Behavioral Effects of Abused Drugs

The common denominator among all users of abused drugs is the goal of attaining an altered state of consciousness. Whether to escape the reality of their own lives or to fulfill a chemically adventurous inclination, all illicit drug users want to leave behind their mundane and sometime painful lives. All of the drugs mentioned are able to meet this goal to various degrees, from alcohol to Ritalin; however, there is often a steep price to pay.

The acute effect of drug or alcohol abuse is almost universally a sense of euphoria. The one exception to this rule is hallucinogens, which are typically taken to experience a dissociative state. Hallucinogens can also lead to experiencing a bad 'trip', which would be antithetical to seeking a euphoric state. Another common experience is disinhibition, which can be elicited through over-ingestion of alcohol or illicitly taking cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy,...
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