Top Three Illegal Drugs

Top Three Illegal Drugs COM/156 February 11, 2012 Top Three Illegal Drugs Illegal drugs tend to be abused by millions of people.

This is a big problem in most countries today. According to the Los Angeles Times article that 200 million people that use illegal drugs might die from the health problems (L. A. Times, 2012).

Using illegal drugs sometimes can end in death for the abuser. An abuser chooses his drug choice or even might use two different illegal drugs. The top three drugs of 2007 are heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine (Listverse, 2007).These are abused by people and this leads to negative effects of the abuser and their families and friends. If anyone has experienced family members abusing this is very hard for one to sit around and watch them do.

The number one drug from the top 10 drug list is heroin. According to Listverse article heroin is an opiate processed directly from the extracts of the opium poppy (Listverse, 2007). The street names used for Heroin are: A-bomb, which is Heroin and marijuana together, Guaramine, caffeine, “H,” Junk are a few names that this drug Heroin goes by on the street (Bio-drug-slang, 2003-2011).Heroin abuse has become a big problem in the United States.

A person that abuses usually has no goals in life other than to use Heroin on a daily bases. Heroin is usually used by injecting themselves with the drug. If the user does not inject the Heroin they will not fill the rush as someone who does inject the drug. When a person uses Heroin the effects on the body and brain by converting to morphine and binds to the receptors known as optiod receptors. This can affect a person’s breathing, blood pressure, and one’s arousal. If they overdose on Heroin this will suppress the respiration, one could die from this (NIDA, 2010).

Heroin also affects family and friends by the abuser stealing from their families and friends to get the drug. The abuser might also neglect his responsibilities such as his job, and family. Sometimes the abuser could wander off for several days do to his addiction to Heroin. The abuser could have a considerable amount of behavioral changes toward his family in friends. This abuser family and friends could be very angry at the abuser for use Heroin.

Family and friends can help the abuser seek out help for their addiction (Heroin abuse. net, 2012). The second drug on the list is cocaine.Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaline obtained from the leaves of the coca plant (Listverse, 2007). There are street names for the drug Cocaine they are: Blow, “C,” Coke, Crack, Rock, to name a few of them that people use to identify the drug instead of its name (Bio-drug-slang, 2003-2011). Cocaine is also a big problem in the United States, which they are always fighting to keep this drug out of the United States by having border patrols looking for it and customs as well to search for this drug.

Cocaine is abused in ways such as sniffing, or snorting it.Some people either like to smoke it or inject the drug which deliveries the drug faster. The abuser usually gets pleasure from this drug 15 to 30 minutes at a time and having to repeat the use of the drug to have the effect last longer. Each time an abuser does this they have to use a higher and higher dosage each time to maintain the effects of the drug (NIDA, 2010). When the abuser uses Cocaine it may have adverse effect on the body such as constricts blood vessels, dilated pupils, and increase in body temperature.

This can also give the abuser headaches, gastrointestinal problems.The abuser will also deprive themselves of food and will become malnourish, because of the fact the abuser is not eating properly. The abuser may also suffer from having severe paranoid psychosis (NIDA, 2010). The abuser can have effect on how he interacts with family and friends. The abuser will be occupied with the drug and they have no since of time.

They also do not pay attention to their to their job or responsibilities families. This sometimes can affect the abusers family and friends on how they act. The abuser also steals from others to help them pay for their drugs.They will continue this until they are caught or put in jail for their abuse of the drug.

Then they will have to seek out help to get rid of their addiction to the drug or drugs that they abuse. The third drug on the list of top drugs in 2007 was methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is a synthetic drug, which is made of household chemicals. It is has more lasting effect then amphetamine, which is used illegally as a stimulant and as a prescription drug to treat narcolepsy and to maintain blood pressure (dictionary.

com 2012). Some of the chemicals to make ethamphetamine are table salt, anti-freeze, ether, and methanol, in which a person can find most of these items in their home or a family member, might have them so that they can use it to make the drug. These are a few of the chemicals that a person could use to make this drug to sell on the street illegally. A Methamphetamine user will abuse the drug by injecting themselves with the liquid form of the drug into a syringe. The abuser will also dissolve the powder form of the drug in water or alcohol. The abuser may also snort it or even smoke it to get the rush they want from the drug.

