Psychoactive Drugs and Poisons
Created by:
Nate McMichael
Philosophy and Mass Communications
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Psychoactive Drugs and Poisons |
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Cocaine Opiates
Mushroom Heroin
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Most of us are aware that drugs affect our society, but many may be surprised to see just how much they do so. It is easy for you to see the news reports about "the war on drugs" and to hear about drug dealers killing each other, but these are only a few of the surface level problems associated with drugs. There is much more to it than meets the eye.
Drugs effect our culture more than many people can (or maybe want to) realize. Just think about how many drug references you see on TV, or how many you hear in music everyday. Throughout history wars have been fought over drugs (i.e. the opium wars), and people's opinions have changed time and again about them. At one time, marijuana was legal in the United States, but now, as you all know, it is no longer legal. However, I would bet that a majority of the people reading these words have smoked marijuana, or at least have a close friend that has. If the drug is illegal and supposedly harmful, why then are so many people comfortable using, or or at least being around people who use, the drug? Is the fact that children are using drugs at younger and younger ages proof that we are loosing the war on drugs? These and other issues and controversies will be looked in this web site.
What is a Psychoactive Drug?
"Psychoactive drugs, also known as 'psychedelic' drugs, are drugs that change the way a person perceives the world. Hallucinogens markedly affect all the senses and cause hallucinations, and thus are the primary psychoactive drugs - seeing or hearing things that do not exist or are distorted. A person's thinking, sense of time and emotions can also be altered." (http://www.psychoactivedrugs.co.uk/)
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There are many drugs that are considered Psychoactive. You may be surprised to see some of these drugs on this list, others obviously belong. The following are some of the more popular psychoactive drugs. ● Marijuana
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Marijuana is often thought of as a recreational
drug. Many who use the drug do not think that it should be illegal. Many claim
that marijuana is not addictive, while others claim that it is. Research however
does show that there can be a psychological dependency to the drug. "Long-term
regular users of marijuana may become psychologically dependent. They may have a
hard time limiting their use, they may need more of the drug to get the same
effect, and they may develop problems with their jobs and personal
relationships. The drug can become the most important aspect of their lives." (National
Institute on Drug Abuse, 1984) Others
argue that since there is no physical addiction to the drug, then it is not
addictive. There is no argument that the drug is not as addictive as other drugs
on this page, whether or not it should be conceded addictive at all is up in the
air. Some scientist say that it is, while others claim that it is not. What do
you think?
It seems that people have strong opinions about this drug.
Their are enough people who support is legalization to start the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). While on the other hand,
it has been called the "assassin of youth" and people have gone before congress
and said such things as, "If the hideous monster Frankenstein came face to face
with the monster Marihuana, he would drop dead of fright." (Drug Control in
the Americas)
We can see these differences everyday in our society. We have
commercials on TV that tell us Marijuana will make us run over school girls or
shoot our best friends. On the other hand we have movies like How High TV
shows like That 70's Show where marijuana is promoted.
| Effects of
Marijuana Short Term Effects: The short-term effects of marijuana include:
These effects are even greater when other drugs are mixed with the marijuana; and users do not always know what drugs are given to them. When you buy marijuana off the street, there is a risk that it may be laced with another drug. (http://www.drugabuse.gov) |
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Long Term Effects: Long term marijuana use obviously has effects on the lungs it may cause:
There are also signs that marijuana can
make people "burnt out." A burnt out person has little or no
ambition. When this happens, the person is also has trouble thinking
clearly, even when they are not high. These people have trouble making
plans and following through with them; they become very apathetic.
However, this does not happen with all people who use marijuana regularly. |
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Marijuana Controversies
Cocaine/Crack
Cocaine is a white powder
that is most commonly snorted up the nose. It can be made into a rock form
called Crack. "Cocaine users most often inhale the powder
sharply through the nose, where it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. But
it also can be heated into a liquid and its fumes inhaled through a pipe in a
method called "freebasing". Freebasing is also a common method of using a form
of cocaine called "crack". Crack resembles small pieces of rock and is often
called "rock" on the street. Freebasing is an especially dangerous means of
abusing cocaine because of the high concentrations of cocaine it introduces into
the bloodstream. These high doses can overtax the cardiovascular system. Reports
of sudden death while freebasing are not uncommon."
