Posted: September 7th, 2024

Drug Use

Drug Use
People engage in drug abuse for various reasons, unaware or negligent of the consequences. Angelo Mendoza, a 34-year old Bakersfield man, is no different after he indulged in PCP, ate out his son’s eye, mutilated the other, and then proceeded to chop off his leg with an ax. When people engage in drug use, they do so for recreation, to enjoy the effect, for relaxation or socializing purposes. Those who engage in drugs to experience the effect are the majority. That is because they want to relieve boredom, escape their current mental situation, or stop feeling bad. What may start as a way to escape reality may soon make life worse (NIH, n.d). Each drug has its side effects when ingested and not just PCP. In this case, however, the main focus will be on PCP since it is the drug that led a father to eat his own son’s eye. It is a drug that is taken to cause a pleasant high and hallucinations. People who take this drug expect to feel excited, happy and hallucinate on changes such as color, sound, light, or touch. These effects may last for 4 to 24hours depending on the metabolism of a person. Due to the hallucinogens in the drug, events may turn sour for individuals who trip into delirium, anxiety, and paranoia. The intensity of hallucinating is also strong hence making it hard to distinguish reality from fantasy (Sunrise House, 2020). Long term use of the drug leads to addiction, thus making it hard for an individual to abstain from partaking. Probably Angelo Mendoza was already addicted to the drug hence the reason for using the drug on that particular day. Serious mental side effects are associated with the regular use of PCP. If Mendoza had taken the drug consecutively for 2-3 days, he might have had severe psychosis. Scientists have found that drug use often starts by choice, but self-control becomes harder with continued use. The brain changes its patterns and re-wires how one makes judgments, controls behavior, and makes decisions. Drug addiction may be the only explanation for understanding why someone would take a drug with adverse side effects.
References
Sunrise House. (2020). What Happens when someone takes PCP? Retrieved from https://sunrisehouse.com/phencyclidine/
NIH. (n.d). The Science of Drug Use: Assignment help – Discussion Points. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/criminal-justice/science-drug-use-discussion-points

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