The three main categories of drugs
There are three main categories of drugs. These are stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens. The classification is done depending on their action and effect on the brain and the central nervous system. Most drugs will fit in to one or more of the categories mentioned above. This section will look at each of the three categories of drugs. The physical, physiological symptoms and the process of addiction will be discussed. As the word suggests, depressants slow down/inhibit the normal functioning of the central nervous system (Edlund et al, 2015). These drugs are among the most commonly abused drugs. Physical symptoms include inability to maintain the right posture while walking (staggering), the blood pumping occurs at a decreased rate (low blood pressure), breathing occurs in a way that is slower than normal, feeling sleepy/drowsy. In high dosages the person may be very lethargic and appear drowsy. Psychological symptoms include appearing absent minded (they have lower concentration spans), the reaction time is likely to be very low which makes the person to look confused, forgetfulness and poor/illogical judgements/conclusions. Depressants lead to addiction through affecting the neurotransmitters involved in depressing the activity of the central nervous system leading to addiction (Rudd, Aleshire, Zibbell and Gladden, 2016).
Stimulants seem to exhibit characteristics that the exact opposite of those of depressants. They cause the brain and nervous system to be excited (stimulated) which leads to an increase in attention and activity of the body. Stimulants include substances such caffeine and cocaine. It follows that some stimulants are legal (e.g. caffeine) while others are not (e.g. cocaine). The physical effects include an overwhelming/intense feeling of happiness (being extremely excited), attention improves greatly, one becomes extremely sociable, an increase in sexual desire and performance, breathing process is easier and the appetite is reduced. In addition to these the heart pumps at a relatively higher rate (leads to increased blood pressure), one may feel agitated, there may be body tremors and body temperature may rise to levels above the normal. Psychological side effects include experiencing hallucinations, having anxiety that never seems to end, being paranoiac and may lead to depression with long term use. Stimulants lead to production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical that stimulates euphoria and therefore one becomes excited. With prolonged use however, one develops tolerance (they need more to achieve the same effect). This is how addiction results. The withdrawal symptoms may be detrimental.
Physical and psychological symptoms of depressants
Hallucinogens is a term used to refer to a group of drugs that influence/ affect perception (Seth, Scholl, Rudd and Bacon, 2018). These drugs make the users have a perception that is not real about their environment. For instance, one may see images have sensations that are not real (hallucinations). Physical symptoms associated with hallucinogens include an increase in the heart rate, anorexia (supressed appetite), hallucinations, difficulties sleeping, increased perspiration and movements that are not coordinated. Long term use may also result to slurred speech and reduction in body weight. Psychological symptoms include loss of memory, depression and one having suicidal thoughts. Most hallucinogens interfere with the brain chemical (neurotransmitter) serotonin. Addiction occurs due to development of tolerance for the drug. This means that more must be used to achieve the same effect.
Robin Williams was famous American actor whose many have described as a very talented comedian. While this is true, his story of battling with drug addiction seems to be a perfect illustration of how drugs can impair the health and well being of an individual. Being a celebrity, one may assume that he could hide his addiction. However, drug abuse and use seem not to respect the status of any person. It appears that it knows no bounds. The celebrity who died in 2014 was addicted to cocaine and alcohol. As observed in the previous section, cocaine is a stimulant and prolonged use may lead to addiction. Withdrawal symptoms may also be detrimental to the health and wellbeing. Robin battled with addiction and mental disorder for several years. He however decided, to do away with the drugs when his son was about to be born and when his friend died due to drug abuse. Though not without severe negative consequences such as depression and bipolar disorder. He was however to stop using the drugs.
After 20 years however, he relapsed and started abusing alcohol. He battled with the same and even went to a rehabilitation centre to seek help in overcoming the addiction. It seems that the long-term effects of drug abuse unfortunately caught up with him and he died in 2014. He died out of asphyxia which was suspected to be a result of abusing the drugs. His case is a clear illustration of the severe and detrimental effects that drugs may have on an individual both in the short term and long term (Hoffner and Cohen, 2018). During interviews in various media, he revealed that he greatly battled with drug use. He revealed that no matter how much he wanted to stop the habit, it was very difficult and came with severe withdrawal symptoms. It is evident that he had already developed tolerance and overcoming the addiction was not an easy task. He was a comedian who many people loved but unfortunately drug abuse made his life quite miserable and somehow. In addition to the mentioned challenges, he also suffered from psychosis.
