INTRODUCTION

In the modern world, the consumption of psychotropic substances, which are both hard and soft drugs, has found a rapid increase among college students as well as senior citizens affecting society collectively. Some people use it for recreational purposes and some use it for pleasure thus getting addicted and becoming a slave to the illegal chain. There are influential people like Steve Jobs who visited Neem Karoli Baba in his prime before launching the greatest of all companies, Apple. Similarly Mark Zuckerberg on the suggestion of Steve Jobs visited Neem Karoli Baba’s ashram and experienced peace and spirituality which lead to the launch of all the time-legendary social media platform, Facebook. Drugs is a complex global challenge affecting millions of capable young generation who consume regularly which affects their health, efficiency and social relationships.

The Government of India along with other Governments, have implemented various laws in order to curb and deter consumption of drugs among the people in the society. Although the extent of the issues depends on access, culture and legislation, drug use and abuse remain a major problem for the society as well as the growth of the nations. The problems related to drugs are deeply connected to organized crime, corruption and terrorism.

Drug, kinds and its effects

Drugs refer to the chemical substances that alter or affect a person’s psychology and physiology when administered or consumed. Drugs can be consumed in various ways including inhalation, ingestion, smoking, and injection, dissolution under the tongue or either through skin absorption. Drugs affect the way the brain works, behaviour and senses. This makes them dangerous and unpredictable, particularly for young individuals.

Sources of drugs:

1. From plants including tobacco, cannabis, mushrooms etc.
2. From synthetic chemicals including amphetamines, ecstasy etc.
3. From processed plant products like caffeine, nicotine etc.

Kinds of drugs

Drugs are classified to categorize different types of drugs based on potential risks, their properties and their effects.

1. Narcotic Drugs

As per pharmacological definition, narcotic drugs are analgesic substances which brings pain relief and sleep by depressing the nervous system. However, the regular use of these drugs leads to severe addiction.

Opium contains of morphine substance going up to 21%. This content is further used to produce its derivative, heroin, which is commonly used drug by addicts. Heroin dissolves easily in water which makes its administration easy. Codeine, derived from opium, is commonly found in prescription cough syrup. Codeine is however not as strong as other drugs, hence it is not commonly used by drug addicts, and nonetheless it is quite addictive.

1.1. Heroin

Heroin is among the most recognized and widely abused drugs. The drug was first produced for tuberculosis patients. The properties of the drug were considered to be very effective. Yet, the addictive substances were quite disturbing .

Among other parts of countries, 60-80% of the entire supply of this drug allegedly comes from Burma . India is considered to be the leading consumer of heroin and the biggest grower of legal opium, which is legitimately used to make a varied range of medicines .

Additionally, India is also at an increased threat of drug abuse due to its geographical location between Burma and Afghanistan and used as a drug trafficking route between the nations. Brown sugar is a form of heroin commonly used in the India with 60 to 80% purity. Due to its cheap price and easy accessibility, this form of drug is very popular in India among wide variety of people.

Recent trend supports that not only adults but young children including 13 years of age are becoming slaves for drug addiction. Due to less purity and toxic substances present, there are serious hostile effects from taking this drug.

2. Stimulant

Stimulants are called as “uppers” as they increase attention and energy. The most commonly used drugs that fall into the category are cocaine and amphetamines.

2.1. Cocaine

Cocaine had wide medical use as pa ainkiller or also as anaesthetic. Cocaine is a great stimulant which resembles the effects caused by amphetamines, explicitly, which further promotes alertness, and is complemented by withholding of hunger, and boredom. Cocaine is usually sniffed through the nose and absorbed into the body .

A form of cocaine, popularly known as crack is snorted, which produces a sensation of euphoria, makes a person’s mind more alert, collectively making the person who administers it feel good. However, when the euphoric feeling diminishes as the drug levels drop the user feels depressed and anxious. The desire or anxiousness to return to the euphoric sensation is so mighty that users quickly adopt a habit for the drug that is unfeasible to overcome.

2.2. Amphetamines

Amphetamines are commonly referred as “uppers” or “speed.” Methamphetamine use poses a challenge to the law enforcement all over the world and also there are escalating reports of use particularly in India. India is one of the main producers of chemicals for methamphetamine. These chemicals are trafficked to manufacturing countries including China, Mexico and America.

The sensation of feeling good and enhanced alertness is thereby followed with a loss of appetite and a reduction of fatigue when therapeutic doses of up to 20 milligrams are taken a day, orally. Nevertheless, these benefits are complemented by agitation and unpredictability, and as soon as the effect wears off, there are chances of depression.

