Drug Abuse In Society Today Essay Research

Drug Abuse In Society Today Essay, Research Paper

Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Both Drug and Alcohol abuse seems to be a big problem in our world today, with the idea that some kind of substance is needed to have fun. It’s mostly in the teenage and young adult years that drug abuse begins, and most older addicts started when they were young. In this paper i am going to go over a few widly used drugs, their ingredients, uses, and effects.

Alcohol

Alcohol, the most widley abused drug, In today’s world, alcohol is not often thought of as a drug – largely because its use is common for both religious and social purposes in most parts of the world. It is a drug, nonetheless, and drinking in excess has become one of modern society’s most serious and pandemic problems.

Beverage alcohol (C2H5OH), known chemically as ethyl alcohol or ethanol, can be produced by fermenting and distilling a number of different fruits, vegetables or grains. The ethyl alcohol itself is a clear, colorless liquid. Alcoholic beverages get their distinctive colors from the diluents, additives, and by-products of fermentation.

Background:

Alcohol has been produced by humans for over 12,000 years. It has been speculated that many ancient farming efforts were undertaken not so much for the food they would yield but rather to create the raw materials for alcohol production. Alcohol has impacted every society since caveman times in one way or another. Some have used it in worship rituals, some in social customs, some have had widespread social problems with alcohol and some have banned it altogether.

Usage:

Alcohol takes on one of three general forms: beer, wine or distilled liquor. The standard servings of 1 oz. of liquor, 6 oz. of wine or 12 oz. of beer all contain roughly the same amount of alcohol: 10-14 grams of ethyl alcohol.

Effects:

The effects of alcohol can range from mild intoxication; a feeling of warmth; flushed skin; impaired judgment; decreased inhibitions to extreme intoxication, coma and death. The effect will vary according to body size, amount consumed and time frame of consumption. Combining alcohol with other drugs can intensify the effects of these other drugs. Many accidental deaths have occurred after people have used alcohol combined with other drugs.

Long-term effects of alcohol appear after repeated use over a period of many months or years. The negative physical and psychological effects of chronic abuse are many and some are potentially life threatening. Some of these problems are primary (they result directly from prolonged exposure to alcohol’s toxic effects), such as heart and liver disease, pancreatitis, ulcers and inflammation of the stomach.

Others are secondary (indirectly related to chronic alcohol abuse), they include loss of appetite, vitamin deficiencies, infections, social problems and sexual impotence or menstrual irregularities. The risk of serious disease increases greatly with the amount of alcohol consumed over time.

Dependency:

Physical and psychological dependence occurs in consistently heavy drinkers. Alcohol is an extremely potent drug and when the user’s body has adapted to the presence of alcohol, he or she will suffer withdrawal symptoms if alcohol use is stopped suddenly. Withdrawal symptoms range from jumpiness, sleeplessness, sweating, and poor appetite, to tremors (the “shakes”), convulsions, hallucinations, and sometimes death in those with an already deteriorated physical condition. It is a little-known fact that alcohol is one of the most difficult and dangerous drugs to detoxify from after an extended period of heavy use.

Physical Dependence: Severe with frequent, heavy use

Psychological Dependence: moderate

Tolerance: Strong with frequent, heavy use

Cannabis

Cannabis is a tall, leafy plant with palmately divided leaves that grows in most parts of the world. All three species of cannabis (Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis) contain various cannabinoids including delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol which is the primary psychoactive ingredient that gets people high. The female flowers contain the highest concentrations of cannabinoids (THC).

Background:

Hemp (usually low-THC cannabis) and Marijuana (high-THC cannabis) are both derived from the Cannabis plant. Hemp is cannabis grown for industrial use while marijuana is cannabis grown for recreational or medical use. Cannabis intended for consumption is usually in the form of a greenish or even brownish mixture of dried and ground flowers and leaves of the female plant. Sometimes it comes in a resin form (”hashish”) or a very black, sticky liquid form (”hash oil”).

Usage:

High-THC cannabis is often consumed in the following ways: Smoked as a cigarette (”joint”) , Smoked in a pipe (”bowl”), Smoked in a water pipe (”bong”), Inhaling the vapors of heated cannabinoid oil (”hash oil”), Cooking into food (ie. hash brownies), Tinctures (can be very potent)

Effects:

Time, color, and spatial perception distortions. Also, dreamy state euphoria, excitement, laughter, hunger (”the munchies”). Panic attacks may sometimes occur, especially in new users.

Dependency:

Physical Dependence: None ; Psychological Dependence: Moderate ; Tolerance: Extremely Slight

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