The History of Cocaine

For many years people who lived in the Amazon Rainforest have eaten coca leaves to get a high feeling. According to European scientist’s cocaine came in the 1850’s from coca leaves. Once known as a medical drug that did miracles is now recognized as one of the most addictive drugs in the world. One of the oldest plants in South America is the coca plant. According to botanists the coca plant cultivated in the Amazon Rainforest and spread through the Andres mountains. The people of South America have eaten the coca leaf for hundreds of years. The coca leaf is also included in the Inca culture and its religious traditions. (history.gov) As a drug in the streets Cocaine looks like a white powder with crystals in it. Drug dealers usually mix cocaine with other things like cornstarch, baby powder, or flour to rise their profits. (drugabuse.gov)

Cocaine is the second most abused illegal drug in the United States after marijuana. According to CBS news about 15 percent of Americans have used coke and 6 percent of 12^th graders have gotten high from using the drug. (cbsnews) In 1859 Cocaine was removed from coca leaves by Albert Nieman who is  a chemist from Germany. In the 1880’s it started to get popular in the medical society. Sigmund Freud an Austrian psychoanalyst used the drug and he was the first one to promote cocaine as simulant to heal depression and sexual dysfunction. In 1886 he put out an article called “Uber Coca” which supported cocaine benefits and he called it a miracle substance. Freud used cocaine on a regular basis, and he prescribed it to his girlfriend and one of his best friends and he suggested it be used for general purpose. He believed it takes a very large dose of cocaine for it to be toxic and that there is no dose that is lethal. (drugfreeworld)

In 1886 John Pemberton used coca leaves in Coca Cola and the drug’s popularity increased from that. The effects of euphoria and the energizing feeling on the buyer helped to increase Coca cola’s popularity as a soft drink. (drugfreeworld) At first coca cola was sold only at soda fountains that were segregated by race and then it became popular with middle class white people. In 1899 Coca cola started being sold in bottles and minorities that were lower class had ways to approach cocaine infused drug. In 1903 the company eliminated from its services. The move happened because of racial bias incidents and health issues. (history.com)

From the 1850s to the beginning of the 1900’s cocaine, opium, tonics, and wine were highly used by people around the world. Thomas Edison and actor Sarah Berhardt were two famous individuals who promoted the amazing effects of cocaine tonics. The drug was popular in the movie industry in Hollywood and there were messages coming out that were pro-cocaine use and it influenced millions of people. Cocaine use in the community expanded and it started becoming visible that the drug was dangerous. The pressure from the public forced the company of Coca cola eliminate the cocaine from the soda in 1903. By 1905 snorting cocaine became popular and in 5 years hospitals and medical books started reporting situations of nasal injuries that resulted from using the drug. In 1912 it was reported by the United States government that there were 5000 deaths from Cocaine use in one year and in 1922 the drug was banned. (drugfreeworld)

The Narcotic Act of 1914 was established by Francis Burton Harrison, who was a representative of New York to ban access to cocaine and coca leaves except if it was used for medicinal purposes.  The establishment of pharmaceutical amphetamines postponed the non-medicinal use of cocaine in the 1930s. The Controlled Substance Act of 1970 regulated the production of pharmaceutical amphetamines, which decreased their availability significantly.  The use of cocaine began rising during that time and the rise increased when crack cocaine started being used in the 1980s. (MethOIDE)

Crack started to become popular in the 1980s and many people were using it. From 1985 to 1989 there were 4.2 people who used cocaine and the number jumped up to 5.8 million. During that time crime started to increase in large cities. According to the Bureau of Justice statistic crack use caused 32 percent of homicides that took place and 60 percent of drug associated homicides in New York City in 1988. There were concerns by the public over illegal drug use during the 1980s and tensions started rising as the world entered the “crack epidemic” (History.com)

The Anti-Drug Abuse of 186 established penalties for criminals for the amounts of crack and cocaine they had. For possession of crack cocaine there was a five-year prison sentence. The same penalty was given for having 1 gram of crack cocaine and for 100 grams of powdered cocaine. There were individuals who disagreed with the law and thought it was racist since most users of crack are African Americans. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 responded to these criticisms and they lowered the weight rate between crack and powdered cocaine from 100:1 to 18:1 and removed the 5-year prison sentence for possessing crack. (History.com)

 

