NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Drug Drug Abuse Drug Abuse Drug abuse is the nonmedical use of a drug that interferes with a healthy and productive life. Drug abuse occurs from the rich to the poor and among young people as well as adults. Any drug may be abused, including alcohol and medications prescribed by a doctor. After continued use of certain drugs, some people develop drug dependence. Drug dependence can be psychological, physical, or both.
A person with a psychological dependence craves a drug for the feeling of well-being it might provide. A person with a physical dependence continues drug use mainly to avoid the physical illness that results when drug use stops. The danger of any type of drug dependence is that the need for a drug may become so overpowering that nothing matters except getting more. Many people begin and continue to use drugs because they want a pleasing change in their state of mind.
But really drugs only change the brains perception of difficulties and problems. When a drug wears off, the users real problems nearly always remain. Some of the most commonly abused drugs in the United States and Canada can be purchased legally. They are alcoholic beverages, tobacco, inhalants, and prescription drugs. Alcoholic beverages are made mainly from grains or fruits and contain ethyl alcohol, one of the most commonly abused drugs in the world. Alcohol is a depressant that lowers the activity of the central nervous system.
It also interferes with thinking, concentration, and movement. Heavy use of alcohol can lead to death. Even a single episode of excessive drinking can cause coma and death. Some people develop a physical dependence on alcohol, and overcoming that dependence may be extremely difficult. Tobacco is a plant native to North and South America, whose leaves are made into smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff. Tobacco contains nicotine.
Nicotine is a stimulant, a drug that raises activity of the central nervous system. In addition to nicotine, tobacco smoke contains carbon monoxide and tar, which can cause lung cancer. Tobacco use contributes to heart disease and other health problems. Inhalants are substances that give off fumes inhaled for their intoxicating effects. They include certain glues, nail polish, gasoline, and aerosol sprays.
The effect of these substances results from their fumes taking the place of oxygen in the lungs. The reduced flow of oxygen to the brain creates an intoxicating effect. Inhalants can make the user relaxed, restless, uncoordinated, and sometimes delirious. Some fumes result in lung damage, brain damage, and coma. Some also can cause death when they coat the lungs surface and prevent the absorption of oxygen. Prescription drugs can only be obtained legally with a physicians prescription.
Commonly abused prescription drugs include tranquilizers, barbiturates, amphetamines, and analgesics, which are pain relievers. Many prescription drugs are powerful, and some create physical dependence. Steroids are a special type of prescription drug used medically for a variety of purposes. Some athletes take anabolic steroids because the drugs help increase muscle size and strength. Some doctors think anabolic steroids may cause aggressive behavior and lead to liver damage. Many abused drugs are illegal.
Illegal drugs include cocaine, marijuana, heroin and other opiates, hallucinogenic drugs, and designer drugs. Some of these drugs can be obtained legally with a prescription, but they are most often sold and used illegally. Cocaine is a powerful stimulant made from the leaves of the coca shrub, a plant native to the Andean region of South America. Most users eat or snort a powdered form of the drug, or inject a solution of cocaine and water. Some people also smoke a form of cocaine called crack. Crack produces stronger, briefer effects than other forms of cocaine because the body absorbs it faster.
People easily develop a compulsive desire for cocaine, and many have great difficulty stopping use. Marijuana is the common name for hemp, a tall plant that grows easily in most parts of the world. It contains a drug called THC. People usually smoke the dried leaves and flowers of the plant in cigarettes or pipes. Some may mix marijuana with food and beverages.
Heroin and other opiates are made from the sap of the opium poppy. Opium contains a narcotic called morphine. Some people smoke or eat opium, seeking pleasant effects from morphine. Physicians use morphine to relieve severe pain in patients.
Codeine relieves coughs and mild pain. Heroin is a highly addictive drug made from morphine. People use heroin by eating or snorting it, or by injecting it. Hallucinogenic drugs include such naturally occurring drugs as mescaline, produced within the peyote cactus, and such substances as LSD, manufactured in laboratories. Hallucinogenic drugs affect the senses, emotions, and reasoning, often producing delusions or visions. PCP, which is a hallucinogenic drug once used as an anesthetic for animals, may cause violent outbursts.
Designer drugs, which are created in laboratories, are variations on existing illegal drugs. Originally, they were designed to vary slightly in chemical composition from the definition of existing illegal drugs so that they could be considered legal substances. Today all substances that are chemically similar to defined illegal drugs are illegal. Many designer drugs are of poor quality, and they sometimes contain dangerous chemicals that cause severe brain damage in some users. Young people begin using drugs for various reasons. Some experiment with drugs because their friends use them.
Many young people find it hard to resist peer pressure. Also, young people often have a sense that death or other severe consequences of drug use will not affect them personally. Users of tobacco and alcohol may be attempting to appear grown-up by imitating their parents or other adults who smoke or drink. Adults may begin using drugs for some of the same reasons as young people. Also, the stress of life, job, and family pressures may lead people to seek relief in drugs. People also may use drugs for a surge of energy or to help them relax.
Others may use drugs out of curiosity, for a thrill, or to rebel. Many people continue to use drugs because they become dependent on the drug. Both legal and illegal drugs have a range of harmful effects. Alcohol can damage the liver, brain, and heart. Cocaine can cause high blood pressure, leading to a burst blood vessel in the brain and a stroke.
Injecting drugs into the body with contaminated needles can lead to blood poisoning, which may destroy the heart valves and result in death. Sharing needles and syringes with a person who has hepatitis or AIDS can give a user those diseases. Constant drug use also causes malnutrition. Use of illegal drugs may lead to overdose or death because their strength is unknown, and some contain toxic impurities.
People who use drugs all the time may turn to crime to meet the cost of their habit. Criminal activity may lead to loss of a drivers license, expulsion from school, loss of a job, arrest, fines, or a prison term. Continued drug use may cause personality changes. The user may become hyperactive or withdrawn.
Some users lose interest in school or work, or have difficulty meeting the responsibilities of a job or family. Associated with many drugs are tolerance and withdrawal that often contribute to continued drug use. Tolerance is a state of resistance to the effects of a drug. A person who develops a tolerance must take more and more of a drug to achieve its original effect. Because of this, occasional drug users can become frequent users. Withdrawal is the reaction of the body when regular drug use is stopped.
The symptoms of withdrawal can range from headaches and muscle cramps lasting a few days to death, depending on the drug and the extent of use. Some people continue to use drugs only to prevent the pain of withdrawal. The warning signs of drug abuse are varied. Most abused drugs strongly influence a persons behavior. For example, excessive use of alcohol or sleeping pills causes slurred speech and drowsiness. People who use cocaine become restless and talkative.
Parents may notice money and household items disappearing as their children seek money to buy drugs. Also employers might find workers working poorly. Some physicians use medication to treat drug dependence. The medication relieves craving or blocks the effect of habit-forming drugs.
Doctors often use methadone to relieve an addicts craving for heroin during withdrawal. Although methadone is addictive, many doctors believe its use in the treatment of opiate addicts can be beneficial. Disulfiram is a drug used to treat alcoholism. It makes the user suffer flu like symptoms for several hours whenever alcohol is consumed. Nicotine skin patches can relieve a smokers craving for cigarettes.
Also detoxification is used. That is a treatment used to eliminate a persons physical dependence on a drug by eliminating the drug from the body. Drug Abuse Drugs and the Body How to cope with Drug Abuse
Free research essays on topics related to: central nervous system, anabolic steroids, alcoholic beverages, hallucinogenic drugs, illegal drugs
Research essay sample on Central Nervous System Anabolic Steroids
