Okay, before you flip out, just keep reading...

First maybe I should give a definition of addiction. This is one that we came up with in class:

A physiological and psychological dependence on something. Meaning either something in your body has been changed so that it needs it, or it is that you have been conditioned to think you need it.

According to our book and other important people, a drug is only thought to be addictive if it produces a tolerance (when the body needs more and more to get the same effect), and if it produces withdrawal symptoms (which vary from drug to drug but it means that the body produces negative signs when the drug is removed).

So yes, heroin, crack, and all of those other beauties are really addictive according to both of our definitions. The misconception about those is the one about death. There have been studies that have shown that, of the population of users only, okay I don't remember the actual figure, but there was not a significant amount that died from the use of the drug. Yes, I'm being vague but this is a very difficult topic.

So anyway, whether we like it or not, our society pretty much looks down on the use or abuse of drugs but this doesn't really apply to all drugs - does it?

So why is it that marijuana is almost glorified in most circles? That's what I'd like to know. Even though marijuana is not thought under medical criteria to be addictive, it is in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM ) used by psychiatrists, as Cannibus dependence. What kind of confusing messages are we sending here?

It does fit the criteria for having psychological withdrawal symptoms and people do achieve a form of tolerance. Also, the drug Prozac, is said not to be addictive, yet it too produces tolerance and withdrawal effects.

Let's jump a little bit father down society's throat here, even though I would love to say we're all correct about heroin's attributes, we're not. First, because of what I tried to mention above about how the death rate is a misconception. Additionally, though, there were studies performed on returning veterans from Vietnam. When they had been in the war, they were given heroin to relieve their pain, actually, in large and frequent quantities.

So, in 1974 a woman named Robins conducted an extensive study on a number of these veterans, she interviewed them upon return and subsequently at eight months and then even after. She found that at eight months only 10 percent of them reported even using the drug after they'd returned. Only 1 percent of them considered themselves dependent.

So, are you beginning to notice a bit of a discrepency in the information we are spoon fed in society?

There is too much to cover here, so check around, see what you can find out..

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