Kerala Plus Two English Textbook Dangers of Drug Abuse Questions and Answers Unit 4 Chapter 3 (Essay)
Read And Respond (Text Book)
Question 1.
Why do people believe in drugs?
Answer:
People believe in drugs because they think that any sickness of the body and mind can be healed by taking a pill.
Question 2.
What is the danger of over-dependence on drugs?
Answer:
When people become over-dependent on drugs to solve their problems, they lose their capacity to deal with life’s situations through perseverance, self-discipline and mental effort. Some people think it is foolish to expend energy on solving a problem when there is an easy way out.
Question 3.
What is Hippocrates chief contribution?
Answer:
Hippocrates was the first to say that a remedy must take into account not only the symptoms of the disease but also the constitution and habits of the patient. This is his chief contribution.
Question 4.
What is the distinction between medicines and sensual drugs?
Answer:
The difference between medicines and sensual drugs is simple. Sensual drugs are those that the body does not need, but they give the user a strong sense of pleasure. Sensual drugs activate the brain’s pleasure centres. Medicines are those that cure or prevent diseases. The body needs medicines but not sensual drugs.
Question 5.
How do sensual drugs act on the human body?
Answer:
Sensual drugs activate the brain’s pleasure centres. It is the brain that governs sensations, moods, thoughts and actions. Sensual drugs upset the normal working of the brain and give the body a false sense of pleasure.
Question 6.
What is the danger of severe addiction?
Answer:
A drug user’s craving for the drug continues, but he feels less and less satisfaction. His brain’s pleasure reflexes are by artificial stimulation. In severe addiction, the pleasure mechanisms fail to respond to drug stimulation. The drug then gives only relative relief from misery.
Question 7.
Why does the craving for sensual drugs persist in an addict?
Answer:
In an addict the pleasure mechanisms fail to respond to drug stimulation. The drug then gives him only relative relief from misery. So he wants more and more drugs and thus the craving persists.
Question 8.
How does thebi&in govern sensations, moods, actions and thoughts?
Answer:
The brain governs sensations, moods, actions and thoughts by an unbelievably complex series of chemically regulated controls.
Question 9.
Why does the addict suspect everything external?
Answer:
The addict suspects everything external because he is in a state of paranoia. He doesnot know the source of his problem and he looks for its cause in everything but himself. Anything outside scares him and he draws further and further into himself.
Question 10.
What are the symptoms of the addict’s sensory deprivation?
Answer:
The symptoms of the addict’s sensory deprivation are a general feeling of physical discomfort and personality changes. The addict feels depressed. He fails to respond either to his environment or to other people. His mental disturbance can be like paranoia.
Question 11.
Why do addicts press their fingers deep into their bodies?
Answer:
Addicts press their fingers deep into their bodies because their sensations are lost and they want to reassure themselves of their own reality.
Question 12.
Name some drug related health disorders.
Answer:
Drug-related health disorders are many and varied. Dirty needles and solutions used for injecting drugs can cause abscesses in the arms and veins. They can cause liver disease, venereal disease and infection of the kidney and brain. Sniffing cocaine and amphetamines can damage the tissue of the nose. Marijuana and tobacco smoking can cause lung diseases.
Babies of women addicted to opiates are likely to be bom addicted and to suffer from withdrawal symptoms! Cocaine and amphetamines cause hair fall. Marijuana can damage cells. A drug addict can easily get pneumonia, tuberculosis, mal-nutrition and weight loss. An overdose of any sensual drug can cause respiratory or cardiac failure and death.
Question 13.
How do drug affect women addicts?
Answer:
In addition to all the ill-effects that men have from drug abuse, babies of women addicted to opiates are likely to be born addicted and to suffer from withdrawal symptoms.
Question 14.
How do sensual drugs affect brain cells?
Answer:
Sensual drugs affect the chemistry of brain cells. Cell function is carried out by thousands of enzymes acting within each cell. Each exposure of the cells to psychoactive drugs alters their chemistry. Toxic chemicals can upset the brain’s intricate system of communication. They can also damage cell tissues. Toxic effect may be permanent.
Think And Write
Question 1.
How does the belief in drugs lead to drug abuse?