References:

http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-cocaine

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cocaine

https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/cocaine-a-brief-history-of-blow/5/

http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/cocaine/a-short-history.html

http://methoide.fcm.arizona.edu/infocenter/index.cfm?stid=168

The Truth about Marijuana

Marijuana is the most common used drug in the United States. More than 11 million people that are from age 18 to 25 used Marijuana in 2015. According to the survey from Monitoring the future the use of marijuana among junior and high school students has decreased and leveled down in the past couple of years. Marijuana which is also called weed is a mixture of dried leaves, flowers, and seeds that comes from the Cannabis sativa plant. Marijuana is smoked in rolled cigarettes that are called joints or in pipes or bongs. They can also be smoked in blunts which are cigars that have been emptied and then refilled. People can also mix marijuana with foods such as brownies or cookies. (NIDA)

When marijuana is inhaled THC and other substances go through the lungs into the blood, which carries them all the way through the body to the nervous system. The person starts to feel the effects almost instantly and lasts for 3 to 4 hours. The side effects are different among people.  Many people feel relaxed and a sense of euphoria. There are also other effects which include increased sensory perception and appetite. The pleasant feelings of marijuana doesn’t impact everyone. Some people experience high levels of anxiety, fear and panic. These feelings take place when a person smokes too much with a high quality.  (NIDA)

Marijuana use has short term and long term effects on the brain. It can reduce short term memory and impairs judgement. It can impair school and work performance and make it hard to drive. It can affect the brains of younger people who are still maturing so if teens continue to use it regularly it can have a negative effect on their mental development which can put them in a disadvantage. A study from New Zealand and researchers at Duke University showed that individuals who started smoking marijuana in large amounts in their teens and had a cannabis use disorder lost 8 IQ points between the ages 13 and 38. The mental abilities that were lost didn’t return in in those who stopped using marijuana as adults. A study from NIDA’s Adolescent Brian Cognitive Development is tracking down a big sample of Americans from late in their  childhood too early in their adult years to help show how and to what extent marijuana and other chemical substances affect teenage brain development.

In Australia and New Zealand data from studies found that teens who used marijuana in a regular basis were less likely to finish high school or get a degree than their peers who didn’t use it. They are many studies that have linked high marijuana use to low income, more welfare dependence, unemployment, and illegal behavior. The use of marijuana can have negative consequences at work, such as a greater risk for accidents and injuries. According to National Institute on Drug Abuse employees who tested positive for marijuana on an employment drug screening test had 55 percent more industrial related accidents, more injuries, and were more 75 percent more absent compared with individuals who tested negative. (NIDA)

Marijuana has therapeutic advantages that can outweigh its health dangers.  Medical marijuana helps symptoms of sickness and other situations. The marijuana plant consists of chemicals that may treat many illnesses and symptoms and many people argue that it should be legalized for medical reasons. Weed used for medical purposes can bring positive effects. In Canada it is legal for medical treatments and in areas in the US and Europe. Some positive effects of weed that are used for medical benefits is the reduction of eye pressure and decrease in pain.  These positive effects have led to its use in medical conditions. It can be used in treating pain and vomiting that are connected with cancer treatment. It can also help with chronic pain when other pain relievers don’t work and treat Glaucoma due to marijuana being able to reduce ocular pressure in the eye. (HealthyPlace)

In The U.S. there are 22 states and Washington, DC who has passed laws to stop putting residents in jail for possessing small amounts of marijuana. Marijuana is legal for adults that are 21 and older in 8 of those states while 14 have decriminalized a small possession of marijuana.  In Colton Nutbrown’s blog Best Option for Managing Drug Usage “Decriminalization does mean it is legal to possess, substances however with marijuana as an example, it is not a criminal offense to possess small amounts.” A majority of the decriminalization states give a civil fine, which avoids the consequences that a criminal record holds. (Marijuana Policy Project)

There are some treatments for disorders from marijuana use. Studies show that treating the mental health disorder with treatments that involve medicines and behavioral therapies may help decrease marijuana use, among those who use it heavily and those with more severe mental disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a psychotherapy that teaches people ways to identify and fix difficult behaviors in order to increase self-control, stop drug use, and address problems that follow them.  Another treatment is Motivational enhancement therapy, which is a form of intervention made to produce change. The treatment does not attempt to heal the person, but rather mobilizes their skills and abilities for change and their engagement in therapy. (NIDA)

 

References:

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/how-does-marijuana-use-affect-school-work-social-life

https://www.mpp.org/issues/decriminalization/

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/available-treatments-marijuana-use-disorders

