The War On Drug Abuse - 1610 Words

Life sometimes throws people stresses, but it is ultimately how the person deals with it. For some it may be a short walk in the park to clear their mind or deep breathing, but for many who cannot cope with the stress they resort to a glass of wine that leads to a bottle, a Xanax for their nerves, a pain pill to dull the emotional pain they may be feeling, or possibly a syringe full of Heroin. The war on drug abuse has been and ongoing battle since the 1840s when opiates were first discovered. â€Å"Mothers dosed themselves and their children with opium tinctures and patent medicines. Soldiers used opium and morphine to treat diarrhea and painful injuries. Drinkers alleviated hangovers with opioids† (Kolodny et al. 561). After World War II†¦show more content†¦The increase in dopamine in the nucleus causes the abuser to get the â€Å"high† feeling. â€Å"Dopamine may be important for opioid cue-triggered craving and relapse† (Badiani et al. 273). Heroin comes in two different forms. It comes in a powder form in which on the streets it is referred to as â€Å"China†. The rock form of the drug is called â€Å"Black Tar Heroin†. Melted down with a spoon and with lesser amounts of water added the drug then can be injected through a syringe or snorted up the nose. If the user decides to snort the drug he is then what they refer to as â€Å"mud puddling† it. If snorted the drug leaves a vinegar taste in the user’s mouth. If the user chooses to inject the drug and they miss their vein, it then pockets under the skin into the tissue where it starts to decay the tissue causing pus pockets just below the skin’s surface (Hastings). By injecting these drugs intravenously, into the vein, the user has exposed themselves to multiple infectious diseases and bacteria. If the syringe is shared amongst users the risk of Hepatitis or HIV has dramatically increased. The National Institute on Drug Abuse strongly encourage users to be tested for HIV and Hepatitis out of fear and prevention of an outbreak of HIV (Compton 18). Not only is HIV contracted using an infected needle it is also spread through sexual contact with an infected person. The pus pockets that form under the skin in the tissue from missing the vein may containShow MoreRelatedDrug Abuse And The Unwinnable War1462 Words   |  6 PagesDrug Abuse and the Unwinnable War Drugs are not a new thing by any means and have been commonplace in most cultures at one point or another. Throughout the known history of the world humans have used drugs to provide mind and mood altering experiences. Evidence of the production of alcohol can be traced back to the description of a brewery in an Egyptian papyrus as early as 3500 B.C (Fort, J. 1969). 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