[Zalikha]

I am doing a research on the impact and effect of drugs on youth for my school project.Are there any other impacts that youth will experience other than experiencing mental image pictures of drugs and their effects,drug addicts will become thin,does not like to socialise in the real world,will experience paranoia and will get addicted to drugs?

I would love it if there are other answers to support my question.thanx!

[greenday]

Well, first of all your picture of a drug addict is dead wrong and IMHO a real problem being taught in school. Read this forum! Most of the people here who have had a drug problem are upper middle class with great jobs, nice homes, driving nice cars and have educated family included. I think people need to "get real" here. As a kid, I was taught in school that you could spot an addict a mile away; the dirty, homeless guy with no teeth. DEAD WRONG! (no offense intended with that- only using as an illustration). This leads to a social discremination towards drugs like suboxone and methadone- it's only used for the lowest of society, right??? NO!

Most people get hooked on drugs from their doctors, the dealers in white coats. Drug abuse crosses all lines. Don't try to describe what the average addict looks like, you might not like what you see. It is much more comforting to think of addicts as those lower forms of society, when it knocks at EVERYONE's door, even the rich and famous.

Hope my input helps. And again, I mean no disrespect here.

[sasquatch69]

I agree with the above post.
Consider this: when you walk around town, can you spot a homosexual just by looking at him/her? It's a misconception that homosexuals always have a certain look. Gays can look like anyone at all.
Drug addicts are the same, and there are far more people dependent on prescription drugs than street drugs.
For some drugs, like meth, certain physical manifestations can appear after prolonged abuse, such as blotchy skin, rotten teeth, etc. But for most street drug addicts, they look the way they do because they dont get proper nutrition or take care of themselves, but not because of the drug itself. Addictive drugs generally affect the brain, not the body.

Then again, your question is not stated very clearly, nor in an intelligible way, so you might get better responses by asking your question again, with better grammar and clarity.

[Zalikha]

Do you mind giving me more information on how drugs affect the mind not the body?

[sasquatch69]

Originally Posted by Zalikha

Do you mind giving me more information on how drugs affect the mind not the body?

Well, first of all, many psychoactive drugs affect the brain, not necessarily the mind. They can affect the chemical balance in the brain.
One example would be a narcotic pain reliever like vicodin. It affects the opiate receptors in the brain to minimize pain elsewhere in the body. Most pain relievers affect the brain. The don't do anything to the actual source of the pain, such as a sprained ankle for instance. They simply reduce the amount of pain the brain receives.
Some other pain relievers, however, actually affect the body. Ibuprofen, aspirin, and others. In the example of a sprained ankle, aspirin and ibuprofen reduce pain by reducing swelling. As swelling goes down, pain declines.

I can think of several more examples, but you get the idea.

[Daigaisai_Taren]

How drugs effect my mind. Well, they reduce my social anxiety and OCD symptoms, and make it so that I'm not so depressed that I can't do my school work. (please note, none of the meds I take are mine, or recommended for the things I take them fore). They make me happy, except when the Vicodin causes intimacy problems, which is frustrating. On Ativan, I have no idea how I felt because I took it one night, and the next thing I remember it was 3 pm the next day and I was in a grocery store.
When I'm in withdrawal on the other hand, I'm irritable, depressed, and have craving's so bad I've tried to kill a close friend because he was restraining me when I wanted to go steal pills from another close friend.
The long term mental affects, besides addiction, have been not that bad for me, although I've got some word retrieval problems courtesy of my second time on caffeine. My boyfriend on the other hand had his memory completely wrecked by the same (still legal I might add) drug, at lower doses, and without the three ODs that preceded each time I quit.
As far as I'm concerned, most drugs are too dangerous to mess with, and yet I keep taking them, what more do you need to know?

[Zalikha]

Thank you guys for the information.I will get the real facts to post it in my school portfolio.

[p02jane]

Sorry for the revival of an old topic but apparently I'm also doing the same topic :]

I think some other possible side effects on youths are a constant craving for drugs, slower reaction and a bad withdrawal side effect...?

I would like to know during the time when you were a youth, did you try drugs and what type? Why did you try the drug and are you still taking them now?

Which factor ( parents, schools, communities, and governments ) do you think is the most effective way to reduce drugs abuse on youths ?

Do you think there has been an increase in drugs abuse on youths for the year 2009 due to economic recession or the opposite ?

Sorry for the numerous questions here ;X

[waltnov09]

Hi Zalikha,

Thnaks for this informative post that is very informative. Could you tell about the side effect of Doxorubicin? Because i have no idea about it.

Thanks in advance