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine

https://www.healthyplace.com/addictions/marijuana-addiction/is-marijuana-harmful-positive-and-negative-effects-of-marijuana-weed/\

Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs)

Most athletes are competitive, and they have a fierce drive to win. They hope they can accomplish goals and maybe even one day win a medal in their home country. A lot of professional athletes hope to gain an advantage by taking supplements that help with muscle buildup. (Mayo Clinic) Performance enhancing drugs or doping has been a problem for athletes since the 1960s. (CNN)

There are many different types of performance enhancing drugs and the four main types are “anabolic steroids, human growth hormones, stimulants and diuretics.”(CNN) An anabolic steroid is a natural substance which helps with muscle buildup. It enables athletes to train in a harder way and helps them recover from tough workouts quickly. Tetrahydrogestrinone or THG which is also known as clear is a strong steroid that is used by legendary and well-known athletes such as track star runner Marion Jones and Major league baseball player Barry Bonds. (CNN) Athletes find these drugs to be appealing. Not only do they make your muscles larger the steroids help to recover from a tough workout in a quicker way and reduce the damage they get on their muscles during a workout session. This allows athletes to exercise harder and more often without having to over train. (Mayo Clinic)

Stimulants are drugs that contain amphetamines and they affect the central nervous system by making you more alert and reducing your appetite. They can also help improve endurance and raise alertness. A Human growth system or HGH is used for endurance improvement and for strength. Androstenedione is a drug that was in sold in the market as an over the counter drug, but FDA interfered, and the drug stopped being sold in 2004.  The NFL, Olympics, NBA and MLB have banned this drug for being used by athletes. (CNN) Androstenedione is an anabolic steroid and the body turns it into testosterone. The last main type of PED is Diuretics and they are drugs that can change how much fluid and salts your body has which leads to dehydration. The loss of the water can make an athlete decrease its weight which can help them compete in a lower weight division which most athletes prefer. Diuretics are banned because these products can dilute a urinary sample in urine drug tests and they are also taken for achieving weight loss.

There have been many scandals of doping in sports. Some scandals have started a debate regarding Performance enhancing drug use in other parts of society. Should military soldiers be allowed to pump themselves with drugs to help them reach the top and how much of this is already happening? Fighters of war are assigned with protecting and defending and if they succeed or fail it can impact the lives of citizens. Amphetamines is a performance enhancing drug that is used widely by the military workforce. In Samuel Good’s blog Drug Abuse Among Military Personal drug use is on the rise with rates being high. “The stresses of deployment during wartime and the unique culture of the military account for some of these differences…. Those with multiple deployments and combat exposure are at greatest risk of developing substance use problems.” This would make sense for military workers using amphetamine because they are tasked with long and excessive missions that can sometimes even last 20 hours. (Army-Technology, 2013)The performance drugs can help with the stresses the militants are facing and push their talents and give them more stamina while they are on a physical task. (Business Insider)

Performance enhancement drug use brings many risks. Anabolic steroids come with severe side effects.  Many athletes take doses of anabolic steroids that are a lot higher than they are supposed to. Steroids can also cause mood swings and road rage. Most athletes who take steroids feel like they need to get to the next level. You may get results and taking steroids can be a solution, but it isn’t simple. You can’t just sit down on your couch by eating bad foods and think you will get a nice physique magically. Steroids can help with the volume of training and recovery, which than allows you to train harder.  (Brotherhood life)

Diuretics and Stimulants taken at any dose can give athletes adverse side effects. Although simulants can increase performance and make you feel more aggressive they come with side effects that can hurt an athlete’s performance. Being nervous and feeling irritable can make it hard for a person to concentrate on a game or task. PED’s can be very dangerous and in some situations, they can be deadly. (Mayo Clinic)

Regularly drug testing athletes and military personal could tackle the problem of doping in some countries. The problem is athletes and the militants could avoid being detected of drugs. They can use masking agents that can speed the PED’S elimination from the body and they can also switch their samples that are positive with a sample that is clean. (SciTech Connect)

 

 

References:

Army technology: Creating Supermen: battlefield performance enhancing drugs. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from http://www.army-technology.com/features/featurecreating-supermen-battlefield-performance-enhancing-drugs/

CNN: Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports Fast Facts. Retrieved May 28, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/06/us/performance-enhancing-drugs-in-sports-fast-facts/index.html

