The damages that occur with drug use are many and far reaching. These effects not only inflict themselves upon the drug abuser, but on his or her family, friends, and his or her body and brain. There are even effects that cannot always be measured easily; this includes the area of the mind and the psyche. Personality may change as well.

Specifically, the following will examine the ways in which drug use can damage the biological systems. The drugs discussed here not only include illegal street drugs, but prescription drugs that are abused along with tobacco and alcohol abuse.

Inhalants are often simply household cleaning or very strong industrial sprays. The user “huffs” or inhales them to achieve a high. These poison the body with harmful chemicals that lead to blackouts, temporary or permanent hearing loss, and damage to organs like the kidneys, liver, and bones.

Crystal meth makes the heart rate increase, extreme weight loss, heart damage, seizures, convulsions, rotten teeth and gums, paranoia, and psychosis. Cocaine also elevates the heart rate, causes permanent damage to the heart that may lead to heart attack, infections, and death.

Tobacco abuse (cigarettes, snuff, chew, pipe smoking) causes premature aging and yellowing of the skin and hands, heart disease, emphysema, and cause susceptibility to cancers of the lungs, skin, and mouth among others.

Prescription drugs that are abused can cause damage to organs as well, especially the kidneys and liver where they are filtered out. Many of them also suppress respiratory functions which can cease altogether. Dependence on these can be insidious and may not be noticed as quickly as with illegal drugs or alcohol.

All of these substances cause damage to organs and bodily systems. They can increase the risk for cancers, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV/AIDS along with other STDs. They all cause changes to the structure and chemicals of the brain over time, and they can lead to many mental disorders and problems. These include depression, ADHD, paranoid disorders, schizoid and other personality problems, and even permanent psychosis. All of these of course increase the risk for entanglements with the law, not to mention that the abusers often drive cars or get into fights while high on some of these drugs.

The damages that occur with drug use are many, and the biological issues are almost endless and sometimes irreversible. They may even cause death.

^{References:
http://www.oregoncounseling.org/ArticlesPapers/Documents/ETOHBIOFx.htm}

 

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