There is a high price of getting high and the world is experiencing a recreational drug use epidemic. The societal costs of recreational drug use are high and can be devastating to many families and communities around the world. So, what exactly are the effects of the recreational drug use epidemic? What causes people to continue using drugs despite knowing they may ruin their life or even cause death? Whether you’re considering recreational drug use or want to help someone who’s addicted, here are some sobering statistics on the prevalence of recreational drug use . It is estimated that more than 40 million Americans use illegal drugs and 5 million people are dependent on these substances, costing billions each year in hospitalization, rehabilitation programs, crime, and lost productivity. However, addiction may not be as obvious as it seems as addicts do not always look like addicts. However the effects, and side effects should give you pause about whether this kind of behaviour is worth it in the end.
What are recreational drugs?
Recreational drugs can be anything from marijuana to MDMA. These illegal substances provide users with feelings of euphoria, relaxation, and even altered perceptions and states of consciousness. But in reality, recreational drug use may not be as harmless as it appears. These substances could cause both short-term and long-term effects on users’ physical and mental health. They also have an impact on their relationships, employment, schoolwork, driving ability (when driving under influence), childcare responsibilities, and family life in general. Most illicit drugs are considered dangerous because they have potential for abuse or addiction to them which can lead to death if used over a prolonged period time or if mixed with other depressants such as alcohol or benzodiazepines.
Types of recreational drugs
There are more than 200 types of recreational drugs available for purchase, most can be legally purchased in drug stores and even some grocery stores. Among them are stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and anaesthetics. Each class has its own specific effects on your body. Stimulants make you feel energized and alert, while depressants make you feel tired or depressed. Some examples of recreational drugs include marijuana, LSD, MDMA (ecstasy), cocaine (including crack), heroin, methamphetamines (meth) and prescription painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin. And as someone who is curious about how these drugs impact your health long-term and what type you might need to avoid we’ve got answers.
Marijuana
Several studies have shown that marijuana can cause anxiety, depression, and psychosis. And not just for long-term users. Even casual users who smoke a joint or two weekly are at risk. Studies show that after smoking marijuana once, you’re 4 times more likely to suffer from depression. Marijuana’s high is a result of THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol), which attaches to cannabinoid receptors in your brain, causing a high feeling by stimulating dopamine production the brain chemical responsible for making us feel good when we eat or engage in sex.
Hard Drugs
If you’re using heroin, cocaine, meth or LSD recreationally and thinking this won’t be a problem, think again. These substances may seem harmless (especially when compared to harder drugs like heroin), but they are incredibly dangerous and can lead to overdose-related deaths. You don’t have to be addicted for these drugs to kill you. Take it from someone who lost his brother; there is no such thing as recreational drug use. Once you start down that path, it’s very hard to get off it!
Stimulants
A stimulant is a drug that invigorates and refreshes, often by increasing energy and boosting heart rate. Stimulants include cocaine, amphetamines (Dexedrine, Adderall), caffeine (coffee, tea), nicotine (cigarettes) and crystal meth. These drugs are highly addictive—and highly destructive. Users quickly build up tolerance to these substances; drug companies respond by creating new stimulants that are more potent than their predecessors. For example, crystal meth is known as ice because it looks like crushed ice under a microscope; labs in China can reportedly produce 100 pounds of crystal meth from just one gallon of raw ingredients.
Types of Drug Abuse That You May Not Know About
Drug abuse can take many forms, and you may be unaware of the dangers that some of these drugs pose. It’s easy to forget how serious drug abuse can be, especially when it’s not something that you’ve had to deal with personally or in your family or community. While opioids are what often come to mind when people think about drug abuse, here are types of drug abuse that may surprise you.
