FAQs

Mind Altering Drugs

FAQs

What if I just try a drug to see what it feels like ?

Nobody tries or uses a drug believing that he or she will become hooked. Ask any person who cannot quit smoking cigarettes how it happened. All psychotic drugs have a strong potential for creating dependence. Also, a first time use can sometimes be a frightening or unpleasant experience which can also last for quite a while.

How do you get addicted to a drug ?

Dependence is a new word for addicts. This word is more specific about the kind of addiction a drug causes which makes the person depend on the drug to make them feel better. People who are psychologically dependent become aware of it when they cannot get the drug they are used to. They feel rotten. All they can think about is getting more of the drug.

People who get 'hooked' on some drugs like heroin, have a physical dependence in addiction to their psychological dependence. Their minds want the drug and their bodies are so used to it that they must have constant doses in order to function. If they cannot get the drug, various physical problems called ' withdrawal symptoms' develop.

Tolerance develops when a user's body gets used to certain drugs. Then the person must take larger doses to get the same effect each time.

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Related Issues

(Mind Altering Drugs)

Developing a healthy approach to life

Reasons for the use of psychotic drugs

Parental handling of the psychotic drug problem

Resisting harmful peer group pressure

FAQs

Q: Can drugs mess up my mind?

A mind can be' messed up' for a short or long period of time. A 'high' that comes from the use of drugs may last for a number of hours. If you have trouble making judgments while 'high' on a drug, then for those hours you have 'messed up your mind'. Being 'high' all the time can also interfere with learning many of the necessary skills for living.

Q: Why do some people take both 'ups' and 'downs'?

Most people who get addicted on 'ups' and 'downs' are convinced that they need drugs to maintain their lives. The athlete who has 'got to have' an amphetamine before a game is not too different from the business man who has 'got to have' a tranquilizer during a hectic day. Some users get themselves on a tread mill. They take an amphetamine in the morning and during the day to pep themselves up. Then at bed time they are too wound up to sleep so they take a barbiturate or tranquilizer. The next day the 'down' has left them groggy, so they feel the need for another 'up' and so on.

Q: If sedatives are so dangerous, why do doctors prescribe them ?

Doctors prescribe barbiturates and tranquilizers to patients who are under so much emotional stress that they are having trouble managing their lives. Emotional stress can cause physical stress and is a major cause of illness and body damage. Tranquilizers are the best drugs to relieve both mental and physical stress.

The doctor realizes that the drug will not make life situations any less difficult. The drug is prescribed in the hope that the patient may be able to handle his life better when he feels more at ease. It is the misuse of sedatives which is so dangerous and not the prescribed use. When a patient follows the doctor's orders and takes the proper dose, the drug is unlikely to cause problems.

Q: Will smoking marijuana make me want to use other drugs ?

There is nothing in the chemical make-up of marijuana that will cause you to crave for 'harder' drugs. But people who experiment with, or use one drug, are more likely to experiment with, or use, other drugs. Survey shows that most marijuana users also use tobacco and alcohol.

Q: If alcohol and tobacco are legal, why is not marijuana ?

Once a drug becomes a part of everyday society, it is almost impossible to stop people from using it. People smoked tobacco for 200 years before its link to lung cancer was discovered. Now it is a drug that is so accepted that some people will not or cannot give it up even though the dangers are printed right on the cigarette packet.

Apart from health reasons, marijuana is an intoxicating drug. It changes a person's judgment and makes complicated tasks like driving more difficult.

Q: Can a heroin addict be cured?

The heroin addict can be cured but the process of cure is long and the chances of failure are high. The addict needs help in his life situation, as much as his or her body needs help. Rehabilitation becomes a difficult process because the addict has to prove his worth and be accepted by society again. Many take to social work, particularly helping other addicts and have consequently won great respect and sympathy.

Methadone maintenance is one treatment. Methadone is a synthetic narcotic that is given to the addict in controlled doses as a substitute for heroin. Methadone is used because it takes away the psychological and physiological need for heroin and in doing so, may take the addict away from dealing with an illicit drug. It also allows the addict to function normally at work, school or other activities. The addict is still drug dependent but in many cases it is possible for him to become drug-free by slowly decreasing the methadone dose. This process is called 'detoxification'.

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