Drugs

Possessive drugs in our society; Ecstasy, LSD and Marijuana


The word drug is used in different ways in today’s English language. Originally it refers to a chemical substance (solid, liquid or gas) that has an affect on the central nervous system after taking it into the body, and can also be called psychoactive drug. However, psychoactive drugs have two common types and meanings, sincethey are used in different ways. One common meaning of the term is used in pharmacology, where drug is a chemical substance that is used in treatment, prevention, diagnosis of disease, or used to enhance mental or physical well-being. On the other hand, since psychoactive drugs bring about changes in mood, consciousness, which the user might find advantageous, these substances are easily abused –and this is the second common usage of the word drug. This type refers to a chemical substance that is usually taken into the body in small amounts, has negative effects on a person’s health, and is usually illegal. Drug abuse can lead to addiction, and can possess a person’s body in shocking ways.
In this paper, I am going to write about three of these possessive drugs, which are Ecstasy,LSD and Marijuana. More specifically, I am going to explain what each of these drugs are and their general meaning, their history, how they work, and how they all affect a person’s body or health (short and long-term effects), furthermore, how they affect today’s society.

Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA) is one of the many street names for a drug of abuse, which isillegal and acts as both a stimulant and a hallucinogen. It can be found and derived from an essential oil of the roots of the sassafras tree , and it is one of the drugs that can be obtained most easily. MDMA typically is taken into the body orally, however it can also be inhaled or injected. It is commonly sold as a tablet or capsule that is usually white, yellow or brown. The size, shape and designof these tablets vary, and are usually come with designer symbols. Ecstasy has become one of the most popular drugs in today’s society; for example, in the United Kingdom it is estimated that more than half a million tablets of Ecstasy are sold every weekend and the use of the drug increases year by year . Although some people take the drug in small social events or gatherings, the majority takesit in all-night dance parties in secret locations called raves. However, even though raves are the most common places to obtain Ecstasy, the drug is distributed almost anywhere and the reason it is so popular especially among young people is because of its immediate, positive effects. These effects, which are seemingly advantageous, include emotional warmth, euphoria, a general sense ofwell-being, and colorful hallucination. Other studies also show that the individuals who used MDMA also experienced a heightened sense of “closeness” with other people .

Even though MDMA has been known to public only since the mid-1980s, its history extends back to the early 1900s. The drug was first created in a pharmaceutical company of Merck in 1912 in Darmstadt .The original and the intendeduse of MDMA was an appetite suppressant, however, it remained dormant and not in use in any way until the late 1900s. In 1970, Alexander Shulgin, an American pharmacologist began researching the drug, and became interested in it and concluded that the drug could be used for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression . Soon after, in the late 1970 and early 1980s, MDMA was promotedas a therapeutic product; psychiatrists started using the substance to help patients experiencing depressive disorders, traumas or skizophrenia, despite the fact that it had never undergone any formal clinical trials. This was also the time, when MDMA started to be available and popular on the streets. The drug was banned in the United States in 1985, since it was deemed to have no medical...