It`s rare that you can buy one of the world`s most addictive drugs at your local store or gas station. Cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco contain a highly addictive substance, nicotine, a powerful parasympathomimetic alkaloid that causes addiction, cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), blood clots, and various cancers (such as the lungs and mouth). The variables in the study were: (a) socio-demographic; b) use of legal and illegal drugs at some point in life and in the past 30 days, and c) depressive symptoms assessed using the Yesavage GDS scale, which classified them in the ranges of 0 to 5 normal, 6 to 9 mild and more than 10 moderate/severe10. These are substances that are legal because their initial use is not associated with the consumption or administration of the substance as such in the body. The volatile name is due to the fact that the route of administration is usually inhaled or aspirated. These are substances such as glue, gasoline, anesthetics or ketones that some people use to notice psychoactive effects, usually of the depressed type. Legal and illicit drug use was not statistically significant for the age group (p = 0.433). Comparison by sex and marital status revealed differences, with consumption being 50.1% for females and 49.9% for males (p=0.024); In terms of marital status, the proportion of single consumers is higher than that of married consumers (40.76%) (p = 0.003). There was no difference in school education: 24.46% had primary/secondary education, 40.76% had a bachelor`s degree and 34.78% had a postgraduate diploma (p = 0.9). Although few people consider them drugs, the truth is that they are substances that produce a change in brain chemistry that has effects on behavior, so they can be considered as such. These are substances with a stimulating effect, which usually cause an increase in brain activation. Of course, its effects are much less than those of other substances and require large quantities to become dangerous.
Special mention should be made of a type of recreational substance which, although in reality sold as legal, exploits the legal vacuum created by the lack of knowledge about them, or because it is so new that there has not yet been time to ban it. Not everyone who uses drugs becomes addicted. Every body and brain is different, so their response to drugs can also be different. Some people can become addicted quickly, or it can happen over time. Other people never become addicted. Whether someone becomes addicted or not depends on many things, including genetic, environmental, and developmental factors. Psychotropic drugs, and in fact all types of drugs, are a substance that can be considered a legal drug (it is not for nothing that drugs refer to both the concept of drug and drug) creating a change in the nervous system of the patient (in the case of other drugs not related to psychiatry, change the chemistry of other parts of the body). Basically, the use of these drugs is medical, which is why they are legal.
However, many come to become addicted and are even well used in some cases to try to improve their own skills or during their leisure time. In the psyche of most Spanish speakers, the term drug is associated with an illegal substance: when we hear about drugs, the first names that probably come to mind are cocaine, heroin, ecstasy or LSD. Several risk factors can increase your chances of becoming addicted to drugs, including: We tend to associate drugs with illegality, but the truth is that there are many substances that are considered «drugs» and can be used legally. Remember that any substance that can create changes in our nervous system is considered a drug. Thus, they are given the name of legal drugs substances with psychoactive effects that are authorized because their use is not punishable despite knowledge of their possible effects. This legal status may be related to its recreational use or may be intended for other purposes that do not include its use to alter the psyche and for which it is considered authorized. When analyzing the indicator of depressive symptomatology, it was found that 13.94% had severe symptoms, 47.89% mild and 38.15% had no symptoms. For lifetime drug use (n=368), 53 had symptoms of major depression, 174 had mild symptoms, and 141 had no symptoms. Study of 380 older people, Facebook users®, who responded to a questionnaire published online that asked questions about socio-demographic data, frequency and amount of legal and illegal drug use, and depressive symptoms.
The research findings were consistent with the literature reviewed and agreed that drug use is a common practice among older adults.3, 5, 11, 12 They are also consistent with the literature that identifies tobacco, alcohol, benzodiazepines and marijuana as the most commonly used substances by this age group.4, 5, 6 The wide range of substances used (marijuana, opiates, hallucinogens, amphetamines, inhalants and cocaine) shows an affinity with the literature on the subject, as polydrug use occurred in this population. Legal drug use is also present in older adults with depressive symptoms, as reported by Henwood and Padgett (2007)14, who described it as a strategy to «strictly manage the symptoms of mental disorders.» Drug demand reduction in the United States is the cross-cutting issue that underpins President Obama`s strategy to reduce the drug threat and its consequences. By working aggressively to reduce drug use in the United States through prevention and to help Americans who are already in addiction treatment access addiction treatment, we are not only improving public health and safety in the United States, but we are also reducing an important source of revenue for violent transnational criminal organizations.