Drugs and Your Brain

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Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 9 (March 2010).

Drugs and your Brain
By Maria (Gidig)

Many teenagers and adults do drugs everyday, whether they’re legal or not. But very few of those people know how exactly each drug works or the effects of drug use. It’s important and healthy to know what may happen inside your body, if you choose to use drugs. So here some of the most common drugs, and how they affect you, are explained.

Marijuana: Most commonly marijuana, also known as weed or pot, is smoked. It then travels into your lungs where alveoli (sacs where gas exchanges are made) absorb the various substances. This exchange happens quite rapidly after you inhale. From there chemicals go through your bloodstream and into your brain. The other way marijuana is used is through ingestion. Most people eat them through baked goods such as brownies or cookies. In this case your stomach absorbs the chemicals and they make their way into the brain.

In your brain you have what’s called cannabinoid receptors that are activated by anandamide, a neurotransmitter. When under the influence of marijuana the active ingredient, THC, activates the cannabinoid receptors as anandamide normally does. Many of the receptors are located in or near the hippocampus and cerebellum, as well as other places in your brain. This means these are the most effected areas and they each have specific functions. The hippocampus affects short-term memory, and the cerebellum controls coordination. Of course these are not the only effects, just a select few.

Alcohol: Usually alcohol comes in a drink mixed with other liquids that make the alcohol consumption more enjoyable. When you drink alcohol your small intestine absorbs it, and it is pushed into your blood stream where it dissolves into the tissues of your body. This is how it begins to affect you.

When in your brain, alcohol usually affects the nerve cells in the brain by blocking and deterring various nerve cell exchanges which essentially confuses your mind.

Cocaine: One way cocaine is used is by smoking what is called crack cocaine. When it reaches the brain, it then affects the area called the ventral tegmental area. Within this area, the cocaine attaches to the dopamine transporter which aids in dopamine increasing pleasure. When it’s attached, it hinders the absorption of dopamine. Therefore, it continues to stimulate the receptors which absorb the dopamine.

The other, most common way, that cocaine is used is through insufflation, or snorting. This is when you breathe it up through your nose and into your sinuses. Here it’s absorbed by mucous membranes. The extra cocaine that’s not absorbed is collected in mucous which is eventually swallowed, causing the cocaine to affect the dopamine transmitters similar to that of when you smoke crack cocaine.

LSD: LSD, or acid, is normally eaten after it’s been absorbed onto small pieces of paper. It is yet to be proven exactly how LSD creates the effects it does, but it is thought to affect serotonin neurotransmitters. Serotonin is important for mood regulation, sleeping patterns, appetite, and more.

Some also say that LSD is stored in your brain for long amounts of time. When it’s released again, it causes what are called flashbacks. This means you feel the effects of the LSD once again, even if it was over ten years ago that you took the LSD. But this is not proven to be an after-effect of LSD.

Crystal Meth: This addictive drug can be insufflated, injected, smoked, or taken orally. When you take crystal meth it floods your brain with mass amounts of dopamine, more than your body normally releases. This increases pleasure, emotions, and multiple other things. There are many after effects of using this drug. Eventually the amount of dopamine your brain naturally makes will decrease, meaning even when sober it will more difficult for your brain to make you happy.

OxyContin: OxyContin is a pain killer that many doctors prescribe to help with chronic pain, but now has a lot of recreational street value. OxyContin usually comes in pill form, and you can insufflate it or take it orally. Once in your brain it stimulates opioid receptors which controls happiness, pain relief, and has various other effects.