Use of Drugs for Recreational Purposes

¶ … Drugs and Differences between Them

There are various types of drugs that have considerable effects on the brain and are used by individuals for various reasons. These types of drugs are classified into different categories i.e. stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens. As the name suggests, stimulants are drugs that speed up an individual and can be dangerous while depressants are drugs that slow down an individual and can be dangerous by causing vomiting, unconsciousness, and even death. On the contrary, hallucinogens are drugs that make a person see and hear strange things or things that are not actually in existence. Similar to stimulants and depressants, hallucinogens can be dangerous because of their effect on a person's brain. Some examples of depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens are oxycodone, nicotine, and mescaline. These drugs differ with regards to the composition, physical and psychological effects, manufacture or cultivation, how they are used, and individual's motivation for using them.

Oxycodone, Nicotine and Mescaline

Oxycodone is a drug that is used for treatment of moderate to severe pain, especially when there is need for constant pain relief for a long period of time. This drug can be described as a semi-synthetic opioid that is synthesized from thebaine and one of the several opioid alkaloids in the opium poppy. Moreover, oxycodone is regarded as an opioid alkaloid within the Persian poppy and one of the most commonly abused drugs. Therefore, this drug is an opium alkaloid that is utilized in management therapy of long-term pain (Burrows et. al., 2003, p.683). This drug is available as a single-ingredient medication that can be utilized for instant release or controlled release of pain. There are various combinations of the medication including parenteral formulations and combined products that are developed with non-narcotic ingredients like paracetamol and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Oxycodone is clinically approved for oral administration or intake since it is available in oral tablet form that is taken after every 12 hours. However, the drug can also be injected given that it is clinically approved for intramuscular injection and intravenous therapy. Some of the physical and psychological effects of oxycodone include euphoria, fatigue, sweating, dry mouth, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite, diarrhea, hiccups, dizziness, and itching. Moreover, oxycodone can result in death because of the severity of its impact on the human body.

In contrast, nicotine is a stimulant, which is regarded as a powerful parasympathomimetic alkaloid that is cultivated in the roots of nightshade family of plants. Moreover, the drug builds up in the leaves of these types of plants and comprises some percentage of dry weight of tobacco. Apart from being present in a series of certain edible plants, nicotine acts as an antiherbivore chemical that has contributed to its previous use in insecticides. When used in lesser doses, nicotine is a stimulant, especially in mammals but becomes harmful when administered in high amounts or doses. Despite the potential harmful effects of this drug, it is widely used to help quit smoking through providing the body with nicotine that substitutes cigarettes.

Nicotine consumption varies depending on whether it's used for medical purposes or recreational purposes. For recreation, this substance is consumed as a recreational drug because it is a stimulant while its use for medical purposes involves administration through gums, nasal spray, electronic or alternative cigarettes, and dermal patches. The physical and psychological effects of the drug include increased heart rate and blood pressure, mood-altering effects, and nerve transmission.

Mescaline differs from oxycodone and nicotine in the sense that it is a hallucinogen that is obtained from a tiny, spineless cactus Peyote ("Mescaline," 2014). The drug is also obtained from some components of the Fabaceae, which has contributed to its long history of human use. In addition to its similar effects to those of psilocybin, mescaline has some structural similarities with catecholamine dopamine. These similarities in terms of structure and effects have contributed to the wide range of probable clinical uses of mescaline such as depression and alcoholism.

Mescaline is injected through various ways including oral ingestion, vaginally, rectally, and through sniffing. Moreover, the drug can be consumed by smoking in combination with marijuana or smoking well-dried and powdered peyote. The physical and psychological effects of mescaline include racing heart beat, vomiting, anxiety, headache, and diarrhea as well as open and closed eye visualizations, laughter, euphoria, feelings of revulsion.

Theory on Individual Use