It affects almost every country, although its extent differs from place to place. Drug abuse is all over different places in the world. A greater amount of young people have started to abuse drugs over the last few decades.
In the past, most drugs were made from plants, such as opium poppies for heroin, coca bush for cocaine, and cannabis for hashish or marijuana. Now drugs are being produced with various chemicals such as Ecstasy or LSD. Drugs of abuse fall into three categories: depressants like heroin, stimulants like cocaine, and crack, and hallucinogens like marijuana, Ecstasy, and LSD. .
A psychoactive substance is any substance that people take to change either the way they feel, think, or behave. People have taken psychoactive drugs for religious and recreational purposes for hundreds of years. However, due to advances in the field of chemistry and pharmacology, stronger and highly addictive substances such as cocaine and heroin were created. Also, syringes enabled people to inject these drugs, making their effects more powerful and the risk of addiction more serious. .
Drugs can be harmful in many ways, both through immediate effects and through damage to health over time. Even occasional use of marijuana affects cognitive development and short-term memory. Also, the effects of marijuana on perception, reaction and coordination of movements can result in accidents.
Hallucinogens like LSD distort perceptions, alter heart rate and blood pressure and, in the long term, cause neurological disorders, depressions, anxiety, visual hallucinations and flashbacks.
Cocaine and amphetamines cause tremors, headaches, hypertension and increased heart rate. Long-term effects include nausea, insomnia, loss of weight, convulsions and depression.
Heroin use initially results in nausea, slow respiration, dry skin, itching, slow speech and reflexes. Over a long period of time there is a serious risk of developing physical and psychological dependence, which can result in acute overdose and even death due to respiratory depression.
