug
Amount consumed
Where the person is when the drug is being used?
What the person is doing while using the drugs?

Drugs and their classification

Central nervous system and the messages that go between the brain and the body can be slow by some drugs like depressants.

These drugs reduce the ability of the individual to respond and also causes reduction in concentration.

As the name indicates, depressants causes depression to the individual but that’s not actually true. The word depressant means reducing the activity of central nervous system. Common depressants used are barbiturates, alcohol and opioids.

Stimulants are also psycho stimulants. These are the drugs which cause stimulation of central nervous system and accelerate the transferred messages between brain and the body.

These drugs often involve in enhancing the appetite, heart rate and energy. Common examples are Cocaine, ecstasy, nicotine, dexamphetamine and methamphetamine.

Some drugs also cause change in the judgmental ability of the person. These are the hallucinogens drugs. They have an effect on the senses of an individual about different things. These drugs include LSD, ketamine and magic mushrooms.

Risk of Addiction

These are some usual aspects of addictive illegal drugs. These are generally familiar in black market.

These drugs include cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, benzodiazepines, methadone amphetamine and marijuana.

Overview of opium/heroin and cocaine

Heroin rapidly enters the brain and binds to the opioid receptors. These receptors control the heart rate, feeling of pleasure and pain, sleeping and breathing.

Some forms of cocaine include crack, freebase and powder cocaine. Their effects don’t last for long as they make the function of mind and body to work faster for shorter time period. Some types of cocaine can also be smoked like crack and freebase cocaine. Such cocaine forms are easily accessible to the brain than other forms that are ingested.

In the United States, Cocaine is among the most misused drugs. Some common names for cocaine includes blow, coke, nose candy, snow and crack. Cocaine can lead to chronic effects as well as other health problems like rising heartbeat, increased blood pressure, seizures and trouble breathing.

Prescription drugs

Drugs like stimulants, benzodiazepines and opioid pain relievers can make changes to some characteristics of mind. Such drugs are known as psychoactive which are ranked as third after usually ingested drugs like alcohol and marijuana among the youth of Canada but they can be life threatening and as risky as illegal drugs. Some consequences related to their abuse range from addiction to even death.

Health consequences

There are several health problems corresponding to addiction of such drugs like heart problems, lung diseases, cancer, stroke or mental disorders. For diagnosis of these addiction related problems, blood tests, chest x-rays and imaging scans can be used.

For instance, cancers can be caused by tobacco smoke, dental problems can be arise from use of methamphetamine and even death can be caused by the overuse of opioids. Nerve cells can also be damaged by some drugs.