Mayo Clinic: Performance Enhancing Drugs: Know the risks. Retrieved October 15, 2015 from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/performance-enhancing-drugs/art-20046134

Kennedy, Wes: Brotherhood life: Military Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs. Retrieved February 6, 2017 from http://brotherhoodlife.com/performance-enhancing-drugs/

Hackney, Anthony. SciTech Connect: Doping Sports. Retrieved on November 4, 2016 from http://scitechconnect.elsevier.com/doping-sports-athletes-using-performance-enhancing-drugs-caught/

Woody, Christopher. Business Insider: Military and defense. Retrieved on May 17, 2017 from http://www.businessinsider.com/special-operations-super-soldiers-using-performance-enhancing-drugs-2017-5

Opioid drug crisis

Opioids are killing Americans throughout the world and decreasing their lifespans overall. According to a medical report from JAMA Opioids take about 3 months off our lives. In 2015 life expectancy in the US decreased since the year 1993. Deaths from drug overdose continue to get higher and according to The Center for Disease control there were 64,000 deaths from a drug overdose in 2016. The amount of deaths related to Opioid’s has multiplied by four since 1999. One of the main causes for opioid overdose deaths has been from heroin and fentanyl. According to the CDC Fentanyl is the number one cause of opioid overdose. (CNN)

The situation is getting terrible and more worse. Overdose deaths will continue to soar until opioids start to get prescribed in a more careful way and until the treatment for opioid addiction is easier to obtain. Opioids are drugs that raise levels the of nervous system and make you feel a high when taking. The drugs are made from opium and some are synthetic. Hydrocodone and oxycodone are the most frequently prescribed opioids in the US. Opioids are good medicines for relieving pain. They help when you use them after having surgery or after an accident. Most Opioid prescriptions in the US are prescribed for cases of back pain. In situations like these Opioids hurt people more than help them because they can become addicted after using for a long period of time. (Centers for Disease Control, 2017) Opioid pain relievers are safe when taken for a short amount of time and as prescribed from a doctor, but because they give a euphoria feeling with the pain relief they end up getting misused. (NIDA)

Opioid pain relievers are used non- medically by patients and sold in the neighborhoods. In 2012 5 percent of people in the US that were the age 12 or older used opioid prescriptions in a non-medical way. There are consequences of Opioid pain killer abuse and they unpleasant. Prescribed pain relievers that are abused by women that are pregnant can produce many problems in newborn babies which is called neonatal abstinence syndrome.  Problems have increased because Opioid prescriptions are given to pregnant women at a very high rate.  In the US there are about 14.4 percent of women that are pregnant are given an opioid prescription when they are pregnant. (NIDA)

Most overdose deaths from opioids were from prescription opioids until 2011. Deaths from opioid prescriptions settled down while overdose deaths from heroin started to rise. So, you are wondering why this happened? Drug addicts went from Prescription opioids to using Heroin because the government put a stop to painkillers. A great amount people who used heroin after 1995 changed from prescription opioids to using heroin because it was easier to get. The use of Heroin from whites has risen since 2011. From the beginning of the crisis adults who were addicted to opioids would move to using heroin because it wasn’t expensive. (NIDA)

As individuals shifted to Heroin, the supply of heroin became dangerous. This raised overdose deaths from Heroin in 2011. Fentanyl a less expensive synthetic opioid started getting mixed with Heroin and being sold as Heroin. Examiners trained in medicine didn’t drug test persons that overdosed on Heroin but once they started to, data shows that in 2016 deaths from Fentanyl exceeded deaths from opioid prescriptions and heroin. (U.S Department of Justice)

Prescription opioid abuse is expensive. The use of opioid pain killers non- medically costs insurance agencies 72.5 billion yearly in costs of healthcare. (NIDA) The opioid situation is breaking apart communities and families. The health and human service department and NIS is taking different steps to deal with this issue.  They are trying to improve the access to getting treatment and services of recovery by include new programs and mobilizing resources to grow the overall quality and availability of lifelong recovery. The resources will help the women that are pregnant and prisoners that are in jail. (USA Today, 2017)

The NIH is finding new ways to stop opioid misuse and to control pain. NIH is forming partners with pharmaceutical companies and endorsing drugs that can prevent an opioid overdose and developing strategies that can be effective and that don’t cause addiction to help with the constant pain. (NIDA) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA gave $46 million dollars to programs to 22 states in the US to give resources to people who arrive and assist in emergencies and to those who work with people which are at high risks. (USA Today, 2017)

