Nicotine Experiment

Research has found that teenagers who used cigarettes were twelve times more likely to graduate to marijuana use. A similar study conducted by Denise Kandel (1992) revealed that use of marijuana affects dopamine levels in the brain in a similar way to nicotine. Cigarette smoking facilitates consumption of other substances. Smoking cigarettes initiate juveniles into the sensation of drug inhalation, which desensitizes them from the feeling of smoke clouding their lungs. This paper finds that marijuana pervades the life of a juvenile tobacco smoker. Teenagers who smoke cigarettes

In closing, drugs and alcohol can have ameliorating properties when initially ingested, however individuals risk the chance of becoming dependent. While cannabis is not nearly as addictive as nicotine or alcohol, it’s use still leaves damaging repercussions on the

Notably, our society’s general assumption behind the causation of substance abuse and addiction can be defined as the pharmaceutical theory of addiction, “addiction… is the result of repeated exposure to certain very powerful chemicals” (Hari 155). As an illustration of the inconsistency in pharmaceutical theory, in Dr. Carl Hart’s analysis of methamphetamine use, “Methamphetamine: Fact vs. Fiction and Lessons from the Crack Hysteria,” he discovers that approximately less than 15 percent of overall amount of individuals to try this particular drug have become addicted (12). Given that meth is viewed socially as a drug that causes dependence after just one use, Hart’s finding alludes to deeper explanation for the determinant between use and

There are two parts to the gateway theory: 1) those that use illicit substances like cocaine or heroin will use marijuana first and 2) the use of marijuana exerts a casual influence on one’s likelihood of using other illicit substances. According to the "Can Social Psychological Delinquency Theory Explain The Link Between Marijuana and Other Illicit Drug Use?” article, the study set out to disprove the second qualification of the gateway theory. However, it failed to do so because the results suggested “those who use marijuana are between three and five times more likely than counterparts to use other illicit drugs even after adjusting statistically for the influence for strain, social bonding and differential association.” It noted that the “results were observed across multiple time points and across multiple methods, one of which adjusts statistically for the influence of unmeasured variables.” It conceded the point that the use of marijuana may contribute in a casual manner to one’s probability of using other illicit drugs. It has been widely regarded that “postponing youths’ marijuana initiation, prevention efforts will reduce the likelihood of hard drug use and abuse” (Yamaguchi & Kandel 1984b; Kandel et al. 1992; Golub & Johnson 2001). Postponing one’s marijuana initiation to a certain extent only brings them closer to the drug underworld. In a

This study “A systematic review of health effects of electronic cigarettes” is important because it dives into the details surrounding current teen phenomenon and obsession of vaping. As someone who has been in high school and has siblings in high school, I am well aware of the especially large effects it can have on adolescents health and safety. Not all that much is clear about vaping, so it is extremely important that research about it continues. A study is the most helpful when it is conclusive, not when it has mere suggestions. In this case, more studies performed means that we are closer to a foundational argument about the effects of vaping amongst teens. According to this methodical article, 76 studies were investigated, polling various bits of information from a variety of sources.

Base on the results, nicotine and caffeine instead of increasing the heart frequency which is the beats per minutes, they actually did the opposite, they decrease the frequency of the heart and in some cases the amplitude. If we look at table 1 and compare the figures , were 2 drops of caffeine were add, the data shows no effects is done by caffeine, no increase or decrease in heart rate. The same problem happen when 10 drops of caffeine were added to the heart, there was no sign of a big change for the frequency, it only have a change from 59 to 60 BPM if we compare resting and 50 secs after caffeine was added. The only time where there is a difference was at the second trial of 2 drops of caffeine. The frequency drops from 57 to 47 BPM after

In this paper the many physical and psychological effects of Cocaine use will be presented to the reader. The reader will be able to see the rough timeline of Cocaine use and how it has evolved into the narcotic that is seen today. It will be clear to see just how much the theories on the drug has changed throughout history as a one point Sigmund Freud himself promoted the drug as healthy and could see no fault within its effects (UXL Encyclopedia of Science, 2015). In today’s world it is clear that cocaine is in fact dangerous and it is up to the reader to decide whether the physical effects or psychological effects are more drastic.

