From Chocolate To Morphine Chapter Summaries

The majority of the marijuana advocates' evidence comes from unscientific, non-scrutinized or analysed anecdotal statements from people with a variety of illnesses. It is unknown whether these individuals used marijuana prior to their illness or are using marijuana in combination with other medicines. It is also unknown whether they have had recent medical examinations, are justifying their use of marijuana, experiencing a placebo effect, or experiencing the intoxicating effect of smoking marijuana. The main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana (THC) is already legally available in pharmaceutical capsule form by prescription from medical doctors. This drug, Marinol, is less often prescribed because of the potential adverse effects, and there are more effective new medicines currently available. Marinol differs from the crude plant marijuana because it consists of one pure, well-studied, FDA-approved pharmaceutical in stable known dosages. Marijuana is an unstable mixture of over 400 chemicals including many toxic psychoactive chemicals, which are largely unstudied and appear in uncontrolled strengths.

This distinction, between the legitimate use of psychoactive medicines and the sub rosa use of drugs, is more vexed than ever. We have seen nearly 45 years of the War of Drugs… outcries about the safety of our children and accompanying uproars about nicotine in e-cigarettes, caffeine in energy drinks, “synthetic marijuana”, and heroin… club drugs, designer drugs, experimental drugs, homemade methamphetamine… We have pharmaceutical commercials on TV…to the point that any thinking person would be forgiven for questioning the

All drugs have been created to help people assist with their body’s needs, control symptoms of a diagnosis, and improve the quality of life. Unfortunately, all drugs come with adverse events that cannot be demolished. Gratefully, the majority of adverse events have been discovered and there are ways to help eliminate some of these. All medical professionals educate themselves with adverse events, in an attempt to help our patients.

Some drugs are used for health problems and some are secondhand for pleasure to the mind. The most commonly used illicit drug is marijuana. “Mary Jane” is a common slang referring to marijuana is a plant with dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds form the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. The plant contains the mind-altering chemical delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other related compounds. Extracts with high amounts of THC can also be made from the Cannabis plant. (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Marijuana is most commonly used in United States. It is interesting that 15.2 million people used marijuana, while only 1.9 million used cocaine. These statistics seem to indicate that prescription drug abuse is a more significant problem than cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine, SD, or heroin. Another method of examining the scope of the drug problem is by looking at arrest data. Drug offenders constitute more than 50% of the federal prison population and over 20% of state prisoners (West et al., 2010). People smoke marijuana rolled by paper, cigarettes (joints), Black and Mild’s (blunts), and water pipes (bongs). Users also mix marijuana in food such as brownies, candy, drinks, and cookies. Marijuana has a short and term effect on the brain. When a person use the drug THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana's psychological effects) rapidly passes from the

Commonly known Hallucinogen drugs are LSD, also known as acid or mellow yellow; PCP, also known as angel dust, tic tac, super grass, or rocket fuel; Psilocybin also known as “shrooms” or magic mushrooms; DMT; and Peyote. Hallucinogen drugs alter human perception and mood by changing the user’s sense of reality. Effects of hallucinogenic drug abuse are unpredictable and the intensity varies on the dose amount. Common effects of abuse include an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, feelings of detachment from self and surroundings, nausea, vomiting, panic reactions, delusions, blurred vision, dizziness, and hallucinations (Drug-rehabilitation). “According to a study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse, 36 percent of Southern

A drug is defined as any substance other than food that changed the way the body and mind function. The most common illegal drug used in the United States is marijuana. Marijuana comes from the cannabis plant and contains a powerful chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol often referred to as THC. This chemical changes the chemical balance in your brain, making marijuana a hallucinogen. Marijuana has many short term and long term effects such as: increased heart rate, increase in appetite, lung cancer and a difficulty processing new information. A decision as simple as a yes or no can have dramatic effects on a person’s life and future. A person’s choices can have both positive and negative effects on them and the people around them.

