Drugs. The word itself sounds dangerous. Little is it known that drugs are even more dangerous that most people can ever imagine. A complete overview and insight into the world of drugs and the dangers of illegal, addictive substances will be provided. Drugs are an evident hazard and epidemic in today’s society, so it is definitely necessary that a full point of view is apparent.
From the very beginning of human history, drugs have been used for medicine and recreation, some of these recreational uses have been good while others have been lethal. The first known uses drugs comes from the time of the Sumerians around the year 5000 BC. Thousands of years went by before the next recording of drug use with people in Switzerland eating poppy seeds and experiencing a euphoric feeling. The next appearance of drug use in ancient history is the major use of drugs by the Chinese. By 1838 the Chinese were receiving 40,000 chests of opium a year. Drugs would only continue to rise in the following centuries until 2016 where drugs are almost an everyday occurrence. In recent news, many celebrities have passed away from drug overdoses including Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cory Monteith.
Drugs can appear in many shapes and forms. Certain drugs can be injected via a syringe or needle, smoked, ingested through the nasal cavity, and even laced into certain foods and eaten. Unfortunately, in certain areas, drugs can be very easily obtained in an unsafe environment. Usually, drugs affect teenagers the most who are in their high school and college years. It is reported that teenagers can get their hands on narcotics at a myriad of places in their daily lives. They can be found: In the medicine cabinet, at home, at a neighbor’s house, online, a friend, at schools, and at parties. Nowadays, with rapid advancement in drug development, kids as young as 16 can cook and grow their own drugs in their homes. Neglect of strict attention or drug awareness among parents can result in teenagers buying or selling drugs routinely in their neighborhood.
Drug programs around the world constantly warn about the dangers of drugs, but what are these symptoms of different drugs. From cocaine to marijuana, drugs come with different names and different symptoms. Cocaine for instance has symptoms of increased body temperature, increased heart rate, and increased blood pressure. Methamphetamine (meth) on the other hand includes symptoms of a wired feeling, extreme weight loss, shaking, anxiety, and hallucination. Another drug is marijuana which includes side effects such as compulsive eating, bloodshot eyes, occasional paranoia, and hallucinations. Lastly and one of the most addictive is heroin which includes symptoms of euphoria, entering into a dreamlike state, or heroin could even act as a stimulant. All these drugs are different in their own way but some are connected because of their classification. Classifications of drugs include stimulants, cannabis, hallucinogens, antidepressants, depressants, narcotics, and inhalants.
In Saint Louis especially, there is an ongoing epidemic of drug use, especially with heroin. In the recent years, the usage and overdose rates of heroin and other opiates have unfortunately skyrocketed Jim Shroba, a special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in St. Louis has noticed a direct increase of heroin users over the recent years. He says after Mexican cartels planted their own opium poppy fields and producing more of their own heroin instead of just transporting the Colombian heroin over to the United States, the density of the heroin on the streets of St. Louis rose drastically.
A naloxone is a drug that stops or reverses the effects of an opioid drug, which can dull pain and other senses or cause loss of consciousness; morphine/heroin like effects. Opioid is sometimes referred to as a narcotic, which is a drug that affects mood. (Wisdom teeth) Basically naloxone is used to help against overdoses or diagnose whether a person has overdosed, particularly from an opioid. A sign of a person who has overdosed from an opioid is slow breathing, small pupils, slow heartbeats, and extreme drowsiness. Naloxone is injected into a muscle, usually the thigh, or vein through the use of an IV, similar to EpiPen, every two to three minutes if needed. One of the main warnings about naloxone is that there are possible side effects that mostly impact pregnant women or women breastfeeding.
Other side effects include, but are not limited to: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain; fever, sweating, body aches, weakness; tremors or shivering, fast heart rate, pounding heartbeats, increased blood pressure; feeling nervous, restless, or irritable; goosebumps, shivering; runny nose, yawning
Fame and Drugs seem to have quite high correlation. It is pretty easy to believe that becoming “famous” instantly makes you more acceptable to drugs… and that sort of right. “What actors, singers, athletes, even CEOs have that regular people might not have is more access to drugs, more time to indulge, more money to pay for it, and often a horde of enabling hangers-on who are financially dependent on them and thus more motivated to supply substances for them. It adds up to a situation hard to walk away from” ~ Duff McKagan-former bass player of Guns N’ Roses and drug addict. The stress of being famous also adds to the problem. Celebrities are held high (mostly) in the public eye and that kind of stress and pressure leads people to drug use. Even if a celebrity is trying to recover, constant press surveillance and intrusion make it hard for celebs to build up the courage to go to rehab and fix their problems. Kathleen Bigsby- CEO of The Canyon at Peace Park comprehensive treatment center- stated “the problem for celeb addicts is they have to struggle and recover in public, in the glare of social media and the 24/7 celebrity-media industrial complex. Nowadays even D-list celebs are in the spotlight, unlike in Billie Holiday ‘s era.”
Past drug uses/addicts: Lindsay Lohan, David Hasselhoff, Robert Downey Jr., Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen, Johnny Depp, Amy Poehler, Adam Levine, Steven Tyler, James Franco, Snoop Dogg, etc…
Have died due to/influenced by drugs: Michael Jackson, Billy Mays (God Rest His Soul), Heath Ledger, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, Whitney Houston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and most recently Prince
Drug outreach over the globe is readily available. In Saint Louis specifically, drug outreach is nearby and easy to obtain. Even as young as being in elementary school, Saint Louis kids are educated on the dangers of drugs by various organizations, such as D.A.R.E. or the N.C.A.D.A. These centers swiftly provide proper treatment and consultation for those who are addicted to illegal substances. With trained therapeutic professionals, a full recovery and rehabilitation is quickly and easily achieved.
In conclusion, drugs have been abused in today’s world for far too long. Drugs are a risk to anyone’s health and general well-being. Drugs influence and shape a negative society, so their prevention is a necessity. Drug use should be put to a rest to end constant years of peril and even death in America and all over the planet.