Answer:
Drugs were discovered to prevent and cure physical diseases and reverse the disturbances that occur in some mental illnesses. The power of drugs has led people to believe that any ailment, infective or psychic, can be relieved by taking a pill. At the first sign of nervousness, they try pep pills. Medical journals now advertise tranquilizers, amphetamines and other mood-altering drugs. Doctors prescribe them and people expect miracles from them. This excitement overdmgs leads to drug abuse.
Question 2.
What are the principles putforth by Hippocrates in relation to the use of drugs?
Answer:
Hippocrates, the Greek physician, is regarded as the father of medicine. He was the first to say that a remedy must take into account not only the symptoms of the disease but also the constitution and habits of the patient. As per his teaching, medicines must suit the disease and the patient. When there is a disorder only a drug that specifically mitigates that disorder should be used. The drug should also have restorative effects. Otherwise it will unbalance heqlthy functions of the brain and the body. It means a healthy person cannot benefit from taking a drug. He said, “Persons in good health quickly lose their strength by taking purgative medicines.”
Question 3.
How does the sensory deprivation of the addict express itself?
Answer:
The sensory deprivation of the drug addict shows itself in a general feeling of physical discomfort and in personality changes. The addict feels depressed. He fails to respond either to his environment or to other people. His mental disturbance can be like paranoia.
Question 4.
How does the addict look upon external objects?
Answer:
The addict knows he has a problem. But he does not know the source of his problem and he looks for its cause in everything but himself. He looks upon external objects with suspicion. Anything outside scares him and he draws further and further into himself.
Question 5.
Do you think addiction to drugs will result in identity crisis? How?
Answer:
Addiction to drugs will definitely result in identity crisis. An addict feels that others look at him strangely. When people smile at an addict, he thinks they are laughing at him. An addict may even lose his sense of being alive. He feels ‘dead inside’. Once, a rehabilitated heroin addict told the writer: “Looking out of the window, the sun is shining. The flowers are in bloom. These are signs of a good day.” But pressing his chest, he said, “I don’t feel it here.” Addicts often press their fingers deep into their arms or legs to reassure themselves of their own reality. Their sensations are lost and they look for drug-induced sensations.
Dangers of Drug Abuse (Essay) Edumate Questions and Answers
Question 1.
Read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow.
“It is a simple step from ‘look what drugs do for me when I feel depressed,’ to ‘imagine what drug can do for me when I feel good already?”
a) What does the word ‘depressed’ mean in this sentence?
a) ill
b) unhappy
c) disappointed
d) enthusiatic
b) What change in attitude do you notice among the new generation drug users?
Answer:
a) unhappy
b) Earlier, drug addicts used to boast about the power of drugs to relieve them of their unhappiness and uneasiness. But new generation addicts take drugs even when they feel good because they seem to believe in the magical power of drugs.
Question 2.
Go through the excerpt given below and answerthe questions given below.
“A drug user’s craving for the drug continues, but he feels less and less satisfaction. His brain’s pleasure reflexes seem to be weakened by artificial stimulation. In severe addiction, the pleasure mechanisms fail to respond to drug stimulation.”
a) A drug user’s craving for the drug continues. Why?
b) What is the danger of severe addiction?
c) What does the word ‘stimulate’ mean?
a) addiction b) work c) induce d) sedate
Answer:
a) Because his brain’s pleasure reflexes seem to be awakened by artificial stimulation.
b) In severe addiction, the mechanisms fail to respond to drug stimulation.
c) induce
Question 3.
Read the following excerpt and answerthe questions that follow.
“The sun is shining, the flowers are in bloom, I know these are signs of a good day, but, I don’t feel it in here.”
a) What does the word ‘bloom’ mean here?
a) spring b) freshness c) blossom d) healthy
b) What is the psychological problem of the addict mentioned here?
Answer:
a) blossom
b) The addict loses his sense of being alive because of sensory deprivation.
Question 4.
Read the following excerpt and answerthe questions that follow.