(http://www.well.com/user/woa/fscoke.htm)
Crack is often thought of as a harder type of cocaine, but
both drugs are dangerous. Crack is cheaper than coke, making it easier for
addicts to purchase. Cocaine is often thought of as a "rich man's drug" and was
almost considered fashionable in the 1980's, while crack has always seemed to be
thought of as a drug for lower class drug addicts.
Short Term Effects of Cocaine/Crack:
Long Term Effects of Cocaine/Crack:
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Heroine is an opiate. Opiates have been around for about 6,000 years. Studies show that it was use in about 4000 b.c. in Sumeria and in about 3500 b.c. in Egypt. Other popular opiates are; morphine and opium. Heroine is perhaps the most culturally significant illegal opiate right now, while it should be noted that opium was at one time a more popular drug.
Heroin abuse is perhaps the most hideous addiction of all. It can quickly destroy the addicted person's health and finances as well as dramatically impact those people around them. (www.addict-help.com) People often become addicted to heroine quickly. Once addiction sets in, it is very hard to break. Withdrawal symptoms are violent and can lead to death.
Short Term Effects:
Long Term Effects:
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LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is one of
the major drugs making up the hallucinogen class. LSD was discovered in 1938 and
is one of the most potent mood-changing chemicals. It is manufactured from
lysergic acid, which is found in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and other
grains. LSD, commonly referred to as "acid," is sold on the street in tablets,
capsules, and, occasionally, liquid form. It is odorless, colorless, and has a
slightly bitter taste and is usually taken by mouth. Often LSD is added to
absorbent paper, such as blotter paper, and divided into small decorated
squares, with each square representing one dose. (http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/lsd.html)
LSD was a major factor in the psychedelic movement of the
60's. These people believed that this drug would help them achieve a greater
consciousness. There is no doubt that the drug can change the way that you see
the world, but can anything be learned from altering your consciousness?
Short Term Effects:
Long Term Effects:
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It is hard to predict just how LSD will effect people. It effects different people differently depending on their mental stability, who they're with, where they are and many other factors. The following are two stories about different people who took LSD. One account is a good experiance, the other is bad.
A Good Trip
"I was a freshman in High School in 1992. I
was taking all the 'smart' classes, and advanced geometry was by far the
hardest. I'm not real great in math anyway, so how I ended up in that class is
way beyond me.
Exam time was coming up and of course I had to take it. I
never studied for any test and even though I knew I would fail it, I was not
about to study for geometry. I got to school the next morning and ran into this
guy I knew. I was telling him how bad I was dreading this test, and he told me
that he had something that would change my whole vision on shapes and numbers
and graphs. I took two and a half hits of acid.
This was my very first acid trip. I had to go to homeroom
before the exam, so by the time I got to math class, I was tripping pretty hard.
I'm not sure if I hid it very well or not, but I swear I do not remember taking
the exam. I do not recall anything until I was picked up by my dad later. I was
still tripping and starting to see bubbles everywhere (it was cool), but at
least I remember that.
I got my grade for the exam two days later. Knowing I had
completely flunked, I prepared myself for the worst. The teacher announced that
one score was the best in the whole school and guess who it was? Me! I Scored a
98! I'm not sure how I did that but I was so excited. Maybe research should be
done on the positive effects acid has on things people don't know. Like
geometry."
April Avery, (Psychedelic Trips for the Mind)
A Bad Trip
"A square, a square inch of paper, dipped
into a mixture of rat poison and anything else a fucked-up acid manufacture
wants to throw in. Me, a well educated high school student knowing well that if
I placed this piece of paper in my mouth, it would either be the most tremendous
explosion of brain-cell-flying psychedelic visions, not unlike those of the
prophets of Israel in the desert of Sinai (false prophets, that is), or a
suicidal death bringing paranoia. There I sat on my bed staring at the members
of Devo Dance, an electronic jigaloo on MTV. What kind of freak makes these
videos anyway?
I leaned back against my stuffed Bob Dobbs that I made in 7th
grade. I looked at him, his handsome face, his eloquent pipe. Who really was
this guy anyway? I own every book that I can find on Bob and the Church of the
SubGenius. I've paid my dues. I've passed on well-watered-down but informative,
unexplainable explanation to fellow conspiracy haters, and now I still only have
a small inkling as to the personality of my superdupersavior.
Maybe that's the attraction, you don't know this guy, he's
your savior, you like him, you do believe what he says, but you don't really
know who he is and you want to. But I guess it he was giving out his address to
everyone, people would be busting down his door and kissing ass. And I don't
like ass-kissing. I'd rather just share a brew with him or shoot him, something
like that.
