Why do humans get high

easy to explain the appeal of drugs like heroin and cocaine, marijuana, which directly stimulate the brain’s reward center’s. What’s less easy to explain is the appeal of psychedelic drugs such as LSD and psilocybin that produce altered states of consciousness. After all, there’s no obvious reason why unusual patterns of thought and perception of getting high
What are the real causes of drugs abuse? If you are trapped in an addiction, is there anything you can do to escape?
Is there a missing dimension in our lives? Why do so many turn to drugs for an answer? What should you do?
The world is awash in chemical substances that promise pleasure—but that bring danger. Millions self-administer these potentially deadly substances in spite of their well-publicized risks and documented fatalities.
Why do people of all ages take such risks? Why would someone willingly court disaster? You might be surprised to learn that the ultimate keys to understanding and combating substance abuse in clinical programs

THE CHEMICAL MINEFIELD
If something can be ingested, injected, inhaled or absorbed into the human body, it can be abused! In the United States alone, nearly one-third of the population either abuses drugs or has a relationship with someone who is chemically dependent! Other countries face a similar problem.
Alcohol produces pleasurable effects by relaxing muscles and sedating the brain so worries temporarily vanish. In moderate amounts, alcohol produces healthful changes in the human body. But frequent alcohol use at intoxicating levels clouds judgment, slows reflexes, causes memory loss, damages the heart and liver, weakens the immune system and produces birth defects. Drunkenness is directly linked to accidents, job loss, violent crime and suicide. In short, alcohol abuse kills. It disrupts and destroys the very fabric of human society.
Tobacco use is "the most serious and widespread addictive behavior in the world and the major cause of Smoking is directly linked to heart disease and strokes, to lung, breast and bladder cancer, to respiratory diseases like emphysema, to miscarriage, and—in children of smokers—low birth weight, birth defects and mental retardation . Smokers have a rate of premature death three times higher than non-smokers, and experience five times as many heart attacks.
Millions ingest what they consider "recreational" drugs—chemical substances consumed for thrill and pleasure. Among them, LSD and PCP are hallucinogens that alter mental perception and promote a feeling of superhuman strength, yet can trigger violent behavior and psychotic attacks. Cocaine and amphetamines provide a temporary feeling of heightened energy and confidence, but damage the heart and brain. Designer drugs such as ecstasy—a common sight at all-night dance parties called "raves"—create feelings of warmth and openness yet can permanently damage brain cells and can even kill the user .

Nearly half of the drug abuse in the United States involves the misuse of prescription drugs. This involves not only deliberate misuse such as forged prescriptions, Medicaid frauds and black market sales, but also errors made by physicians and accidental misuse of prescribed drugs—especially by the elderly (see Prescription Drug Abuse: The Hidden Epidemic, Colvin). Many observers have become concerned about the astonishing increase in the use of Ritalin, a physician-prescribed drug given to American children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Caffeine—the active ingredient in coffee, tea and a variety of soft drinks—may be "the most-used drug in the world" (Hales, p. 345). Extremely high levels of caffeine ingestion have been tentatively linked to heart problems, breast lumps and bladder cancer. Large quantities of caffeine can cause irritability, nervousness, insomnia and gastrointestinal disturbances. Continued use of caffeinated beverages can lead to psychological and physical dependency

COSTS OF ABUSE
Many widely used chemical substances that damage the brain, heart and lungs of the user, as well as the bodies of the user's unborn children. Drug use contributes to the leading causes of death in the world—heart disease, stroke and various types of cancer. Drug abuse also generates an incredible financial burden for society. The total cost of substance abuse in America has been estimated at more than $240 billion per year. In the U.S., approximately "one out of five hospital beds is occupied by someone with substance abuse as a contributing factor" and nearly "50 percent of all preventable deaths are related to some aspect of substance abuse". A World Bank study indicated that "tobacco use causes a net global loss of $200 billion per year" (World Health, ). Substance abuse and its consequences are major medical and social problems.
But why do young people and adults around the world use and abuse dangerous chemical substances that clearly have the capacity to damage and destroy our brains, our bodies, our families and ultimately our societies?

CAUSES OF DRUG ABUSE
Scholars and journalists commonly assert that substance abuse is due to poverty, low self-esteem and genetics. Drug users are said to be victims of their environment and their heredity. Observers often downplay or ignore important evidence that points in another direction. While some may indeed have a biological sensitivity to alcohol and other chemicals, there is also a well-recognized psychological aspect of substance abuse—involving the choices individuals make for themselves.
Numerous studies indicate that most people begin using drugs out of curiosity. Many are lured by the illusion that a magical substance can make you happy, outgoing and confident, and can provide meaning for an otherwise empty life. Many are looking for a way to deal with depression or to escape the pressures of life or the boredom of daily routines. Many begin to use and abuse chemicals for social reasons—to fit in and gain acceptance, to enhance low self-esteem, or make an impression and be noticed. Advertising promotes the mistaken idea that you need to ingest chemicals to have fun. Millions of impressionable people watch substance-abuse behaviors modeled in movies or on television. Culture also plays a role in substance abuse. Russians, for example, "are the world's heaviest drinkers"—as the director of a Moscow clinic commented, "if you don't drink in Russia something is wrong with you"
Perhaps the most instructive information available today comes from extensive research on young people. Their risk factors are primarily social and psychological—involving the influence of parents and peers, who shape their values and behaviors. People with more risk factors will be more prone to abusing chemicals. In other words, substance abuse increases when individuals lack positive guidance and good role models, do not uphold healthy values, and have stronger relationships with negative peers than with supportive parents.

