Caffeine, Alcohol, Cannabis

I’ve taken time to list some facts about caffeine, alcohol and marijuana. I’m not arguing for or against anything, I just want to state the facts. I do, however, think it is kind of ironic that America has chosen to legalize the most harmful and addictive substances out there, and illegalize marijuana and other plants that can be helpful in many ways. This is why the War on Drugs does not make any sense to me, and has thankfully been claimed as counter-productive by the Obama administration. Of course, all drugs always have been and always will be abused by animals/humans, and even insects! I’m sure you have heard most of these facts before, but a lot of them I was unaware of. I did not list tobacco and coca plant, but I recommend looking these up.

Caffeine

·It is the most popular and most addictive psychoactive drug in the world.

·1 cup of coffee stays in your system for 18 hours.

·It causes changes in the chemicals in your brain. It mimics adenosine and binds to all the adenosine receptors in your brain, preventing the real adenosine from doing its job, which happens to be the slowing down of the nerve impulses when your brain is tired and needs to become drowsy. Basically, it doesn’t give you energy, but fools your brain into thinking it isn’t tired by preventing adenosine from getting through.

·After a while, your brain figures out what’s going on, and increases the number of receptor cells so it has enough for both caffeine and adenosine.

·When that happens, caffeine can’t keep you awake anymore, unless you increase the amount you drink and plug up more receptor cells. This process takes about a week, and in that time, you essentially become a caffeine addict. Your brain completely reconstructs itself to run on caffeine.

·If you take the caffeine away, your brain has too many receptor cells to operate properly.

·If you quit caffeine “cold turkey”, your brain begins to reduce the number of receptor cells right away, but this process takes about 2 weeks and during that time your body sends out mild distress signals (withdrawals) in the form of headaches, lethargy, fatigue, muscle pain, nausea, and sometimes even stillness and flu-like symptoms. You should cut out caffeine gradually because of this.

·Caffeine increases the levels of dopamine in your brain, which improves the feeling of well-being and mood. Dopamine is the root of caffeine’s addictive properties. People drink caffeine because it increases clarity of thought, temporary alertness, comprehension, memory and reflexes.

·It causes hand tremors, loss of coordination or appetite, insomnia, and in extreme cases – trembling, nausea, heart palpitations, and diarrhea.

·It puts a strain on your liver, pancreas, heart, and nervous system.

Alcohol

·Alcohol mainly affects your liver and kidneys.

·Liver cells normally use fatty acids as fuel, but when alcohol is present, liver cells are forced to first metabolize the alcohol, which permanently changes the cell structure of the liver and impairs the liver’s ability to metabolize fats. Excessive drinking can lead to liver clogged with fat, resulting in deterioration of the liver and ultimately cause the liver to shut down. Without your liver, you will die.

·Alcohol also gets in your bloodstream  and every single biological tissue of the body through cell membranes.

·It stimulates the areas of your brain that are responsible for thinking, relaxation and pleasure seeking.

·It can cause one to “black out” which is memory loss known as “anterograde amnesia”.

·It accelerates the loss of brain cells, as it greatly affects your central nervous system. It changes your personality, leading to mood changes, including jealousy and anger.

·It also causes heart arrhythmia, which is an irregular or rapid heartbeat.

·Women produce less of the dehydrogenase enzyme, which helps break down the alcohol in the stomach, therefore women become more intoxicated on less alcohol than men.

Cannabis

·Cannabis (marijuana) is plant that can be used for many important things. It is used for seeds and seed oils, hemp, medicinal purposes, and of course, recreational drug use because of the THC that is present in the plant.

·Hemp is a natural, durable, soft fiber used for 25,000 durable, textile products such as- paper, clothing, industrial strength ropes, biofuels, medicines and construction material. It has been used by many civilizations from China to Europe for at least 12,000 years. Hemp seeds are very healthy. They are rich in heart-healthy essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Hemp milk is a milk substitute also made from hemp seeds that is both dairy and gluten-free.

·It is the 3^rd most popular drug (behind alcohol, caffeine and tobacco). Its effects are relaxation and a small sense of euphoria from THC. It also has secondary psychoactive effects such as introspection and metacognition. It can also cause paranoia and anxiety.

·THC has been recognized by the FDA in its treatment for a wide range of medicinal conditions, such as “glaucoma, AIDS wasting, neuropathic pain, treatment of spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, and chemotherapy-induced nausea”. It is also used for pain relief, to relieve tics in people with OCD and Tourette syndrome and has been shown to reduce arterial blockages.

·Shown in a recent study, THC might be able to prevent Alzheimer’s disease

·There is no risk for schizophrenia, bipolar disorders or major depression, as these concerns have all been disputed.

·Obviously, smoking of cannabis can be a harmful method of consumption. Edibles are replacing this method.

·It has been used for religious and spiritual rituals in many different cultures dating back to 1400 BC.

Source: Wikipedia