SOS 304 Drugs & Society Q3.1 The major causes for concern regarding cocaine use stems from the dependency that occurs as well as the damaging effect it can have on human health. Although cocaine was initially used for medicinal purposes, with its leaves being cultivated to produce paste, teas, and wines, those uses have long disappeared. Individuals who use cocaine on a regular basis are at risk for respiratory or cardiac issues, and mixing the drug with other drugs and alcohol can damage health and lead to fatalities. Drug users often have healthcare issues and require treatment for more than one ailment, even though they can be less than forthcoming when it comes to medical treatment and advice. Amphetamines are used to treat a variety of medical issues but like cocaine, illicit drug use in the 60s caused the federal government to become concerned about dependency and illegal activities.
Lesher says, “Addiction is a brain disease expressed in the form of compulsive behavior.” As with most chronic diseases, addiction should also be treated with multiple recurring treatments since the brain chemistry of addicts often causes them to relapse into drug use. Lesher makes his case that addiction is a brain disease by stating that addicts cannot quit taking drugs on their own because they require medical treatment like most ill patients. The authors final opinion on addiction is that initial drug use is present due to the voluntary behavior of the addict and while it does not absolve the user of their responsibility as it was their fault, once they have developed an addiction, their brain has chemically changed so much that they can not will themselves to quit and must be treated as though they have a medical disease. NO: Alva Noe states that addiction is not a disease of the brain. First, he points that not all addictions are chemical substances and there are many activities that can be addictive to people.
* Depressants slow down the central nervous system and can reduce anxiety or emotional distress., examples include cannabis and barbiturates. * Opiates provide pain relief, induce euphoria, sedation and can lead to coma, examples include heroin, opium, methadone and morphine. * Hallucinogens induce an altered state of consciousness and effect perception of reality, examples include LSD and mushrooms. Prescription drugs containing opoids, benzodiazipines (which are depressants of the central nervous system) or stimulants can be misused when taken for reasons other than those they were prescribed for. Prescription drugs can cause sedation, altered state of consciousness, depressed respiration and changes in blood pressure.
“People with Generalized Anxiety Disorder report that the anxiety that they experience cause substantial interference with their lives and they need a significant dosage of medications to control their symptoms.” (Gerow and Chatmon 2013, p. 258). To try and help Mr. Hudson with his disorder I’m going to try two methods of treatment. The first method would be a psychoactive drug therapy. I will have him try an antianxiety drug called Equanil, a muscle relaxant for his extreme muscle tension. According to Gerow and Chatmon, “When muscular tension is reduced, a person usually reports feeling calm and at ease” (p. 281).
Leshner states, “As with many other brain diseases, addiction has embedded behavioral and social-context aspects that are important parts of the disorder itself” (Leshner). Recognizing addiction as a mental illness can help reduce the health and social costs that are directly related to treating addiction. Research has exposed that drug abuse is a severe health issue, as well as a social issue. Addicts become so obsessed with consuming the substance it causes their immune systems to shut down and causes the addict to be incapable of functioning properly in a social setting. Addiction has severe negative consequences affecting the addict’s mental and physical well being.
From neuroscience perspective, cocaine, Xanax, and marijuana that are identified in Houston’s body attribute to imbalance of neurotransmitters, causing depression, which results in Whitney Houston’s committed suicide. To begin with, cocaine is a stimulant that can produce a rush of euphoria and lead to lack of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. To understand how the imbalance comes, we should consider how neurotransmitters work in the brain. There is a junction called synapse between the axon and the dendrite, and neurotransmitters enable neural information to across the synapse to achieve neural communication. After the neurotransmitters stimulate the receptors on the receiving neuron, excess chemicals are taking back up into the sending neuron to be used again (lecture).
Methamphetamine, like other drugs, is able to short-circuit the survival system by artificially stimulating pleasure areas in your brain. As this happens, it leads to increase confidence in meth, and less confidence in normal life routines. Usually when this occurs the addict will be more interested in meth related activities, meth related people, and meth related environments. Withdrawals of Meth Use: Fact or Fiction? Much to contrary belief meth users do suffer from withdraws as well as any other drug addict would.
As a result, dopamine binds again and again to the receptors overstimulation the cell. Like other drugs, cocaine concentrates in the reward pathway. However, it is also the reward pathway. However, it is also active in the part of the brain controlling voluntary movements. This is why cocaine abusers are fidgety and unable to be
As with most illegal drugs, heroin use has both short-term and long-term effects. Whether injected, snorted or smoked, heroin will begin to affect the body's central nervous system almost immediately after it is used. Short-Term Effects Shortly after using, a feeling of euphoria will come over users, in which they have a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth and the feeling of having "heavy" arms and legs. After the initial rush, users will go into an alternately wakeful and drowsy state sometimes called "on the nod." Because heroin suppresses the central nervous system, the user experiences "cloudy" mental function.
This group of drugs includes cocaine, methamphetamine, as well s nicotine. Though amphetamine does have some positive effects, including, a stimulation of cognitive activity and control of impulses, the greater effects are much ore detrimental. Due to is relative simplicity of manufacturing and overwhelming abundance; methamphetamine use is a plague on America. I personally have seen people deteriorate before my eyes due to methamphetamine use. Cocaine is another stimulant that often leads to dependence in users.