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Chapter 4
Drug Abuse
Scientists have long accepted that there is a biological basis for
drug addiction, though the exact mechanisms responsible are only
now being identified. It is believed that addictive substances create
dependence in the user by changing the brain's reward functions,
located in the mesolimbic dopamine system—the part of the brain
that reinforces certain behaviors such as eating, sexual intercourse,
exercise, and social interaction. Addictive substances, through
various means and to different degrees, cause the synapses of this
system to flood with excessive amounts of dopamine, creating a brief
rush of euphoria more commonly called a "high”. Some say that
abuse begins when the user begins shirking responsibility in order to
afford drugs or to have enough time to use them. Some say it begins when a person uses "excessive"
amounts, while others draw the line at the point of legality, and others believe it amounts to chronic use
despite degenerating mental and physical health in the user. Some think that any intoxicant
consumption is an inappropriate activity. Here are some drugs that are abused frequently: Acid/LSD,
Alcohol, Club Drugs, Cocaine, Ecstasy/MDMA, Heroin, Inhalants, Marijuana, Methamphetamine,
PCP/Phencyclidine, Prescription Medications, Smoking/Nicotine and Steroids.
76 | Human Physiology
