VARIATIONS IN CONCIOUSNESS
PART A:
MARIJUANA:
Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plant. The plant contains the mind-altering chemical THC and other similar compounds. THC’s chemical structure is similar to the brain chemical anandamide. Endogenous cannabinoids such as anandamide (see figure) function as neurotransmitters because they send chemical messages between nerve cells (neurons) throughout the nervous system. They affect brain areas that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, movement, coordination, and sensory and time perception. Because of this similarity, THC is able to attach to molecules called cannabinoid receptors on neurons in these brain …show more content…
Cocaine increases levels of the natural chemical messenger dopamine in brain circuits controlling pleasure and movement. Normally, the brain releases dopamine in these circuits in response to potential rewards, like the smell of good food. It then recycles back into the cell that released it, shutting off the signal between nerve cells. Cocaine prevents dopamine from recycling, causing excessive amounts to build up between nerve cells. This flood of dopamine ultimately disrupts normal brain communication and causes cocaine’s high. There are many short and long term effects due to the use of cocaine which includes include: extreme happiness and energy, mental alertness, hyper sensitivity to sight, sound, and touch, irritability, paranoia—extreme and unreasonable distrust of others. Cocaine can help some people in performing tasks more effectively while for others it can so the opposite. Use of Cocaine also causes constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, nausea, raised body temperature and blood pressure, faster heartbeat, tremors and muscle twitches, and restlessness. In 2017 a total of 1.30% 8th graders use cocaine for a lifetime, the use of cocaine increases to 2.10% for 10th graders and 4.20% for 12th graders showing that the use of cocaine is almost doubling with age. Cocaine exerts its effects at norepinephrine and dopamine …show more content…
Heroin enters the brain rapidly and binds to opioid receptors on cells located in many areas, especially those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure and in controlling heart rate, sleeping, and breathing. People who use heroin report feeling a gush of pleasure. Other common effects include: dry mouth, warm flushing of the skin, heavy feeling in the arms and legs, nausea and vomiting, severe itching, clouded mental functioning, going "on the nod," a back-and-forth state of being conscious and semiconscious. Heroin can cause very serious damage to a person’s health like insomnia, collapsed veins for people who inject the drug, damaged tissue inside the nose for people who sniff or snort it, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses (swollen tissue filled with pus), constipation and stomach cramping, liver and kidney disease, lung complications, including pneumonia, mental disorders such as depression and antisocial personality disorder, sexual dysfunction for men, irregular menstrual cycles for women. The uses of Heroin for 8th graders for a lifetime in 2017 is about 0.70% which decreases to almost half for 10th graders i.e. 0.40% and goes back to 0.70% for 12th
PART A:
MARIJUANA:
Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plant. The plant contains the mind-altering chemical THC and other similar compounds. THC’s chemical structure is similar to the brain chemical anandamide. Endogenous cannabinoids such as anandamide (see figure) function as neurotransmitters because they send chemical messages between nerve cells (neurons) throughout the nervous system. They affect brain areas that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, movement, coordination, and sensory and time perception. Because of this similarity, THC is able to attach to molecules called cannabinoid receptors on neurons in these brain …show more content…
Cocaine increases levels of the natural chemical messenger dopamine in brain circuits controlling pleasure and movement. Normally, the brain releases dopamine in these circuits in response to potential rewards, like the smell of good food. It then recycles back into the cell that released it, shutting off the signal between nerve cells. Cocaine prevents dopamine from recycling, causing excessive amounts to build up between nerve cells. This flood of dopamine ultimately disrupts normal brain communication and causes cocaine’s high. There are many short and long term effects due to the use of cocaine which includes include: extreme happiness and energy, mental alertness, hyper sensitivity to sight, sound, and touch, irritability, paranoia—extreme and unreasonable distrust of others. Cocaine can help some people in performing tasks more effectively while for others it can so the opposite. Use of Cocaine also causes constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, nausea, raised body temperature and blood pressure, faster heartbeat, tremors and muscle twitches, and restlessness. In 2017 a total of 1.30% 8th graders use cocaine for a lifetime, the use of cocaine increases to 2.10% for 10th graders and 4.20% for 12th graders showing that the use of cocaine is almost doubling with age. Cocaine exerts its effects at norepinephrine and dopamine …show more content…
Heroin enters the brain rapidly and binds to opioid receptors on cells located in many areas, especially those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure and in controlling heart rate, sleeping, and breathing. People who use heroin report feeling a gush of pleasure. Other common effects include: dry mouth, warm flushing of the skin, heavy feeling in the arms and legs, nausea and vomiting, severe itching, clouded mental functioning, going "on the nod," a back-and-forth state of being conscious and semiconscious. Heroin can cause very serious damage to a person’s health like insomnia, collapsed veins for people who inject the drug, damaged tissue inside the nose for people who sniff or snort it, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses (swollen tissue filled with pus), constipation and stomach cramping, liver and kidney disease, lung complications, including pneumonia, mental disorders such as depression and antisocial personality disorder, sexual dysfunction for men, irregular menstrual cycles for women. The uses of Heroin for 8th graders for a lifetime in 2017 is about 0.70% which decreases to almost half for 10th graders i.e. 0.40% and goes back to 0.70% for 12th