“Real dangers exi^t, although the drug user often assumes they do not because the harmful side effects are not immediately apparent. Possible results range from incidental delirious effects to death from overdose; the dangers that lie between the extremes are the degeneration of health and the depletion of brain function.”
a) Why does the drug user assume that there is no danger?
b) What are the possible and harmful side effects?
c) Word opposite in meaning to ‘apparent’ is
a) dubious b) clear c) evident d) doubtless
Answer:
a) The drug user often assumes that there is no danger because the harmful side effects are not immediately apparent.
b) Possible results range from incidental delirious effects to death from overdose the dangers that lie between the extremes are the worsening of health and reduced brain function.
c) dubious
Question 5.
Two views on addressing drug abuse are given below. Which of two is more appealing to you?
Ban all these drugs legally
I support that and I believe so.
Sorry, I’m afraid, I have to disagree with you, Awareness Programmes will be the lasting solution here.
Imagine that you are participating in a debate on the topic‘Drug Abuse: a Social Menace.’Being the first speaker you make a short speech listing your arguments. Draft the speech of your arguments in hundred words.
Answer:
Drug Abuse: A Social Menace
When talking about the problem of drug abuse some people say, “Ban all these drugs legally”. Well, here drugs mean psychedelic drugs. I don’t agree with this idea to solve the problem of drug abuse. We can’t ban all the psychedelic drugs just because a few people misuse them. Even psychedelic drugs have medicinal value and they are used for treating certain diseases, including alcoholism and epilepsy.
I think the most common psychedelic drugs are psilocybin and Ecstasy.
These are used by doctors in the treatment of diseases like epilepsy, insomnia and mental disorders. They are also used in palliative care to treat the patients who are in constant pain and on the verge of death. So we must realize that even these psychedelic drugs have positive uses and so we can’t ban them all legally; Banning them would be as foolish as throwing the baby out with the bathwater! It is true that some people abuse drug. People abuse so many good things but we can’t ban them all just because we’are afraid of their misuse by a few perverts.
Question 6.
Giving support to PM’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the NSS Unit of your school had taken an initiative to clean the campus of the menace of drug abuse. The secretary of NSS had lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of Police of your district. But no action has been taken so far. Prepare a letter of enquiry to the Commissioner seeking the status and nature of action taken in this regard.
Answer:
Joe Francis
Secretary, NSS Unit
Sri Narayana Guru Memorial HSS
Vellamchira
9 June 2017
The Commissioner of Police Thrissur District
Sir
Sub: PM’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan – Drug Free Campus
The NSS Unit of this School, as part of its effort to participate effectively in the Prime Ministers’ “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” has been making all out efforts to make our campus free from the menace of drug abuse. We have been conducting awareness programmes telling our students and even the local people of the dangers of drug abuse. But some drug peddlers still roam about our campus looking for easy preys.
We had complained to you to take action against these peddlers in our letter dated 20 May 2017. It is nearly three weeks now, but no action seems to have been taken from your end. The peddlers are still very much active here nullifying our efforts to make the campus drug free.
So we once again humbly request you to look into the matter and take steps to prevent the peddlers from coming to our place and destroying our mates here.
Thanking you and hoping that you will take immediate action.
Yours faithfully,
(Joe Francis))
Question 7.
“Say No to Drugs and Drinks.” Write a small paragraph explaining the message of the caption.
Answer:
SAY NO TO DRUGS AND DRINKS
The problem of drug and alcohol addiction has become a serious menace threatening the future of especially ouryocfth. Sensual drugs and alcoholic drinks play havoc with the body and mind of their users. The drug and alcoholic addicts experience sensory deprivation. They feel physical discomfort and there are personality changes in them. They often feel depressed. They fail to respond either to their environment or to other people. Their mental disturbances can be like paranoia.
The addicts know they have a problem, but they can’t solve it. Drugs and alcoholic drinks cause hair fall and the addicts can easily catch diseases like pneumonia tuberculosis, malnutrition and weight loss. Overdoses of drugs and alcohol can cause respiratory and cardiac failure and result even in death. It is easy to start any bad habit but it will be difficult to stop it. So say no to drugs and alcoholic drinks.
Question 8.
A few of your friends have been admitted to the hospital and are recovering from the ill effects of drug abuse. They have understood the impact of drug abuse in their lives and have decided not to touch it again. Prepare a few expressions of advice to discourage them from using it again. You may use expressions like ‘You had better…, Why don’t you … , You could spend … , Let’s … etc.’
