Drugs: How Danagerous Is It? Essay, Research Paper

Drugs: How Danagerous Is It?

Drugs have infiltrated our cities, our towns and our lives. Though a small

percentage of people use drugs, they do attempt to spread their plague among

others. But, how dangerous are these mind suppressors? Do they kill like the

statistics show, or is it a coverup to stop people from having a good time?

Even in Franklin County, there are drugs. How bad is the problem? It is worse

then most people think, but what can we do about it? Can we do anything about

it?

Marijuana is the drug of choice among most addicts. It is provided cheap

and is easily available. Overdosing it on this drug is not possible, or at

least dying of an overdose, thus making it seem safe. The high is described as

a rush of calmness and relaxation. People under the influence feel relaxed and

as if their problems are gone. The most common method of doing this drug is

smoking it. The leafy plant is dried and smoked in a joint, or a rolled

cigarette with a paper mouth piece. It can also be smoked in a bong, or pipe.

Another method is eating the leaves of the plant. They must be cooked in some

sort of fat. Marijuana is fat soluble, and for the reason, must be cooked in

butter, lard, milk, or other substance. A new method is being tested. It

includes “baking” the marijuana under a flame without burning it. It is nearly

the same as smoking it, but there is no smoke, which may limit the chance of

lung cancer. Yet is this drug safe? No. The short term effects, besides the

calmness are the following: temporary memory loss, rapid heart beat, and

dizziness. The long term effects include the following: Lung cancer, heart

problems, and immune system disorders. The equivalent of one joint is four

cigarettes, or ten seconds of car exhaust. No one sees the dangers of this drug,

and they usually do not care about them, making it even more dangerous.

LSD, or acid, is a synthetic drug that was originally found on the skin of

a mushroom. This is considered a psychedelic drug. It is very cheap, usually

$4 – $5 a trip. A trip usually consists of 500-600 “mics” of acid. It can be

made from morning glory, wood petroleum and other chemicals. The high is very

interesting. It is described as non-real. It brings reality and imagination

together in a utopia of relaxation. This may sound good, but people tripping on

acid do not realized what they are doing and could jump out of buildings or

moving cars and think they will live. LSD is usually taken by licking a piece

of paper with a drop of the acid on it. Another method is by dropping a small

drop of the liquid acid under the tongue. The short term effects include the

high, but also include a rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, and memory loss.

Long term effects include relapses of the high, days, weeks, or years after last

using the drug. Brain damage also occurs, for LSD is a mind-altering drug. The

high of this is so wonderful to people, that they do not realize what could

happen to them in the future. It is possible to overdose on this drug, but

deaths are usually nonexistent.

Heroin is a very dangerous drug. It is an opiate drug, acquired from the

poppy plant. Opium was first discovered in the 1800’s and people became

addicted in the 1860’s. About 95% of the people then, were addicted to it. Now,

heroin takes its place. The high is described as relaxing, like the rest of the

previous drugs. People who first use it, sometimes fall asleep while high.

Heroin is usually done by needle injection. It can be smoke, however. It is

prepared by heating it on a spoon and placing the liquid in a needle for

injecting. Heroin is usually not very pure. This can make in incredibly

dangerous because if one is used to the non-pure heroin and then gets purer

heroin, he or she can easily overdose, killing them. Also, because this is

injected by a needle, heroin can pass diseases, including AIDS. Short term

effects include the following: quick addiction, quick tolerance, depression,

and blurred vision. Long term effects include the following: depression, vein

disorders. The fact that you can die of an overdose makes heroin very dangerous.

People who use marijuana and want something better, try heroin once or twice

and are addicted.

Cocaine is a drug made from the leaves of the coca plant. Cocaine is the

same kind of drug as morphine and nicotine, thus the “-ine” endings. These

drugs are extemely addictive. Cocaine is found in the form of a white powder.

It is sometimes mixed with other substances such as cornstarch or sugar. It is

expensive, but because of the addiction, people do anything to get it. This has

made another problem, drug violence. People kill people for cocaine or cocaine

money. The drug was originally injected. One of the affects was bulging of the

veins in the nose. This led to the discovery of sniffing, or snorting cocaine.

It can also be smoke, if it is prepared in a certain way. The high is described

as mind racing. It makes you feel as if everything is moving very fast. People

often cannot talk correctly and are very spastic. They often do stupid things.

Short term effects include the following: very rapid heart rate and high blood

pressure, confusion, violence, difficultly in talking and other thing. Long

term effects include, heart problems, liver problems, brain damage, stuttering,

and the destruction of the separation between the nostrils. You can overdose on

the drug and die. People use this drug because they are addicted. This drug is

by far the most dangerous of the popular drugs. They often link it to violence

and gangs.

The drug problem in Franklin County isn’t as large as in cities, but is

existent. People use drugs, mainly because of peer pressure. Most people would

not agree with this, but it is true. Ignorance is a major player in the drug

problem. People don’t realize HOW dangerous it is. If all people understood

the information in this report, the problem could go decrease. It was stated

that if marijuana was legalized, the drug problem would cease. This does have

some truth to it, but most people say that marijuana leads to other drugs, but

studies show that approximately 5% of people who try marijuana try other drugs.

Marijuana does not lead to other drugs. However, this does not nullify the fact

that marijuana kills people. It does it with the same potency of cigarettes.

This is due to the fact that people do not smoke 40 joints a day, like some

cigarette smokers, they smoke about two joints a week. But, there is not excuse

for other “hard drugs” like LSD, heroin and cocaine. People need to learn what

they are doing to themselves; that is the key to solving the drug problem.