MESSING WITH MOTHER NATURE

Drugs change, correct, add to, or take away from what Mother Nature already has set into place.  Stimulant drugs are a good example of a type of drug that can be helpful or harmful.

Stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall and methamphetamine all affect how much of a substance called dopamine is saturating the cells of the brain.

Surprised to hear two drugs used in the drug treatment of attention deficit disorders coupled with a drug that is pretty much confined to the arena of drug abuse? Let’s explore why.

Ritalin is a stimulant drug that increases the ability to focus on tasks and sharpens attentiveness and alertness. It is prescribed to children and adults to help them control impulsive behavior and increase attention in school or work, when they have been diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).   Other uses are for narcolepsy, a medical condition where someone falls asleep suddenly and uncontrollably, even when driving or walking the dog. 

Ritalin is ordered by a physician at lower doses, and is slowly and carefully increased over time until just the right effect is achieved for the patient.  This is where the difference between “use” and “misuse” begins.

Stimulants are misused by taking frequent and higher doses so that the brain is flooded with dopamine.  This creates a “high”, a pleasurable sense of well-being. 

Adderall is a combination drug made up of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine.  It, too, is a stimulant drug used to treat ADHD in adults and children.

Both Ritalin and Adderall can be misused and abused, and have become an increasing problem as more and more prescriptions have been written for legit uses and then turned into illegal ones. 

Methamphetamine is a bad guy in the stimulant bunch. Although it has some medicinal use, it is more widely abused in order to obtain the high that is achieved by the rush of dopamine to the receptors in the brain.

While cocaine, another stimulant, is removed from the body rather quickly, methamphetamine stays in the body much longer. From the addict’s perspective this is a positive, but there are severe consequences.

Recent studies on methamphetamine drug abuse shows that long-term users have actual permanent changes in the brain, none of which are good. These changes affect memory and emotion. 

Stimulants have a high potential for dependency and drug addiction.

They should only been taken under close and ongoing medical supervision.


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SONG LYRICS AND STIMULANTS

Stimulants are a class of drugs that work on the brain to temporarily increase physical or psychological abilities and functions.

Stimulants make the user more alert and aware, talkative and energetic. There are many drug stimulants, including caffeine and nicotine, but let’s take a closer look at crack and crack cocaine.

Crack and crack cocaine are illegal and highly addictive stimulants, and quite often addictive from the first dose.  The original level and duration of pleasurable sensations are almost never achieved, no matter how much cocaine is used in the future.

During laboratory studies, all tested animals became addicted to cocaine.  In one study a monkey had to press a bar to receive a dose of cocaine.  After a dose was given by pressing the bar, no more cocaine was available by repeating the same action, but the monkey pressed the bar 12,800 more times until another dose was given.  12, 800!  Addiction. Sadly, humans become their own personal lab experiments when they become addicted to drugs or alcohol.

There are so many street names for cocaine that it would take paragraphs to list them all.  This alone indicates the widespread use and effects of cocaine. 

Cocaine can be sniffed or injected, smoked, or ever rubbed into the skin. Crack cocaine is the crystallized form of cocaine. 

Internationally know guitarist and balladeer Eric Clapton is a recovering addict and alcoholic.  He made famous the JJ Cale song “Cocaine”, but in his concerts makes clear that it was written as—and still is— an anti-drug song that emphasizes the physical, social and emotional destruction of cocaine, and that cocaine use will keep you from getting back everything that you’ve managed to lose in your life because of it:  family, job, security, friends, health or a future. 

Cocaine effects on the body over time

• Increases the heart rate, blood pressure and temperature, all of which cause heart and tissue damage
• Nose bleeds or holes in the partition that separates the nostrils:  sniffing cocaine causes scarring and damage to the nose tissues 
• Breathing problems—wheezing and even bleeding of the lungs (“crack lung”)
• Neurological damage that can cause body jerking, eye blinking and other symptoms (often called “crack dance”)
• Seizures and strokes 

Cocaine and crack cocaine addiction require professional detox and rehabilitation if a user hopes to regain physical and emotional health. Recovery is possible, but it can't be reached without specialized help. 

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