How drugs affect your body

Different types of drugs affect your body in different ways, and the effects associated with drugs can vary from person to person. How a drug effects an individual is dependent on a variety of factors including body size, general health, the amount and strength of the drug, and whether any other drugs are in the system at the same time. It is important to remember that illegal drugs are not controlled substances, and therefore the quality and strength may differ from one batch to another. 

Drugs can have short-term and long-term effects. These effects can be physical and psychological, and can include dependency.

You may act differently, feel differently and think differently if you have taken drugs. And you may struggle to control your actions and thoughts. 

You might begin to use drugs without thinking about any harm to your body. You might think drugs won't become a problem because you are only a casual user. The more you take a drug, the more likely you are to build up a tolerance to its effects. This can lead to the need to take larger doses to obtain the effects of the drug. For this reason, evidence suggests that after prolonged use, many drugs can cause dependence. Drug dependence can quickly begin to affect your psychological and physical health, and can also affect your work and social life.

It is important to remember that there is no safe level of drug use. Be careful when taking any kind of drug. 

Risk factors for drug-related harm-

The effects of a drug, and how long they last, depend on a number of factors:

• the type and strength of drugs that you use
• how the drug was made -- substances manufactured in home labs may contain bacteria, dangerous chemicals and other unsafe substances, and have an unknown strength. Even one dose may cause an overdose that leads to brain damage or death
• your physical characteristics (including height, weight, age, body fat and metabolism)
• the dose that you take
• how often and for how long you have been using drugs
• how you ingest the drug (by inhalation, by injection or orally). Compared with swallowing a drug, inhalation and injection are more likely to lead to overdose and dependence. If you are injecting drugs, sharing injecting equipment will increase your risk of contracting serious diseases such as hepatitis and HIV. It will also increase your risk of serious infection
• your mental health, mood and environment (that is, whether you are in a secure, happy place or an unsafe place) can affect the experience you have when taking drugs. If you have a mental health condition, drugs may exacerbate or complicate the symptoms of that condition
• whether you mix drugs, including alcohol. In particular, alcohol use may lead to high risk behaviour (such as drink driving) which can result in the serious injury or death of yourself or others. 

Author can share their article in our Journal through This Link-  https://www.longdom.org/submissions/advances-pharmacoepidemiology-drug-safety.html

Through Email- drugsafety@pharmajournals.org

With Regards,

Sarah Jhonson.

Editorial Team

Advances in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety