Go Ask Alice: How Drugs Ravage Society

Protecting and encouraging illicit drug usage only serves to further destroy society and everyone within

Sleep and His Half-Brother Death by John William Waterhouse

This essay was originally written as one of my college papers (hence the MLA formatting) and has since been edited and expanded upon. Enjoy.

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“At first, addiction is maintained by pleasure, but the intensity of the pleasure gradually diminishes and the addiction is then maintained by the avoidance of pain.”

— Frank Tallis

On February 6, 2018, Kaylee Muthart tore out her eyes near a church in South Carolina. High on methamphetamines, a drug-induced psychosis led the young woman to violently blind herself with her own bare hands. “Through the prism of meth-induced hallucinations, she sensed the world was ending…The visions would be the last thing she'd ever see as she knelt alongside railroad tracks, screaming in pain.” (Ellis). She was 20 years old.

Kaylee Muthart, in the hospital after her gouging right) and with a pair of prosthetic eyes (left)

Throughout the United States, Canada, and the world, similar tragedies aren’t uncommon. Self-mutilation, murder (UNODC Global Study on Homicide 2023), suicide, rape, and other forms of crime and abuse occur as a result of drugs. Potent, dangerous, and lucrative, synthetic and natural drugs alike have ravaged cities, nations, and the lives within.

Many, however, argue for the legalization of illicit drugs for recreational use. In Canada, cannabis was legalized in 2018, with various other illicit drugs such as opioids, cocaine, and ecstasy being legalized in 2023 (Canadian Psychological Association). The United States, predictably, has followed suit. Since 2021, various cities and states have voted for the creation of “safe zones” or “safe-injection sites” for drug usage (Wernau). Their reasoning? Such sites and policies will prevent lethal overdoses, they say, and will benefit those with addictions.

This is blatantly false. Governments ignoring/enabling drug use has proved fatal for scores of men, women, and children. Since 2021, over 100,000 people in the United States have died annually from drug usage, an unprecedented high (National Center for Health Statistics). Advocating for drug legalization ignores the science of drugs and the countless lives destroyed by them, both in America and around the world.

Impact on the Mind

When drugs are taken via injection, oral consumption, inhalation, or smoking, their chemical components travel directly to the brain. “[T]he drugs…attach onto and activate the [brain’s] neurons,” triggering the activation of natural neurotransmitters, such as dopamine—a key player in addiction (National Institute on Drug Abuse, Drugs and the Brain). The drugs’ chemical makeup causes “abnormal messages” to be sent through the brain’s neural networks, and neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine) are excessively flooded throughout various regions of the brain, such as those controlling:

• Motivation (basal ganglia)

• Anxiety and stress management (extended amygdala)

• Problem-solving and impulse control (prefrontal cortex)

This causes the “high” sensation. During a high, the brain experiences pleasure and a warped sense of perception, tearing away inhibitions and making us more immune to sensations of pain. However, once the high ends, the darker effects of drugs are seen. Brain regions altered during highs remain affected long after, leading to an inability to feel pleasure or joy in favor of heightened impulsivity, irritation, and fear.

Synthetic and natural drugs alike effectively hijack the brain, creating a bleak world in which a person can only feel at ease when high. As one becomes addicted to drugs, they grow dependent on them for emotional functioning. With continuous drug use comes continuous damage to vital regions of the brain. Eventually, those addicted develop a heightened tolerance to specific drugs, and though they may understand the risks, they may continue usage in attempts to feel a sense of normalcy. Without the poison of drugs, the world feels hollow—a crushing realization for many. When one patient was asked why he continued drug usage, despite the harm it caused him, he replied, “I’m just trying to fill a void.” (Maté 45)

Drugs such as ketamine, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines impair natural brain functioning and cognition (Abbott and Hernandez, National Institute on Drug Abuse). Commonly cited effects include (Ramey and Regier):

• Memory loss

• Impaired response time to stimuli

• The inability to focus

• Poor decision-making

These effects are often long-lasting, specifically for those who began drug usage during adolescence. Mooney-Leber and Gould stated, “[I]t is becoming increasingly apparent that deficits in learning and memory following adolescent drug use endure into adulthood, well after drug exposure has subsided.”

Additionally, drugs such as LSD, methamphetamines, cocaine, synthetic cathinone (“bath salts”), and marijuana can lead to substance-induced psychosis, due to their psychotomimetic properties (Fiorentini et al.). This can lead users to experience psychotic symptoms such as:

• Delusions

• Hallucinations

• Heightened senses

• Agitation

• Aggression

• Hyperactivity

• Catatonic posturing

• Paranoia

Further, longtime cannabis users may experience “scromiting”, in which they scream and vomit in a painful, agonizing, psychotic panic (Randall and Hayward).

Substance-induced psychosis from various drugs—specifically cannabis—can result in users developing independent psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia (Fiorentini et al.). Seizures—an interruption of neural signals—are another risk of drug use, with their severity ranging widely from involuntary twitching to tonic-clonic seizures (Chen et al.), which can result in death if left unattended. Note, that this is not for “laced” cannabis, but rather when the drug is in its pure, allegedly “safe” state.

In the case of cocaine, amphetamines, and cathinones, “excitement delirium” can occur. This is an extreme variation of psychosis that culminates in a person’s sudden death (Fiorentini et al.).

Though these risks are drastically heightened if one has a personal and/or family history of psychotic disorders and/or seizures, they can occur at any point during drug usage.

Impact on the Body

People high on xylazine, the “zombie drug”

While the impact of drugs on the mind alone is enough to warrant their criminalization, the effects of drugs extend outward to the body.

Ketamine, for example, causes the body to grow numb and irresponsive to outer stimuli (Abbott and Hernandez).

Meanwhile, marijuana usage increases the risk of injury (Choi et al.).

Ketamine, ether, cannabis, and methamphetamines increase the risk of heart strain heart attacks, and strokes (Kamp and Campo-Flores, How Meth Worsened the Fentanyl Crisis).

Respiratory issues are also common, such as in the case of cannabis, opioids, cocaine, inhalants, and fentanyl (Cohen et al.; Editorial Staff; Kamp and Campo-Flores, Fentanyl’s Ubiquity Inflames America’s Drug Crisis). In a Wall Street Journal report on fentanyl usage, one interviewee stated, “Every time I took a breath, it felt like something was ripping in my stomach…I wanted to die.”

Other physical effects are more chilling, such as in the case of xylazine, also known as “tranq” or “the zombie drug”. Reported effects include impaired heart rate, amnesia, and an unresponsive, “zombie-like” state in which people remain slumped over or sway repeatedly. “Repeated xylazine use is also associated with skin ulcers, abscesses, and related complications” (National Institute on Drug Abuse, Xylazine). These wounds often resemble a body rotting and can result in the amputation of various portions of the body or limbs (NewsNation). Death is an additional risk, as users may develop infections from wounds, or suffocate due to a reduced heart rate and respiratory depression (Drug Enforcement Administration, NewsNation).

Impact on Humanity

People fall into addiction for various reasons, but most often, it is to fill a hole in their hearts and souls. Feeling alienated, isolated, depressed, lost, or even desperate to know what lies beyond the physical, people use drugs to try to find some form of comfort and ease. However, addictions can quickly become crippling, causing damage both to the self and one’s family.

Historically, drug surges have been seen throughout the world, such as widespread opium addiction in China (c. 18th century) (Crocq) or mass ether consumption in Ireland (c. 1840s - 1890s) and Poland (1930s) (Strickland, Zandberg).

The United States alone has suffered various drug surges, such as opiate & morphine epidemics in the 1800s (Trickey); the heroin epidemic of the early 1900s (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime); the crack epidemic (c. 1980 – 1985); and the ongoing modern opioid epidemic, which has claimed over 645,000 lives since 1999 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Turner).

“The overdose crisis is national, but the impact is personal”, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services states. Families grieve for their loved ones, both living and dead, whom they see as having succumbed to preventable fates. “That was my child, and I couldn’t fix that for her,” one mother stated. “Meth is what turned our life into a nightmare,” said another. A grieving brother said, “I just feel like our family wasn’t given the opportunity to show up and intervene.” (Kamp and Campo-Flores, Fentanyl’s Ubiquity Inflames America’s Drug Crisis; How Meth Worsened the Fentanyl Crisis; The Youngest Victims of the Fentanyl Crisis)

Tragedy strikes family members of all ages, including infants, who have died after unknowingly consuming drugs.