- Street Drugs
- Illicit Drugs
- Prescription Drugs
- Over-the-Counter Drugs
- Herbal Remedies
- Alcohol
- Blends
- Tobacco
- Recreational Drugs
- 1) Street Drugs
Street drugs are illegal drugs that people take to get high. These drugs are often sold on street corners or from dealers in school bathrooms. Some examples of street drugs are marijuana, cocaine, heroin, painkiller , ecstasy, methamphetamines, LSD (acid), and PCP (angel dust). Although they’re easily found on any city street corner in America, prescription opiates are widely abused by teens and adults. And it’s not just illegal drug users who abuse these drugs almost three-quarters of people who use prescription pain medication non-medically get them from family or friends. Doctors should be more diligent about prescribing opiate medications to prevent addiction and abuse. After all, a person struggling with addiction is 10 times more likely to become addicted to illegal street drugs like heroin when given a legal opiate prescription for an injury or illness.
2) Illicit Drugs: Marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD and other illegal substances are considered illicit drugs. Illicit drug abuse may include behaviours such as smoking, snorting or injecting illicit drugs into your body. Marijuana is a substance obtained from dried parts of plants that contain chemicals known as cannabinoids and can be smoked in hand-rolled cigarettes (joints), pipes or water pipes (bongs). Cocaine comes from plant leaves that have coca leaves in them. The main chemical in it is called cocaine hydrochloride. It is processed into a white powder and is usually sniffed up your nose with a straw or rolled-up dollar bill. LSD: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) commonly referred to simply as acid.
3) Prescription Drugs: Prescription drugs are medications that doctors prescribe for patients when they need them. Sometimes people will steal these medications from their parent’s medicine cabinets or friends’ purses because they think it is cool to do so. But if you take someone else’s prescription medication without a doctor telling you to do so, you could end up hurting yourself. Prescription drug abuse is often treated as a harmless habit; however, it can be very dangerous. In fact, prescription drugs kill more people than cocaine and heroin combined. Some of these medications include Valium, Vicodin, OxyContin and Adderall used to treat anxiety disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), respectively. To help deal with anxiety or ADHD without becoming dependent on pharmaceuticals, talk to your doctor about alternative treatments like exercise or yoga classes, or cognitive behavioural therapy sessions.
4) Recreational Drugs: Recreational drugs are drugs that are used for fun or for a high, rather than for medicinal purposes. Some recreational drugs may have negative consequences, like a hangover or withdrawal symptoms. There are thousands of different recreational drugs available, including LSD, amphetamines, and marijuana. Other common types of recreational drug abuse include alcohol and nicotine. Recreational drug abuse is often initiated in adolescence; many people begin experimenting with substances while they’re young because they lack the maturity to handle them responsibly. To avoid becoming dependent on recreational substances, it’s important to understand their effects and put rules in place that will prevent you from abusing them (e.g., waiting until you’re 21 before consuming alcohol).
5, Blends : Some drugs are mixes of other drugs, like heroin, which is typically a blend of powdered heroin and cocaine or fentanyl. Many users are unaware that what they think is one drug may actually be something else. This can be extremely dangerous because one type of drug might have very different effects than another. For example, a blend of cocaine and heroin might cause drowsiness and sedation, while a blend containing amphetamines could produce increased alertness and energy. Because blends can be so dangerous if used incorrectly, it’s important to know how much you’re taking and what else is in your mix before you use it for recreation or any other purpose.
6, Over-the-counter drugs are any medicines that you can buy at a pharmacy without a prescription from your doctor. Many people will abuse these types of drugs because they think it is okay to do so. But if you take too much, or if you don’t follow directions on how to use them, then it could cause some serious problems for you and those around you.
7, Herbal remedies are things like Ginkgo Biloba and St John’s Wort that people take as an alternative to medicine prescribed by their doctors. These remedies are supposed to help with anxiety, depression, memory loss, and many other conditions. But they can also be very dangerous if not taken correctly or mixed with other medications or alcohol.
8, Alcohol is a drug that many people abuse because it is legal for them to drink. Alcohol is often abused in college parties, frat houses, bars, etc. People drink alcohol because they think it makes them look cool or popular, but really all it does is ruin their health and make them look stupid in front of everyone else around them. Alcohol causes liver damage when you drink too much of it over time which could lead to death if you don’t stop drinking it quickly enough.
9, Tobacco is another drug abused by millions of Americans every day. People smoke cigarettes, cigars, and even pipes because they think it makes them look cool or popular; but really all it does is ruin their health and make them look stupid in front of everyone else around them. Smoking tobacco causes lung cancer and heart disease which could lead to death if you don’t stop smoking it quickly enough.
