Categories of Drugs and their Effects

This article discusses the three main categories of drugs: depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens. It explores the physical and psychological symptoms of each category and how addiction occurs. The article also discusses Robin Williams' battle with drug addiction and the effects of marijuana and alcohol on the body.

Running head: CATEGORIES OF DRUGS AND THEIR EFFECTS
Categories of Drugs and their Effects
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

CATEGORIES OF DRUGS AND THEIR EFFECTS 2
Categories of Drugs and their Effects
Introduction
There are three main categories of drugs. These are stimulants, depressants and
hallucinogens. The classification is done depending on their action and effect on the brain
and the central nervous system. Most drugs will fit in to one or more of the categories
mentioned above. This section will look at each of the three categories of drugs. The
physical, physiological symptoms and the process of addiction will be discussed. As the word
suggests, depressants slow down/inhibit the normal functioning of the central nervous system
(Edlund et al, 2015). These drugs are among the most commonly abused drugs. Physical
symptoms include inability to maintain the right posture while walking (staggering), the
blood pumping occurs at a decreased rate (low blood pressure), breathing occurs in a way that
is slower than normal, feeling sleepy/drowsy. In high dosages the person may be very
lethargic and appear drowsy. Psychological symptoms include appearing absent minded (they
have lower concentration spans), the reaction time is likely to be very low which makes the
person to look confused, forgetfulness and poor/illogical judgements/conclusions.
Depressants lead to addiction through affecting the neurotransmitters involved in depressing
the activity of the central nervous system leading to addiction (Rudd, Aleshire, Zibbell and
Gladden, 2016).
Stimulants seem to exhibit characteristics that the exact opposite of those of
depressants. They cause the brain and nervous system to be excited (stimulated) which leads
to an increase in attention and activity of the body. Stimulants include substances such
caffeine and cocaine. It follows that some stimulants are legal (e.g. caffeine) while others are
not (e.g. cocaine). The physical effects include an overwhelming/intense feeling of happiness
(being extremely excited), attention improves greatly, one becomes extremely sociable, an

CATEGORIES OF DRUGS AND THEIR EFFECTS 3
increase in sexual desire and performance, breathing process is easier and the appetite is
reduced. In addition to these the heart pumps at a relatively higher rate (leads to increased
blood pressure), one may feel agitated, there may be body tremors and body temperature may
rise to levels above the normal. Psychological side effects include experiencing
hallucinations, having anxiety that never seems to end, being paranoiac and may lead to
depression with long term use. Stimulants lead to production of the neurotransmitter
dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical that stimulates euphoria and therefore one becomes
excited. With prolonged use however, one develops tolerance (they need more to achieve the
same effect). This is how addiction results. The withdrawal symptoms may be detrimental.
Hallucinogens is a term used to refer to a group of drugs that influence/ affect
perception (Seth, Scholl, Rudd and Bacon, 2018). These drugs make the users have a
perception that is not real about their environment. For instance, one may see images have
sensations that are not real (hallucinations). Physical symptoms associated with hallucinogens
include an increase in the heart rate, anorexia (supressed appetite), hallucinations, difficulties
sleeping, increased perspiration and movements that are not coordinated. Long term use may
also result to slurred speech and reduction in body weight. Psychological symptoms include
loss of memory, depression and one having suicidal thoughts. Most hallucinogens interfere
with the brain chemical (neurotransmitter) serotonin. Addiction occurs due to development of
tolerance for the drug. This means that more must be used to achieve the same effect.
Robin Williams and Drug Use
Robin Williams was famous American actor whose many have described as a very
talented comedian. While this is true, his story of battling with drug addiction seems to be a
perfect illustration of how drugs can impair the health and well being of an individual. Being
a celebrity, one may assume that he could hide his addiction. However, drug abuse and use

CATEGORIES OF DRUGS AND THEIR EFFECTS 4
seem not to respect the status of any person. It appears that it knows no bounds. The celebrity
who died in 2014 was addicted to cocaine and alcohol. As observed in the previous section,
cocaine is a stimulant and prolonged use may lead to addiction. Withdrawal symptoms may
also be detrimental to the health and wellbeing. Robin battled with addiction and mental
disorder for several years. He however decided, to do away with the drugs when his son was
about to be born and when his friend died due to drug abuse. Though not without severe
negative consequences such as depression and bipolar disorder. He was however to stop
using the drugs.
After 20 years however, he relapsed and started abusing alcohol. He battled with the
same and even went to a rehabilitation centre to seek help in overcoming the addiction. It
seems that the long-term effects of drug abuse unfortunately caught up with him and he died
in 2014. He died out of asphyxia which was suspected to be a result of abusing the drugs. His
case is a clear illustration of the severe and detrimental effects that drugs may have on an
individual both in the short term and long term (Hoffner and Cohen, 2018). During interviews
in various media, he revealed that he greatly battled with drug use. He revealed that no matter
how much he wanted to stop the habit, it was very difficult and came with severe withdrawal
symptoms. It is evident that he had already developed tolerance and overcoming the addiction
was not an easy task. He was a comedian who many people loved but unfortunately drug
abuse made his life quite miserable and somehow. In addition to the mentioned challenges, he
also suffered from psychosis.
Marijuana and Alcohol
Marijuana is derived from the leaves of cannabis plant. It is one of the drugs that have
a long history of abuse and use. It is also one of the most commonly abused drugs in the
United States. Although it has some medicinal values, prolonged use or use of high dosages

