Essay on Drug Use - 624 Words

Drug 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 called its action and unwanted effects are called side effects. The side effects of a psychoactive drug can range from uncomfortable to life threatening. Abuse of a psychoactive drug often results in dependence or addiction where the†¦show more content†¦Social factors are peer pressure. Your friends urge you to try a drug and you do it to be â€Å"accepted†. Another factor is personal factors. These are stress, low self-esteem and lack of confidence that can place a teen at risk. Drugs are categorized into their actions. The 3 main types of actions are depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens. Depressants slow down the heart rate and breathing rate, lower blood pressure, relax muscles, and relieve tension. An example of a depressant would be heroin. Stimulants speed up body activity. And example of a stimulant is cocaine. Hallucinogens alter perception, thought, and mood and have no medical use. An example of a hallucinogen is LSD. Some drugs are made to look like other drugs and then sold on the street as the drug they resemble. These are called look-alike-drugs and can contain any kind of substance. Before a drug abuser can be helped they must first admit that they have a problem. Then they can seek treatment. There are different ways to treat drug abuse one is called detoxification. This program involves gradual but complete withdrawal from the substance. Another treatment method is called therapeutic communities. 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