How it affects the body

Different drugs affect the body in different ways. This is why there is no safe drug unless you consult a physician and it is prescribed to you. Never take anybody else’s medicine! Drugs alter or change the body in some way. Once consumed into the body drugs find their way into the bloodstream.  This information is broad, for information specific to alcohol, click here.

How do drugs affect the brain?

When drugs get into the bloodstream they are carried to all parts of the body and some reach the brain. The quicker the drug reaches the brain, the more intense the effects.

Once in the brain drugs affect chemicals called neurotransmitters. These are the chemicals that control the flow of information within the brain between the neurons or brain cells, forming a synapse. Neurotransmitters also alter people's moods and feelings. Different drugs can affect different neurotransmitters. Excessive and long-term use of alcohol has been shown to lead to possible brain damage.

How do drugs affect the heart?

Once drugs are taken and enter the bloodstream the heart pumps blood containing the drug to the brain where it will affect how people feel. Drugs can also have an effect on the heart directly and exacerbate heart disease. Heavy drinking of alcohol, for example, can weaken the heart's ability to pump blood and lead to heart failure

The effects of drugs on the liver

The liver breaks down or alters the chemical structure of drugs, gradually neutralizing the effects of the drug. Excessive, long term drinking of alcohol can result in damage to the liver, including cirrhosis, which can be fatal.

The effects of drugs on the lungs

Because the lungs provide the oxygen directly into the body smoking or inhaling drugs can be very dangerous and cause long term damage. The dangers of tobacco smoking, such as tar build up, asthma, swelling and damaging of the lung walls and bronchioles (the cells that absorb oxygen and drugs into the blood stream) and ultimately cancer, are pertinent to most drugs that are smoked. Cannabis for example has its own carcinogenic (cancer causing) chemicals. If smoked with tobacco in a joint, these dangerous chemicals can double up, increasing the chance of developing lung cancer.

As stated above there is no safe illegal drug. Every drug has different effects and every person’s body is different therefore making it impossible to predict how a persons’ body will react to a drug.