The regular use of Methamphetamine is often associated with substantial mental as well as physical health concerns including violent behaviour, unreasonable fear, lack of sleep and brain damage.

ICE is a form of meth allegedly is in high need in a few countries. After the effect of the drug wears off, users become deprived and sleep continuously for days. Repeated use of ice leads to a strong dependence, which further fosters its persistent use.

3. Depressants

A depressant is a drug, which depresses or reduces stimulation, by lowering neurotransmission levels in various areas of the brain. Depressants are referred to as "downers" e.g., Barbiturates.

4. Hallucinogens

These drugs, as the name suggests, create hallucinations for the drug users. Feasibly the prevalent member among this group of drugs is marijuana. Other drugs which come in this group include lysergic acid diethylamide popularly known as LSD, phencyclidine (PCP), psilocybin, and MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) or also known as Ecstasy.

4.1. Marijuana

Cannabis is a prevalently used drug in India known commonly as ganja, charas or bhang. Cannabis is used together with the mixture of milk, nuts and spices to make a beverage.

Though it is widely used, cannabis is illegal to possess and also use. 10 million regular cannabis users can be found in India as per statistic reports, out of which are mostly among the working poor to ease their physical pain. The regular use of this drug results in serious health complications, including but not restricted to, memory impairment, digestive tract problems, respiratory issues, insomnia etc.

DATURA

A kind of vespertine-flowering plant that is said to be highly poisonous also called a devil’s trumpet or mad apple is DATURA. All species of the datura are said to be extremely poisonous and psychoactive, particularly the seeds and flowers which can potentially result in respiratory issues, delirium, hallucinations, psychosis and even death of persons. Datura in some cultures is said to be used as poison since ancient times. It can be found commonly in Indian streets.

DMT (N, N-dimethyltryptamine)

DMT is a hallucinogenic drug that organically occurs in some plants. It has the effects of LSD, psychedelics and magic mushrooms. DMT is usually smoked, injected or snorted. Serious complications may occur is DMT is taken in conjunction with heart, liver or kidney conditions or serious mental conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder or mood stabilizers which may result in seizures, serotonin syndrome disorder, and loss of muscle coordination which can further cause falls and injuries.

SUGAR (a legal drug)

It might shock many of us that to see sugar in the list of drugs which we use in our daily routine every day. Every time we consume sugar with our beverages, unknowingly we get addicted to sugar which causes many health problems such as diabetes (which was incurable back in the 1980s), cardiovascular diseases, nerve damage, eye damage, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Sugar should be taken in natural forms like fruits. Sweeteners like honey and brown sugar can be used at a substitute instead. Sugar is not necessary for daily consumption, further, the consumption of sugar regularly decreases the life span and invites incurable diseases leading to take further more medical drugs.

TYDOL (a legal drug)

Tydol is prescribed with other medications by doctors to treat patients for various reasons such as menstrual pain, severe headaches, cold, etc. It has a high potential of addiction or abuse. An overdose of this tablet may result in troubled breathing, blue or pale fingernails or skin. It is easily accessible in local pharmacies without prescription to teenagers. It is taken in the form of injections by dissolving the tablet in water.

OPINION

In our point of view there are many people who been addicted to drugs and have been abused by it that doesn’t mean that their life is done. People who have quit using drugs and started focusing on themselves have achieved heights of success. A wide range of individuals fall into the trap of drug addictions due to many factors like mental agony, financial struggles, and relationship issues or for personal pleasures.

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References:

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2. Montana State University, Bozeman on 2024-11-02
3. Ibid
4. Bridgepoint Education on 2012-01-18
5. MD, FFFLM, Steven B. Karch, “Pathology, Toxicogenetics, and criminalistics of drug abuse
6. Ibid
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8. Ibid
9. Laureate Education Inc. on 2016-06-29
10. Vdoc.pub
11. Ibid
12. Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law on 2016-05-28
13. Xaboxabotobow.weebly.com
14. Vdoc.pub
15. Xaboxabotobow.weebly.com
16. Corinthian Colleges on 2012-05-04
17. University of the Southern Caribbean on 2020-11-13
18. Vdoc.pub
19. Ibid
20. Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law on 2016-05-28
21. Xaboxabotobow.weebly.com
22. Britannica https://www.britannica.com/plant/Datura
    (accessed on 27th November 2024)
23. Swanson vitamins www.swansonvitamins.com
24. University of Wales Swansea on 2024-11-26