Heroin
The manners in which heroin can be ingested into the body are through inhaling, smoking, and injecting. All of these methods of using heroin cause a dependent reaction in the brain due to the immediate effects. Intravenous users of heroin describe a euphoric feeling immediately after injection, the instantaneous high is known as a “rush” (NIDA, 2013).
Physical symptoms of heroin use can include: respiratory depression, dry mouth, nausea, heavy extremities, constricted pupils, and drowsiness. Dangerous side effects of heroin include: slow shallow breathing; blue discoloration of the fingernails and lips, clammy skin, possible convulsions, coma, and even death can occur (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2011).
According to (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014) heroin endangers its users to many risk factors such as overdosing, exposure to Hepatitis C, Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIV and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome AIDS. Heroin can often include ingredients which make it even more harmful and even deadly at times.
Loneliness
Loneliness coup...
Cocaine is a Schedule II drug, known for its addictive properties and permissive medicinal administration. Cocaine exists in two forms: water soluble and insoluble; these forms can enter the bloodstream by mechanism of oral ingestion, intravenous injection, inhalation, and intranasal inhalation (Volkow, 2010). Cocaine is a stimulus, therefore the use of cocaine stimulates the para-sympathetic nervous system, exciting physiological reactions, but also creating a sense of euphoria resulting from an increase in dopamine activity (Barlow & Durand, 2012). Cocaine is effective in stimulating euphoria because of the dopamine agonists properties it possesses (Carlson, 2013).
“The first time cocaine is used it may make the heart beat faster leading to a feeling of excitement and fear” (qtd. in Carroll, 1994, p.24). Followed by euphoria, these feelings can peak within five seconds. The user then begins to feel more energetic and becomes more sociable (Carroll, 1994). One inhalation will produce a high usually lasting 10-15 minutes. After this zenith of intense sensation, “…the drug wears off, these temporary sensations of mastery are replaced by an intense depression, and the drug abuser will then "crash", becoming lethargic and typically sleeping for several days” (qtd. in Narconon, 2001). There are several different ways to use crack. It can be snorted, smoked, or taken intravenously. It can also be taken orally (chewed), but this method is not preferred because of the low intensity of the high. The two most popular ways of using crack are smoking and IV usage. These two methods are most favored because they give the most intense sensations.
It is eight a.m. and she has been up for hours at this point. The diarrhea is uncontrollable and her stomach is killing her. She needs to vomit again. Her bed is covered in sweat. Her body feels hot, but she is freezing cold. Her hands are shaking. Her legs are restless and her entire body aches as if she had been run over by a semi. She feels weak, both physically and mentally. Tears stream down her face because she hates herself. Addiction is the reason her mother has custody of her daughter, Abby. Most of her family and friends disown her. This drug has taken over her life. At this point, she is debating if everyone, including herself, would benefit from her suicide. Jenny was dope sick, suffering
Opiates are a class of drugs that are used for chronic pain. Opioids are substances that are used to relieve pain by binding opiate receptors throughout the body, and in the brain. These areas in the brain control pain and also emotions, producing a feeling of excitement or happiness. As the brain gets used to these feelings, and the body builds a tolerance to the opioids, there is a need for more opioids and then the possibility of addiction.
There are many biological factors that are involved with the addicted brain. "The addicted brain is distinctly different from the nonaddicted brain, as manifested by changes in brain metabolic activity, receptor availability, gene expression, and responsiveness to environmental cues." (2) In the brain, there are many changes that take place when drugs enter a person's blood stream. The pathway in the brain that the drugs take is first to the ventral tegmentum to the nucleus accumbens, and the drugs also go to the limbic system and the orbitofrontal cortex, which is called the mesolimbic reward system. The activation of this reward system seems to be the common element in what hooks drug users on drugs (2).
The physical and chemical properties make heroin a desirable drug. It is highly addictive and fast acting, which lure users in. The first time one uses the drug it is said to cause disagreeable feelings and nausea. But following further use it causes a sudden rush in your brain, lasting 1 to 2 minutes, that feels as if it is relieving all the tension one has, followed by a calm and relaxed state that can last a few hours (“Heroin in the Brain”, n.d.). These feelings of satisfaction and ease make this drug ...
