The Physical and Psychological Effects of Psychoactive Drugs on the Human Body - Assignment Example

Psychoactive Drugs should not be Legalized Psychoactive Drugs should not be Legalized Introduction This literature review is based on the pragmatic information on the physical and psychological effects of psychoactive drugs on the human body across the entire lifespan. It concentrates on the psychological, physical, social, and health effects which arise from their prescription and abuse. The psychological and physical effects of psychoactive drugs usually culminate in the debate of whether or not their use should be legalized or their use should be further restricted. This review’s major concern is to reveal the proven effects that they have above their intended prescription, thus prove the danger which accompanies their use. The resulting conclusions would be important in equipping health practitioners with relevant knowledge concerning the effects which would arise from misuse of the psychoactive drugs. In short, the literature review seeks to justify further implementation of the restriction regarding their illegalization unless under necessary health situations. Research Problem The qualitative aspect driving this literature review is because apart from the intended (medical) purpose of psychoactive drugs, persons of all ages have been increasingly using them for other reasons, which can be termed as misuse. The recognized forms of misuse include use of the drugs for intoxication, inducing a relaxing feeling, keeping off sleep, alleviating “low” moods, and enhancing activity. The problem leading to the research seeks to find out the extent that the negative effects of psychoactive drugs can get. The idea of this literature review is therefore to solve the uncertainty which leads to controversy as to whether these drugs should be legalized at all. By highlighting the negative effects that can arise from their abuse, then it would be easier to conclude why they should remain illegal. On the quantitative side of the research problem, the alarm calling for illegalization of psychoactive drug use emerges from the increasing trends with regards to its abuse. According to Boys, Marsden and Strang (2000), about 50 percent of youngsters aged 16 to 24 in developed countries such as the United States and United Kingdom have abused at least one type of psychoactive drugs. Again, those in the age bracket ranging from 16 years to age 24 mostly abuse marijuana. Other highly prevalent psychoactive drugs include cocaine and amphetamine sulfate. Collectively, these drugs affect the health, education, and political mandates of many states. The other concern contributing to the problem is that multiple drug use, otherwise referred to as poly-drug abuse is on the rise. This term refers to the abuse of more than one type of psychoactive drugs; and this offers more complications to the users. The qualitative and quantitative aspects of the psychoactive drug problem lead to the research question in this literature review. The question derives its basis from the sense that if the drugs in highlight have adverse negative effects on the users, then their use should be termed harmful. Concisely, the use of psychoactive drugs unless under medical instructions should not be allowed. The mandate of the health sector and governments at large is to protect its people from harm. As such, the guiding question for the research is should psychoactive drugs be legalized? In answering this query, the review conducted herein supports that the drugs should not be legalized. This introduces the counter argument that these drugs should not be made legal, meaning that the significance of the review is to argue that since the side-effects of psychoactive drugs are negative, they should never be legalized. Theoretical Framework In this part of the literature review, a framework will be established for analyzing the effects of both use and misuse of the psychoactive drugs. In so doing, the sense as to why their legalization should not be made can be sufficiently supported. Psychotropic or psychoactive drugs are any chemical substances which upon introduction to the brain affect the central nervous system by crossing the blood-brain barrier. The central nervous system, which includes the brain, is altered such that the normal functioning of behavior, cognitive abilities, perceptions, consciousness and mood are artificially controlled. Medically, these drugs are used for several purposes. First, they are prescribed to persons suffering from psychological disorders such as bipolar affective disorder, depression, insomnia, anxiety, and psychosis amongst many others. As is evident here, they are prescribed to restore normal functioning of the brain rather than upgrade it. The second medical use of psychoactive drugs is as anesthesia, which are pain management substances. Some will induce unconsciousness so that the patient can undergo surgery. One drug used for this purpose is halothane. The other group of psychoactive drugs just regulates pain in case of accidents or minor surgeries. These include endogenous opioid peptides. If regulated, they cause no harmful effects. Psychoactive drugs can be abused as well. The