Legalization May Increase Usage
There’s no doubt that legalizing recreational drugs will lead to more people using them. It’s a little bit like what happens when you give out free samples at a food store. If you make something available, people are going to want to try it. When users get addicted and they have trouble finding or affording their drug of choice, they often start looking for an alternative on a black market which means more money for dealers and less control over product safety for consumers.
Cannabinoids and Physical Dependence
Cannabis use can lead to physical dependence, defined as a class of medication-related syndromes that are characterized by a withdrawal syndrome when abstinence is attempted. Withdrawal symptoms often include characteristic withdrawal convulsions and more subtle symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, tremor, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal upset, and flu-like symptoms. One reason for cannabis’s popularity as a recreational drug is its ability to relieve stress and produce mild euphoria. But even though cannabis may seem like an innocuous substance compared with other addictive drugs like alcohol or cocaine, about one in nine users develop some degree of addiction to it. People who begin using cannabis at a young age are at higher risk for developing a chronic cannabis use disorder than those who start later in life.
How to prevent Recreational drug abuse
There are several ways you can prevent recreational drug abuse from impacting you or someone you love.
1, First, Education is the key: Learning as much as possible about a drug before taking it will help you determine if it’s right for you and what risks may be involved. This is also important if a friend is considering trying something new provide them with information on both sides of recreational drug use so they can make an informed decision on whether to take it or not. Of course there are a lot of myths when it comes to drugs. Some people believe that all drug use is bad and should be avoided completely, while others believe that certain drugs can actually enhance your life. The truth lies somewhere in between. Like everything else in life, there are positive aspects and negative aspects to drug use. When used properly, certain drugs can be beneficial for both mental and physical health. However, when abused or misused, these same substances can be very dangerous to your health and wellness even deadly.
2, Safety Awareness : Stay on top of important safety information to prevent recreational drug abuse from impacting you or someone you love.
3, Cost Awareness : Learn how you can protect yourself from the high price of getting high by knowing which drugs may be risky for you before it’s too late. Many new users feel that they’re not at risk because they know exactly what they’re doing and have no intention of abusing their drugs. But just because you haven’t started abusing your chosen substance doesn’t mean you won’t at some point down the road.
If anything, new users think more about potential problems than those who’ve been using for years because they don’t understand how their body reacts to certain substances.
4, Self-Reflection and saying no : If you have courage and determination to say no or reduce amount of recreational drug you are using would help to prevent drug use . But it can not be enough as many people think that they can just say no when tempted to use drugs or abuse them. While abstinence is often a great idea, not everyone is able to successfully avoid using drugs for their entire lives. If you have a history of using drugs, it’s time to take a good look at why you’re doing it and what behaviours or situations trigger your addictive behaviour. You might be surprised by what you learn from your self-reflection. Even if it doesn’t immediately reduce or eliminate your craving for drugs and alcohol, looking at yourself objectively will give you some much-needed insight into your behaviour. Once you know what’s triggering your addiction, it becomes easier to control those triggers and replace bad habits with healthier ones. For example, instead of drinking in order to cope with stress, you could go for a run or practice meditation activities that won’t leave you with a hangover. Just remember: Addiction treatment isn’t always as simple as just saying no. It’s important to get help if you need it.
5, Watch over your children and make sure they don’t use drugs or any other substances for that matter. If a friend offers you drugs, say no and walk away from them. This will avoid a lot of problems in your life when it comes to drug abuse.
6, Never try to experiment with a drug yourself; it could be dangerous to your health, especially if it’s not something you know much about or if you take too much. For example, most people think marijuana is harmless, but that’s not true at all; smoking can lead to lung cancer because most people smoke cigarettes while high which causes tar build-up in their lungs over time.
7, Never drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It’s illegal and very dangerous. Driving under influence can cause car accidents that hurt many innocent people who have nothing to do with drugs or alcohol at all. Always remember these things so you won’t become addicted to drugs or hurt anyone else while driving under influence. Remember, prevention is key.
