![]() Healthy Lifestyle Alcohol & Drugs |
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A drug is any substance (with the exception of food and water) which, when taken into the body, alters the body's function either physically and/or psychologically. Drugs may be legal (e.g. alcohol, caffeine and tobacco) or illegal (e.g. cannabis,cocaine,heroin and ecstasy) Psychoactive drugs affect the central nervous system and alter a person's mood, thinking and behaviour. Psychoactive drugs may be divided into four categories:
People use drugs for a variety of reasons. Young people often use drugs for the same reasons that adults do.
With regular use, tolerance to and dependence on drugs can develop. Withdrawal symptoms may also be experienced Tolerance: A person needs more of a drug in order to achieve the same effects they felt previously with smaller amounts. Withdrawal: Describes a series of symptoms that may appear when a drug on which a user is physically dependent is stopped or significantly reduced. The withdrawal symptoms vary depending on a range of factors including the drug type and tend to be opposite to the effects produced by the drug. The body is always trying to maintain a state of balance. When the body has become accustomed to the drug for normal function and use is ceased, the body will try to counterbalance for the change producing withdrawal symptoms.
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