Answer:
You had better get rid of your addiction and spend the money on useful things.
Why don’t you to go to a counsellor or practise yoga for improving your self control?
You could spend the money you use for drugs and drinks on healthy and tasty food.
Let’s spend the money on charity; it will help so many people.
Question 9.
As part of the Souhrida Day, the Souhrida Unit of your school is organising a programme called “MEET THE DOCTOR”. As a student interested in knowing more about the physical and mental impacts of drug abuse, you plan to ask a few questions to the doctor. Prepare four questions to be asked to the doctor.
Answer:
a) Good morning, Doctor! I would like to know how drugs affect the mind. Can you please give us some details?
b) I have heard that drugs adversely affect the body also. Is it true doctor? Can you elaborate a bit?
c) Doctor, I have heard about withdrawal symptoms. Will you please explain what they mean and what they indicate?
d) Many people say that even after coming out of the De-addiction Centres after being cured, many addicts go back to their addiction. Is it true?
Activity – I (Paragraph writing)
Question 1.
Describe the mental as well as physical impacts of drug abuse.
Answer:
Drug abuse has both mental and physical impacts. The drug addict experiences sensory deprivation. He has a general feeling of physical discomfort and there are personality changes in him. The addict feels depressed. He fails to respond either to his environment or to other people. His mental disturbance can be like paranoia. The addict knows he has a problem. But he does not know the source of his problem and he looks for its cause in everything but himself. He looks upon external objects with suspicion.
Anything outside scares him and he draws further and further into himself. There are also drug-related physical disorders. Dirty needles and solutions used for injecting drugs can cause abscesses in the arms and veins. They can cause liver disease, venereal disease and infection of the kidney and brain. Sniffing cocaine and amphetamines can damage the tissue of the nose. Marijuana and tobacco smoking can cause lung diseases. Babies of women addicted to opiates are likely to be bom addicted and to suffer from withdrawal symptoms.
Cocaine and amphetamines cause hair fall. Marijuana can damage cells. A drug addict can easily get pneumonia, tuberculosis, mal-nutrition and weight loss. An overdose of any sensual drug can cause respiratory or cardiac failure and death.
Question 2.
Do you think that the addiction to drugs will destroy not only the addicted butthe entire humanity? Justify your answer with special reference to the modem context.
Answer:
I certainly think that the addiction to drugs will destroy not only the addicted but the entire humanity. I say that because even if a single member of a family is addicted to drugs, the entire family feels bad. A family does not live alone as many families are connected through blood relations or marriage relations. The unhappiness of one family spreads into other families. Families will start restricting their children from having friendship or any kind of relation with the drug addicts and their families. This way there will be a cascading effect, spreading unhappiness all over.
Drugs are a burden on society as they can’t contribute anything positive. They suffer from all sorts of/wental and physical problems and they look at people with suspicion. Love, affection, mercy, sympathy etc. slowly disappear. Drug addiction especially happens among the youth. Once the youth of a country are unable to carry out their responsibilities, the nations will be in jeopardy. Drug addiction leads to distrust, fights and wars which will ultimately min humanity.
Activity – II (Group Discussion)
Question 1.
The health club in yourschool decides to conduct a group discussion (GD) on the topic “Substance Abuse Leads to Social Problems”. Conduct a GD.
(Note: Study the Dos and Don’ts given on page 124 of the Text)
Answer:
A. As you all know the topic for our discussion today is “Substance Abuse Leads to Social Problems”. Substance Abuse is popularly known as drug addiction. Drug addiction has become a big menace especially among the youth of today. Recently we heard how some young actors and actresses were caught by the police for taking and possessing drugs. Drugs cause physical and mental problems if they are abused.
B. I quite agree with A. Even school children are taking drugs. The other day I read in the newspapers that some school children were sniffing ’whitener’ because it gave them some intoxicating feeling. It is so dangerous. Imagine the future of such children.
C. People abuse drugs because they think drugs can cure any disease and they can also give some kind of pleasures. It is common for youngster to take pep pills just to get some euphoria. Even our athletes take drugs to enhance their performance.