-Naveed Ahmed

Sources-

https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-crisis

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/10/05/opioid-epidemic-getting-worse-instead-better-public-health-officials-warn/732192001/

https://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/legislative-activities/testimony-to-congress/2016/americas-addiction-to-opioids-heroin-prescription-drug-abuse

https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/opioid-epidemic-in-6-charts/

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/19/health/opioids-life-expectancy-study/index.html

“Drug Trafficking”

Drug Trafficking is the most violent crime In America and over 50,000 people died from the overdose of illegal drugs in 2015. That is a lot more than the American’s who died from Muslim extremist attacks in the past 20 years. Nobody uses drugs to become addicted to and individuals that use drugs are hooked to them and it takes over their life but they don’t want to die. A lot of these people start using these drugs when they see a family member or close friend use them.

Drug Smuggling started back in the 1800’s and drugs that were brought in and sold were opium, marijuana, and cocaine. In California Opioids were promoted by manufacturers in an irresponsible way and then doctors started prescribing it. In California, there were immigrants from China who showed the American people about smoking opium. Opium was traded, sold and distributed across the area. The places to purchase and sell was in Opium dens and the drug began to appear in cities in California and then New York and other areas that were Urban. Soon there were some who started exploring other opiates like Morphine. Morphine was used a lot as a pain killer in the Civil war and it caused a lot of soldiers to become addicted. The Harrison Act of 1914 banned opium if it wasn’t used for a medical reason but use of other illegal drugs continued.

Mafia groups in the 1950’s smuggled and sold illegal drugs as well as gambling and other activities. There were drug cartels that sold drugs for money.  The Mafia’s drug exchange was called the “French Connection” and Traffickers in New York would take hold of shipments of Opium from Turkey that came from Paris France.  In the 1970’s Pablo Escobar started a group called the Medellin Cartel where there were drug smugglers that supplied drugs in Columbia. The Medellin Cartel made $60 million dollars every day from drug sales.

According to UNDOC there are 200,000 people who die from abusing drugs every year and it takes $250 billion dollars to treat cases of drug misuse. The economy is highly affected from drug smuggling. A lot of countries are poor and the money from drugs doesn’t not do anything to make the economy better. Drug traffickers in criminal groups who have a lot of money can use that money to protect themselves from governments that try to close their drug activity. There are countries who deal with many health problems from the drugs which is costly. The cost of Health care in the United states for treating drug problems is billions of dollars. It is also expensive to track down and prosecute a drug dealer. The police force and crime also affects how the economy works in most countries

Drug Trafficking is a serious hazard to health. Drug addiction can ruin lives of families and it leads to people being without a home and can cause death. If drug trafficking continues, then there will be a supply of drugs that are available to anybody who wants to use them. Addiction influences children’s health and the way they are loved by society and the way they end up growing up.  Drug trafficking spreads both HIV and hepatitis C. “According to the United Nations on Drugs and Crime, there are about 13.3 percent of drug users that inject in the world that have HIV, and most of them consumed Hepatitis C by the sharing of needles.”(Rehab Center Rankings) Many people have died and it will continue if huge amounts of drugs are continued to get smuggled into different countries.

There are solutions to the drug trafficking problem and how to stop it.  Limiting the prescription of opioids can decrease the abuse issues and there. There are many other pain relievers that can be used instead of opioids that can help with severe pain. Adding more law enforcement police officers can reduce drug smuggling. It will also restrict the number of people in the drug trade. If officers are doing different tasks in the day and you add more law enforcement it can give the public the help that they need. Some other helpful resources are educating, giving counseling and services to people that are facing addiction. The only downside with seeking good therapies and services is that cost can be too high. This correlates with how much a person makes with how much he/she will be addicted to illegal substances through drug trafficking. The poor can’t get the insurance and they can’t pay the fees. People could recover if they changed this in the future.  

According to a report from the white house President Donald Trump’s budget plan attempts to fight the epidemic of drugs “by providing 175 million dollars for battling drug trafficking and opioid abuse. He will give 500 million dollars to individuals addicted to opioids treatment services and stop them from falling into addiction.” (McHugh, 2017)

 

http://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2017/09/21/stopping_the_drug_epidemic_110362.html

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/17/trump-budget-spends-675-million-combat-drug-trafficking-opioid-epidemic/

http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-drug-trafficking

http://www.rehabcenterrankings.com/can-drug-trafficking-be-stopped/