AHS Views

Just a few days ago, we learned that we’ve lost another star who suddenly died at way too young of an age. Brittany Murphy collapsed in her home over the weekend from what the Coroner has ruled to be “natural causes”, but there were many, many prescriptions found near her bed, in her name and those of close family members. This definitely raises some questions because it’s not often that you hear about a 32 year old dying all of a sudden, out of the blue, of a heart attack!

Recently, Michael Jackson fell prey to an accidental overdose of drugs, and not too long before him, so did Anna Nicole Smith. How are these stars getting their hands on so many prescription drugs?

More and more, people in the United are seeking out prescription medications from multiple doctors without letting one know about the other, called “doctor shopping” which is a practice many prescription drug abusers are all too familiar with. It has been proven that the results of the interactions of these drugs, when taken together – even at therapeutic levels, can be deadly.

Did these stars intend to commit suicide or were they simply taking medications as directed? I have a strong feeling that the latter is the answer.

Knowing what we have learned from the losses of these great talents, please consider this to be a warning to those who use any combination of prescription drugs without the physicians who prescribe them being aware of what combinations the patient is taking. If you have fallen prey to prescription drug abuse please get addiction help now.

Have you ever heard of “non-addictive” drugs? Sounds a bit like an oxymoron to me, but there are many drugs in existence today, both legal and illegal, which claim to be just that – non-habit forming.
Pharmaceutical companies have come out with “non-narcotic” forms of pain and insomnia relief like Ambien and Ultram that are “safe when used as directed and non-addictive” yet the amount of people getting hooked on these prescription drugs continues to rise. Even though they say “non-narcotic”, if you read the fine print, it actually says there is “some” risk for dependency. And, even worse, allergic reactions, in rare instances, can be fatal!

There’s actually nothing new about pharmaceutical companies coming out with new non-addictive drugs. In the 1850’s, when opium addiction first reared its ugly head in the United States, morphine was used as a non-addictive alternative until it was banned in the 1920’s because of its addictive properties.

Then, there’s marijuana. There have been statements that this illegal drug is a “non-addictive” and “non-harmful” one, yet it’s one of the most abused drugs in the country.

How about LSD? Another drug said to be “non-addictive”, which is in fact one of the most harmful drugs out there. It can cause long-term damage to users as well as flashbacks (where a portion of their LSD experience reoccurs). People who abuse frequently can build a tolerance and require more and more of the drug to achieve the desired effect. It can also cause long-lasting psychoses. After using LSD and experiencing their first high, many people take it over and over again, in spite of the negative effects that are associated with the drug.

My point is that drugs alter the senses and perceptions. They create a high in the user and continue the cycle of the user wanting to take the drugs to achieve the desired effect. In many cases, it takes more and more of the drug to reach that high so the tolerance level also rises. This is true of all drugs – from LSD to marijuana to legal prescription drugs and replacement drug therapies that are so heavily promoted routinely.

Calling these drugs “non-addictive” is not only downright false, but is easily proven untrue. Not only with illegal drugs like marijuana and LSD but also with legally approved drugs like anti-depressants, prescription pain killers and replacement drug therapies.

If these drugs were non-addictive, as claimed, why does the number of people becoming addicted to them continue to increase? And why are alternative drugs being produced to “help” ease addiction symptoms? Take a hard look at the facts; you’ll realize that “non-addictive” drugs simply do not exist.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a simple answer to that question? With so many illegal drugs on the scene, the answer to that question becomes relative to viewpoint and what kind of damage is caused, whether it is physical damage, emotional pain and suffering, damage to the family, cost involved, or a combination of any of these.

There is no question about how deadly crack cocain, heroin and meth are, but it has been suggested that hallucinogens like LSD (acid) are the ones with the worst lingering effects. This is because they alter the mind and its perceptions, and people can have “acid flashbacks” for many years after they stopped taking the drug.

In the hallucinogen class of drugs, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is one of the major players. Like the name of this drug class suggests, hallucinogens cause hallucinations, which are greatly alters a person’s perception of reality. Under the influence of hallucinogens, people can see images, hear sounds, and feel sensations that seem very real but do not exist. Some hallucinogens also produce rapid, intense emotional swings.

LSD’s effects are unpredictable and can be different each time the drug is consumed. They depend on how much is taken, the user’s personality, mood, expectations and their surroundings where the drug is used. Generally, the user will feel the first effects of the drug about 30 minutes after taking it. The physical effects include dilated pupils, higher body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors.

Most of the time, a user will refer to their LSD experience as a “trip” and when it is a frightening experience it’s called a “bad trip”. The effects of this drug take quite awhile to wear off after taking it. A trip can last around 12 hours. Users on a bad trip can experience severe and terrifying thoughts and feelings, fear of losing control, even fear of insanity, death and despair. Some fatal accidents have taken place during states of LSD intoxication and people have been known to get stuck in a bad trip and display extreme psychosis or paranoia.

Most LSD users willingly decrease or stop its use over time. Since LSD doesn’t produce intense physical cravings like other drugs, it’s not considered to be a drug that people have to get addiction help for. However, a user can still build a tolerance to the drug, requiring larger amounts of the toxin to be consumed to experience another trip.

In more recent years, use of hallucinogens, especially LSD, has decreased. It seems to be catching on that it is one of the worst drugs, as evidenced by the drop in usage. Why risk becoming a vegetable? It doesn’t seem worth it!