D. Many drug abusers do not know how it affects their minds. The drug addict experiences sensory deprivation. He has a general feeling of physical discomfort and there are personality changes in him. The addict feels depressed. He failsto respond either to his environment or to other people. His mental disturbance can be like paranoia. The addict knows he has a problem. But he does not know the source of his problem and he looks for its cause in everything but himself. He looks upon external objects with suspicion. Anything outside scares him and he withdraws further and further into himself.
E. Drugs also affect the body adversely. Dirty needles and solutions used for injecting drugs can cause abscesses in the arms and veins. They can cause liver disease, venereal disease and infection of the kidney and brain. Sniffing cocaine and amphetamines can damage the tissue of the nose. Marijuana and tobacco smoking can cause lung diseases. Babies of women addicted to opiates are likely to be born addicted and to suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Cocaine and amphetamines cause hair fall. Marijuana can damage cells. A drug addict can easily get pneumonia, tuberculosis, mal-nutrition and weight loss. An overdose of any sensual drug can cause respiratory or cardiac failure and death.
F. Substance abuse has really become a huge problem and all-out efforts are to be made to find solutions. I think instead of opening more and more rehabilitation centres, the government and the society should do more in the prevention of drug abuse. Prevention is better than cure. The police must be more vigilant. Parents must ensure that their children do not get into drug addiction by keeping a close watch over them. Teachers must constantly make their students aware of the evils of drug addiction. Even religious leaders can play a big role in teaching the people how drug addiction is against God and moral life.
G. I think we have discussed the problem quite exhaustively. I thank all the participants in the discussion. I am sure we ail have benefitted from what we heard today. Let us take a vow that we shall neverbecome drug addicts. Thank you all!
Activity – III (Letter of Enquiry)
Question 1.
While at school you may sometimes have to write letters to different agencies/organization/offices etc. enquiring about their services or seeking permission to use their services. Study the letter of enquiry on page 125 made by the Secretary of the Souhrida Club Of a school to the Central Library, Mumbai.
Now that you have read the sample letter, write a letter to Florets Public School, Chennai, enquiring about the project they are working on and seeking permission to visit their school.
Answer:
St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School
43, Cathedral Road
Irinjalakuda
Tel: 9876543210
Email: stmarvsl [email protected]
The Principal
Florets Public School
420, Chandrabose Nagar
Chennai
20 June 2015
Respected Sir,
Sub: Permission to visit your school
We have come to Jcnow that the class XII of your school are working on a project on the ‘Increasing Tendency of drug abuse among the young’. We also came to know that the project has made great progress. We saw some of the pamphlets issued by the project coordinator exhorting the young to keep away from drugs, showing them the physical and mental problems they will encounter if they get into the dangerous habit of drug abuse.
We are impressed by your work. We also plan to make a project of our own in our school so that we can help the local people, especially boys and girls of school-going age. We believe that a visit to your school will help us a lot as we can see the work there firsthand and talk to the people who have been working on it. Please let us know if it would be okay if a group of 20 students, led by a teacher, visits your school at a time convenient to you.
We shall be glad if a date is given to us sometime in the 2nd week of July, if it is okay with you. We are sure you will be gracious enough to grant our request. Please send your reply at your earliest.
Thanking you,
Yours respectfully,
(Raj Job)
Secretary, Social Club
Activity – IV (Use of language expressions)
On page 126 and 127 expressions which can be used in different contexts are given. Study them and use them. Two examples, using the first two expressions in each group, are given below:
1. Expression to seek permission
a) Please give me permission to go home half an hour early today, as I have to accompany my motherto the hospital.
b) Please permit me to take this magazine home as I am prepanng a project and an article there would be of much use to me.
2. Expressions to seek information
a) Please tell me if you are going to Thrissurthis evening.
b) I would like to know on which days there are flights to Singapore from this airport.
3. Giving advice
a) You’d better concentrate of your studies instead of wasting your time on cricket.
b) You could use some more time for your studies.
4. Making Requests
a) Can you please speak up?
b) Will you please hold it for me?
5. Offer sympathy and providing encouragement
a) I want you to know how sorry I am at your not getting that job.
b) I’m sorry to hearthat your mother is in hospital.
