Drug Abuse in the United States: Hallucinogens

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Recommended: Effects of hallucinogen drugs on the brain

Hallucinogen drugs are drugs that can be found in nature or a laboratory and cause the users perception of reality to be distorted . The drug was first discovered in 1938 by a swiss chemist named Albert Hoffman while he was doing an experiment (Parish). He described that while he encountered the drug he began having strange hallucinations . Now in society, the drug is becoming more and more popular among high school age students. Today about 1.1 million teenagers,eighteen and younger, have used the drug at least once in their lifetime. This number is steadily increasing and becoming a bigger problem than it first was. The first known discovery of a hallucinogen was LSD, which was discovered in 1938 and was marketed in 1947 by Sandoz laboratories (Parish). The use of this drug increased in the late 1950s because of famous icons promoting the drug .In 1965 the United States banned the drug because of public health concerns. However the drug has recently become more popular among high school students. It is not only lsd, there are many different types of other drugs such as PCP, Mushrooms, Ketamine, that give off the same effects .They also come in different forms such as tabs,powder, or mushrooms. In order to take them you can swallow,sniff,inject,smoke, or eat them . Slowly these drugs are being used more because of the rare side effects. When somebody takes any type of hallucinogenic drug and goes on a "trip" the user gets an increase in their senses. This feeling is like nothing anyone could ever feel without the drugs. Many users report being able to touch sounds and hear colors along with having a major change in their sensory perception .They also feel relaxation and euphoria because of the distortion of time . A ... ... middle of paper ... ...ogenic drugs are increasing in usage and need to be stopped. When the drugs were banned nothing changed, people still continue to use them and are not getting punished for it. Most people do not know that their are bad side effects. Teens are using them without knowing what could happen to them and the risk they are putting to their life . We may not always be able to stop others but we can make a difference by just saying no from now on and not becoming tolerant to the stupidity of the people around us. Only we can start the change with ourselves. Works Cited “Hallucinogens.”www.ceida.net.au.Ceida.2007.web.28 Jan 2014. Parish,Brooke.”Hallucinogen Use.” www.medscape.com. WebMD, NSDUH. 23 Oct 2013.web. 27 Jan 2014. “Hallucinogens and dissociative drugs.” www.drugabuse.gov. N.P., Mar 2001. Web. 28 Jan 2014. lsdaddiction.us.NSDUH, 2009.web.30 Jan 2014

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