Introduction
Drug addiction, also referred to as substance use, is a disorder that disturbs an individual’s brain and conduct, leaving them unable to control the use of legal and illegal drugs or medicines, including alcohol, bhang, and nicotine. Once addicted, they may continue using the substance regardless of the harm it causes. Drug addiction, especially with opioids, starts when one takes prescribed medicine for others who have prescriptions. The jeopardy of substance addiction and how easily one gets addicted differ from drug to drug. This paper looks into the facts around the addition of Opioids, Cocaine, and Hallucinogens.
Description of Opioids, Cocaine, and Hallucinogens Substances
Hallucinogens
Wang and Hoyte (2018) term hallucinogens as a drug class that produces psychological effects associated with such phenomena as dreams, religious exaltation, or mental disorders such as schizophrenia. These drugs alter an individual’s perception, thoughts, and feelings and are classified, i.e., as classic hallucinogens such as LSD and dissociative drugs like PCP. These two types can result in hallucinations or sensations of pictures that appear real, although they are not.
Further, dissociative drugs may make users feel disconnected from their surroundings and body. Common classic hallucinogens include LSD, which is a powerful mind-changing chemical. It is a white, transparent, odorless material significantly manufactured from lysergic acid, found in a fungus that grows on rye. A significant example of dissociative drugs includes Phencyclidine (PCP), developed in the 1950s as an anesthetic for surgeries. Still, it is no longer used for that purpose because of its side effects.
Opioid
On the other hand, opioids are medications that mimic the effects of morphine by acting on opioid receptors. In medical settings, the drugs are used with an anesthetic to treat pain. Additionally, it can stop coughing, treat opioid use disorder, treat diarrhea, and reverse an opioid overdose.
Medical practitioners prescribe opioids to persons with severe pain, such as dental surgery, cancer, and sports injuries. If individuals follow their doctor’s prescription and instructions carefully, opioids can help relieve pain. Augmented prescription of opioid drugs has led to widespread misuse of the drug, causing addiction in some individuals who misuse it.
Moreover, opioid medicines have an impact on a person’s body and brain’s neurons, instructing the brain to block pain, and the medication gives one a happy, relaxed feeling. Examples of opioid pills include “OxyContin, Percocet, and Vicodin”. Sometimes people refer to opioid medicines as happy pills and Hillbilly Heroin, among others.
Heroin is an illicit opioid that people use to get high, which is mainly administered with a needle. It is white or brown, so some people may call it brown sugar. The opioid drug, when misused, can lead to dire consequences and even death. Wang and Hoyte (2018) reported that more than 42000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016in the United States alone. This fact makes you a considerable cause of death affecting life expectancy in the US.
Cocaine
Cocaine is a potent, addictive stimulant made from the leaves of the South American coca plant. It is a highly addictive chemical that has an impact on one’s well-being and health. Snow, coke, and rock are a few alternative names for cocaine.
The drug is sniffed while other users rub it on the gum or dilute it in water and inject it using a needle. Once one takes the drug, it sends significant levels of dopamine, an ordinary chemical messenger in the body, to other brain parts that control pleasure. This buildup creates intense energy and alertness, mostly regarded as ‘high’. Effects of cocaine include high sensitivity to touch and sound, extreme happiness, and irritability (Wang & Hoyte, 2018). Other users may develop serious effects like convulsions, headaches, and loss of smell.
Levels of Addictiveness
Opioids are considered the most addictive substances of all the harmful substances. Wang and Hoyte (2018) contend that 70% of yearly overdoses are attributed to opioids as they target the brain’s reward systems. Opioids like heroin, fentanyl, and certain prescription medications have a high potential for abuse and addiction. These medications cause the brain to release an excessive quantity of dopamine. People who abuse opioids seek out the euphoric feeling that is produced by high dopamine levels.
Definition and Description of Physical Addiction, Tolerance, and Withdrawal
Physical addiction occurs when an individual takes a drug substance over time, and uninviting physical signs arise, especially if the drug is stopped or taken in small amounts. Physical dependency happens when one’s body adapts to a drug over time. This results in tolerance and withdrawal if one suddenly stops utilizing the drug.
Drug tolerance, on the other hand, occurs when one abuses a drug for a long time, and their body gets used to it, which means the drug will stop having much effect. For example, when alcohol is consumed for long periods, more significant amounts must be taken to produce the same effect. Conversely, withdrawal is referred to as detoxification and occurs when one quits or stops consuming alcohol or drug substances. One can develop a physical or psychological dependence on a drug. Symptoms in withdrawal stages can be mild to severe, depending on the period one takes the drug.
Conclusion
Drug addiction has been a big challenge for young and middle-aged people. Many young people have experienced addiction and other negative consequences to their health and well-being as a result of failing to follow a doctor’s prescription. One of the problems that can result from longer-term drug usage is physical dependence, which can be challenging to overcome. To prevent unwanted addiction, people should only use medications as prescribed.
Reference
Wang, G. S., & Hoyte, C. (2018). Common substances of abuse. Pediatrics In Review, 39(8), 403-414.