Drugs and Humans

We are different

Early Drug Use and History

Marijuana mentioned as having
psychotropic properties circa 100
BCE Pen Tsao Ching
Role in early America
Marijuana culture

Stoners

Alcohol
Benefitted man for a long time
Enjoyed nearly universally
Strongly rooted in human history

 40% of traffic accident deaths are

related to alcohol.
Alcoholism widespread
Drinking culture

Tobacco
Used by the native Americans for
many reasons
Finds huge popularity in many
countries
Believed to be used by various
cultures for thousands of years

Culture duh

Psychedelics
Unique drug culture
Psychedelic movement/era
Mixing of old and new drugs and
drug uses
(Compare tribes using to peyote to
Steve Jobs dropping acid)

Coca
Used by native messengers in
Columbia
A Rich Mans Drug-important point
Associated with such greatly
emphasized feelings, despite its
danger

Opium and more harmful drugs

This too has been used for thousands
of years

Caused the first drug war

Culture cannot exist in the same way

Shared values
Drugs that are popular recreationally
often have medicinal properties
Associated with counter cultures
Many drugs and practices therein
associated with forms of
enlightenment

Some Statistics
In 1955 CBS See it Now explains
link between lung cancer and
smoking
An era of Awareness

Drawing the line between medicine

and drugs
-Many popular drugs started out as
medicine or have medicinal benefits
-The difference is that medicine relates
to disease prevention, drugs dont
necessarily
-Drugs may be believed to be helpful
but not in the way medicines are

Drug Users
Its believed that introverts may be
more likely to abuse drugs and
extroverts could be more likely to
have less interest in drugs
Due to their relationship with positive
feelings and rewards

Brain Chemistry
Predispositions
People with negative personalities,
who may have fewer dopamine
receptors, could be more drawn to
drug use

Reasons
Common reasons

Escape from problems

Substance Culture
Fairly well informed of major facts
about drugs
Still use for experimental reasons;
curiosity

Social reasons and factors

Intelligence/information
Intelligent people more likely to use
drugs
Why? No one is too sure

Intelligent people may have different

approaches to using drugs
Different methods of deciding to use
drugs

Intelligence cont.
Emotional intelligence is not
intelligence
Intelligent people experience and
believe different things
Different values
Values/beliefs formed in different
ways, resulting in different behavior
and personalities

These guys
http://www.advancedholistichealth.org/history.html
http://archive.tobacco.org/History/Tobacco_History.
html
http://www.nap.edu/read/12649/chapter/7
http://www.livescience.com/44851-personalitysubstance-use-disorder-risk.html
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/intelligent-peopleare-more-likely-use-drugs-why