Drug effects on young people

 Drug effects on young people

By  Tinaani Nyabereka in Masvingo

Masvingo- The first thing I do when I see a young man or a young woman smoking weed (marijuana) is asking myself, What was the  person  who started this thinking of? Of late I came across the newest poison that people especially young people seem to enjoy. I laughed my lungs out when I was told of the ingredients that make up the “enjoyable” substance. I was told that the major ingredient is crushed Antiretroviral drug and sometimes ratax (what most people use to get rid of rats indoors).

Well I am not judging anyone am not in that position at all but just want us to help each other. Mostly when youths are gathered together new ideas come up among them depending on different factors but peer pressure is always the problem. Universities record high figures of drug abuse and addiction from students.

Coming home to make this more practical, smoking marijuana seems to be a norm to most students some of them are even addicted they cannot function without it, well that is what the users tell themselves. Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is a patterned use of a drug in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods which are harmful to themselves or others, and is a form of substance-related disorder.

Cannabis mostly known as marijuana has been the world’s most widely produced, trafficked and consumed illicit drug for decades. This green plant that most youth treasure much they believe that it emancipate them from lot of troubles, stress and helps them feel good. However they are a lot of damages that marijuana cause.The immediate effects of taking marijuana include rapid heartbeat, disorientation,lack of physical coordination, often followed by depression or sleepiness. Some users suffer panic attacks or anxiety.

The drug can affect more than ones physical health. Studies in Australia in 2008 linked years of heavy marijuana use to brain abnormalities. This is backed up by earlier research on the long-term effects of marijuana, which indicate changes in the brain similar to those caused by long-term abuse of other major drugs.

Marijuana changes the structure of sperm cells, deforming them. Thus even small amounts of marijuana can cause temporary sterility in men. Marijuana use can upset a woman’s menstrual cycle.

Cannabis is one of the few drugs which causes abnormal cell division which leads to severe hereditary defects. A pregnant woman who regularly smokes marijuana may give birth prematurely to an undersized, underweight baby. Over the last ten years, many children of marijuana users have been born with reduced initiative and lessened abilities to concentrate and pursue life goals. Studies also suggest that prenatal (before birth) use of the drug may result in birth defects, mental abnormalities and increased risk of leukemia in children.

Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. Cocaine has a small number of legitimate medical applications. It was historically useful as a topical anaesthetic in eye and nasal surgery,With excessive or prolonged use, the drug can cause itching, fast heart rate, hallucinations, and paranoid delusions.Overdoses cause a marked elevation of blood pressure, which can be life-threatening, and death.Cocaine can often cause reduced food intake, many chronic users lose their appetite and can experience severe malnutrition and significant weight loss. Cocaine effects, further, are shown to be potentiated for the user when used in conjunction with new surroundings and stimuli, and otherwise novel environs

Heroine is an illegal, highly addictive drug.The pleasurable sensation from heroin is called a rush, and the intensity of the rush depends on how much drug was taken and how rapidly the drug entered the brain. When a person injects heroin directly into a vein, the rush occurs within seconds, whereas it takes at least 10 minutes when the drug is sniffed or smoke.

 Soon after the rush, the person feels drowsy and very relaxed. Breathing and heart rate slow, thinking becomes cloudy, and the person may fall into a state like a trance that can last 4 to 6 hours.With repeated use, heroin causes the person to need higher and higher doses of the drug to get the same effect (tolerance).

 It also causes the person's body to need the drug to function (physical dependence), which leads to withdrawal symptoms within a few hours if the person stops using it. Physical and psychological dependence can develop within a few weeks if the drug is used daily.

These are not the only drugs that the university students use. It is wise to note that at the end of it one may experience pleasure for a short while but the damages caused are for a long time if not a life time. The drugs will never offer counselling if it’s an emotional problems and if one finds themselves thinking that drugs is the only option. When one reaches university level, they should start viewing different matters from different perspectives. Illegal drugs will never be an answer to our problems but extra burden. 

The End