An estimated 3.7 million people had used heroin at some time in their life, as of 2005. Over 119,000 of the people surveyed reported using it within the month preceding the survey. Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is the most abused and quickest way to get a high from the opiates. An opiate is a drug with morphine-like effects, derived from opium. Heroin comes from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of certain varieties of poppy plants. Heroin can be in the form of white or brownish powder, or a black sticky substance known as “black tar heroin.” Purer heroin is becoming more popular on the streets. Most of the street heroin is “cut,” or laced, with other drugs or substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine. Quinine is a bitter crystalline compound present in cinchona bark, used as a tonic and formerly as an ant malarial drug. Most heroin abusers do not know the actual strength or content of the drug which puts them at a greater risk of overdose or death.
Heroin is consumed usually 3 main ways: cut then snorted, smoked, or injected. When being cut, the heroin is placed in a straight line then snorted up and through the nasal cavity. Smoked, heroin is placed in pipe (like a marijuana pipe), then heated, and inhaled. Lastly heroin can be heated to a liquid form mixed with water and injected into veins and muscles under the skin.
Drug abuse is part of everyday life, most of us know someone who is or was abusing drug at some point. A way to simplify a difficult time in our life, we find an exit in a product that numbs our brain to the surrounding. People find addiction through drugs, activities and action that creates chemical reaction within our bodies. Whether you love jumping off the empire state building or inject yourself with a drug, you are looking for a high that your body enjoys. The body creates chemicals which stop our self-control. According to the CDC website, “Deaths from drug overdose have been rising steadily over the past two decades and have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States.” (Birnbaum HG, web).
Cocaine can be snorted, smoked, injected or even chewed; it can be consumed in any way as long as it ends up in the blood stream. It is a stimulant drug, meaning the messages travelling between the brain and body speed up. Cocaine affects the production, uptake and breaking down of three chemicals that naturally take place in the brain. These are: Dopamine, Serotonin and Norepinephrine. ...
Without contrast, the primary reason for drug abuse in individuals comes from the conscious state of addiction. According to Webster’s, addiction is described as “the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity (Hacker, 2011).” Sure, human nature’s desire to conform to peer pressure might cause one to first try a certain drug, but the euphoric mental states found in drugs mentally trap many individuals into becoming dependent upon these sensations. With that being said, these sensations vary depending on the type of drug used.
The Journal of Neuroscience Dobler-Mikola, A. Gschwed, P. Gutzwiller, F. Steffen, T. Rehm, J. Uch engagen, A. Feasibility, Safety, and Efficacy of Injectable Heroin Prescription for Refractory Opioid Addicts: a follow-up study. The Lancet, volume 358, pg. 1417-1420. Everitt, B. Robbins, T. (1999) Drug addiction: bad habits add up. Macmillian Magazines, volume 389, pg.
Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.
The use of illegal drugs in the United States and other countries around the world is one of the biggest problems in today community. Illegal drugs are drugs that are restricted by the government. Moreover, some medical drugs have chemicals that can help people with pain and stress. But when people are under the influence of illicit drugs, they can experience many side effects such as: liver cancer, heart, and brain disease. Illegal drugs are being used by many types of people around the world; they cost a large amount of money and negatively affect people both psychologically and physically.
For hundreds of years millions of people have used and abused narcotics. Two of the most widely known and abused sources of narcotics are cocaine and opium, the latter being used since the early eras of Chinese history for centuries before it’s addictive and dangerous nature was fully realized. Ancient Egyptians even had writings about themselves and Romans using opium poppy for pain relief during child birth, chewing the poppy leaves would produce a decent analgesic effect. Cocaine itself was used in its base form for just as long and with its stimulating effect on the respiratory system, allowed laborers the stamina to perform their duties in thin air and or high altitude environments. So what is it about these two substances with their seemingly amazing medicinal uses can create such a widespread problem and need for control?