Individual Project Drugs and Crime - Essay Example

Individual Project Drugs and Crime Drugs and drug addiction has become a matter of great concern these days. The most prominent of them could be LSD (Lysergic acid diethyl amide), morphine, and heroine. LSD: Effects of consumption of LSD can be categorized into three i.e. positive, neutral and negative. Positive effects: i) Increase in energy (stimulation) ii) Increase in associative & creative thinking iii) Mood lift iv) Increased awareness & appreciation of music v) Closed and open eye visuals vi) Profound life-changing spiritual experiences Neutral effects: i) General change in consciousness (as with most psychoactives) ii) Pupil dilation iii) Difficulty focusing iv) Increased salivation and mucus production (causes coughing in some people) v) Unusual body sensations (facial flushing, chills, goose bumps, body energy) vi) Unusual thoughts and speech vii) Change in perception of time viii) Quickly changing emotions (happiness, fear, giddiness, anxiety, anger, joy, irritation) ix) Slight increase in body temperature x) Slight increase in heart rate Negative effects: i) Anxiety, Tension, jaw tension ii) Increased perspiration iii) Nausea, Dizziness and confusion iv) Megalomania v) Over-awareness & over-sensitization to music and noise vii) Paranoia, fear, and panic viii) Unwanted and overwhelming feelings ix) Unwanted life-changing spiritual experiences xi) Flashbacks (www.erowid.org) Morphine: The side effects of morphine are i) Allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closing of throat; swelling of lips, tongue, or face; or hives); ii) Slow, weak breathing; iii) Seizures; iv) Cold, clammy skin; v) Severe weakness or dizziness; or vi) Unconsciousness. (www.drugs.com) Heroin: The effects of heroin can be categorized into two i.e. short term effects and short long term effects. Short term effects: The short-term effects of heroin abuse appear soon after a single dose and disappear in a few hours. After an injection of heroin, the user reports feeling a surge of euphoria ("rush") accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth, and heavy extremities. Following this initial euphoria, the user goes "on the nod," an alternately wakeful and drowsy state. Mental functioning becomes clouded due to the depression of the central nervous system. Other effects included slowed and slurred speech, slow gait, constricted pupils, droopy eyelids, impaired night vision, vomiting, and constipation. surge of pleasure that rapidly follows administration of some drugs. Long term effects: Long-term effects of heroin appear after repeated use for some period of time. Chronic users may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulites, and liver disease .Pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health condition of the abuser, as well as from heroin's depressing effects on respiration. In addition to the effects of the drug itself, street heroin may have additives that do not really dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. (www.drugsfree.com) Two cases of crimes due to consumption of LSD can be focused. First, the case of Stephen Kessler stands out because of the style and magnitude of the headlines in April 1967, which declared him a "Mad LSD Slayer" and "LSD Killer" because he reportedly said to the police as he was being arrested: "Man, I've been flying for three days on LSD." Although it was later reported that Kessler had last taken LSD more than a month before the killings and had actually been on "three quarts of lab alcohol" and "one-and-a-half grains of pentobarbital", this data was trumpeted with somewhat less fanfare. The second major LSD-related crime that splashed across televisions, newspapers, and magazines was that of the murderous cult of personality around Charles Manson. When several members of the group were indicted for high profile murders in 1969, it was big national news. The media carried extensive mentions of the use of LSD, Datura, and other drugs by the members of the "Manson Family". Kasabian spent eighteen days on the witness stand during which Manson's attorney repeatedly returned to questions about her LSD use, trying to depict her as a person who could not tell fact from fantasy. Despite this attempt to discredit a witness for her admitted fifty LSD trips, Manson and his cohorts were convicted and sentenced to death (later converted to life in prison) for the murders, based substantially on Kasabian's testimony. Bibliography: "The vaults of Erowid". 14 january2005, "Morphine". "Heroin". Read More