Substance abuse: Drugs

• There are other drugs that people besides alcohol and tobacco
• This include: Cannabis otherwise known as mbanje, marijuana etc
• Prescription drugs (misuse of useful drugs such as pain killers)
• Glue sniffing
• Mandrax, Ecstasy, Cocaine, Heroin
• Mandrax is a hallucinogen i.e. it induces hallucinations when taken
• It was originally meant to be a sleeping tablet
• Some drugs induce feelings of euphoria, ecstasy, elation or invincibility
• All these drugs alter brain chemistry and create certain feelings in the drug taker
• Most of them are addictive

Effects/Problems of Cannabis/Mbanje/Mandrax and other drugs

• Alters personal behaviour
• Loss of self control/Manic behaviour
• Increased criminal tendencies
• Increases chances of unsafe sex and contracting STIs
• Addictive as one becomes dependant on them
• Can cause blood poisoning
• Overdoses are fatal
• Accidental drug mixing can be fatal

Effects/Problems of glue sniffing

• Hallucinations (i.e. Seeing, hearing, feeling, imagining things that are not there)
• Reduced self control/Reduces social inhibition
• Damage of nasal passages
• Damage to muscles and the heart

Solutions/Possible solutions

• Laws prohibiting the consumption of dangerous drugs
• Educating people about the dangers of drugs

To access more topics go to the Combined Science Notes page