Some infants, however, are born already dependent on drugs. Neonatal opioid dependency impacts thousands of newborns annually in the U.S. alone, caused by their mothers’ opioid usage during pregnancy. Within 72 hours after birth, infants with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS)—also known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)—may experience various symptoms that cause the infant distress (National Institutes of Health, Weller), such as:

• Irritability

• Difficulty sleeping and eating

• Tremors

• Hyperthermia (High fever)

• Seizures.

Due to the limited short- and long-term studies on NOWS treatment and the children who received them, techniques for treatment may vary. While some resources suggest that a mother providing her infant with skin-to-skin contact, for infants with NOWS, this can only make them more distressed and unwell (Nationwide Children’s Hospital). “Many infants with NOWS require long hospital stays, intensive medication and management, and ongoing social services or foster care placement.” (National Institutes of Health)

The risk of NOWS is increased if mothers consume opioids for nonmedical use, along with other substances, such as sedatives and marijuana (Patrick et. al.). With the legalization of recreational drugs—specifically opioids—more newborns would likely suffer the effects of NOWS, exposing them to unnecessary stress and illness from birth, and ultimately increasing their risk of premature death (Anbalagan and Mendez).

Throughout the world, drugs have devastated countless lives. Native Americans in the U.S. suffer from the highest rates of overdose in the nation, suffering 30 overdoses per 100,000 people—the highest rate of overdose among any race or ethnicity in the country. Overdose rates are also increased for men, those living in poverty, and the disabled (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services). It is estimated that the United States and Scotland have the highest rates of fatal overdose internationally (Baumgartner et al.). Unfortunately, however, true international statistics are unavailable. Beyond a few Western countries, clear, reliable, current statistics are limited (Penington Institute).

What is more well known, though, are the rates of citizens who have been victims of drug-related crimes. In the United States, “41% of violent crimes committed against college students and 38% of non-college student victims believed their offender was under the influence of drugs at the time of the assault” (Murphy). This includes both sexual and non-sexual forms of physical violence. Annually, over 244,000 Americans are arrested for drug-related crimes, comprising 26% of all arrests (National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics).

In Ecuador, between 2016 and 2022, homicide has increased by 407%, with the violence increasingly stemming from cartels and gangs. In the Ecuadorian province of the Esmereldas, homicide rates have exploded to 81.1 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022. European demand for cocaine has led to surging violence across the Caribbean, as drug cartels vie for power in trafficking. In El Salvador, the drug wars have led to the government calling a state of emergency due to surging violence (Global Study on Homicide 2023).

Yet, such statistics are ignored by advocates for drug legalization. In the United States, such advocates will state that drug-related arrests have reduced nationwide. But this is not because drugs are “safe” or because “safe zones” have worked. More likely, it is due to the decriminalization of illicit drugs in various areas of the nation. The state of Oregon, for example, decriminalized all drugs in 2020 under Measure 110 (Wall Street Journal), thus drastically reducing the rates of reported drug-related crimes. Since Measure 110 was passed, however, violent crime rates have risen statewide (Oregon Criminal Justice Commission), only making life more difficult for the innocent who live there. Additionally, from 2022 – 2023, fatal overdoses in the state have risen 20%.

“It's almost an experiment in real-time,” reporter Jessica Mendoza said (Wall Street Journal).

As drug exposure grows, cities in the United States become increasingly dangerous and fatal. As a result, citizens and businesses are fleeing for safety. What’s left behind are “boarded-up storefronts and dilapidated homes” (Kamp and Campo-Flores, Fentanyl’s Ubiquity Inflames America’s Drug Crisis). The more drugs are legalized, the more common this will become throughout both the United States and the world.

As governments and advocates continue to push for the acceptance and legalization of drug use, they are effectively dooming citizens to a world of illness, dilapidated cities, and death. Families will continue to suffer, watching their loved ones be swept away by addiction. Violence will only increase as cartels fight for market control, poisoning consumers who are more at risk of harming themselves and others while under the influence. Globally, well-being will decline, hindering progress and furthering the destruction of societies around the world.

From World Drug Report 2023: Special Points of Interest

Many fall into addiction out of peer pressure, curiosity, or pain. And while the public must acknowledge this, we should never accept the notion that drugs are “harmless” or can be consumed in “a safe way.” We must realize that drugs will always take more than they give. Drugs ravage every facet of society, from the inner self to the wider whole of the human race. Citizens around the world must fight to eliminate drugs from their lives, homes, and communities. By simply accepting drug abuse and ignoring the destruction caused by it, we risk not becoming aware until it’s too late.

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