Pharmacology

Drugs as Technology

Pharmacology is simply the study of drugs and how they interact with the body. While society often paints a variety of pictures colouring drugs as either bad or good depending on who you talk to, it is important to remember that drugs are simply a form of technology. A drug is a tool, just like any other, and like all tools, may be used in both constructive and destructive ways.

The knowledge of drugs in general, as well as specific sub-category knowledge can be very empowering. It's important to make all of your choices with the best information you can get, so by learning more about the various aspects of our universe, we become better equipped to deal with it positively and add to it our own unique points of view.

Drugs in Society

Drugs in the Mainstream

Modern society often sends out very mixed signals regarding drugs and their uses. For instance, administrations who fight the 'War on Drugs' and at the same time, perscriptions for antidepressants and ADD/ADHD related drugs have continued to skyrocket. Another example is that of alcohol versus marijuana. Sometimes, drugs make it out into widespread use before negative side affects are discovered or made public, such as heroin and thalidomide to name a couple.

Drugs within Subcultures

Individual subcultures within modern society hold points of ranging from casual usage to 'take off the edge' to reckless recreational uses to metaphysical and religious uses. Some will have basis in science, other popular myth, but no matter how stupid an idea it may be to take a particular drug, you can basically always bet that someone out there would take it no problem and enjoy it in the process.

Addiction

One of the most dangerous aspects of many drugs is the possibility or tendency to cause addiction. Addiction comes in two forms. Being addicted is one of the most UnEmpowering things you can do for yourself, so it is important to understand drugs and make good choices.

Psychological Addiction

Psychological addiction may form about anything, really, but drugs can be particularly good at helping this along because of the good feelings that can be induced. Psychological addiction is all in the mind, not chemically based, but it can be just as real as any addiction there is.

Physical Dependency

Some drugs begin to alter your biochemistry after repeated use. In essence, these drugs change the baseline for how your biological processes operate--where the norms are for you, and you begin to need this drug at a chemical level in order to function.

Types of Drugs

Stimulants (Uppers) - These types of drugs make you go up, providing increased energy, concentration, stamina, etc. After a time, this effect becomes diminished and side effects and addiveness for stimulants ranges right up into the real bad.

Depressants (Downers) - The opposite of simulants, depressants make you go down, become tired, slow, relaxed, etc. Depressants also range from the mild to the wild.

Psychedelics (Hallucinogens) - These might be up, down, or in between, but they alter things along the way. Psychedelic drugs range from mild mood altering effects to full-on hallucinations.

Hormones (Steroids) - Hormones are drugs which regulate biological processes, and as such usually very powerful with long term effects. Coming in both natural and synthetic varieties, use of hormones can thrown a body's balance out of whack and cause some serious results.