Drugs - Risks and Complications
Taking either "street" or medicinal drugs recreationally can be very dangerous. Some of these drugs cause an addiction which can be physical and / or psychological and the way in which some drugs are taken can lead to infection.
Injecting drugs is the most dangerous method for users, there are risks of injecting more than your body can cope with and therefore overdosing; infection by using non-sterile needles (HIV and Hepatitis) and if you miss your vein there is a risk of abscesses and gangrene.
Physically addictive drugs include heroin, sleeping pills, alcohol and tranquillisers. They work by altering the body’s chemistry and so each time you take the drug you need more to feel “normal” or reach the desired feeling. Once hooked it is very difficult to just stop taking these drugs and it is almost always a very unpleasant experience. It’s what is known as cold turkey. Your body has to get used to the drug not being in its system and you might suffer from painful cramps, shivering and sweats. Even when your body is clean of drugs it can be very hard to stay off them because often users still think they need them.
This Psychological dependence is a risk when taking any drugs, if a drug affects your mood and makes you feel like everything is better when you take it; not taking the drug can be extremely difficult. Cannabis and cocaine are examples of psychologically addictive drugs; cannabis users often feel like they have to get “stoned” to deal with daily life and with cocaine, the hit is very intense but doesn’t last long so users take more and more in order to achieve the high.
LSD, magic mushrooms and ecstasy are all mind altering drugs. They also effect perception which can lead to a “bad trip” which can last upto 12 hours and leave the user feeling paranoid, anxious, frightened and panicky. A further risk with ecstasy is dehydration. Ecstasy increases the body temperature to dangerous levels and your body loses fluids too quickly, many ecstasy users have died not because they were severely dehydrated.