Table of contentsCauses of heroin abuseEffects of heroin abuseLong term effectsIntervention strategies that the government of Kenya can implement to combat drug abuseA drug is any substance other than a food which provides nutrients a carrier which, when inhaled, injected, smoked, consumed, absorbed via a patch on the skin or dissolved under the tongue, causes a temporary physiological and often psychological change in the body. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay There are three types of drugs, namely stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens. Stimulants are medications that, when taken, speed up the functioning of the brain and central nervous system. They temporarily increase alertness and energy. The best known and most readily available legal stimulants are nicotine and caffeine. The most widely used nicotine-containing product is tobacco. Along with caffeine, tea, coffee and some colas are commonly ingested for their stimulating effect. Both have stimulating effects on the central nervous system, to varying degrees. Stafford (2003). Some of these stimulant medications are legal and widely used in Kenya. Types of stimulants include amphetamines, caffeine, cocaine, diet pills, methamphetamines, and Ritalin. Depressants are medications that, when taken, slow down the brain and central nervous system. These drugs include opiates and opioids, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, tranquilizers and alcohol. Due to their effects, these medications can be referred to as suppressants. Alcohol is the most commonly used depressant from time to time. Types of alcohol include lager, wine and liquor. Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that decreases consideration and moderates response speed. Alcohol intoxication influences the brain, causing slurred speech, clumsiness and delayed reflexes. Other physiological impacts include altered vision of space and time, decreased psychomotor skills, and imbalance. Immediate effects of heavy drinking include impulsive speech, restless rest, nausea and vomiting. Indeed, even in low doses, alcohol completely weakens judgment and coordination. Sedatives are found in opium. Important dynamic sedatives found in opium are morphine, codeine, thebaine, and papaverine. Semi-manufactured opioids, for example heroin, oxycodone and hydrocodone, are also obtained from these substances. Sedatives can be infused, snorted, or smoked. The transient impact of mishandling the sedative includes a surge of elation combined with hot flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and crushing farthest points. After budding happiness, clients switch between an attentive and lazy state. Mental work eventually becomes obscured due to discouragement of the focal sensory system. Stafford (2003). Sedatives are used to treat discomfort or rest problems. They have a calming effect by discouraging the sensory system in a way like alcohol. These are the most commonly approved mental prescriptions. They create an effect of relaxation and reduction of tension. Minor sedatives have coordinated depressive consequences on mental territories that control attention and preparation. They enhance the activity of receptors that strengthen the sensory system. Real sedatives essentially influenceparticular receptors in the mind that diminish mindless contemplations, recognitions, and fomentation. A hallucinogen is a psychoactive agent that can cause hallucinations, perceptual abnormalities, and other substantial subjective changes in thoughts, emotions, and consciousness. There are three types of hallucinogens, namely delusional, dissociative and psychedelic. Delusional hallucinogenic drugs alter a person's sensory perceptions to the point where the mind concocts imaginary scenes that have no basis in one's external reality. Examples of delusions are Jimson weed, datura, and deadly nightshade. Dissociative types of hallucinogens essentially separate a person's consciousness from their immediate environment. This is because the dissociative effects of drugs allow the mind to create its own reality in terms of sensory perceptions and emotional experiences. Examples include PCP, magic mushroom, DXM and ketamine. Psychedelic drugs interrupt the brain's ability to filter extraneous sensory details from the immediate environment. This particular ability allows a person to function effectively in the real world. Examples include LSD, mescaline and peyote. Now that we know the main classifications of drugs and some of their effects, I will focus on heroin drug abuse in Kenya. Causes of Heroin AbuseOne of the main factors that push young people to start abusing drugs is poverty. Young people drop out of school due to lack of tuition fees, others drop out to help their parents at their workplace. During this time, you find that they have a lot of free time. Some end up making friends with deviants who introduce them to drugs, at first it's just for recreational purposes, but after a while the body becomes more tolerant of the drug, making them want it of a higher dose, which leads to dependence. Unemployment among young people is Another reason why they like tranquilizers, because they regularly sit still. Due to the lack of jobs, adults rely on selling heroin to schoolchildren for the specific purpose of earning a living. They don't care who they give heroin to or whether or not it's okay to do so, as long as they make a paycheck. Unemployment after school means young people turn to drugs for comfort. Young people's curiosity is heightened by thrillers, rap and films that glorify the use of heroin and other hard drugs. Others may think it's cool to use drugs because they hear about them in music and see such activities on television and in movies. Peer pressure is another cause of heroin abuse in the coastal region. You notice that young people like to party, especially university and high school students. Once they go to these parties, they are introduced to heroin there and because they want to fit in, they follow suit, as they say when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I believe this is a saying that should come to mind when they do it. drugs. At parties, young people do not immediately start abusing heroin. It's a process. They first start drinking alcohol and smoking bhang, then they end up using hard drugs such as heroin. Lack of knowledge about drugs is one of the factors that pushed young people to use heroin. being involved in heroin abuse. Some have friends who think that smoking bhang is acceptable since it is a plant that grows naturally, so it must besmoke regularly. In Kenya, the use of bhang is illegal, so there is no way of knowing what is in the bhang you are smoking. So you find out that others will brew heroin inside the bhang and take it to parties, then by the time one realizes what's in it, they're already addicted and can't take it anymore. 'get over it. Some of the young people who start using heroin have bad role models. You find that some of their parents are drug addicts, so the children have no one to look up to and end up the same way as their parents. The young people decide to start using heroin just to escape their troubles. Not having a good role model can have a serious impact on a young child's life as they grow up and are exposed to drugs. Effects of Heroin Abuse In general, the consequences of heroin abuse manifest quickly, but it all depends on the tactic used. It usually takes ten to fifteen minutes of snorting or smoking heroin for the full effects of the drug to be felt. Injecting heroin may be a much quicker method of ingesting heroin. It takes five to eight minutes for the combined intramuscular injection of heroin to be effective, while it takes seven to eight seconds for the combined injection to require impact for many people. For first-time users, nausea and disgorgement is common. For those who smoke or use heroin, a brief amount of intense pleasure known as the "rush" sets in, followed by a feeling of happiness and a state of physical relaxation, each of which indicates area unit of a high heroin state. This “high” generally lasts 3 to 4 hours. Besides the standard elation that accompanies heroin use, the user also alternates between alertness and drowsiness. there is some degree of lack of water in their mouth, and their skin appears reddened and feels heat. Heroin also slows their breathing and their muscles feel weak. during this state, all problems the user is experiencing in their life seem to subside. As the immediate effects of heroin slowly wear off, the user may feel irritable. Depression due to heroin use is also quite common. For many users, the only way to avoid these unpleasant sensations and get the “high” again is to start using heroin again. It doesn't take much for a heroin user to become a full-blown addict, especially once the user develops a tolerance to the drug and begins demanding more of it in order to cause the same effect. Long-Term Effects One of the major effects that I found was that heroin contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS. This is due to the method by which users choose to take the medication. Some use syringes to inject medications and end up sharing them, leading to the spread of the disease. Remember that users do not have a source of income, so sometimes they may really need to get high, but may not have the funds to make it happen. What they do is go to a friend's house who already has the drug in their bloodstream, draw blood from them and inject themselves to get high. Through this method you discover that the disease is spreading because they are directly exchanging blood. Some end up dying due to addiction or HIV/AIDS-related illnesses. Others engage in prostitution to earn money and end up having unprotected sex with infected people. Heroin addiction has its value, which is quite high. There are many long-term physical effects associated with heroin use. From a..