RISK FACTORS FOR DRUG ABUSE

1. Early alcohol intoxication
2. Adult examples of drug use
3. Peer approval of drug use
4. Parental approval of drug use
5. Absence from school
6. Poor academic achievement
7. Low educational aspiration
8. Little religious commitment
9. Emotional distress
10. Dissastifaction with life
    FACTORS PREVENTING DRUG ABUSE
11. Purpose in life
12. Strong system of values
13. Positive parental example
14. Close relationship with parents
15. Positive peer influences
16. Academic achievement
17. High educational aspiration
18. Regular school attendance
19. Regular church attendance
20. Realistic long-term goals
21. Knowledge of consequences
22. Hope of a reward

EFFECT OF DRUG ABUSE

1. Increased Heart Rate
   Smoking pot can increase your heart rate by as much as two times for up to three hours." So if you've ever gotten high and then noticed your heart beating uncomfortably fast shortly afterwards, you should know that you weren't just being paranoid — smoking weed can actually increase blood flow to your brain, and that increased blood flow makes your heart work harder.
   Also, while weed can help with anxiety, it can also make you freak out super hard if your heart rate increases and you don't know why. So the next time you light up, just listen to your body. If you feel like your heart's working too hard, maybe just skip your next turn in rotation, and find an open space to stop, drop, and yoga.
2. Cotton Mouth
   Cotton mouth happens when a cannabinoid like THC binds itself to the receptor of our submandibular glands, (a pair of glands located on the floor of our mouths which produce about 70 percent of our saliva) and causes them to stop receiving the messages from our parasympathetic nervous system which would normally tell them to make more saliva.
   However, if you drink plenty of water, (which is really something we should all be doing whether we're stoned or not) you can take care of your "cotton mouth" pretty easily. So stay hydrated — and if you’re planning on getting high at a buddy’s house, takes a water bottle with you.
3. Weed Dick
   OK, so, weed dick may not directly affect you if you're a lady — but if your partner has male genitalia, then weed dick is something you should know about, that certain molecules in marijuana target nerve receptors in the penis and can actually cause them to go numb — which in turn can obviously make it more than a little bit challenging for men to maintain an erection while stoned.
4. Increased Tolerance (In Women, At Least)
   women are more likely to develop a tolerance to marijuana than men.
5. Increased Appetite
   Even weed virgins know that getting stoned will make you hungry AF, but what's weird about this side effect is why getting stoned sometimes makes us feel like single-handedly eating whole pizzas and mountains of mac and cheese. So here's the deal: THC tricks our brains into thinking we're hungry (even if we just ate) by latching onto our brain's cannabinoid receptors and mimicking the natural cannibinoids in our brain that work to regulate our appetites and signal when we're hungry.
6. Incessant Giggling
   Laughing is not only super fun, it's literally good for you. So, for many stoners, one of the most pleasurable (and weird) side effects of getting stoned is how much it makes us laugh — but why does weed make everything seem funnier? Well, there really isn't just one reason; the explanation for why marijuana gives us the giggles is a trifold one.
   Firstly, cannabis has been shown to increase blood flow to the right frontal lobe of the brain, and this just so happens to be the part of our brain which is linked to humor appreciation. So, naturally, increased blood flow to this area is going to give your giggle box a boost.
   Secondly, marijuana use stimulates the production and release of both dopamine and endorphins in the brain — and since both of these neurotransmitters work to make us feel happy, content, and rewarded when released into our bodies, getting stoned puts us in the mood to laugh more than normal.
   Thirdly, getting stoned makes you laugh because laughter is very much a "reflex activity." When you mix increased blood flow to the humor appreciation sector of your brain with all those feel-good chemicals we were talking about, it essentially makes laughter inevitability — particularly if everyone around you is laughing, too.
7. Slower Perception of Time
   Like every single stoned scene from any movie or TV show will tell you, getting high tends to slow things down — and it can actually be quite relaxing, because it forces us to slow down, too. The reason our time perception changes during a high is a little bit freaky, though.our world slows down when we're high because marijuana alters blood flow to our cerebellum (the part of the brain that regulates muscle activity), and the cere¬¬bellum is linked to our body's timing system.
8. Sleepiness
   I'm sure you already know that marijuana is famous for it's ability to induce drowsiness, and if you've ever gotten high, you've undoubtedly experienced it for yourself. However, you may not know why smoking weed and being sleepy are usually considered synonymous. weed makes you feel sleepy (it can also mess up your sleep, so be careful about using it for insomnia) because the active cannabinoids in marijuana (THC and CBD) actually mimic the affects of our body's natural sleep regulators, or endocannabinoid system. Basically, smoking weed can kick-start your body's natural sleep/wake cycle, thus causing you to feel drowsy after smoking, even if you felt wide awake before you smoked