I glanced at the acid in my palm and dropped it it my mouth.
I felt it dissolve on my tongue. It is better to regret something that you have
done than to regret something you haven't done. I lay there for 40 minutes,
wondering what it would be like, if I'd loose my shit and scrape my eyeballs out
with a toothbrush or not.
It came on slow at first. Lights seemed to dim and I felt
kinda funky. Then Boom! I was screwed. My body cave in and became a puddle of
flesh on my bed. I grinned a perma-smile and thought, this is nice. I put on
some tunes, quiet and hands shaking, the volume knob was on 1, but the music
pounded away in my head.
The Velvet Underground, slammin away on the guitar, Lou Reed,
singin' in his usual dire tone. I knew every word, pulled out my air
Stratocaster and jammed with Lou and the band. I was there on stage, people
cherrin', I was dancin' all over the place. All right, these shenanigans lasted
for three hours and when I was done, let me tell you, I was plum tuckered out, 2
o'clock in the morning, time to crash and crash hard.
I curled up in my warm comforter and closed my eyes, why
can't I sleep? I flipped and flopped . What if I trip forever? Never comedown.
What if my parents find out? Fuck my parents. That's kind of trivial compared to
spending an eternal existence of strange paranoid delusions. The minutes that I
awaited slumber seemed like hours, I ran to the bathroom. My face looked all wet
and distorted in the mirror.
Down the stairs into the hallway of my parents' room, the
pictures on the wall were talking: 'You're gonna burn, die, die, die-Bob
can't help, you know, you asshloe!' Tears dripped from my eyes. I slipped into
my parents bed. I grabbed my dad's back in fear. He shrugged me off and said, "I
don't care if you're wiggin' out, I gotta go to work tomorrow." The pictures
were right, I'm gonna die.
I went up the stairs to my room, When would it end? Patterns
and patterns flew over my head. I turned on the TV. It was Dave Letterman, my
late night friend. Make me laugh, Dave. Please be a show on how to relax on
scary LSD trips. No such luck.
"Tonight's guest is Gene Shanagelman, horror effects
specialist."
"Hello Dave," Gene said.
"So, Gene, what are you gonna do for us first?"
Well, I thought I'd show you the exploding head of Arnold
Palmer from The Night of The Bleeding Head."
I don't need this. I turned off the tube and leaned back.
Goodbye cruel world, I'm leaving you today, goodbye, goodbye. I reached for
anything sharp to slit my wrists. Darkness engulfed me. Fear reached its
ultimate intensity, and that's when I smelled it, an aroma, I've smelled it
before in my dreams, not marijuana, not tobacco, something strange. A thin pipe
parted my lips, its flavor perked my senses, a euphoric feeling came over me. My
vision blurred, but a face smiled warmly at me, something gripped between my
teeth, its strong hand on my shoulder.
"Bob is that you?"
Sshhh, go to sleep now. I hope you've learned your lesson, my
friend. Slack be with you!" My eyes became heavy. I heard a loud thud- "Ow,
shit!"- and he disappeared in to the void of my room.
Goodnight, Bob."
With that I drifted into a happy slumber. I awoke the next
morning sore all over. Was it all a drugged out hallucination, or did I really
smoke a bowl with Bob? I never dropped acid again. I recommend a much better
drug, that will get you just as high. Get addicted to Bob. It's the greatest
thing you'll ever try.
Stephen Naron (Psychedelic Trips for the Mind)
| Peyote Peyote is a cactus found in the south western United States. It is a highly psychedelic drug and has been used in Native American religious ceremonies for hundreds of years. Ever since the arrival of the first Europeans in the New World, Peyote has provoked controversy, suppression, and persecution. Condemned by the Spanish conquerors for its "satanic trickery", and attacked more recently by local governments and religious groups, the plant has nevertheless continued to play a major sacramental role among the Indians of Mexico, while its use has spread to the North American tribes in the last hundred years. The persistence and growth of the Peyote cult constitute a fascinating chapter in the history of the New World - and a challenge to the anthropologists and psychologists, botanists and pharmacologists who continue to study the plant and its constituents in connection with human affairs. (Plants of the Gods - Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers) Peyote is not a very popular street drug. It is, however, more powerful than LSD, and people do use it. Like LSD, it is not known to be an addictive drug.