6. Making suggestions
a) You could spend some more money on your clothes.
b) Let’s go home and do some combined studies.
Activity – V (Giving advice)
You may come across drug addicts among your pwn peer group. You have the responsibility to make them aware of the danger of drug abuse. You can do it in many different ways. For example, you can advise them not to use it/request them lovingly and politely to give up the habit/make alternative or practical suggestions/offer your sympathy and encouragement etc.
Imagine such a situation and make use of the suitable expressions given above to talk to/advise your friend about the dangers of drug abuse.
Answer:
Tom, I have come to know that you are taking amphetamines regularly. I don’t know how a responsible boy like you could get into such a dangerous habit. Do you know the use of amphetamines brings a lot of adverse effects on your mind and body? They destroy the tissues of your nose and slowly your nose will lose your sense of smell. Your brain will be very badly affected. You also become prone to get pneumonia, tuberculosis, hair and weight loss.
I am sure you want to grow into a fine gentleman. How much love your parents have for you! If they come to know that you take amphetamines, how will they feel? How will your friends feel? So, Tom, give up your habit. You can do physical and mental exercises to overcome your craving for amphetamines. Enjoy life, this beautiful life!
Activity – VI (Seminar)
Read the newspaper clippings given on page 128.
These reports give us an alarming picture of the spreading menace of the abuse of drugs among the younger generation. Study the problem in details and prepare a seminar paper on the topic ‘The vicious web of drugs spoils the dreams and lives of the young’.
Read the tips to prepare a seminar paper given on p. 129. (Mark 8)
Answer:
‘THE VICIOUS WEB OF DRUGS SPOILS THE DREAMS AND LIVES OF THE YOUNG’
Abstract: This Paper makes an in-depth study of the problem of drug addiction among the youth of today. The author interviewed some addicts, teachers, parents, and community leaders to find the ground realities. There were also questionnaires to be answered by students, teachers, and parents. The results showthat drug addiction is a real problem amongst our youth of the school and college-going age. Unless we stop this menace, we will have to reap the bitter harvest sooner or later.
Statement of the Problem: The problem of drug addiction has become a serious menace threatening the future of our youth, especially school and college-going youth. This age-group is more vulnerable to addiction because most of them are teenagers. Teenage, as we all know, is the time of stress and strain. To overcome their stress and strain, many youngsters take drugs. These drugs give them temporary pleasure relieving them of their tensions for a brief period.
Information on drug abuse was collected from various sources including books, journals, lecture notes and the Internet. Direct studies were made through interviews and questionnaires. From the sources the author consulted, he has come to the conclusion that he problem is really big and solutions should be found.
Causes : Analysing the responses from people, the author has made certain conclusions regarding the spread of the problem. One problem is that the youngsters today get a lot of money from their parents. Since most families have only a child ortwo, they are pampered by the parents. Many of the parents don’t have the time to spend with their children and they compensate this by giving them money which the youngsters misuse. Another reason is peer-group influence.
A third reason is blind imitation of the so-called glamour boys and girls in films and sports who use drugs. A fourth reason is the easy availability of the stuff. If you have money you can buy it very easily. If you give them a call, the peddlers will bring the stuff to you. Another reason is the moral laxity of the times. We can also see that the law-enforcing agencies are not sincere in their work. Our society has degenerated into a corrupt one and one, it seems, can do anything without being caught.
Effects: Sensual drugs play havoc with the body and mind of their users. The drug addict experiences sensory deprivation. He has a general feeling of physical discomfort and there are personality changes in him. The addict feels depressed. He fails to respond eitherto his environment or to other people. His mental disturbance can be like paranoia. The addict knows he has a problem. But he does not know the source of his problem and he looks for its cause in everything but himself. He looks upon external objects with suspicion. Anything outside scares him and he withdraws further and further into himself.
Drugs also affect the body adversely. Dirty needles and solutions used for injecting “drugs can cause abscesses in the arms and veins. They can cause liver disease, venereal disease and infection of the kidney and brain. Sniffing cocaine and amphetamines can damage the tissue of the nose. Marijuana and tobacco smoking can cause lung diseases. Babies of women addicted to opiates are likely to be born addicted and to suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Cocaine and amphetamines cause hair fall. Marijuana can damage cells. A drug addict can easily get pneumonia, tuberculosis, mal-nutrition and weight loss. An overdose of any sensual drug can cause respiratory or cardiac failure and death.
Solutions: The drug problems can be solved only through the concerted efforts of the parents, teachers, community leaders and law-enforcing agencies. Awareness programmes should be conducted about the dangerous effects of drug abuse. Parents should ensure that their children are not given money for which they can’t give a proper account. Community leaders must ensure that the youth have enough facilities and enjoy and expend their energies in a positive way. The police must make sure that sensual drugs are not easily available to the youth. Medical shops should sell medicines only on prescription by doctors.
References:
- Dangers of Drug Abuse by Hardin B. Jones
- An Internet article on Sensual Drugs and their Effects
- Reader’s Digest Article on “Youths and Drugs”, May 2015.
Activity – VII (Power-point Presentation)
Read the matter given on page 129 and prepare a power-point presentation, using the tips given there. You may use the seminar paper above to get appropriate points. Divide the points into the relevance of the topic, causes, effects and suggestions.
Activity – VIII (Let’s edit)
Question 1.
While writing down the following passage, being dictated by the teacher, a student committed a few mistakes in spelling. Correctthose mistakes.
Answer:
One rehabilitated heroin addict described his sensory deprivation to me: looking out of the window, he said, The sun is shining, the flowers are in bloom. I know these are signs of a good day.” But, pressing his chest, he said, “I don’t feel it here.” I have seen addicts habitually press their fingers deep into their arms or legs as if to reassure themselves of their own reality. This craving for lost sensations explains in part the addict’s need to continue to seek drug-induced sensations.
Question 2.
Here is a passage by a writer who committed,a few mistakes while writing. Help him write the correct spelling.
Answer:
On a wild and stormy hillside there stood an old ruin of a castle where, quite often on a dark and stormy: night, people could hear the screams of tortured ghost’s coming through the walls and turrets. The clanking of chains could be heard and the soles of those passing by froze at the sound.
Question 3.
Given below is a newspaper report prepared by a student about a forest fire in Wayanad, as part of an assignment given by the English teacher.
There are some errors in it. Identify the errors and rewrite the report with necessary corrections. (Hint: The errors are in concord, voice, preposition, spelling, phrasalverb)
Answer:
FOREST FIRES CONTINUE IN WAYANAD
Three minor incidents of forest fire were reported in Wayanad district. The first incident was reported in Thrissilery in the morning. Later, two incidents were reported at Kottiyur and Kalamkandy. Timely intervention by forest officials and fire and rescue personnel, who put out the fire on a war footing, prevented the fire from spreading. It was reported that nearly five acres of forestland were destroyed in the fire. A Non-Governmental Organization official said that natural forest fires were rare atthis time of the year, adding that often they were man-made. They said they would stage a dharna at Sulthan Bathery on Friday to sensitize the public on the significance of conserving forests.
Dangers of Drug Abuse (Essay) About The Author
Hardin Blain Jones (1914-1978) was born in Los Angeles, California. He was a professor of medical physics and physiology. “Dangers of Drug Abuse’ is a timely warning to modern society.
Dangers of Drug Abuse (Essay) Summary in English
Page 119: Drugs were discovered to prevent and cure physical diseases and reverse the disturbances that occur in some mental illnesses. The power of drugs has led people to believe that any ailment, infective or psychic, can be relieved by taking a pill. At the first sign of nervousness, they try pep pills. Medical journals now advertise tranquilizers (which calm you down), amphetamines (used for slimming and also for euphoria) and other mood-altering drugs. Doctors prescribe them and people expect miracles from them. In this situation, drug abuse is widespread.
When people become dependent on drugs to solve their problems, they lose their capacity to deal with life’s situations through perseverance, self-discipline and mental effort. Some people thy* it is foolish to expend energy on solving a problem when there is an easy way out. People take drugs when they feel bad. They take drugs even when they feel good already.