CATEGORIES OF DRUGS AND THEIR EFFECTS 5
may have certain undesirable effects in our bodies. There are both short term and long-term
effects of marijuana. The short-term effects include alteration of the senses (for instance the
sense of sight may be altered such than an individual see objects as being brighter than they
are), psychosis (this occurs when taken in high doses), altered body movements, sudden
changes in mood, difficulty in making rational judgements and delusions (also occurs when
taken in higher doses). Since continued marijuana use continually affects the development of
the brain the long-term effects may be detrimental and quite hard to reverse. The long-term
effects include persistent breathing problems (due to irritation of the lungs), chronic anorexia
(this refers to intense vomiting and nausea usually a s a result cannabinoid hyperemesis
disorder), complications during pregnancy and post-partum, and an increased heart rate
(consequently there is increased blood pressure). When as individual smokes marijuana THC
(tetrahydrocannabinol) rapidly enters the blood stream from the lungs. It is then transported
to the brain and then to other organs. THC binds to receptors used for natural THC like
chemical which leads to stimulation. The natural chemicals are used for brain development
and function (Compton and Berning, 2015). Replacement with the THC leads to the person
feeling ‘high’. This often happens due to overstimulation of the receptors. With time an
individual develops tolerance and addiction.
Alcohol is also one of the drugs most widely used all over the world. it is argued that
alcohol may have some health advantages if taken in moderation. However, when the
disadvantages of consuming alcohol are weighed against the advantages, the disadvantages
are more. Effects of alcohol include liver illnesses and conditions. This is because liver is the
primary organ involved in detoxification of alcohol. Conditions include liver cirrhosis and an
increased risk for liver cancer. It also affects the brain and nervous system causing impaired
judgements and uncoordinated movements. Once consumed and reaches the blood stream,
the it is taken to the liver for detoxification. If more than the liver can handle, the excess

CATEGORIES OF DRUGS AND THEIR EFFECTS 6
continues with circulation reaching the brain and other organs. It stimulates the release of the
feel-good neurotransmitter (dopamine) which leads to euphoria. As circulation continues, the
liver detoxifies the alcohol and the person becomes sober again. With time, the brain is
conditioned to expect alcohol for feeling good and addiction results. Tolerance also occurs.
When compared with marijuana with alcohol, I believe alcohol would be less damaging to an
individual’s wellbeing. This is because alcohol use is not likely to lead to permanent changes
in a short time (especially moderate consumption) and rehabilitation is easier for alcohol
(Zucker, 2015). Marijuana seems to be the most damaging as it may lead to permanent
memory loss and severe mental disorders.
Conclusion
I believe that the category of drugs that is most dangerous to the health and well being
of an individual is the hallucinogens. The reason for this that hallucinogens make people have
false perception of their environment. While other categories also have some detrimental
effects, it seems a very bad thing not to be able to perceive the environment in which you
live. For instance, hallucinogens could make an individual perceive a housefly as a very large
‘animal’. The false perception and effects on memory deteriorates the quality of life.

CATEGORIES OF DRUGS AND THEIR EFFECTS 7
References
Compton, R. P., & Berning, A. (2015). Drug and alcohol crash risk. Journal of Drug
Addiction, Education, and Eradication, 11(1), 29.
Edlund, M. J., Forman-Hoffman, V. L., Winder, C. R., Heller, D. C., Kroutil, L. A., Lipari, R.
N., & Colpe, L. J. (2015). Opioid abuse and depression in adolescents: results from
the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Drug and alcohol dependence, 152,
131-138.
Hoffner, C. A., & Cohen, E. L. (2018). Mental health-related outcomes of Robin Williams’
death: the role of Para social relations and media exposure in stigma, help-seeking,
and outreach. Health communication, 33(12), 1573-1582.
Rudd, R. A., Aleshire, N., Zibbell, J. E., & Gladden, R. M. (2016). Increases in drug and
opioid overdose deaths—United States, 2000–2014. American Journal of
Transplantation, 16(4), 1323-1327.
Seth, P., Scholl, L., Rudd, R. A., & Bacon, S. (2018). Increases and Geographic Variations in
Overdose Deaths Involving Opioids, Cocaine, and Psychostimulants with Abuse
Potential–United States, 2015-2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub, 29.
Zucker, R. A. (2015). Alcohol use and the alcohol use disorders: A developmental‐
biopsychosocial systems formulation covering the life course. Developmental
psychopathology: Volume three: Risk, disorder, and adaptation, 620-656.