Drugs And Psychoactive Drugs - 925 Words

Psychoactive drugs are chemicals that affect the nervous system. When a psychoactive drug is taken it can cause changes in mood, emotions, feelings and thoughts. These drugs can also change how a person perceives things and can alter the consciousness of that person (Plotnik Kouyoumdijian, 2014). Psychoactive drugs can be illicit or licit, illegal or legal. Both licit and illicit psychoactive drugs can cause affect a person. Some examples of licit psychoactive drugs are coffee, alcohol, and tobacco. Cocaine, heroin, and LSD are all examples of illicit psychoactive drugs. In most cases the illicit psychoactive drugs have some more recognizable symptoms. But both illicit and licit drugs cause visible symptoms in the people that use these†¦show more content†¦Even after a addict has stopped using a drug they often relapse and begin using the drug again. Both behavioral and environmental factors play a role in addiction. Some environmental factors that can play a role in addiction are parents, family members, and peers abusing drugs. These environmental factors play a role in a person developing an addiction because they are around it and see it, that is all they know. Genetic factors are inherited. If a parent is an addict the children is likely to be a addict. People w ho have an addiction are likely to build up a tolerance against the drug. Tolerance means a person who uses a drug repeatedly over a period of time, the original dosage of the drug will not give the desired effect, so a higher dosage is needed to get the desired effect (Addiction, 2017). Dependency There are two main types of dependency. The first type of dependency is physiological dependency, this means that the change in the nervous system so that a person now needs to take the drug to prevent the occurrence of painful withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawals are painful physical and psychological symptoms that take place after a person who is dependent on drugs stops using the drug. Withdrawals can cause various side effects that range from uncomfortable pain to fatality. Some of the symptoms of withdrawal are fatigue, anxiety,vomiting, depression,Show MoreRelatedPsychoactive Drugs1914 Words   |  8 PagesPsychoactive Drugs are chemical substances that alter behavior, mood, perception, or mental functioning. Through the consumption of substances many cultures have found ways to alter consciousness. Psychoactive substances apply their effects by transforming biochemical or physiological processes in the brain. The message system of nerve cells, or neurons, relies on both electrical and chemical transmission. Neurons rarely touch each other; there is a microscopic gap between one neuron and the nextRead MorePsychoactive Drugs And Its Effects On Human Consciousness1284 Words   |  6 PagesA 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 10,000Read MorePsychoactive Drugs Can Have On An Individual s Brain1612 Words   |  7 PagesTo fully und erstand the affects that psychoactive drugs can have on an individual’s brain, one has to first define the term, dissect the history and use, know what factors cause addiction, and what leads to drug dependency. What is a psychoactive drug? A psychoactive drug, psycho-pharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that changes brain function and results in alterations in perception, mood, or consciousness (drug, n.d). Typically the term drug alone can be seen or associated withRead MorePsychoactive Drug Addiction2235 Words   |  9 Pagesbut the biology of a person s body is a major factor. These substances, which are called psychoactive drugs, are what people become addicted to and are described as chemicals that affect mental processes and behavior by temporarily changing perception and awareness. There are many different theories about what addiction is and why it happens but none have been proven. When a person uses psychoactive drugs they are releasing chemicals into their brain which causes a disturbance in the way the brainRead MorePsychoactive Drugs : The Single Convention On Narcotic Drugs1587 Words   |  7 PagesSingle Convention on Narcotic Drugs, where it was noted that the problem requires urgent and priority, and in 1984 in the Declaration on the fight against drug trafficking and drug abuse the entire conglomerate of problems, ranging from illicit manufacturing and trafficking to abuse, called shameful and disgusting crime. And it can be called a kind of ostrich policy† (The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961). There are four key groups of psychoactive drugs: stimulants, depressants, opioidsRead MoreInformative Speech : Psychoactive Drugs Essay1603 Words   |  7 PagesThe second article that I felt needed revision to solidify the success of the piece was the brochure that discusses my topic of psychoactive drugs. While creating this topic in brochure form, I enjoyed the task at hand, felt at ease when creating it, so revising it would not necessarily be a burden on my part. The first major revision worth noting is the coherency. Throughout there were some word phrases that either did not flow well, were out of place, or felt too extra to the discussion at handRead MorePsychoactive Drugs And Its Effects On The Uk3996 Words   |  16 PagesBackground Psychoactive drugs can be defined as any chemical substance, whether it be of a synthetic or of an organic nature, used with the purpose of altering an individual’s psychological state of mind, mood or perception (Gossop, 1993, cited in Saggers Gray, 1998). According to Fleckenstein, Hanson Venturelli (2014), drugs are allocated into two categories consisting of illegal and legal. Illegal drugs usually consist of hallucinogenic substances such as marijuana (however, can be used forRead MoreEssay about Psychoactive Drugs and Their Effect on Consciousness989 Words   |  4 Pagesconsciousness. Along with these age old questions, also came the use of psychoactive drugs and other mind altering substances. In order to try to understand these questions, humans have experimented with drugs that alter their state of consciousness. Psychoactive drugs are defined as chemical substances that affect the brain’s functioning, causing changes in behavior, mood and consciousness. There are several different types of psychoactive drugs;, some of these include: stimulants, depressants, and most importantlyRead MoreEssay about Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized680 Words   |  3 PagesMarijuana is a green or brown mix of preserved, crushed leaves from the marijuana plant. A psychoactive drug, marijuana contains fifty-percent more tar than tobacco. Smoking the harmful plant can damage the brain, lungs, and the male reproductive system and may escalate the effects of epilepsy and psychosis (Kahler, 1988). Within campus colleges and universities, there are a lot of students who are using marijuana recreationally. Long-term marijuana use can induce negative effects on short-term memoryRead MoreEssay on Drug Use624 Words   |  3 PagesDrug Use Drug use is part of life in the United States. Some people use drugs for medical purposes and some use them to escape from reality or as a way to cope with problems. There are two main types of drugs, medicines and psychoactive drugs. Medicines are used to help the body fight injury and psychoactive drugs are used to cause a change in the users brain activity. Psychoactive drugs are very dangerous. They produce very powerful changes in the body. What a drug does is