As you’ve probably noticed, there won’t be one big series of posts on independence this year. Instead, there’ll be shorter three/or four-part series – including revisiting and updating topics I’ve covered in the past.
One of those topics is drug policy and independence, first looked at on the old Oggy Bloggy Ogwr in 2014. Alcohol (IndyWales & Alcohol) and tobacco/nicotine (IndyWales, Smoking & Vaping) have been looked at separately, but for the sake of clarification, this is about controlled/illegal recreational drugs.
To kick things off, a science lesson.
So: “How do drugs work?”
First, they have to get into the body and circulatory system – whether that’s by smoking, ingestion, inhaling, “insertion” or injection. If injected, they’ll get into the blood directly; if inhaled or ingested it’ll usually be via the lungs or digestive system.
Next, they have to cross the “blood-brain barrier”. This acts like a filter for substances in the blood to protect the brain and nervous system from infections and damage. Any drug that manages to cross this barrier is known as a psychoactive drug.
Nerves aren’t single strands from the brain or spinal cord but are broken up into shorter lengths with junctions between them (synapses). Signals are transmitted between each strand by chemicals called neurotransmitters, with each different type of neurotransmitter carrying a different “message”.
Recreational drugs can:
- Stimulate neurotransmitter release, mimic them or make it easier for a nerve to receive them (agonists).
- Suppress their release or make it harder for a nerve to receive them (antagonists).
- Have properties of both (agonist-antagonists).
- Block neurotransmitters from being produced, reabsorbed into the nerve or received (inhibitors).
How a drug affects someone depends on the chemistry of the drug itself and which neurotransmitters and receptors are targeted.
For example, the neurotransmitter dopamine plays a part in the brain’s “reward system”. It produces a natural high or rush to increase sensitivity and encourage whatever behaviour produces that reward.
So drugs that target dopamine – like amphetamines (speed) and cocaine – amplify this natural reward system. Drugs that inhibit dopamine, like some anti-psychotic medicines, will have an opposite calming effect.
Despite the stigma attached to recreational drugs, the active ingredients are often used to treat common illnesses. Amphetamines are used to treat conditions like ADHD, while the active ingredient of cannabis (cannabinoids) has been used to ease symptoms of conditions like multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.
In some instances, where someone is experiencing extreme pain (such as side effects from cancer or serious injuries), they might be prescribed diamorphine hydrochloride; more commonly known as heroin.
