English: The 10 most addictive substances: [13,815]

There are so many addictive substances in our society that we humans love to portray as evil. People label them as such because of the tendencies and repetition towards anything that is considered to have negative consequences. As they are never to be accountable for their actions or behavior - it's always the drug or plant that is responsible and at fault for all their problems.

In the mental health profession's "Bible," the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a diagnosis of cannabis dependence (a type of substance dependence) requires a person to meet a specific set of criteria.  A number of people, police and, yes, authors, have addressed this issue and found that, unlike drugs such as crack, cocaine, or even nicotine, only a very small percentage of those who try marijuana will ever become addicted. On the following list, marijuana does not even come close to the substance and dependence abuse rates of the others listed.  Many factors determine whether you'll become addicted to a drug: your genetic makeup, social history, the drugs your friends take, how much money you make. But the chemical makeup of drugs guarantee that certain drugs are more addictive than others.

A team of researchers led by professor David Nutt of London's Imperial College once set out to determine which drugs were most harmful based on their addictive properties (the resulting article suggested that alcohol and tobacco are more harmful than cannabis and ecstasy, and led to Nutt getting fired  [http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/oct/30/drugs-adviser-david-nutt-sacked] as the UK's top drug adviser). Dutch scientists replicated the London study and devised a "dependency rating" that measured addictive potency of the biggest drugs out there on a precisely calibrated scale of 0-to-3.

Given that rating, I have come up with this list, of the 10 most addictive substances, used by people all over the worls today;  am sure you will find it as interesting as I have, thus become intrigues and read on. Here is my list:

10. GHB - Dependence Rating (Out of 3): 1.71
Last on the list and being the weakest in terms of dependence is a depressant and club drug that may itself be a neurotransmitter. It has cross-tolerance with alcohol--if you drink regularly, you'll need to ingest more GHB to get high--as well as a short half life in the body and a brutal withdrawal syndrome that causes insomnia, anxiety, dizziness and vomiting. The combination is nasty: Take a lot of GHB to make up for your tolerance to alcohol and you could be hooked.

9. Benzodiazepines - Dependence Rating: 1.89
There's a reason your doctor will tell you to taper off these prescription anti-anxiety drugs (Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, et al) after taking them for awhile. Each one increases the effectiveness of a brain chemical called GABA, which reduces the excitability of many other neurons and decreases anxiety. Because benzodiazepines cause rapid tolerance, quitting cold turkey causes a multi-symptom withdrawal that includes irritability, anxiety and panic attacks--enough to make just about anybody fall right back into benzo's comforting arms.

8. Amphetamines - Dependence Rating: 1.95
Adderall users beware: Regular amphetamine (classified as pure or blended dextroamphetamine without methamphetamine, and including Adderall, Dexedrine, and Desoxyn) might not be quite as addictive as meth, but because it acts on the same reward circuit, it still causes rapid tolerance and desire for more if used regularly or in high doses. Quitting cold turkey can cause severe depression and anxiety, as well as extreme fatigue--and you can guess what extreme fatigue makes you crave...

7. Cocaine - Dependence Rating: 2.13
Cocaine use has decreased dramatically but it is another drug that costs families, and our society as a whole. It is a heavily habit forming drug. While it does enter the list as slightly less addictive than Nicotine and Caffeine, the effects of Cocaine's (and heroin's) use are far more serious. Drug rehab programs list cocaine as one of the top addictions they face daily. Cocaine prevents the reabsorption of dopamine in the brain's reward areas. After you use enough blow, your brain reduces the number of dopamine receptors in this region, figuring it's already got plenty of it. You can see where this is going. Because there are now fewer receptors, stopping the drug makes you crave it--after all, the body needs its dopamine. Cocaine doesn't destroy dopamine neurons like methamphetamine, which makes its effect less powerfully addictive, but the fast method of use (snorting), short high (less than an hour) and rapid tolerance put it in the top ten.

6. Alcohol - Dependence Rating: 2.13
Because alcohol is legal and often consumed in social settings, alcohol addiction is complicated. But as an addictive agent, it's remarkably simple--and effective. Alcohol's withdrawal syndrome is so severe that it can cause death, and its effects on the brain's reward system cause well-documented and intense craving in heavy drinkers. Regardless of the mechanism, 17.9 million Americans (7% of the US population) were classified as being addicted to or abusing alcohol in 2010. It acts as a relaxant, causing the user to feel more comfortable in an environment and leading to increased sociability. However, in larger doses alcohol begins to have serious detrimental effects on a person's health. Addiction to alcohol, as well as being expensive, can lead to serious liver problems, diabetes, cancer and heart problems. Short term effects of alcohol include dehydration, alcohol poisoning and intoxication.