Drugs have been around for a very long time. They are used for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include relaxation, socialization, curiosity, stress relief, or a form of escapism. However, most people don’t know the threats and danger that it can cause to the body. In this paper, we are going to examine the changes that happen inside the brain due to the effects of different drugs. We will look closely at how drugs such as hallucinogens, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, and cannabis affect an individual psychologically. I will explain the origin of the drugs, how a person feels while on the drug, how the drugs

The first group is the hallucinogens, such as LSD, mushrooms, and PTP. These drugs distort the user's perception of reality, perhaps seeing/feeling/hearing things that are not really there. The next category is depressants. Examples of this include cannabis, inhalants, heroin, morphine, and alcohol. When under the influence of these, the brain and nervous system activity is slowed. People may feel sluggish, confused, and have decreased coordination. The last group is the stimulants. Also known as coffee, ecstasy, cocaine, and methamphetamines. A person would feel excited and more alert, like they're under a rush. Each drug within it's group has it's own little "world," and many people have found themselves stuck

Marijuana has been used by people over many centuries for medical uses. It is a natural pain killer used today as a recreational drug by people all over the world. According to Noel Merino in, “Introduction to Gateway Drugs: Opposing Viewpoints”, “a drug is something other than food intended to affect the structure or function of the body”. Marijuana is a very controversial drug and has been outlawed in many countries for its affect on the function of the body. “Effects may involve hallucinations, impaired judgment, and mood swings.” Describes the effects of marijuana in “Marijuana” Current Issues Macmillian social science library. During the past century Marijuana has been legal, made illegal, strictly enforced, decriminalized,

Although alcohol is the most commonly-known substance, substance usage can be applied to ten different classes of substances, including but not limited to cannabis and hallucinogens. According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and

There are many recreational drugs that are categorized as stimulants, hallucinogens, and depressants (Segal, 2014). An example of a stimulant would be something like coffee, people get addicted because that caffeine gives them a boost of energy. Hallucinogens distorts reality and makes you get a high or rush that makes you feel out of this world, and example being LSD. Alcohol

It is no secret that drug use has the ability to completely alter a person’s state of consciousness, whether it be through extreme euphoria, increased hyperactivity, pain relief or psychedelic hallucinations. Although many drugs are used for medical purposes, the global issue of recreational drug use is now being fronted as an extremely serious matter that is steadily on the uprise. Recreational drug use is often associated with negativity, addiction and as having serious physical and mental repercussions. One of the few class of drugs that is often associated with both positive and negative connotations are hallucinogens, otherwise known as “psychedelics”, which have powerful altering effects on ones sense of perception, brain function

Some hallucinogens are synthetic such as LSD and MDMA(ecstasy) others like marijuana are natural substances. LSD along with other powerful hallucinogens are similar to a subtype of the neurotransmitter serotonin. The emotions from LSD can vary from euphoria to panic, the users mood at the time of consuming the drug determine the emotional experience. Psychologist Ronald Siegel reported that the hallucinations of the drug effect you similar to the loss of oxygen, or extreme sensory deprivation. Marijuana has been cultivated for its fibers for over 5000 years. The major ingredient is Marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol also known as THC, similar to alcohol marijuana relaxes, disinhibits, and may produce an euphoric high. Marijuana is also a mild hallucinogen, unlike alcohol THC lingers in the body for a month or more at a

Hard, illegal, drugs do more positive to your body than good when used responsibly. Many people are quick to blame the drug as the problem, but that is not entirely true. The drug is not the problem, it is how people use them. Most people who are addicted to pain pills usually blame the pill as the source of their problem. They reject the idea that maybe it is not the drug, but themselves. If a person can let a pill control their life, chances are that something else would have taken the place of the painkiller. We need to stop blaming drugs and need to focus our attention on human behavior, environmental factors, cultural factors, and mental factors. We, too often, demonize drug users and their corresponding drug, but we need to shift away from the notion that drugs are bad. If we decriminalize all illicit drugs and start educating the masses, we can make huge leaps and bounds as a society without constantly taking steps backwards.

The list of drugs in today’s society is vast: Hydrocodone, marijuana, alcohol, morphine, LSD, aspirin, cocaine, nicotine, methamphetamine, ephedrine, even caffeine; the list goes on, and so does the debate. Should all drugs be legal? Should all drugs be illegal? There are both pros and cons if all drugs were legal or not, but first let’s start by realizing what a drug is, how they’re classified, and what the benefits would be for either condition.