If you walk into any local gas station or grocery store, it can be spotted right away. I am speaking of alcohol. Yes, alcohol though legal, is a drug. Alcohol is a form of drug use that results in addiction for millions. (Gwynne, 1988, pg. 32) Problems that alcohol cause are very widely known, yet any regulation for the drug is only for people under the age of 21.

After prohibition failed miserably, the idea of controlled alcohol seemed ridiculous. This too is true for many of today's modern drugs. Stiff penalties and laws have made little progress in the ongoing war on drugs. The main types of drugs in circulation today are heroin, crack, cocaine, amphetamines (uppers), barbiturates (downers), and marijuana. (Ball, 1988, pg. 2) The three most widely used drugs are heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana.

Heroin was created by doctors as an alternative to morphine. Morphine is

The final in our trio of super-drugs is marijuana. Marijuana is a plant that is smoked. The reactions to marijuana can be very different. Marijuana can be a depressant or a stimulant. (Ball, 1988, pg. 22) This differing reaction is caused by marijuana's main ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol. It is also known as THC. (Ball, 1988, pg. 23) Because marijuana is smoked, it goes directly to the lungs and circulates throughout the body. This allows the THC to cause many types of reactions all throughout the body. THC has a very serious effect on the cells of the body. It blocks protein from reaching the cells. This does not allow the cells to grow and function properly. (Ball, 1988, pg. 23) Because of the fact that marijuana is smoked, it also has many of the same effects as cigarettes to the body but on a larger level. Everyone knows the effects of what heavy smoking can do to a person's body. Marijuana, on the other hand, is even worse. It has a greatly magnified eff!

ect. If a person were to smoke five joints a week it would be equivalent to smoking one hundred cigarettes. (Ball, 1988, pg. 25) That equals one joint per one whole package of cigarettes.

cocaine at least once before they graduated. (Gwynne, 1988, pg. 74) These statistics did decrease through the 90's as more people learned the effects of cocaine. Because it is snorted through the nose, cocaine goes directly to the brain, killing millions of brain cells immediately. The continuous snorting of cocaine can also cause the nasal cavity to completely collapse. (Ball, 1988, pg. 17) The one outstanding trait of cocaine is not the addiction. Though very extreme, it is not a physical one. The body does not need it

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