Although it is not yet possible to measure the severity of drug use, it’s however, well known that drug use is everywhere and it’s real. As used from bathrooms and refrigerators to cars and street corners, alcohol and drug use affect every part of our culture. Unlike women, men are more likely to use almost all types of illegal drugs.
Generally, men have higher rates of drug abuse and dependence than their female counterparts. But yet women are just as likely as men to develop an addiction to any drug. Women are also more susceptible to cravings and drug relapse just like their male counterparts.
Depending on the person involved and the substance being abused, emotional and physical responses to recreational drugs normally vary, and understanding the effects of these drugs being abused on your body and the serious threat of addiction they pose is a major first step in protecting yourself says Gregory B. Collins, MD, section head of the Alcohol and Drug Recovery Centre at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Many drugs have the ability to modify a person’s thinking and judgment and can also lead to serious health complications, including addictions, driving under the influence of drugs, infectious disease, and also negative effects on pregnancy. Information on commonly used drugs that have the potential for being misused or addicted can be explained down below. The damages as a result of abusing drugs of any kind such as Marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, meth, and heroin can be very significant. Whether you smoke marijuana, drink alcohol, or snort cocaine, there are risks involved with using drugs that can range from addiction to death. Knowing the risks involved in addiction can help you make better decisions that positively affect your health.
1) Marijuana.
This is one form of hallucinogen, gotten from the Cannabis sativa plant, which is the most commonly abused illegal drug in the United States and most parts of the world according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. When consumed frequently through smoking, marijuana acts as a stimulant on the central nervous system. As reported by Dr Collins, “marijuana speeds up the heart rate and raises blood pressure, marijuana can as well stimulate the nervous system enough that some people end up becoming paranoid while taking it.” Other serious effects caused by marijuana will include the fact that marijuana can dull memory, making it difficult to concentrate or remember things.
Although deaths from smoking too much marijuana are rare, just as with smoking cigarettes, frequent smoking of marijuana can lead to heart disease and other cardiovascular problems. “There are a lot of substances in any marijuana joint and You’re introducing a dirty substance into your lungs.” Dr Collins says. And just like tobacco(cigarettes) smokers, smokers of marijuana are at high risk for respiratory problems such as chronic cough and frequent lung infection problems. Marijuana smoke also contains many carcinogens, though a real link between it and cancer remains unclear at this time.
2) Cocaine.
A powerful, addictive stimulant, cocaine gives users a euphoric feeling when ingested, which, depending on the person, may or may not feel good. “Some people experience that rush as very pleasurable, but others don’t like it,” Collins says. The euphoric feeling is short-lived, lasting anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes.
Cocaine is usually snorted as a powder, but it can also be modified into rock form — so-called crack — and smoked. Cocaine tightens blood vessels and speeds up the heart. These cardiovascular effects are the main reason for most cocaine-related deaths. “Even in small doses, it can kill you,” Collins says. “Sudden death is not uncommon.”
Approximately 16 percent of Americans 12 and older have used cocaine at least once in their lifetime, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. In the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration survey, about 1 million people age 12 and over said they were dependent on cocaine, down from 1.1 million the year before.
3) Opiates.
Drugs called Opioids are a class of drugs that are naturally found in the opium poppy plant and work in the brain by producing a variety of effects, including the relief of pain with many of these drugs. These opiates, which include both street drugs like heroin and pharmaceutical painkillers like morphine and codeine, act on the person’s central nervous system by stimulating the brain’s “reward centre,” which controls pleasurable feelings.
Opiates imitate the effects produced from healthy feel-good activities, like having sex or eating. in high doses, nevertheless, opiates can cause some of the brain’s critical functions, like breathing, to slow down or stop working. In an overdose of opiates, “the brain shuts off the ‘thermostat’ that drives respiration, whereby it causes the person to go into a coma and dies.”
There exist other major setbacks to the use of opiates like heroin Since it is commonly injected into the bloodstream, users are also at risk of contracting HIV and hepatitis, which can be through shared needles.
4) Methamphetamine.
This powerful stimulant is highly addictive, usually, a white powder that is smoked, snorted, or injected. Just as cocaine, methamphetamine which is commonly known as “meth” can speed up the heart rate, as well as cause hyperthermia which is known as an extremely high body temperature. methamphetamine can cause anxiety, insomnia, and even psychotic symptoms, like hallucinations When used over a long period. Severe dental problems can also occur; the drug is acidic and can wear down teeth over time. Users often grind their teeth as well, further damaging them. Just As with the case of heroin users, people who inject methamphetamine into their bloodstream are at high risk of contracting HIV and hepatitis.
5) Alcohol.
Although alcohol is legal to use, obtain and possess, it is, however, another commonly abused drug with the potential for serious consequences. Moderate consumption of alcohol is safe for most people, but heavier use can lead to serious health problems. Over the long term, having more than one alcoholic drink per day for women or anyone over 65 or two drinks per day for men under 65 can increase the person’s risk of developing medical conditions like pancreatitis and liver and heart disease.
Alcohol also has short-term health effects. Since alcohol is a depressant, it can slow motor skills and impair the user’s ability to make clear judgments. Additionally, a woman who uses alcohol while pregnant puts her unborn child at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome, a condition that can cause mental retardation, impaired vision, and other lifelong problems.
Ibogaine for the treatment of common addiction.
Ibogaine treatment could be the solution millions of individuals addicted to opiates or other drugs have been searching for. ibogaine treatment has been found to help people suffering from addictions to heroin and prescription opiate-based medications to recover and live their lives free of drug dependence. It is not only those addicted to opiates that can benefit from the ibogaine treatment therapy as other drug addictions have been cured with its use.
Ibogaine is a psychoactive alkaloid and has a significant effect on a person’s mind and body. This psychoactive drug produces hallucinogenic effects that are often associated with LSD or psilocybin. Users of ibogaine may experience some minor side effects but, in the end, obtain a long-term solution to their addiction problem.