Physical and psychological symptoms of stimulants
Marijuana is derived from the leaves of cannabis plant. It is one of the drugs that have a long history of abuse and use. It is also one of the most commonly abused drugs in the United States. Although it has some medicinal values, prolonged use or use of high dosages may have certain undesirable effects in our bodies. There are both short term and long-term effects of marijuana. The short-term effects include alteration of the senses (for instance the sense of sight may be altered such than an individual see objects as being brighter than they are), psychosis (this occurs when taken in high doses), altered body movements, sudden changes in mood, difficulty in making rational judgements and delusions (also occurs when taken in higher doses). Since continued marijuana use continually affects the development of the brain the long-term effects may be detrimental and quite hard to reverse. The long-term effects include persistent breathing problems (due to irritation of the lungs), chronic anorexia (this refers to intense vomiting and nausea usually a s a result cannabinoid hyperemesis disorder), complications during pregnancy and post-partum, and an increased heart rate (consequently there is increased blood pressure). When as individual smokes marijuana THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) rapidly enters the blood stream from the lungs. It is then transported to the brain and then to other organs. THC binds to receptors used for natural THC like chemical which leads to stimulation. The natural chemicals are used for brain development and function (Compton and Berning, 2015). Replacement with the THC leads to the person feeling ‘high’. This often happens due to overstimulation of the receptors. With time an individual develops tolerance and addiction.
Alcohol is also one of the drugs most widely used all over the world. it is argued that alcohol may have some health advantages if taken in moderation. However, when the disadvantages of consuming alcohol are weighed against the advantages, the disadvantages are more. Effects of alcohol include liver illnesses and conditions. This is because liver is the primary organ involved in detoxification of alcohol. Conditions include liver cirrhosis and an increased risk for liver cancer. It also affects the brain and nervous system causing impaired judgements and uncoordinated movements. Once consumed and reaches the blood stream, the it is taken to the liver for detoxification. If more than the liver can handle, the excess continues with circulation reaching the brain and other organs. It stimulates the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter (dopamine) which leads to euphoria. As circulation continues, the liver detoxifies the alcohol and the person becomes sober again. With time, the brain is conditioned to expect alcohol for feeling good and addiction results. Tolerance also occurs. When compared with marijuana with alcohol, I believe alcohol would be less damaging to an individual’s wellbeing. This is because alcohol use is not likely to lead to permanent changes in a short time (especially moderate consumption) and rehabilitation is easier for alcohol (Zucker, 2015). Marijuana seems to be the most damaging as it may lead to permanent memory loss and severe mental disorders.
Conclusion
I believe that the category of drugs that is most dangerous to the health and well being of an individual is the hallucinogens. The reason for this that hallucinogens make people have false perception of their environment. While other categories also have some detrimental effects, it seems a very bad thing not to be able to perceive the environment in which you live. For instance, hallucinogens could make an individual perceive a housefly as a very large ‘animal’. The false perception and effects on memory deteriorates the quality of life.
References
Compton, R. P., & Berning, A. (2015). Drug and alcohol crash risk. Journal of Drug Addiction, Education, and Eradication, 11(1), 29.
Edlund, M. J., Forman-Hoffman, V. L., Winder, C. R., Heller, D. C., Kroutil, L. A., Lipari, R. N., & Colpe, L. J. (2015). Opioid abuse and depression in adolescents: results from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Drug and alcohol dependence, 152, 131-138.
Hoffner, C. A., & Cohen, E. L. (2018). Mental health-related outcomes of Robin Williams’ death: the role of Para social relations and media exposure in stigma, help-seeking, and outreach. Health communication, 33(12), 1573-1582.
Rudd, R. A., Aleshire, N., Zibbell, J. E., & Gladden, R. M. (2016). Increases in drug and opioid overdose deaths—United States, 2000–2014. American Journal of Transplantation, 16(4), 1323-1327.
Seth, P., Scholl, L., Rudd, R. A., & Bacon, S. (2018). Increases and Geographic Variations in Overdose Deaths Involving Opioids, Cocaine, and Psychostimulants with Abuse Potential–United States, 2015-2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub, 29.
Zucker, R. A. (2015). Alcohol use and the alcohol use disorders: A developmental?biopsychosocial systems formulation covering the life course. Developmental psychopathology: Volume three: Risk, disorder, and adaptation, 620-656.
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