Research Paper on Drugs and Alcohol
There exist many drugs in the world, which go under different names, have different effects on the human organism and are derived from different sources (natural or artificial). In the following research paper I will speak about alcohol, PCP and LSD drugs that are present in the US society even today.
Alcohol is one of the most famous drugs that are used by people around the world legally. There are many types of alcohols, yet typically one speaks about ethanol or spirit produced from fermentation of fruits and vegetables with yeasts (Cozic, 74).
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Effects of alcohol:
Alcohol is a depressant, which slows down the central nervous system in humans and thus slows the thinking process. When consumed in great quantities alcohol can depress the human nervous system to the point of heart stoppage/stoppage of the diaphragm, which assures that a person can breath. Alcohol also negatively impacts certain brain areas which can result in mumbled speech in people and the loss of proper coordination. Since alcohol is a depressant it slows down the person’s reaction and ability to operate a vehicle and thus makes people under the influence of alcohol dangerous drivers for the society.
PCP or the so-called phencyclidine is an anesthetic and dissociative drug that was created in 1960 by the Parke&Davis company. PCP is a synthetic version of ketamine yet has effects similar to DXM. Unlike ketamine, PCP has a long-term effect on humans that can sometimes extend over weeks. The use of PCP was discontinued after patients started to experience hallucinations after consumption of PCP (Cozic, 83).
PCP is still used for recreational purposes in the USA despite the fact that its popularity is lower than that of cocaine, marijuana or LSD. The drug is sold only in a few cities in the USA and is sold as a liquid material to be further sprayed on leafy materials as represented by marijuana, mint or parsley and subsequently smoked.
In a pure form PCP is a white powder (that’s why is called “Angel’s dust”) and is easily dissolvable in water. PCP, that is sold on the market is colored from tanned to brown and can range from powder to a gummy mass.
Effects of PCP:
The effects of PCP differ depending on the amount of drug consumed. For instance moderate amounts of PCP usually causes a sense of detachment, estrangement, and easiness of mind in users regarding the surrounding environment. Numbness, slurred speech and loss of coordination usually is accompanied by the feelings of might, powerfulness and invulnerability (Gahlinger, 128). The Users of PCP possess a blank stare, rapid and involuntary eye movement let alone exaggerated gait.
If the amount of PCP consumed is above moderate one can experience auditory hallucinations, let alone image distortions. Some people experience rapid mood swings and amnesia. Sometimes, one can sense a feeling of acute anxiety, i.e. feeling of impending doom, paranoia and violent hostility and oftentimes a psychosis similar to that present in schizophrenics. Because of such unpredictable effects on human health, PCP is believed to be one of the most dangerous drugs to be abused.
LSD or D-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, is one of the most powerful semisynthetic hallucinogen and psychedelic drug. LSD is famous for its small dose necessary to cause long-lasting hallucinations in humans. For instance, one needs the amount of 1/10 of the weight of a grain of sand (100micrograms) to cause powerful hallucinations in humans for a period of time from 8 to 12 hours.
Effects of LSD:
LSD is a powerful hallucinogen drug, which produces powerful visual effects in the mind of a drug-taker. One can see a trail behind moving objects, observe brilliant colors and see images of unusual shapes. One needs to remember that LSD does not create hallucinations as one might think, yet rather creates illusions and vivid daydream-like fantasies. LSD consumption can possess long-lasting psychological shifts, such as changes of views and mindset. In limited instances, LSD was used to treat alcoholics and achieved high results (Gahlinger, 133).
Now it is necessary to take a look at the article available at http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/53/11/1375, titled Alcohol & Drug Abuse: Alcohol, the “Un-Drug” written by David Farabee et al. The article noted that according to the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program about 79% of males and 85% of females committed a crime under the influence of some illicit substance. The majority of these criminals were under the influence of alcohol. Later one learns that although some people may be using more than one drug, typically have alcohol as the dominant drug of abuse. Alcohol is the first substance to be used in California by individuals who were just released from prison. It appears then that alcohol contributes to the amount of violence that people express in public and cause the harm of others. The article still noted that alcohol did not directly increase violence or any other type of criminal behavior, yet it is the reason for people to try new and more powerful drugs and also try to act differently from how they typically act and thus potentially engage in violence.
Another article that I believe is useful for reading and understanding is located at http://www.athealth.com/Practitioner/ceduc/alc_assault.html , is titled “Alcohol and Sexual assault” and is written by Antonia Abbey et al. The article attempts to uncover the role of alcohol in sexual assault. The article depicts horrific statistics of how many American women were sexually assaulted and raped and how many men engaged in the rape or attempted rape. The article noted that 50% of all violate crimes involved consumption of alcohol by either the aggressor, the victim or both. The article then makes an uncompromising statement that women who drink alcohol are not responsible for the rape rather it is men who drink alcohol are responsible for the scene of rape and sexual abuse.
The article noted that drinking is a shared activity, meaning that if one person is drinking the other person usually is drinking too. Thus, one cannot draw any reasonable statistic that alcohol is responsible for the rape, yet rather it is the moral responsibility of a perpetrator that should be taken into consideration.
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