I’ve heard about the effects of smoking cigarettes many times. I have not seen an autopsy where the lungs of a smoker are examined, but I have heard that it is a gruesome sight. I know that smokers get lung cancer and throat cancer, and that they frequently suffer from heart disease and chronic lung diseases. My dad’s brother died, in his forties, from lung cancer. I know of others who have suffered similar fates.

I’ve heard less information about the effects of using drugs. Maybe I haven’t been paying attention. I decided to try digging up a little information, and it didn’t take long to find what I was looking for. I hit paydirt on a very informative website. You can see the web site at www.drugabuse.gov.

The web site contains information put together by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. They have articles on many commonly abused drugs. The web site covers the drugs you would expect it to cover like cocaine, heroin, LSD, marijuana, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and PCP. It also covers alcohol, inhalants, nicotine, prescription drugs, and steroids. You can read quite a few pages on each one.

There is one publication in the web site titled Mind Over Matter. It is “designed to encourage young people in grades five through nine to learn about the effects of drug abuse on the body and the brain.” Since it was written for children from grade five through nine, I knew the information would be presented clearly and concisely. The page was also complete with cartoons.

I learned that smoking marijuana can cause a person's heart rate to increase. It can dilate the blood vessels and turn the whites of the eyes red. It can cause a feeling of panic, which may be accompanied by sweating, dry mouth and trouble breathing. Marijuana users can develop daily coughs and frequent colds much like tobacco smokers.

There is a chemical in marijuana called Terahydrocannabinol, or THC for short. THC attaches itself to receptors in the brain. Some areas of the brain have a lot of THC receptors and others areas have a few or none. “When THC attaches to receptors in the hippocampus, it weakens short-term memory.” “THC also influences emotions, probably by acting on a region of the brain called the limbic system.” Marijuana use can make a simple thing like driving a car very dangerous.

Here is what the Mind Over Matter publication has to say about Methamphetamines. “How Does Methamphetamine Cause its Effects?

No matter how methamphetamine is used, it eventually ends up in the bloodstream where it is circulated throughout the brain. Methamphetamine can affect lots of brain structures, but the ones it affects the most are the ones that contain a chemical called dopamine. The reason for this is that the shape, size, and chemical structure of methamphetamine and dopamine are similar. Before I tell you more about dopamine and methamphetamine, I'd better tell you how nerve cells work.

Your brain is made up of billions of nerve cells (or neurons). Neurons come in all shapes and sizes, but most have three important parts: a cell body that contains the nucleus and directs the activities of the neuron; dendrites, short fibers that receive messages from other neurons and relay them to the cell body; and an axon, a long single fiber that carries messages from the cell body to dendrites of other neurons.

Axons of one neuron and the dendrites of a neighboring neuron are located very close to each other, but they don't actually touch. Therefore, to communicate with each other they use chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters. When one neuron wants to send a message to another neuron it releases a neurotransmitter from its axon into the small space that separates the two neurons. This space is called a synapse. The neurotransmitter crosses the synapse and attaches to specific places on the dendrites of the neighboring neuron called receptors. Once the neurotransmitter has relayed its message, it is either destroyed or taken back up into the first neuron where it is recycled for use again.

There are many different neurotransmitters, but the one that is most affected by methamphetamine is dopamine. Dopamine is sometimes called the pleasure neurotransmitter because it helps you feel good from things like playing soccer, eating a big piece of chocolate cake, or riding a roller coaster. When something pleasurable happens, certain axons release lots of dopamine. The dopamine attaches to receptors on dendrites of neighboring neurons and passes on the pleasure message. This process is stopped when dopamine is released from the receptors and pumped back into the neuron that released it where it is stored for later use.

Usually neurons recycle dopamine. But methamphetamine is able to fool neurons into taking it up just like they would dopamine. Once inside a neuron, methamphetamine causes that neuron to release lots of dopamine. All this dopamine causes the person to feel an extra sense of pleasure that can last all day. But eventually these pleasurable effects stop. They are followed by unpleasant feelings called a "crash" that often lead a person to use more of the drug. If a person continues to use methamphetamine, they will have a difficult time feeling pleasure from anything. Imagine no longer enjoying your favorite food or an afternoon with your friends.”

“If a person uses methamphetamine for a long time, they may become paranoid. They may also hear and see things that aren't there. These are called hallucinations. Because methamphetamine causes big increases in blood pressure, someone using it for a long time may also have permanent damage to blood vessels in the brain. This can lead to strokes caused by bleeding in the brain.”

Sometimes cocaine use causes the heart to stop. The Boston Celtics are well aware of this information. About fifteen to twenty years ago they used their first round selection to draft a promising basketball player named Len Bias. They were hoping that he would be a star player on the Celtics team for years to come. He died shortly after being drafted.

Not many days after Len Bias died, NFL player Don Rogers OD'd on coke.

You don’t have to OD to die from drugs. Almost all of these drugs damage the body’s nervous system and damage the brain. Many raise the heart rate and weaken blood vessels. Some damage the lining that surrounds the heart, and some damage other vital organs.

Drug use can lead to heart attacks, strokes, liver damage, and kidney malfunction. Any of these things can be fatal.

Drug users are more likely to contract hepatitis or AIDS than non-drug users. Others turn to prostitution or crime to support their habit.

I met a lot of drug users while I was a prison chaplain. Many had been caught dealing drugs, and many more had been caught in a drug-related crime.

Most drug dealers use drugs themselves. Some have used drugs for a long time. That means they most likely have brain damage. They most likely have damage to their nervous system. Their long-term drug use may make them prone to aggressive behavior. It may make them prone to panic attacks.

When people purchase drugs they are probably dealing with an emotionally unstable, brain damaged person, who is armed, hallucinates, and is subject to panic attacks. It is simply not a smart thing to do.

I want us all to know the truth about drugs. I want us to know that it is happening right here. People are dying right in our community.

You can read the Mind Over Matter pamphlet at the web site that I referenced above, or you can call 1-800-729-6686 and ask for a copy. Dare to talk about it with your children, your grand children, and even your neighbors. You may save a life.

Thanks for listening and God bless you.

Sincerely,

Pastor Birk