Arguments for and against the gateway drug theory have been published in the thousands (Ginzler, Cochran, Domenech-Rodríguez & Whitbeck, 2003). For example, the common liability to addiction (CLA) theory has been used to confirm the gateway drug theory by explaining the physiological changes that occur following drug use. The CLA theory indicates that drug use

In addition, it has been documented that Marijuana stays in the body for five to seven days (Martin, qtd. in Margolis 8). An increasing hospitalizations have been documented due to a slow buildup of THC in the body thus the addict is never “drug-free” (Axelrod, qtd. in Margolis 8). Legalization of Marijuana reveals that, “A growing number of children under the age of 12 have been admitted to the hospital for Marijuana intoxication” (7). Therefore, addiction is at its highest as THC accumulates in the fatty tissues affecting the body, brain, adrenal glands, ovaries, and testes (Axelrod, Kreuz, and Lemberger, qtd. in Margolis 8). Nonetheless, a commonality among all age groups is the inability to stop using Marijuana due to the less intense high they receive from smoking Marijuana. For example, “About one in ten marijuana users becomes dependent on the drug” (Legalization of Marijuana 7). “This findings implies that the regular user must smoke increasing amounts of marijuana to obtain the same subjective high” (Margolis 8). Thus proving that the more the regular user abuses Marijuana will cause an unhealthy addiction.

“An alternative simpler and more compelling explanation accounts for the pattern of drug use you see in this country, without resort to any gateway effects”(How Effective).

Individuals who consume this substance tend to lose their motor control sensors and full consciousness of their actions. Those who use marijuana experience many unpredictable symptoms, causing the extremity of the effects to fluctuate according to the dosage he/she intakes. According to Christopher Aanstoos article, “Short-term experiential effects include feelings of light-hearted well-being and euphoria; increased sensory sensitivity and appreciation; and greater awareness, creativity, insight, and sense of humor. Negative effects include difficulty with concentration, short-term memory, and motor performance skills; and feeling anxious, tense, socially awkward, and paranoid” (Aanstoos). The depth of the effects all depend on how an individual’s body reacts to the stimulant. Furthermore, marijuana contains an addictive toxin known as THC that alters the brain’s ability to process information and manage proper body function. The effects from THC vary according to potency, dosage, setting, and the individuals experience and attitude (Aanstoos). The effects that come from using marijuana coordinate with the amount he/she intakes. An individual who consumes more THC is at a higher risk of experiencing longer and stronger effects. This all corresponds with Aanstoos proceeding statement that, “Longer-term experiential effects are more speculative. Many users report that insights remained significant and even life-changing. Negative effects also have been proposed, including amotivational syndrome and an increased tendency to later use other, more dangerous drugs (the “gateway drug” theory)” (Aanstoos). Marijuana not only qualifies as an addictive drug but also as a persuasive one. The “gateway theory” means that after a person is satisfied with the sensation they obtain from marijuana, he/she will potentially go on to try dangerous more abusive drugs. Researchers seem to believe

Cigarettes are dangerous for the body, however this nasty habit is quite difficult to eliminate. Cigarettes contain nicotine that destroys the lungs and also affect the blood pressure negatively. If you stop smoking, you will still have to face the consequences from smoking.

I really enjoyed reading your SOAP note, great job! From the patient's social history, I see that he smokes cigarettes when he drinks on the weekends. Unfortunately, smoking and wound healing do not go together. Studies have shown that just one puff of a cigarette can further restrict the amount of needed oxygen and blood traveling to the place of injury (Wound Care Clinic, 2013). Since oxygen is the basis for wound healing, smoking deprives the body of the needed oxygen required to build and repair cells. An interesting fact is that smoking a single cigarette creases a vasoconstriction effect for up to 90minutes, while smoking a pack results in tissue hypoxia that last an entire day (Rayner, 2006).Also due to his smoking status, he will

It is important to note that ‘drugs’ as we know them today that are processed, packaged and concentrated, are not the ‘drugs’ of the ancestral past. Indigenous peoples as well as ancestors to homo sapiens used plants as both food and medicine, in other words, as a ‘mundane’ resources that have psychotropic effects (Sullivan and Hagen 2001). In terms of general substance-seeking, which speaks to mundane substance-use not abuse, the well-known reward system of drug and alcohol use is often inaccurate. Opposing Dudley’s view, Sullivan and Hagen suggest that first-time drug use is often aversive, for example 0.3% of the population in the United States uses cocaine (a 1999 statistic), but one quarter of the world uses unrefined nicotine with no

Marijuana has been controversial for many years and has become an increasing topic of debate and subject to vote by the public to legalize it for both medicinal and recreational use despite it still being illegal under federal law (“Module 4.5: Substance Use and Abuse”., n.d.). However, research has shown that there are benefits to marijuana usage as seen in those undergoing chemotherapy as it stimulates their appetites, but due to the federal restrictions it’s proved hard for scientists to conduct effective research (“Module 4.5: Substance Use and Abuse”., n.d.). Research into the benefits of marijuana would be a great boon to the field of psychology as it would allow us to better understand the drug’s effect on the mind as well as the body,