Whats the big deal about using drugs? Do they really affect the brain?
No matter how a drug is put in the body, it travels through the blood until it reaches the central nervous system. Psychoactive drugs affect the chemistry of the brain, especially that of neurotransmitters which transmit messages throughout the body. The drugs work by mimicking or modifying the effects of various neurotransmitters. This is what causes most of the effects on the mind and body. In addition to these direct effects, phenomena such as tolerance, tissue dependence, withdrawal, and metabolism determine a user’s reaction to psychoactive drugs.
