Drug Dependence

Drug Dependence, psychological and sometimes physical state characterized by a compulsion to take a drug in order to experience its psychological effects. Psychological dependence, or habituation, is present when the compulsion to take a drug is strong, even in the absence of physical withdrawal symptoms.

The drugs that are commonly abused, besides substances such as alcohol and tobacco, can be grouped into six classes: the opioids, sedative-hypnotics, stimulants, hallucinogens, cannabis, and inhalants.

Opioids 

The class of opioids includes drugs derived from opium (such as morphine and heroin) and its synthetic substitutes (such as methadone). Medically, morphine is a potent pain reliever; indeed, it is the standard by which other pain-relieving drugs are measured. It and other opium derivatives also suppress coughing, reduce movements of the intestine (providing relief from diarrhoea), and induce a state of psychological indifference. Heroin, a preparation synthesized from morphine, was introduced in 1898 as a cough suppressant and nonaddicting substitute for morphine. The addictive potential of heroin was soon recognized, however, and its use was prohibited in many countries, even in medical practice. Users report that heroin produces a “rush” or a “high” immediately after it is taken. It also produces a state of profound indifference and may increase energy.

Opioids produce different effects under different circumstances. The drug taker's past experience and expectations have some influence, as does the method of administering the drug (by injection, ingestion, or inhalation). Symptoms of withdrawal include kicking movements in the legs, anxiety, insomnia, nausea, sweating, cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea, and fever.

During the 1970s, when scientists isolated substances called enkephalins, naturally occurring opiates in the brain, they discovered what many believe to be the reason behind physical dependence on opioids—that is, the drugs are thought to mimic the action of enkephalins. If true, this hypothesis suggests that physical dependence on the opioids may develop in those who have a deficiency of these natural substances.

Stimulants 

Commonly abused stimulants are cocaine and drugs of the amphetamine family. Cocaine, a white, crystalline powder with a bitter taste, is extracted from the leaves of the South American coca bush. It is used medically to produce anaesthesia for surgery of the nose and throat and to constrict blood vessels and reduce bleeding during surgery; but abuse, which increased considerably in the late 1970s, can lead to severe physiological and psychological problems. A highly addictive, smokable form of cocaine, “crack”, appeared in the 1980s. 

Amphetamines, introduced in the 1930s for the treatment of colds and hay fever, were later found to affect the nervous system. For a while they were commonly used as an appetite suppressant by people trying to lose weight. Today their use is restricted primarily to the treatment of narcolepsy, a sleep disorder characterized by sudden sleep attacks throughout the day, and of hyperactivity in children, in whom amphetamines produce a calming effect. For adults, however, amphetamines rightfully earn their common name, “speed”. These drugs heighten alertness, elevate mood, and decrease fatigue and the need for sleep, but they often make users irritable and talkative. Both cocaine and amphetamines, after prolonged daily use, can produce a psychosis similar to acute schizophrenia.

A designer drug, 3,4-methylene dioxymethamphetamine, also know as “Ecstasy” or “E”, gives users a great sense of wellbeing; affection for all those around them; increased energy; and, sometimes, hallucinations. Associated with rave culture, its adverse effects can make users feel ill or experience a sense of loss of control, dehydration, and long-term memory and weight loss. There have been some deaths associated with taking Ecstasy and other drugs at raves.

Tolerance to both the euphoric and appetite-suppressing effects of amphetamines and cocaine develops rapidly. Withdrawal from amphetamines, particularly if the drug is injected intravenously, produces depression so unpleasant that the drug user has a powerful incentive to keep taking the drug until he or she collapses.

Hallucinogens 

Hallucinogens are not used medically in most countries except occasionally in the treatment of dying patients, people with mental illness, drug abusers, and alcoholics. Among the hallucinogens that were widely abused during the 1960s are lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, and mescaline, which is derived from the peyote cactus. Although tolerance to these drugs develops rapidly, no withdrawal syndrome is apparent when they are discontinued.

Phencyclidine, or PCP, known popularly by such names as “angel dust” and “rocket fuel”, has no current use among human beings but is occasionally used by veterinary surgeons as an anaesthetic and sedative for animals. It became a common drug of abuse in the late 1970s, partly because it can easily be synthesized. Its effects are quite different from those of other hallucinogens. LSD, for example, produces detachment and euphoria, intensifies vision, and often leads to a crossing of senses (colours are “heard”, sounds are “seen”). PCP, by contrast, produces a sense of detachment and a reduction in sensitivity to pain; it may also result in either triggering or producing symptoms so like those of acute schizophrenia that even professionals confuse the two states. The combination of this effect and indifference to pain has sometimes resulted in bizarre thinking, occasionally marked by violently destructive behaviour.

Cannabis 

The plant Cannabis sativa is the source of both marijuana and hashish. The leaves, flowers, and twigs of the plant are crushed to produce marijuana; its concentrated resin is hashish. Both drugs are usually smoked. Their effects are similar: a state of relaxation, accelerated heart rate, perceived slowing of time, and a sense of heightened hearing, taste, touch, and smell. These effects can be quite different, however, depending on the amount of drug consumed and the circumstances under which it is taken. Marijuana and hashish are not thought to produce psychological dependence except when taken in large daily doses. The drugs can be dangerous, however, especially when smoked before driving. Although the chronic effects are not yet clear, marijuana is probably injurious to the lungs in much the same way as tobacco. A source of concern is its regular use by children and teenagers, because the intoxication markedly alters thinking and interferes with learning. A consensus exists among doctors and others working with children and adolescents that use is undesirable and may interfere with psychological, and possibly physical, maturation.

Cannabis has been used as a folk remedy for centuries, but it has no well-established medical use today. Experimental work has been done using its active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), for treating alcoholism, seizures, pain, the nausea produced by anticancer medications, and glaucoma. Its usefulness for glaucoma patients seems fairly certain, but its disorienting effects make its possible employment by cancer patients more doubtful.

Inhalants 

In the class of inhalants are substances that are not usually considered drugs, such as glue, solvents, and aerosols, such as cleaning fluids. Most such substances sniffed for their psychological effects act to depress the central nervous system. Low doses can produce slight stimulation, but in higher amounts they cause their users to lose control or lapse into unconsciousness. The effects, which are immediate, can last for as long as 45 minutes. Headache, nausea, and drowsiness follow. Sniffing inhalants can impair vision, judgement, and muscle and reflex control. Permanent damage can result from prolonged use, and death can result from sniffing highly concentrated aerosol sprays. Although physical dependence does not seem to occur, tolerance to some inhalants does develop. 

Drugs are very dangerous and everyone must keep away from them.