Drug Dependence :: essays research papers

Drug DependenceIn fix for a chemical to be considered a dose it must give the capacity toaffect how the body works--to be biologically active. No eye that has thepower to do this is completely safe, and drugs are O.K. only after theydemonstrate that they are relatively safe when used as directed, and when thebenefits overbalance their risks. Thus, some very dangerous drugs are approvedbe causa they are prerequisite to treat serious illness. Digitalis, which causes theheart muscle to contract, is a dangerous drug, yet doctors are permitted to useit because it is vital for treating patients whose heart muscle is weak. A drugas potent as digitalis would not be approved to treat such minor ailments astemporary fatigue because the risks outstrip the benefits.Many persons suffer ill effects from drugs even though they eat up the drugexactly as directed by the doctor or the label. The human population, unlike acolony of ants or bees, contains a cracking variety of genetic variati on. Drugs aretested on at close to a few thousand people. When that same drug is taken bymillions, some people may not respond in a predictable way to the drug. A personwho has a so-called idiosyncratic response to a particular sedative, for example,may become excited quite a than relaxed. Others may be hypersensitive, orextremely sensitive, to certain drugs, suffering reactions that gibeallergies.A patient may also acquire a permissiveness for a certain drug. This means thatever-larger doses are necessary to produce the coveted therapeutic effect.Tolerance may lead to habituation, in which the person becomes so dependent uponthe drug that he or she becomes addicted to it. Addiction causes foulpsychological and physical disturbances when the drug is taken away. Morphine,cocaine, and Benzedrine are uncouth habit-forming drugs. Finally, drugs oftenhave unwanted side effects. These usually cause only minor discomfort such as a throw together rash, headache, or drowsiness.