Drugs and How They Work

The Way In...

•	When a drug is swallowed it will go into your stomach and then into your bloodstream
•	When the drug is sniffed up the nose or smoked it will be absorbed into your bloodstream through your nasal passages or your lungs
•	Drugs can be injected straight into the veins - it then enters your bloodstream

The Blood - Brain Connection...

•	The drug is carried in the blood to the brain
•	The brain is pretty amazing and it is connected to other parts of the body by nerves, which carry electrical messages a bit like a telephone system.

What Happens Next...

•	The drug affects the brain and then your brain will send a message out other parts of your body
•	Messages about the changes in your body go back to your brain, only this time to another part!
•	Now it all gets a bit busier! The brain puts all these messages together with messages from all of your sensory organs. Yours eyes ears, skin and so on

Making Sense

To make sense of all of these messages the brain uses the ideas and feelings, which you already have. And this is the important bit - the feelings, ideas and thoughts can influence the effects of the drug taken. For example, imagine that the effect of a drug is that the heart rate increases. If the person taking the drug believes it to be safe then he/she may not feel anxious about the effect it is having on their heart. However, if they have heard bad stories about the drug, and their heartbeat gets faster, they well become anxious or start panicing.

Where it’s at!

The environment in which the drug is taken also has an effect on the individual. If everything is cool and the person feels comfortable, physically and emotionally, then the likelihood is that the experience will not be unpleasant. However, if the person is feeling uncomfortable and perhaps unsafe, then the experience could become very unpleasant.

Quantities

The other thing that is vital to the equation, is the quantity of the drug taken. For example, if you look at people at parties when they have had a large quantity of alcohol, you may notice that they become clumsy and standing up straight seems to give them trouble! A small amount may not have an affect. There are no set guidelines and we all have different levels of tolerance.

Adding it all up!

So remember, it’s not just the drug that creates the effect. There are four factors, that when combined, influence the effect of the drug...

•	Factor One: The type of drug taken
•	Factor Two: The quantity of the drug taken
•	Factor Three: The mood of the person who has taken the drug
•	Factor Four: the situation the drug is taken in

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