first type of misuse occurs when people use them to cope with everyday problems or situations. For instance, bored people may use them to up their moods; the aged may use them to counter their loneliness, while the stressed may use them to relax their minds. However, the most prescribed and abused psychoactive drugs are those used to cure insomnia (induce sleep). The reason why this happens is because people may take these drugs when their actual causes of insomnia are mild, or unrelated to the brain. The second and most dangerous type of abuse is taking them for pleasure, and this happens mostly with the young people. Similar to all other drugs, psychoactive drugs lead to addiction and other harmful effects. The first side effect of psychoactive drugs is reliance. This means that the victim cannot have normal moods, motor control, socialize, or generally take charge of their own bodies without the aid of psychoactive drugs. Other effects of their abuse, which are mainly psychological, include loss of psychomotor performance, affected reaction time, coordinative inability, uncontrolled rage, falling down, unconsciousness, and confusion amongst others. Withdrawal may induce further complications such as urinary problems, fractures from falling, dry mouth, seizures, and worse-than-before problems such as depression or increased suicidal thoughts and attempts. Project Methodology and Approach The first approach towards supporting this research’s thesis, which is illegalization of psychoactive drugs due to their negative effects, is discussed above. It is highlighting the proven effects of misuse or long-term dependence on them. By proving that the negative effects of uncontrolled consumption of psychoactive drugs outnumber the good that comes with it, the thesis is supported. Further methodologies however, apply in furthering the understanding of the thesis; and these are studies conducted by different institutions on different aspects of psychoactive drugs. The first study of supporting the methodology of justifying the research was conducted by The National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The study’s objective was to investigate the effect of psychoactive drug abuse on adults who had depended on such drugs from their younger years. The results revealed that if one was exposed to marijuana before they were age 15, they were six times likelier to become dependents of psychoactive drugs later in life. This is chiefly so because of all those who had used marijuana before age 16, about 62 percent depended on cocaine later in life; about 10 percent relied on heroine, while about 54 percent used non-medical psychotropic drugs (Izzenwasser, 2005). The second study was conducted to determine the effects of medical psychotropic drugs on the elderly as compared to the younger users. The studies stated that in the United States and other developed countries, most users of the prescribed benzodiazepines were older than 45 years, and that the largest percentage was women. Benzodiazepine use becomes a concern when it is used by adults for more than 4 months as compared to younger people. The study stated that owing to the long half lives of the drug metabolites and the slowing metabolism of the elderly, more residual sedation of the drug occurs, affecting the liver. Other side effects occur such as loss of motor coordination, loss of attention, increased falls, and memory loss amongst others (NCBI, 2014). Appropriateness of Project’s Data Collection Methods The first method of collecting data was condensing credible information from relevant online databases and print sources. The reason why these sources were chosen is because the information stated in them is offered by accredited professionals in the healthcare fields, and that means the sources are credible as well. Additionally, both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were applied in sourcing for the project’s material, and these are crucial in generalizing and sourcing for more accurate findings (Salkind, 2012). The qualitative methods provided information in separate focus groups such as gender or age groups, and in comparing the two, important conclusions could be made. On the other hand, quantitative techniques provided information that is more accurate and objective since standardized methods of data collection were used. These methods are important in that the data is standardized and can be replicated in coming up with more formative evaluations. Overall, all the methods interplayed in bypassing the limitations of the extent to which the research could source for, and apply its findings. References Boys, A., Marsden, J., & Strang, J. (2000, Dec. 15). “Understanding Reasons for Drug Use Amongst Young People: a Functional Perspective.” Oxford Journals. 16 (4), 457-469. Izzenwasser, S. (2005). “Differential Effects of Psychoactive Drugs in Adolescents and Adults.” Ncbi/ Crit Rev Neurobiol. 17(2), 51-67. NCBI. (2014). “Substance Abuse Among Older Adults.” Ncbi.nlm.nig.gov. Retrieved on 22 August, 2014 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64413/ Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring Research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Read More