Stimulants

2 Pages 416 Words

Stimulants are drugs that tend to increase alertness and physical activity. Some widely known Stimulants are Amphetamines, Cocaine, and street drugs commonly called Speed.

The more widely abused stimulants are amphetamines and cocaine. Cocaine has limited commercial use and its sale and possession are strictly controlled. Amphetamines are sometimes prescribed by physicians, and their availability makes them number one pick for misuse. Used properly, amphetamines increase alertness and physical ability. They are often prescribed to reverse the effects of narcolepsy, a rare disorder marked by episodes of uncontrollable sleep, and to help children with minimal brain dysfunction.
Amphetamines increase the heart and respiration rates, increase blood pressure, dilate the pupils of the eyes, and decrease appetite. Other side effects include anxiety, blurred vision, sleeplessness, and dizziness.
Abuse of amphetamines can cause irregular heartbeat and even physical collapse. A common form of abuse of amphetamines is by people who use them to counter the effects of sleeping pills that were taken the night before. This so called roller coaster effect hurts the body.
Even though amphetamine users may feel a brief boost in self-confidence and power, the abuse of the drug can lead to delusions, hallucinations, and a feeling of the heebie jeebies. These feelings can cause a person to act in a crazy fashion, even violently. In most people, these effects disappear when they stop using the drug.
Amphetamines are stolen or gathered through scams involving pharmacists or physicians who are tricked into writing prescriptions for the drugs. These illegally collected drugs are either sold as is or reduced to yellowish crystals that can be taken in a number of ways, including sniffing and by injection.
Another way of illegal selling of amphetamines includes look-alike drugs produced in private and secret laboratories. One danger in these lo...