PCP (Phencyclidine)
Magic
Mushrooms (psilocybe) |
PEYOTE
PCP
Magic Mushroom
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There are a variety of theories as to why people feel the need to use illegal drugs. There are only theories, no one knows exactly why people use them. I will discuss two main categories: Biological Theory and Psychological Theory.
Some of the Biological Theories
"Biological theories are those that postulate innate, constitutional physical mechanisms in specific individuals that impel them either to experiment with drugs or to abuse them once they are exposed to them." (Drugs in American Society)
Some of the Psychological Theories
The psychological theories can be broken down into two main categories: those theories that drugs are a mechanism of reinforcement and those that say that a person's personality is responsible for their drug use. Reinforcement theories hold that people get either positive or negative reinforcement by using drugs. The personality theories hold that types of personalities impel people to use drugs.
Drug Control
In 2002, the United States spent $11,485,000,000 dollars on drug control. This is a lot of money! What was it spent on?
Where do the Drugs in the U.S. come from?
You can see the major drug exporters of the
world. Below is a list of these countries and what they export.
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Drugs in Third World Countries
| Drugs and Politics: The golden
rule is that "He who has the gold makes makes the rules." This is no
exception in third world countries. Often times drug lords and militant
organizations rum tyrannical rule over the land with little or no regard for
human rights. "According
to Human Rights Watch, 35,000 people have been killed and most of them were
poor civilians accused by the Colombian Army or right-wing paramilitaries of
collaborating with left-wing guerrillas. Last Sunday 60 armed men entered a
poor neighborhood in the town of Cienaga and dragged 10 residents from their
homes to an isolated part of town where they were questioned, then
executed." (From
Colombia to Columbia, The 'War on Drugs' Is A War On Poor and Black People.) Atrocities such as these are not rare in many of the drug producing nations around the world. When Americans buy drugs that come from here, they are unknowingly supporting such actions. Many of these militant groups are anti-American and can turn into terrorist groups. Consider this, we have seen that Afghanistan is a drug producing country. You may remember seeing commercials on TV just after September 11 saying that buying drugs supports terrorism. Is that a coincidence? |
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What do drugs cost society?
We have already seen seen that drugs cost us $11,485,000,000 in drug control spending last year, but what else have they cost our society. Think about how many famous people have ruined their lives or have died from drugs. Remember Darryl Strawberry? He has a chance to be one of the best baseball players of all time, but he ruined that chance with drugs.
Darryl went from this,
To this
Other famous people effected by drugs:
| Matt Perry | Rehab |
| Jimmy Hendrix | Dead |
| Janis Joplin | Dead |
| Steven Tyler | Rehab |
| Chris Farley | Dead |
| Eric Clapton | Rehab |
| Curt Cobain | Suicide (Drug Related) |
| Jim Morrison | Dead |
| Richard Pryor | Rehab |
| John Belushi | Dead |
As you can see, drugs take their toll on our celebrities. However, these are not the only people effected by drugs. Everyday people are effected just as much. Drugs put an incredible strain on the families of users. Just think about how better the our society would be if we didn't have these extra strains. While people may argue that drugs should be legalized, I doubt many people would argue that children should be ignored and beaten by drug abusing parents. Everyone in a family suffers when a member of the family becomes a drug addict.
Works Cited
http://www.drugabuse.gov Government Website 10-16-03
Drug Control In The Americas, William o. Walker. University of New Mexico Press 1981
War on Drugs: Opposing Viewpoints Bernards, Neil. Greenhaven Press, 1990
http://www.well.com/user/woa/fscoke.htm
Missouri Department of Mental Health
Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/lsd.html National Institute on Drug Abuse LSD Page. 6-23-03
www.addict-help.com Addiction Resource Center
Psychedelic Trips for the Mind,
Plants of the Gods - Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers. Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hoffman. Healing Arts Press (Vermont) 1992
http://www.streetdrugs.org/pcp.htm Partners in Training and education
http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/pcp.html National Institute on Drug Abuse PCP Page. 9-25-03
Drugs in American Society, Erich Goode. Alfred A. Knopf Inc. 1989
The President's National Drug Control Strategy (2003)
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/international/index.html, Organization of National Drug Control Policy, 10-3-03
From Colombia to Columbia, The 'War on Drugs' Is A War On Poor and Black People. Tom Turnipseed, http://www.commondreams.org/views/083100-103.htm Published on Thursday, August 31, 2000
http://www.soveriegn.freeservers.com/drugs.htm
Famous Drug Users
