Psychoactive Drugs Can Be Defined As Any Chemical Substance

The four main classifications of the illicit drugs are stimulants, depressants, narcotics, and hallucinogens. Stimulants are a type of drug that you can get sold off of the street that makes a person alert at all times and energetic. Depressants are a type of drug that makes a person calm down, normally given to one when they have anxiety problems. Narcotics are a type of drug that is normally prescribed to a person when they need treatment but that individual can be addicted to it just because of the relief it gives. Hallucinogens are a type of drug that causes a person to see things that aren't really there. In this essay I will be writing about these four illicit drugs: stimulants, depressants, narcotics, and hallucinogens.

In the present times, drug abuse is a major cause for concern and has an adverse effect on society in general. Although students comprise of a large section of drug abusers, grown-ups also capitulate to drug abuse. In fact among the middle-aged people there is an inclination to abuse prescription drugs.

During this modern era it is highly likely that individuals during adolescence will begin to corrupt their minds by abusing drugs , including tobacco , alcohol and many other illegal prescriptions. The reason behind abusing drugs may vary from person to person however the coure foundation lies beneath the desire for new experiences , an attempt to deal with stress or depression and also peer pressure. Even though individuals strive to seek peace or joy through harmful substances in an unhealthy manner , there can be very serious long term consequences. Yet , many individuals start using “light” drugs and move on towards abusing deadly drugs . The gateway theory demonstrates a Popular theory that when adolescence use cannabis , later in life

Psychoactive drugs act on the brain and can change the way a person thinks, feels or behaves. Of course, most people use some kind of legal drugs such as alcohol, prescribed medication and caffeine. Unfortunately illegal drugs are part of life for some people too.

-One of the two basic ways of looking at drugs is psychological and sociological effect which focus is on the study of substances that alter our feelings, thoughts, perception of the world, and behavior. Psychoactive drugs are illegal drugs such as heroin, cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, LSD, PCP, ketamine and GHB, that influence the functioning of the brain, behavior, and experiences .The other way to look at drugs is the social circumstances that lead to drug-taking behavior. First the use of psychoactive drugs modifies the functioning of the brain both at the time during which the drug is present in the body and later when the drug taking behavior stops. Second, drug dependence is a result of a complex interaction of the individual and his and her environment. All drugs, whether illegal or legal, can become dangerous substances when abused. Therefore, the legal classification of drugs means little in terms of how toxic or addictive a substance may be. Some of the most potent medications prescribed by doctors are as harmful if not more so as some of the drugs classified as controlled or banned substances.

Drug use is an increasing problem among teenagers in today's high schools. Most drug use begins in the teenage years, these years are the most crucial in the maturing process. During these years adolescents are faced with the difficult tasks of discovering their self identity, clarifying their sexual roles, assenting independence, learning to cope with authority figures and searching for goals that would give their lives meaning. Drugs are readily available, adolescents are curious and venerable, and there is peer pressure to experiment, and there is a temptation to escape from conflicts. The use of drugs by teenagers is the result of a combination of factors such as peer pressure, curiosity, and

The final type of drugs are those which are illegal in the United States. This category includes heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. There are many types of drugs within the illegal drug category, such as hallucinogens, stimulants, and opioids (Commonly Used Illegal Drugs). These drugs are highly addictive and are taken to experience their varying symptoms. These addictions negatively affect the lives of approximately 19.9 millions Americans (Our Drug

Basically, there are many kinds of drugs some are legal and some are illegal. Legal drugs are those types that are not prohibited by law of any particular country, such drugs include paracetamol, smoking, and

A psychoactive drug is any substance that can be used to change brain function. This resulting change is responsible for alterations in perception, mood, and consciousness. As long as man has had a basic grasp on understanding consciousness they have tried delving deeper and deeper into their own consciousness and not only grown a larger respect for just how deep they can go but have had experiences that have encouraged them to go deeper. Rock paintings and fossil finds from as far back as 10,000 years ago offer scientific evidence and proof of the extremely long and exciting history of psychedelic drugs. Unfortunately it wouldn’t be until the 20th century that we would actually start to understand just how valuable and versatile these substances truly would be. From religious and spiritual uses to medicinal and more, psychoactive drugs, particularly ones more in the realm of psychedelics, are more important to learning and understanding our own consciousness than we can even understand.

The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.

There are four key groups of psychoactive drugs: stimulants, depressants, opioids and hallucinogens. This classification is conditional because most psychoactive drugs have several effects on the psychological and physical activity of the body, depending on the dose and duration of use.]

Drugs have been around for many centuries whether it is used for medicine or for spiritual purposes. There are many drugs in the world that many people do not know about and there are many that everyone knows about. Drugs are mysterious. They can be disguised in almost any form. They come in a simple and natural form also known as nature. Plants around the world have chemicals that soothe pain. These substances were once thought to be “a gift from heaven”, but now, most people think of them as dangerous. At one point, these drugs were legal but today it’s a war on drugs.

It is also noticeable that addiction to drugs is a global burden and causes large number of HIV-positive individual, especially among adolescent’s transmission. Statistics shows that new trend for drug market has been focused on teenagers rather than adults (Nossal Institute, 2010). According to Mazibuko (2000), drug abuse at the age of 10-24 accounted for 60 percent of HIV new infectors. Reasons for using drugs vary differently. Chase for excitement, avoidance from pressure, and

There are many causes of drug misuse and research has in fact shown that it is rarely the case that only one factor indeed caused the individual to seek illicit drugs (Boys et al., 2000). Research from Boys et al. (2000) shows the most common reasons for drug use amongst young people with 96.7% of the participants use drugs to relax; 96.4% to become intoxicated or “get a buzz”; 95.9% to aid socialisation; and 86.8% to alleviate a depressed mood. These results show that the most common cause of drug use is to relax, this could be to escape the stresses of daily life, whether it be family issues or even the extreme of homelessness (Mallett et al., 2005). Mallett et al. continues to say that young people who are homeless are statistically much more likely to begin taking drugs than the home based peers. Their study consisting of 302 homeless young people showed that 12.5% of the participants began using drugs as a result of becoming homeless and feeling like they needed it to act as an escape from the struggles in their lives. Another major cause of drug use is family breakdown, violence and abuse; these three areas are suggested to be the cause of many problems in young people’s lives which ultimately often lead to them using drugs (Department of Human Services, 1998). ‘Blended’ families are becoming much more of the social norm in modern society, and it is also advocated that some young people may be driven to drugs through their relationship breakdown with families,

By completing this paper and actually doing fieldwork on this research, I hope it will broaden my understanding of drug users, its effects on the body and society and why it is in such high demand.