Don't do that its illegal, that's all I seem to here these days, its so boring around here I wish I had some weed here to toke on. Good morning teachers and students today I will be informing you about adolescents and the reasons why they decide to start using drugs. .
These days adolescents who use drugs, including alcohol, do so because they like the feeling of what the drugs do to their brain. All drugs of abuse, from alcohol to nicotine to heroin, cause a series of temporary changes in the brain that produces the "high." .
The pleasure of a kiss, a bowl of your favourite ice cream, and a compliment may all be related to a rise in dopamine levels in the normal person's brain. Drugs of abuse also boost dopamine levels. When a person takes a hit of crack cocaine -- or a drag on a cigarette -- the drugs cause a spike in dopamine levels in the brain, and a rush of euphoria, or pleasure. While it's not the only chemical involved in drug abuse, experts have come to believe that dopamine is the crucial one. .
In 2001 a study was led by researcher Dr. Nora Volkow of the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY, Dr. Volkow found a significant relationship between the intensity and duration of the rush of dopamine levels associated with marijuana and the degree to which the drug blocks one of the key mechanisms that control the amount of dopamine in the brain. Previous animal studies have shown that cocaine occupies or blocks dopamine, and it prevents dopamine from returning, as it normally would, to the brain cells that release it. This allows high concentrations of dopamine to remain available in the brain longer than normal, which is believed to cause the high associated with cocaine use. Elevated dopamine levels make a person feel invincible. "You get a sense of power, a sense of being able to do things, an immediate feeling of pleasure associated with moving and getting going and being unusually capable.
