Drugs

Drugs

[Your Name]

[SCI/241(your teacher's name)]

[Axia College]

July 18, 2010

My name is _________. The topic that I have chosen for my research paper is Drugs. My main goal is to explain the different kind of drugs that people abuse, how abusing drugs can damage a person's body, and the lengths that people will to get high, and finally the risks that are associated with abusing drugs.

The definition of drug is any form of a substance that, when absorbed into the body will alter the way a person's body and mind functions.

My first goal is to explain how the drug industry has decreased dramatically throughout the decades. In the late 1960s and the early 70s, the popular thing to do then was get high, and get drunk. During this era, the drug of choice was Marijuana, Cocaine, and Crack.

My second goal is to explain the different kind of drugs in the world today. Today, drug use is no longer just about using illicit or street drugs any more. Today, the drug of choice comes in the form of prescription drugs---from narcotic pain relievers such as OxyContin to Percocet to Vicodin.

Drug addiction is no longer just about using and abusing illicit or street drugs any more. It has evolved into using and abusing prescription drugs as well.

According to an article, that can be found in HelpGuide.org. "Drug abuse, also known as substance, involves the repeated and excessive use of chemical substances to achieve a certain effect. These substances may be "street" or "illicit" drugs, illegal do to their high potential for addiction and abuse. They also may be drugs obtained with a prescription, used for pleasure rather than for medical reasons" (p.1 Helpguide.com).

Today, prescription drug abuse is a major problem in this country. Abusing prescription drugs can be just as dangerous as abusing illicit or street drugs. Because when used the wrong way, prescription drugs can have severe psychological and mental effects on a person's body.

According to an article that can be found inWebMD.com and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 6.3 million Americans are currently using prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons. One thing about prescription drug abuse is that is knows no age.

According to an article, which can be found in WebMD.com, elderly people are just as vulnerable to abusing prescription drugs as young people are. According to NIDA.com (The National Institute of Drug Abuse), women are thought to be 55% more likely to abuse prescription drugs like narcotics and tranquilizers then men.

Another issue that I am going to write about is prescription drug use among teens and teenagers in the United States. But before I write about this information, I am going to explain how illegal drug use among teens and teenagers dramatically has dropped in the United States.

According to an article published in the USA Edition found in the University's library search engine, ProQuest. This article states that teenage drug use has dropped increasing in 1997-98. Among these results, the government has pointed out that was a 13% drop in teenagers using illegal drugs.

According to an article, that can be found in the University's library search engine, the Gale CENGAGE Learning. A new study shows that about one in five teens are either using or have experimented with prescription painkillers like: Vicodin or OxyContin, just to get high---which is about 4.5 million teens.

This same study also states that many teenagers believe that experimenting with prescription drugs are safer than using illegal drugs like crack, cocaine, or marijuana.

This study also states that 40% of teens when surveyed, responded saying that "prescription medicines were much safer than illegal drugs," and 31% of teens when surveyed, responded saying that "they did not see anything wrong with using prescription drugs once in a while" (Academic OneFile).

According to an article that can be found in NIDA.com (The National Institute on Drug Abuse), this article show the statistics of drug abuse among teens and teenagers. Between the years 2004 and 2009, there was a dramatic decrease in the drop rate of methamphetamine use among 8th-graders for the prior years.

This drop rate went from 2.3% to 1.6%. The article read that "Among 10th- and 12th graders, 5-year declines were reported for past-year use of amphetamines and cocaine," (NIDA, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dec., 2009).

The drop rate among 12th graders, for the years before 2004 to 2009, cocaine use has decreased dramatically from 4.4% to 3.4%.

Regarding the grades listed above, marijuana use has also decreased dramatically, since the mid-1990's, according to the article in NIDA.com (The National Institute on Drug Abuse).

Below is a chart that shows the percentage of illicit drug use among adults 18-29 in 2006.

Below a table that shows three different categories of the kind of drugs that people use and abuse, that eventually leads to addiction.

Illicit/Street Drugs

Cocaine Crack Methamphetamine (also known as "meth")

The side effects of cocaine use are: weight loss, nasal congestion, and damage to the mucous membrane. The side effects of crack use are: weight loss, irritability, and restlessness. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive and dangerous drug that causes short-term and long-term health problems.

Club Drugs

Ecstasy GHB (also known as " Date rape drug) Rohypnol (also known as "Date Rape drug)

The side effects ecstasy use can be either be an increase or a decrease in the heart rate, memory loss, and impaired vision. The side effects GHB and Rohypnol use are the same. They both can increase or decreased the heart rate, and instant memory loss. Both GHB and Rohypnol are very dangerous drugs especially when mixed with alcohol. The side effects GHB and Rohypnol use are the same. They both can increase or decreased the heart rate, and instant memory loss. Both GHB and Rohypnol are very dangerous drugs especially when mixed with alcohol.

Prescription Drugs

OxyContin Morphine Codeine

The side effects of OxyContin use are: