Habituation

Of all the terms that are used to describe the state or dilemma of the user of drugs,habituation is,or should be,the least trouble some.Ordinarly when we speak of habits we indifferently label them good or bad;we see them more or less as personal qualities or characteristics of individuals.However,when the word 'habit' or 'habituation' is applied to drugs,a dismaying emotionalism and vagueness creep in.The fact is that all of us are creatures of habit.Our daily lives are largely filled with repetitive functions,some of which,like eating,sleeping,excreting,are necessary for the ordinary business of caring for the body's needs.There are other habits that we are trained to adopt in order to go about the'business of living';for example,we have our automobile motors regularly tuned up,and we take care of our monthly accounts.Thus habits are both 'public' and 'private' in nature,and without them,without a certain repetitiveness,our lives would tend to become chaotic.Habituations helps us give order to our lives.They are personal,private,& idio syncratic,and they often apply to a particular person's idea of pleasure.
                                                                 Thus, a man and his wife come together at the end of a working day,and they touch,kiss and caress.Have they not done these same things a tousand times before,and will they not comtinue to do them in the future?How pleasent,how satisfying,to be 'habituated' to the kiss,the touch,the gentle words.The same couple has its habits of eating,of drinking,of smoking,of musical taste,and of recreation.When looking at ourselves honestly,we can usually seperate those of our's that we belive good & those that we belive as bad,although the seperation is,beyond a certain point,arbitrary and personal.But generally we suppose that good habits are those that add a pleasure,or atleast satisfying,dimension to our lves or the lives of others,and that bad habits are those that diminish us or our fellow men.Yet,when the habit is esentially private,who is to judge whether it is good or bad?
                                                                  Many people enjoy a glass of wine at dinner or a packet of fags.The repetitive act of taking a favourite drink everyday is indeed a habit.It could be called an indulgent habit,and those who belive that drinking alcohol of any kind,in any amount is immoral,would called it a bad habit.But for the habituated-those who delight in the sensuous aroma,the golden liquid,the pungent taste,the suffusion of warmth-the experience is most pleasurable.It is,to them,a good habit.
                                                                  On the other hand,many millions of persons in INDIA take different drugs habitually,by prescription and non-prescription,and a good number of those come to be-dependent on them,a word that we'll discuss in the next post...........................

Definitions

There has been no shortage of enthusiastic spkokesmen who have tried to label differnt drugs with the emotionally laden term 'narcotic'-a word associated with abuse,addiction,destruction of mind and body,crimes of violence,and heavily restrictive and punitive legal codes.NARCOTICS,in the strict medical sense,are a very small group of drugs:opium and its active constituents,most common of which are MORPHINE and CODINE,and HEROIN,a derivative of MORPHINE that was synthesized(made chemically in the laboratory)late in the ninteenth century.To this group several drugs with opiumlike properties that have synthesized more recently can legitimately be added;such as demerol,which is the brand name given to meperidine hydrochloride,and methadone,although prolonged use of this drug is much less destructive to mind and body than morphine or heroin.
                        Narcotics have the common properties of including sleep or stupor,frequently  accompanied by euphoria,and pleasent dreams or fantasies;and,of course,they can give enormous relief from physical and mental pain.Unfortunately narcotics are seriously addictive,and the body rapidly develops a tolerence to their use.(The terms,habituation,dependence,tolerence and addiction will be defined later on)

DRUGS&YOUTH: DRUGS&YOUTH-medical,psychiatric and legal facts

DRUGS&YOUTH: DRUGS&YOUTH-medical,psychiatric and legal facts: "This is remarkable note.A reasoned,concise and unemotional appraisal of a subject which usually makes tempers flare and nerves fray.I'll m..."

DRUGS&YOUTH-medical,psychiatric and legal facts

This is remarkable note.A reasoned,concise and unemotional appraisal of a subject which usually makes tempers flare and nerves fray.I'll manage to avoid either moralizing or melodrama.I'm trying to give comfort to those who blame all the evils of society on the use of narcotics,nor i'm joining forces with those who propagandize for drugs as the ultimate experience or the way to personal salvation.I think the subject i've choosen is more difficult and far more useful.I'm trying to present the facts-medical,psychiatric and legal-as i came 2 know this throught a dedicated research and self-professional practise,an ample of years ago.
                                This subject will begin with succinct and unambiguous explanations of terms like:"addiction","habituation",tolerence",and "dependence",in my very own philosophical yet factful way.It'll go on 2 present known facts about the various drugs themselves:LSD,MESCALINE,SPED,PEYOTE,HEROIN,the lesser known drugs,and the most commonly used of all "MARIJUANA".
                               Throughout this subject,i'l scrupulously distinguish documented facts from my own informed personal opinions.I even tried providing authoritative answers to questions that can be answered(as i was an addict earlier),but will never presume to offer ma own conclusions as incontrovertible.
                               What is the difference between one drug and another?which drugs are addictive and which are not?what are the effects of each drug-psychological as well as physical,long-range as well as short-range?How does MARIJUANA affect the mind?Are the physical effects of drugs abuse permanent or reversible?

                                             Well,this note of mine on this fragile subject is written with the esteemed help of,some of my dearest friends,medical doctors and psychiatrists(whoose blogs i follow),young hippies from all ova the world who r vrry connected to these drugs(through social networking sites),collabarative excercise done from half a dozen books on this subject.........I'm evn on the process of gathering knowledge on the law against the usage and trade of narcotics,from a couple of my intellectual friends who r learing the tactics of law in INDIA and abroad.................




I'll begin with the note as soon as i receive feedback on the subject I've chosen.It can b read on my Facebook notes segment or on my blog......