BRO-SIS :: SMS :: Drugs on the Brain

Here is a brief summary of the effect that certain select street drugs have on the brain. Some of this information is derived from about.com and brainsource.com.

Alcohol - (Bevy, Boozy)
Alcohol is no safer than drugs; it's just legally and socially accepted. Alcohol impairs judgement and leads to memory lapses. It will often exaggerate whatever mood you're in when you start drinking. Alcohol is a relaxant so, in moderation, it can reduce feelings of anxiety and inhibitions, making you feel more sociable. It takes your body an hour to process one unit of alcohol.
Excessive drinking can lead to blackouts, distorted vision, lack of coordination and in addition to damaging the brain can damage every other organ in the body.

Tobacco - (Fag, Ciggy, Backy, Burn)
Tobacco is a dangerous and highly addictive drug. Nicotine affects the brain quickly, and like other inhalants produces a feeling of pleasure. There are very strong links between smoking and cancer. Smoking can stain your teeth and hands as well as cause bad breath.

Marijuana - (Cannabis, Weed, High Grade, Blow, Hash, Skunk, Mary Jane)
The parts of the brain that control emotions, memory, and judgment are affected by this drug. This can block short term memory as well as block information from making it into the long term memory. It can reduce your problem solving abilities as well as cause impotence in men. This drug can lead to paranoia and/or schizophrenia with prolonged use.

Cocaine - (Charlie, Candy Caine, Crack, Base, Blow, Snort, YeYo)
This drug both in powder form and as crack is an extremely addictive stimulant. Addicts tend to lose interest in many areas of there life, including work, school, sports, family and friends etc. Although often used to enhance sexual experiences, the physical effect of cocaine on the receptors of the brain can reduces the ability to feel pleasure (causing dependency on the drug). This drug can also cause paranoia and anxiety.

Heroin - (Brown, Chick, Brother, China White)
Heroin is a highly addictive opiate (similar to Morphine). Brain cells can easily become addicted, to the extent where the user feels that they need it in order to function in their daily routine. It is usually the case that Heroin users start out with a rush of pleasure, it leave the user in a fog for many hours, after which they find themselves forever chasing that first high. Users soon find that their sole purpose in life is to have more of the drug.

Ecstasy - (E's, GHB)
Use of amphetamines will cause the user to find it difficult to differentiate from reality and fantasy. Studies have shown that ecstasy destroys certain cells in the brain. Whist these cells may re-connect after the drug is no longer used, they will never re-connect normally. Similarly to other drugs this impairs memory and can cause paranoia, anxiety, and confusion.

LSD - (Acid, Blue Star, Co-pilot, Gooney Birds, Lucy)
Many people use this drug to get a sense of enhanced and vivid sensory experience. It can cause paranoia, confusion, anxiety, and panic attacks. Like ecstasy, users often blur the lines between reality and fantasy as well as a distorted view of time and distance.

Steroids - (Juice, Stacking)
Anabolic steroids are used to improve athletic performance and build muscles. Steroids can cause moodiness and mood swings as well as permanently impair learning and memory abilities.

Inhalants - (Puff, Snout)
This includes anything that is inhaled, ranging from glue, petrol and hair spray to paint thinner. The effect on the brain is almost immediate and whilst some vapours leave the body quickly, others remain for a long time. The fatty tissues surrounding and protecting the nerve cells in the brain are destroyed by the vapours, which ultimately slows down or stops neural transmissions.

Methamphetamine - (Crystal Meth, Speed, Chalk, Ice Crystal and Glass)
Known in the street as 'Meth' this drug is extremely addictive that strongly activates certain systems in the brain. It has been known to cause short term paralysis.

Ritalin - (Kibbles, Bit, Pineapple, Vitamin R)
This drug is often prescribed to treat attention deficit disorders. However, it has become an illicit street drug as well. This drug is crushed and snorted or liquidized and injected (which has a greater effect on the body). It causes severe headaches, anxiety, paranoia and delusions.

References: John A. Harvey and Barry E. Kosofsky, 1998, Cocaine: Effects on the Developing Brain, (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences), , Eds., New York Academy of Sciences, 1998. Nadia Solowi. 1998, Cannabis and Cognitive Functioning, Cambridge Univ. Press, Gabriel G. Nahas and T. F. Burks, 1997, Drug Abuse in the Decade of the Brain, , Eds., IOS Press. G. M. Edelman and J. Changeux, 2001, Drug Use and Abuse, Jean-Pierre Changeux, in The Brain by editors, Transaction Publishers.