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Drug

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In this paper I'm going to compare depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogen. I've chosen alcohol as the depressants. Cocaine is what I have chosen as the stimulant. As my last choice, I've chosen Ecstasy. After I compare the aforementioned substances, I will give a theoretical explanation for why an individual would choose to use one or more of these drugs.
Let begin with alcohol. It is classed as a depressant, meaning that it slows down vital functions—resulting in slurred speech, unsteady movement, disturbed perceptions and an inability to react quickly. As for how it affects the mind, it is best understood as a drug that reduces a person’s ability to think rationally and distorts his or her judgment. Alcohol overdose causes even more severe depressant effects like: the inability to feel pain, toxicity where the body vomits the poison, unconsciousness, coma, or death from severe toxic overdose. These reactions depend on how much is consumed and how quickly. There are different kinds of alcohol. Ethyl alcohol, ethanol, the only alcohol used in beverages, is produced by the fermentation of grains and fruits. Fermenting is a chemical process whereby yeast acts upon certain ingredients in the food, creating alcohol. Fermented drinks, such as beer and wine, contain from two percent alcohol to twenty percent alcohol. Distilled drinks, or liquor, contain from forty percent to fifty percent or more alcohol. Today, an estimated fifteen million Americans suffer from alcoholism.
Next up is the stimulant, Cocaine. Cocaine is one of the most dangerous drugs known to man. Once a person begins taking the drug, it has proven almost impossible to become free of its grip physically and mentally. Cocaine is a drug in a powder form or crystal form. The powder is usually mixed with substances such as corn starch, talcum powder, sugar, or other drugs such as procaine or amphetamines. Extracted from coca leaves, cocaine was originally developed as a painkiller. It is most often sniffed, with the powder absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. It can also be ingested or rubbed into the gums. To more rapidly absorb the drug into the body, abusers inject it, but this substantially increases the risk of overdose. Inhaling it as smoke or vapor speeds absorption with less health risk than injection. Cocaine use can lead to death from respiratory failure, stroke, cerebral hemorrhage or heart attack. Cocaine causes a short-lived, intense high that is immediately followed by the opposite intense depression, edginess and a craving for more of the drug. People who use it often don’t eat or sleep properly. They can experience greatly increased heart rate, muscle spasms and convulsions. The drug can make people feel paranoid, angry, hostile and anxious. Today, cocaine is a worldwide, multibillion-dollar enterprise. Users range from all ages, occupations, and economic levels. In the United States, the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that thirty-five million Americans aged twelve and older reported having used cocaine.
Ecstasy is the last drug on the list. Ecstasy is a hallucinogen drug that can cause hallucinations. It is known as a designer drug because it is created for the purpose of making someone feel high. The drug is popular with teens and young adults who go to clubs, concerts, or "rave parties." Ecstasy often contains hallucinogens, which are drugs that act on the mind and cause people to see or feel things that are not really there. Hallucinogens can throw a person into a scary or sad experience from the past, where he or she gets stuck without even realizing it. Ecstasy, today contain a wide mixture of substances from LSD, cocaine, heroin, amphetamine and methamphetamine, to rat poison. Ecstasy is emotionally damaging and users often suffer depression, confusion, severe anxiety, paranoia, psychotic behavior, and other psychological problems. Ecstasy smothers the natural alarm signals given out by the body. As a result, after taking the drug, an individual risks going beyond his physical limitations and endurance. For example, a person on Ecstasy may not realize that he has become overheated and can faint or even die of heatstroke. According to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated twelve million Americans aged twelve or older tried Ecstasy at least once in their lives, representing five percent of the US population in that age group.
Now I'm going to use the labeling theory as a why to explain why individuals choose to use drugs. Labeling theory is the theory of how the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. It is associated with the concepts of self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping.

Labeling can also mold the way someone behaves in their lives especially if they cannot shake off that label. There are many in society who view drug taking as something that should not be done because it is medically bad for you, breaks the law and leads an individual down what might become a dark path. For example, A 13 year old girl is caught taking drugs and is labeled a deviant by her friends when they find out. Her parents find out and reinforce the deviant label. Her parents tell her school. Her teachers search her bag on a random search and find drugs. She is permanently excluded from school and the police are informed. She's arrested and cautioned. She cannot find another school in time to take her exams and therefore can only find low paid work. She eventually starts to steal from the shop that employs her in order to buy the drugs that give her an escape from the things she calls her life. The shop finds out and she is fired and the police are informed. She is arrested and charged with theft. She now has a criminal record. She cannot get another job as she has to declare her criminal record to prospective employers. He steals from parents to get some money. She can't deal. She gets stressed. She then proceeds to take an overdose of cocaine that has been cut with impure chemicals and dies at the age of 21. While the above may seem stereotypical to some, others would see it as a self-fulfilling prophecy that is the result of being labeled.
All in all, the stimulant, hallucinogen, and depressant I chose have similarities and differences. I've chosen alcohol as the depressants. Cocaine is what I have chosen as the stimulant. As my last choice, I've chosen Ecstasy. The labeling theory validates the reason individuals use drugs.

References
n.a. n.d. Chemcial Compostion of Alcoholic Beverages, Additives and Contaminants.n.d
n.a.n.d Cannabis, Coca, & Poppy: Nature's Addictive Plants.n.d.
n.a.n.d. “Ecstasy” Kids Health. n.d. http://www.vadic.org/wp-content/uploads/ecstasy-the-big-lie.pdf A. Crossman.n.d.Labeling Theory.About Education.n.d

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