There are many commonly used psychoactive drugs in America that are legal and widely accepted, but alcohol and nicotine take the cake when talking about being the most accepted. Many people consume these products every single day. Psychoactive drugs are defined as being drugs that “act on the nervous system to alter consciousness, modify perceptions, and change moods.” (Definition from page 146 of Experience Psychology, Laura A. King) These drugs will sometimes make you feel better and relieve fatigue. Some people get addicted to the relief and the way it makes them feel. Addiction is “either a physical or a psychological dependence or both, on a drug.” (Definition from page 147, Experience Psychology, Laura A. King) Alcohol and nicotine are
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There are mass advertisements for these products and the number of people using them is constantly fluctuating. The number of people who use nicotine is going down year after year due to the awareness of the potential harm. I like that the alcohol billboards are promoting safe drinking by telling people to not drink and drive. Although alcohol is legal, there are lots of laws that are very strict about drinking and driving or about being drunk in public, for instance, if you were to get pulled over while drinking and driving you would be taken to jail and be fined thousands and thousands of dollars and in some cases you may even lose your license. A DUI could potentially cost you up to ten thousand dollars in fines, not counting the costs of attorneys and court costs and classes that you may have to take. I feel like these substances are legal and accepted and others are not because they tend to cause much more harm to your body than nicotine and alcohol. Other drugs that people use and are illegal such as meth or heroine create a fake sense of energy and well-being that causes people to push their bodies further and much faster than their body is meant to go. These drugs can cause hallucinations and insomnia and cause you to think that things are okay when they really aren’t. The long term effects of these drugs can cause much more harm to the body than nicotine and alcohol, although these do cause harm, which could be one of the reasons why nicotine and alcohol are accepted but others are not. None of the things that I have talked about in this paper are good for you, the short term pleasures you might receive from them are no match to the long term effects that these substances can have on your body. Weather they are legal or illegal, I feel like they are all
There are mass advertisements for these products and the number of people using them is constantly fluctuating. The number of people who use nicotine is going down year after year due to the awareness of the potential harm. I like that the alcohol billboards are promoting safe drinking by telling people to not drink and drive. Although alcohol is legal, there are lots of laws that are very strict about drinking and driving or about being drunk in public, for instance, if you were to get pulled over while drinking and driving you would be taken to jail and be fined thousands and thousands of dollars and in some cases you may even lose your license. A DUI could potentially cost you up to ten thousand dollars in fines, not counting the costs of attorneys and court costs and classes that you may have to take. I feel like these substances are legal and accepted and others are not because they tend to cause much more harm to your body than nicotine and alcohol. Other drugs that people use and are illegal such as meth or heroine create a fake sense of energy and well-being that causes people to push their bodies further and much faster than their body is meant to go. These drugs can cause hallucinations and insomnia and cause you to think that things are okay when they really aren’t. The long term effects of these drugs can cause much more harm to the body than nicotine and alcohol, although these do cause harm, which could be one of the reasons why nicotine and alcohol are accepted but others are not. None of the things that I have talked about in this paper are good for you, the short term pleasures you might receive from them are no match to the long term effects that these substances can have on your body. Weather they are legal or illegal, I feel like they are all