Page 120: A distinction should be made between medicine and the sensual drugs. We must know the important advances science has made. The history of medical use of drugs goes back 23 centuries to Hippocrates, the Greek physician. He is regarded as the father of medicine. He was the first to say that a remedy must take into account not only the symptoms of the disease but also the constitution and habits of the patient.
As per his teaching, medicines must suit the disease and the patient. When there is a disorder only a drug that specifically mitigates that disorder should be used. The drug should also have restorative effects. Otherwise it will unbalance healthy functions of the brain and the body. It means a healthy person cannot benefit from taking a drug. This also comes from Hippocrates. He said, “Persons in good health quickly lose their strength by taking purgative medicines.”
The difference between medicines and sensual drugs is simple. Sensual drugs are those that the body does not need, but they give the user a strong sense of pleasure. Sensual drugs activate the brain’s pleasure centres. We don’t know how they do it – whethef they stimulate the pleasure centre directly or activate them through chemical mimicry. Both possibilities will be referred to as stimulation.
The brain governs sensations, moods, thoughts and actions. It is done not through any magical process but by an unbelievably complex series of chemically regulated controls. These are easily upset by sensual drugs. They affect on the mechanisms that control pleasure and satisfaction. A drug user’s craving for the drug continues, but he feels less and less satisfaction. His brain’s pleasure reflexes are activated by artificial stimulation. In severe addiction, the pleasure mechanisms fail to respond to drug stimulation. The drug then gives only relative relief from misery and suspends the illness of withdrawal. Information from the senses still reaches the brain, but the brain is unable to evaluate the information and interpret it as pleasurable. In contrast, naturally attained pleasures enlarge the sense of satisfaction and can be repeated indefinitely.
Page 121: Ultimately, the sensory deprivation of the drug addict shows its# in a general feeling of physical discomfort and in personality changes. The addict feels depressed. He fails to respond eitherto his environment or to other people. His mental disturbance can be like paranoia. He does not know the source of his problem and he looks for its cause in everything but himself. Anything outside scares him and draws further and further into himself. He feels that others look at him strangely. One even told me that when people smiled at him he thought they were laughing at him. He may even lose his sense of being alive. He feels ‘dead inside’. This is what one rehabilitated heroin addict told me: “Looking out of the window, the sun is shining. The flowers are in bloom. These are signs of a good day.” But pressing his chest, he said, “I don’t feel it here.” Addicts often press their fingers deep into their arms or legs to reassure themselves of their own reality. Their sensations are lost and they look for drug-induced sensations.
If drugs gave a safe form of pleasure, there would be no objections to using them. But we know continued use of drugs has very bad consequences. There are real dangers, but the drug user thinks there is no danger because the harmful side effects are not immediately seen. An overdose may result in delirious effects or even death. Between these extremes there is the danger of degeneration of health and reduced brain function. Drugs act directly on the brain. They cause mental mechanisms to respond abnormally. The risks are great for regular users. A lot of harm may be done before the warning symptoms occur.
Page 122: Drug-related health disorders are many and varied. Dirty needles and solutions used for injecting drugs can cause abscesses in the arms and veins. They can cause liver disease, venereal disease and infection of the kidney and brain. Sniffing cocaine and amphetamines can damage the tissue of the nose. Marijuana and tobacco smoking can cause lung diseases. Heavy users of alcohol, volatile solvents, amphetamines or marijuana damage their livers permanently. Babies of women addicted to opiates are likely to be bom addicted and to suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Cocaine and amphetamines cause hair fall. Marijuana can damage cells. A drug addict can easily get pneumonia, tuberculosis, malnutrition and weight loss. An overdose of any sensual drug can cause respiratory or cardiac failure and death.
Sensual drugs affect the chemistry of brain cells. Cell function is carried out by thousands of enzymes acting within each cell. Each exposure of the cells to psychoactive drugs alters their chemistry. Toxic chemicals can upset the brain’s intricate system of communication. They can also damage cell tissues. Toxic effect may be permanent.
This article focuses on the effects of drugs on the brain. Drugs affect other parts of the body also and they can be even more debilitating. Damage to the brain is the most subtle and often unrecognized and least understood consequence of drug abuse.
Dangers of Drug Abuse (Essay) Summary in Malayalam
Dangers of Drug Abuse (Essay) Meanings
