Top 10 Reasons People Use Drugs

This may seem like a no-brainer, but there are actually some surprising reasons why people may begin and continue to use drugs. It’s for the following reasons that anyone who is using or addicted to drugs not be judged, but helped. Here are some of the top ten reasons people use drugs.

1. They are legal: Yes, you read that right. Some of the drugs that have the most users are completely legal. Nicotine and alcohol are not illegal and yet they are highly addictive.

2. They are prescribed: There are many different medications, which are prescribed for a specific purpose, but because of the reaction of the brain to these medications, people easily become addicted. Some examples of these are pain medications, anti-anxiety meds, muscle relaxers and more.

3. Rebellion: Chances are many who are now adults did the same thing, but teenagers often begin using drugs as an act of rebellion or peer pressure. They experiment with drugs and alcohol. Some become addicted, some do not.

4. Self Medication: People live with varying degrees of stressors in their lives. There are times when instead of seeking the advice of a doctor, they begin to medicate themselves with marijuana, street drugs, or even perhaps alcohol.

5. Boredom: There are those that begin to experiment with drugs simply because they are bored or they feel emptiness in their lives. They are searching for something and mistakenly think that the answer is drugs or alcohol.

6. Peer Pressure: Not only teens, but many adults begin to experiment with drugs because their friends do. They begin casually at a gathering or a party, and continue on from there. Many times, this leads to addiction.

7. It Feels Good: If addictive drugs made people deathly ill every time they tried it, people probably would not become addicted. However, this is not what happens. Cocaine, Meth, Marijuana, and many other drugs make a person feel very, very good when they begin using them. This leads to drug addiction even though the good feelings get harder and harder to experience with time.

8. Curiosity: The power of curiosity should never be underestimated. Many people, young and old try drugs simply to see what will happen. They are curious as to the effects of the drug and start using for no other reason than to find out what it feels like.

9. Availability: Prescription drugs and street drugs are extremely accessible to anyone who wants to find them. They can be purchased on the street, through doctors, on-line pharmacies, and even through black market websites.

10. Enhancement: Drug use and abuse very often starts with people drinking alcohol. When the effects of the alcohol aren’t enough, they branch out into using other drugs as well to enhance the effects of the alcohol.

Of course, there are many other reasons why people may begin using drugs but the long and short of it is they like the way the drug makes them feel. The short-term effects for most drugs are extremely pleasant and that is what keeps the person going back for more.

Death by Drugs

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley, in the humblest of circumstances, was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. He and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948, and Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953. Biography Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. In 1954, he began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. By 1956, he was an international sensation. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences and blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time, he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture.

He starred in 33 successful films, made history with his television appearances and specials, and knew great acclaim through his many, often record-breaking, live concert performances on tour and in Las Vegas. Globally, he has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 150 different albums and singles, far more than any other artist. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received at age 36, and his being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees. Without any of the special privileges his celebrity status might have afforded him, he honorably served his country in the U.S. Army.

His talent, good looks, sensuality, charisma, and good humor endeared him to millions, as did the humility and human kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. Known the world over by his first name, he is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture. Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977 in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 42. He had been on the toilet, but fallen off onto the floor, where he lay in a pool of his own vomit. Panicked, his staff contacted an ambulance, which rushed him to nearby Baptist Memorial Hospital, where, after several attempts to revive him, he died at 3:30 pm CST. His autopsy was performed at 7:00 pm.

The official coroner's report lists "cardiac arrhythmia" as the cause of Presley's death, but this was later admitted to be a ruse entered into by the Presley family along with autopsy physicians Dr. Jerry T. Francisco, Dr. Eric Muirhead and Dr. Noel Florredo to cover up the real cause of death, a cocktail of ten prescribed drugs, taken in doses no doctor would prescribe:

The painkillers Morphine and Demerol.Chloropheniramine, an antihistamine.
The tranquilizers Placidyl and Valium. Finally, four drugs were found in "significant" quantities: Codeine, an opiate, Ethinamate, largely prescribed at the time as a "sleeping pill," Quaalude's, and a barbiturate, or depressant, that has never been identified. It has also been rumored that Diazepam, Amytal, Nembutal, Carbrital, Sinutab, Elavil, Avental, and Valmid were found in his system at death.

The phrase "cardiac arrhythmia," in the context of the coroner's report, means little more than a stopped heart; the report initially tried to attribute the arrhythmia to cardiovascular disease, but Elvis' own personal physician has stated that Presley had no such chronic problems at the time. Most of Elvis' many health problems can and have been traced back to rampant abuse of prescription drugs. Elvis had visited his dentist on August 15th to have a temporary crown put in; it has also been suggested that the codeine the dentist gave him that day resulted in an anaphylactic shock that assisted in his death. (He had suffered allergic reactions to the drug previously.)

Eminem's Story

The singer said he became so hooked on prescription medicines that he also overdosed on the heroin substitute methadone. He inadvertently took a massive dose after being given a handful of tablets by a pal. Eminem, 36, said: “My doctor told me those mysterious new pills were methadone. “Had I known it was methadone, I probably wouldn’t have taken it. But, as bad as I was back then, I can’t even say 100 per cent for sure. “My doctor told me the amount of methadone I’d taken was equivalent to shooting up four bags of heroin. “Even when they told me I had almost died, it didn’t click.” The American star, whose eagerly-awaited new album is called Relapse, was also addicted to the sedative Valium. In August 2005 he canceled a European tour, citing exhaustion. Two days later his record company revealed he was being treated for dependency on sleep medication. Although he soon weaned himself off he suffered a relapse. He told yesterday how he searched his home in desperation for drugs or medications containing powerful narcotics, such as cough syrup NyQuil.

Eminem — real name Marshall Mathers III — said: “I’m ransacking my house, finally find something in the basement, in a little napkin, 7½ Vicodin (pain killers) — the big, extra-strength ones — and a few Valium.” The star added: “Rap was my drug. “It used to get me high, then it stopped getting me high. “Then I had to resort to other things to make me feel that. Now rap’s getting me high again.”

Michael Jackson - The King of Pop