There are a few street names for Methamphetamine they are: Speed, Crank, Tweak, Crystal Meth, and even Poor Man’s Cocaine (Bio-drug-slang. 2003-2011). The effects on the abuser body can have extreme weight loss, dental problems, confusion, insomnia, mood swings (NIDA, 2010). The abuser may tend to have violent behaviors when using this drug (NIDA, 2010). The user can also contract HIV and Hepatitis B and C by sharing contaminated needles and syringes. The abuser will sometimes feel rejected by his family and friends who stand in their way while they are using the drug.

They tend to isolate themselves away from family and friends. The abuser will also neglect his responsibilities of their family and job. Family and friends of the abuser become worried about the abuser and become fearful, doubtful, distrust them. The abuser family sometimes might make excuses to protect the abuser from outsiders; they might even bail the abuser out of jail. The abuser usually hangs out with others that abuse the drug as well.

The abuser will find he will meet others that like to use the same drug as they do. This would even lead to more trouble for the abuser.Seeing what illegal drugs do to a person and how the negative effects of the abuser and families and friends. Other than the top three drugs there were seven other drugs on the top 10 list that people use they were: crack cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, opium, marijuana, Psilocybin mushrooms, PCP. Any of these illegal drugs have negative effects on the abuser and family and friends.

An abuser might choose more than one drug to abuse. The abuser might choose one drug to give him a rush and another to bring him down. This can be a very high risk for the abuser in risking his health, in which could result in death.This, can be taken into control by the abuser by seeking out help.

The abuser that seeks out help for their abuse they will benefit by having a healthier body and a better relationship with family and friends. In the past having experiencing a family member on illegal drugs, by seeing them snorting it or even injecting it. They have even mention to the fact they know how to hide using a needle and injecting it where no one knows that they are using. This has caused them to have addiction to the drug of their choice, either cocaine or methamphetamine.Seeing them go from bad and not wanting to do anything in their life, to having a good handle on their lives. The family member has since recovered and is helping others that have the same problem as they once had.

If a person that uses illegal drugs will have health problems and have bad relationship with family and friends. If the abuser continues down this path in using illegal drugs they could die from the use of them . A family member or friend can help the abuser seek help by having interventions with them and let them know how everyone feels about their addiction.This would me everyone should not use illegal drugs and stay away from them they can harm your body and your relationships with family and friends References Websites: Top 10 Drugs and their Effects http://listverse.

com/2007/09/27/top-10-drugs-and-their-effects/ Retrieved: January 2, 2012 Drug Addiction Support http://www. drug. addiction. support.

org/cocaine. effects. html Copyright 2012 Retrieved: January 4, 2012 National Institute on drug abuse http://www. nida.

nih. gov/infofacts Retrieved: January 5, 7, 9, 2012 Drug Enforcement Administration ttp://www. justice. gov/dea/concerns Retrieved: December 19, 20, 2011 Library Resources: Kumara, A, Pathaka, A & Starlinga, S. K.

(2011) Heroin: Assessment of use and abuse: A Review. Der Chemica sinica 2(2), 46-51 O’Brien, M. S. & Anthony, J. C.

(2005) Risk of Becoming Cocaine Dependent: Epidemiological Estimates for the United States, 2000-2001. Neuropsychophaeacology 30(5), 1006-1016 doi:10. 1038/sj. npp. 1300681 Bissell, M.

& Miller, J (2007) Fighting Meth, healing families: Seven promising solutions. Children’s Voice, 16(1), 22