5. Crystal Meth - Dependence Rating: 2.24
According to some research, Crystal Meth is regarded as one of the most addictive recreational drugs in existence. Directly mimicking a natural neurotransmitter "teaches" your brain to want a drug--that's how nicotine and heroin work. Crystal methamphetamine takes it to the next level: it imitates the reward chemical dopamine and the alertness chemical norepinephrine, causing your neurons to release more of both--all the while training your brain to want them more. What's worse, the drug can damage dopamine- and norepinephrine-releasing neurons, which leads to a drastic decrease in their production, thereby making you crave more meth. It's an addict's nightmare and a marketer's dream. Crystal Meth is used to make the user feel more alert, heightening their awareness and bringing on an intense feeling of exhilaration. Meth also has the ability to keep the user awake for many hours. The drug can be taken in a variety of ways, but the most common method is via injection as this is the fastest acting way of taking the drug. Crystal meth addiction can lead to a hideous array of effects, including violent mood swings, short term memory loss, damaging of the nervous system and even death.

4. Methadone - Dependence Rating: 2.68
In a clinical setting, tolerance to this drug is actually considered a good thing when treating a heroin addiction. A junky getting treated with methadone will quickly become resistant to its euphoric effects and use it to keep heroin withdrawal symptoms at bay. The problem is this: tolerance to methadone is a sign of an addiction to methadone.

3. Nicotine - Dependence Rating: 2.82
Though nicotine doesn't cause the rush of heroin or crack, it's biologically similar in a crucial way: it mimics a common neurotransmitter--so well that scientists named one of the acetylcholine receptors after it. Nicotine is considered one of the most addictive drugs of all time. Although studies vary, it is generally believed that well over 30% of those individuals who use nicotine for a period of time become addicted. That is a high number considering the availability of the product, the manner in which it is marketed towards young people, and the deadly consequences of a lifetime of use. Smoking regularly reduces the number and sensitivity of these "nicotinic" receptors, and requires that the user keep ingesting nicotine just to maintain normal brain function. There are a shocking 50,000,000 [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000953.htm] nicotine addicts in the US, and 1 in 5  [http://drugabuse.gov/researchreports/nicotine/nicotine.html] deaths nationwide are the result of smoking.

2. Crack Cocaine - Dependence Rating: 2.82
Crack cocaine is a cheaper form of the purer Cocaine drug, and is far more dangerous as a result. It is watered down and 'cooked' cocaine, and is usually smoked in a pipe or (rarely) injected intravenously. Although crack cocaine and powder cocaine have similar chemical compositions and effects, smoking processed crack causes a faster, higher rush that lasts for less time (about 10 minutes, versus 15-30 for powder cocaine). Crack brings on an increased sense of confidence, awareness and euphoria, while simultaneously causing a dilation of the pupils and constriction of the blood vessels. Crack cocaine is so addictive because of the incredible low experienced after the short period of euphoria, during which users can feel depressed and tired and are easily irritated or angered. Crack addicts therefore continually seek new ways to feed their addiction to avoid the low which comes after crack usage. The intensity of the high combined with the efficient method of ingestion--smoking--are the big reasons why addiction rates are dramatically higher for crack than they are for snorted powder. In 2010, there were an estimated 500,000 active crack cocaine addicts in the United States.

1. Heroin - Dependence Rating: 2.89
Although one-hundred years ago Heroin was used for a variety of medicinal purposes, the medical community in all their infinite wisdom woke up to the realization that people were becoming addicted in record numbers. Heroin is one of the most common recreational drugs in the world, with an estimated 50 million regular uses of the drug worldwide. As an opiate, it affects opioid receptors throughout the body and mimics endorphins, reducing pain and causing pleasure. Areas of the brain involved in reward processing and learning are stocked with tons of these opioid receptors, so when you inject heroin, you are basically training your brain to make you crave it. Pair that with nasty withdrawal symptoms and high fat solubility (which allows it to get into your brain quickly), and you have the most addictive drug in the world. An estimated 281,000 people received treatment for heroin addiction in the US in 2003, and according to the National Institute on Drug Addiction, a full 23 percent of people who have ever used heroin become addicts. Heroin is usually injected directly into the blood stream, though it can also be snorted or smoked by its users. Continuous usage of Heroin can lead to collapsed veins, heart disease and decreased liver function. Heroin addicts also typically bare numerous hideous abscesses on their skin, as well as scars where they have repeatedly injected themselves over the course of their addiction.

As always, stay safe !

bird.

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