1. Effects of Drugs on the Human Body 1
Effects of Drugs on the Human Body
MarkTorricer
University of Phoenix
February 2015

2. Effects of Drugs on the Human Body 2
Drugs can affect your body in many ways. They can cause permanent damage long after
you have quit. They can disrupt the function of your body by causing you to breathe too fast or
too slow. They can even make you act aggressively towards others. Even if the drug is prescribed
to you it can cause damage to you causing you to lose sleep. The worst part of being a drug
addict is the trouble it can cause between the family and addict. While some drugs are prescribed
to you and can help fight bacteria in the body, drugs have long term affects after the user quits.
The first thing you need to know about is what addiction really is. The meaning of
addiction is a state characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli. It can be
thought of as a disease. There are many types of addiction but the worst of them all is drug
addiction. When a person gets addicted to drugs they seek the fulfillment it brings to their sense
of pleasure. After awhile a person can become physically addicted to the drug. By physically
addicted it means it becomes part of everyday living for the person.
There are risk factors that can cause a person to become an addict. The most common
risk factor is genetics. (Dryden-Edwards,). Most people do not realize that even in a household
certain people may not become addicted. I have an example of genetics playing a factor in drug
addiction. My mom’s side of the family has many drug addicts. My Uncle Bill was addicted to
Heroin and it eventually cost him his life. My Aunt Kathy was a drug addict until she realized
that it was killing her slowly. She walks around grunting and is in constant pain because of the
drug use. Seeing that it runs in my family I am glad that it did not affect me the way it did with
my Aunt and Uncle. My biggest fear was realized when my brother came to me and told me that

3. Effects of Drugs on the Human Body 3
he had been addicted to Meth and could not stop. What made me catch onto him being addicted
to meth was the fact that he would be awake for days at a time. It took him two tries in rehab to
get better. He had relapsed because of a family member lacing his marijuana with meth.
Drug addiction is a large phenomenon around the world. It can affect anybody at any age
but it mostly affects teenagers and young adults. In terms of crime crimes become more hard to
fight because they are becoming more numerous and complex. As the number of drug addicts
increase so does the increase in STD’s or sexually transmitted diseases. The more the addict uses
the drugs the more the affects take place. Some affects are respiratory disorder, weight loss,
constipation and irregular menstrual cycles in women. (“EFFECTS OF DRUGS ON THE HUMAN
BODY. IDENTIFICATION OF ADDICTS,” 2014).
Drugs are chemicals that can have different effects on the body. For example drugs can
damage the brain and body long after the user stops using. The brain can be permanently
damaged after the addict quits. When the addict is using they may not feel the effects but when
they finally quit it may catch up to them. Most drugs target the brains reward system by flooding
the circuit system with Dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain
that control movement in the body. When drugs enter the brain, they can actually change how the
brain performs its jobs ("Effects of Drug Abuse and Addiction", n.d.)
If you constantly snort cocaine it can damage the cartilage in the nose and your
septum. This can than lead to nosebleeds and the loss of smell in your nose. For meth
addicts feel like bugs are constantly crawling in their skin and it causes them to pick at
their skin. This leads to them having sores on their skin from scratching too much.
Ecstasy user’s run the risk of Kidney failure because when they use it can cause them to
become dehydrated and it can lead to their kidneys not getting enough blood.

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Drugs have certain “passkeys” that allow them to unlock certain locks that are
located between the neuron transmitters. Among the many functions that drugs can
compromise the pleasure transmitter is the most affected one. Researcher are not
surprised when they find out that certain drugs that cause dependency cause an increase
of dopamine.
There are many ways drugs can affect your body. The chemicals in drugs can cause your
heart to beat faster and your body to move slower. It can also make your throat sore and cause
you to either breathe to fast or too slow. It can also cause your pupils to dilate or grow bigger.
When on drugs it can affect all your senses. Certain drugs can cause you to act aggressively to
others in certain situations. You can end up making bad decisions and end up in jail or prison
because you caused bodily harm to another person. Drugs can lead to a life of crime in some
cases. Crimes such as rape, murder, robbery and aggravated assault.
Even prescription drugs can be addicting. After alcohol and marijuana prescription drugs
are the third most commonly abused drugs by kids 14 and older. The three commonly known
classes of prescription drugs that are abused are Opioids, depressants and stimulants. The
Opioids class includes Vicodin, Oxycotin, Dilaudid and Demerol. In the depressant class there is
Valium and Xanax. Finally for the stimulant class there is Ritalin and Adderall. Even though
they are prescriptions a person can become dependent on these drugs.
There are different types of drugs that can negatively affect your sleep. Prescription drugs
happen to be one of them. Some prescription drugs contain caffeine in them and it could cause
the person to lose sleep. Other unknown prescriptions that contain no caffeine in them can also
cause a person to lose sleep. Alcohol even though it is not an actual drug it can still be addictive

5. Effects of Drugs on the Human Body 5
like most drugs can also make a person lose sleep. Alcohol can be looked at as both negative
and positive. The negative side is that it can mess with the REM or Rapid Eye Movement. This is
the part of the sleep cycle when you fall into a deep sleep. If you have a night cap before going to
bed it tends to mess with your sleep and you may wake up feeling tired still. My father is an
alcoholic and it affects the way he acts towards our family. When he does not drink he gets a full
eight hours of sleep. When he does drink he does not and his mood changes completely. This in
turn can lead to your immune system becoming weak. With a weak immune system it is harder
for the body to defend itself from viruses. People that drink more frequently are more likely to
contract diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.
These are ways that drugs can negatively affect your body. Your brain will end up like
eggs smashed with a pan. It can cause you bodily harm even after you quit. Chemicals in the
drugs can cause you to breathe too fast or too slow and cause you to be destructive. Even though
the drugs are prescribed to you it can negatively affect your body by causing you to lose sleep.
There are some signs to know if a person is a drug addict. The first one is when it comes
to time of consumption or when they need to inject the drug into their system. Some of the signs
for this are pains, fear, sweating, agitation and nervousness. There are some signs you need to
look out for when debating if the addict has just used the drug. They are if the person is sleepy,
are lethargic, if they communicate less and if they isolate themselves. (“EFFECTS OF DRUGS ON
THE HUMAN BODY. IDENTIFICATION OF ADDICTS,” 2014).
In conclusion, although some drugs are prescribed to you and can help fight bacteria in
the body, drugs have long term affects after the user quits for two main reasons. First, your
attitude changes over time when you use drugs. But most importantly, depending on what drug
is used it can lead anywhere from HIV or brain damage.

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Reference page
1. http://ajl.sagepub.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/content/8/6/383
2. http://starlite.crchealth.com/what-do-drugs-do-to-your-body/
3. http://recovergateway.org/resources/individuals/drug-addiction-effects/
4. http://www.medicinenet.com/drug_abuse/page3.htm
5. EFFECTS OF DRUGS ON THE HUMAN BODY. IDENTIFICATION OF ADDICTS. (2014,April). Romanian
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