What's so bad about using drugs?

Matthew G. Beckwith, MD

From a medical perspective, some drug use is actually not harmful. An example is the use by adults, in moderation, of a legal drug such as alcohol.

In most cases, however, drug use is quite harmful indeed. The following are some of the ways in which drug use can be harmful:

1. Drug use stunts your emotional growth.

   One very important purpose of life is to teach us lessons, so that we will grow emotionally. Most of life's lessons are unpleasant. If, whenever we feel an unpleasant emotion, we take a drug to feel better, we will never have to learn any of life's lessons. Thus, we will never grow emotionally.

   This is especially tragic when the drug use is by a child or adolescent. Childhood or adolescent drug users never grow up to be mature, responsible, emotionally stable adults. They remain emotionally immature their whole lives. For this reason, all drug use by children and adolescents is harmful. This includes alcohol.

2. Drug use can be addictive.

   Addiction is present when:

   1. The behavior is interfering with some aspect of the person's life, such as work, school, home or social life.
   2. The person understands that it is interfering with his/her life.
   3. The person fails to discontinue the behavior.

   Whenever one is addicted to a drug, that drug is by definition harmful.

3. Some drugs are illegal.

   It makes no sense to risk prison time in order to take a drug. The fact that the person is taking such a risk proves that the person is engaging in irrational behavior.

   The point should be made that the fact that a drug is legal does not imply that its use is advisable. There are two examples of legal drug use which might be harmful:

   1. Legal Recreational Drugs

      Alcohol use to excess, for example, is harmful. See the section on alcoholism elsewhere on this web site.

   2. Prescription Drugs

      Prescription drugs, even when taken as prescribed, can constitute substance abuse. Even though doctors are quite vigilant when it comes to avoiding inappropriate prescribing of possibly addictive medications, it's impossible for the doctor to know what's in the patient's mind. A drug prescribed for pain or anxiety might be serving a dysfunctional purpose in the patient's life.

4. Some drugs are physically harmful.
   1. Marijuana causes memory loss. Some of this memory loss is permanent.
   2. Amphetamines, Ecstasy, and Cocaine permanently impair the brain's ability to produce dopamine. This results in a permanent inability to experience pleasure.
   3. Alcohol, Benzodiazepines and Barbiturates damage the liver.
   4. Cocaine damages the heart, and causes heart attacks.
   5. Opiates (such as Heroin, Morphine, Oxycontin, and Codeine), by relieving pain, eventually cause the user to experience all of life as painful. This makes the user not only physically but also psychologically addicted to the drug. This change, while not permanent, can take years to reverse.
   6. Cigarette Smoking causes emphysema, lung cancer and heart disease. Many people think that these are just possibilities, but anyone who smokes cigarettes is virtually guaranteed to get at least one of them eventually.