Ricky Ocana
Dr. Rice

Stimulants and Depressants
William S. Burroughs (1959) wrote “whether you sniff it smoke it eat it or shove it up your ass the result is the same: ADDICTION”.Two of the most commonly used psychoactive drugs on a daily basis by young teens to mature adults, abused more often than not, and can cause serious side effects both short term and long term are known as stimulants and depressants. Lets look closer to not only how these drugs effect our behavior but more importantly their biological effects towards the human body. Depressants, and their true implications of abuse. Alcohol, Barbiturates, and opiates such as morphine and heroine all relax neural activity and slow body functions categorizing them into the depressants. People who use these drugs are likely to experience temporary pleasure along with anxiety relief, these short term fixes are what lead to addiction because of the need and craving for the drugs effect. Biological effects while using depressants consist of slow neural processing, memory disruption, and reduced self awareness and control. For example, “ In one experiment, those who consumed alcohol were doubly likely to be caught mind-wandering during a reading task, yet were less likely to notice that they zoned out” (Sayette et al., 2009), this along with other effects are the results of abuse. Adverse effects such as the loss of self awareness are just the beginning, for instance “alcohol abuse can lead to alcohol dependence resulting in not only shrinking the brain, but putting you at risk for lung, brain, and liver damage”(Casa,2003; Wuerich2001). Opiates and barbiturates just like alcohol depress neural functions, lead to addiction, and can all ultimately end in death by overdose. The implications of stimulant abuse and its adverse affects. Stimulants unlike depressants speed up neural activity and body functions,