The addictive nature of drugs is causing great misery in the lives of people. According to NIH, in the United States every year, around 35 to 40 million people are getting affected by drug abuse related illnesses or injuries.
Prolonged use of drugs not only affects the health of the individual but also disturbs his career, family, and social relations. Being aware of different classes of drugs and their effects on both the body and mind will caution you to stay away from drugs and also enable you to protect your loved ones from getting addicted to such unhealthy drugs.
Category of drugs of and their harmful effects:
• Stimulants
Stimulants are a category of drugs that work on the nervous system and make the person feel energetic, mentally alert, and cause a feeling of well-being. These drugs are highly addictive. They damage the brain's decision making abilities. Higher doses of stimulants can lead to death.
• Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens are a class of drugs that cause altered perception of feelings and produce imaginary experiences that seem real. LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), mescaline, MDMA, psilocybin, peyote, and phencyclidine (PCP) are some examples of hallucinogen drugs .
• Dissociative drugs
They cause a feeling of detachment from the body and mind. PCP, dextromethorphan, or ketamine are a few examples of Dissociative drugs .
Use of Dissociative drugs causes various health problems such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, rapid breathing, nausea, blurred vision, anxiety, depression, dizziness, and kidney damage.
• Cannabinoids
Cannabinoids are a class of drugs that interact with the cannabin receptors in the brain which are responsible for our memory, behavior, and performance. Due to this interaction, pain, and perception get affected.
Consumption of these drugs leaves a negative impact on both psychological and physiological functioning of a person. Health effects of cannabin drugs are respiratory difficulties, decline in mental health, difficulty in speech, rapid pulse rate, anxiety, paranoia, and fast and irregular heartbeat. Adverse effects of cannabin drugs are hypertension, nausea, chest pain, hallucinations, abdominal pain, seizures, and tremors.