Drugs have infiltrated our cities, our towns and our lives.  Though a small percentage of people
use drugs, they do attempt to spread their plague among others.  But, how dangerous are these mind
suppressors?  Do they kill like the statistics show, or is it a coverup to stop people from having a good
time?  Even in Franklin County, there are drugs.  How bad is the problem?  It is worse then most
people think, but what can we do about it?  Can we do anything about it?
     Marijuana is the drug of choice among most addicts.  It is provided cheap
and is easily available.  Overdosing it on this
drug is not possible, or at least dying of an
overdose, thus making it seem safe.  The high is described as a rush of

calmness and relaxation.  People under the influence feel relaxed and as if

their problems are gone.  The most common method of

doing this drug is smoking it.  The leafy plant is dried and

smoked in a joint, or a rolled cigarette with a paper mouth piece.  It can also be
smoked in a bong, or pipe.  Another method is eating the leaves of the plant. 
They must be cooked in some sort of fat.  Marijuana is fat soluble, and for
the reason, must be cooked in butter, lard, milk, or other substance.  A new
method is being
tested.  It
includes
"baking" the
marijuana under a flame without burning it.  It is nearly the same as smoking it, but there is no smoke,
which may limit the chance of lung cancer.  Yet is this drug safe?  No.  The
short term effects, besides the calmness are the following: temporary memory
loss, rapid heart beat, and dizziness.  The
long term effects include the
following: Lung cancer, heart
problems, and
immune system disorders.  The
equivalent of one
joint is four cigarettes, or ten seconds of car exhaust.  No
one sees the dangers
of this drug, and they usually do not care about them, making it even more dangerous.
     LSD, or acid, is a synthetic drug that was originally
found on the skin of a mushroom.  This is considered a
psychedelic drug.  It is very cheap, usually $4 - $5 a trip.  A
trip usually consists of 500-600 "mics" of acid.  It can be made from morning glory, wood petroleum
and other chemicals.  The high is very interesting.  It is described as non-

real.  It brings reality and imagination together in a utopia of relaxation.  This

may sound good, but people tripping on acid do not realized what they are

doing and could jump out of buildings or moving

cars and think they will live.  LSD is usually taken by licking a piece of paper
with a drop of the acid on it.  Another method is by dropping a small drop
of the liquid acid under the tongue.  The short term effects include the high,
but also include a rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, and memory loss. 

Long term effects include relapses of the high, days, weeks, or years after

last using the drug.  Brain damage also occurs, for LSD is a mind-altering

drug.  The high of this is so wonderful to people, that they do not realize

what could happen to them in the future.  It is possible to overdose on this

drug, but deaths are usually nonexistent.
     Heroin is a very dangerous drug.  It is an opiate drug,
acquired from the poppy plant.  Opium was first discovered
in the 1800's and people became addicted in the 1860's. 
About 95% of the people then, were addicted to it.  Now, heroin takes its place.  The high is described
as relaxing, like the rest of the previous drugs.  People who first use it, sometimes fall asleep while
high.  Heroin is usually done by needle injection.  It can be smoke, however.  It is prepared by heating
it on a spoon and placing the liquid in a needle for injecting.  Heroin is usually not very pure.  This
can make in incredibly dangerous because if one is used to the non-pure
heroin and then gets

purer heroin, he or

she can easily

overdose, killing them.  Also, because this is

injected by a needle, heroin can pass diseases,

including AIDS.  Short

term effects include the following: quick addiction,  quick  tolerance,
depression, and blurred vision.  Long term effects include the following:
depression, vein disorders.  The fact that you can die of an overdose makes
heroin very dangerous.  People who use marijuana and want something
better, try heroin once or twice and are addicted.

     Cocaine is a drug made from the leaves of the coca plant. 
Cocaine is the same kind of drug as morphine and nicotine, thus the
"-ine" endings.  These drugs are extemely addictive.  Cocaine is found
in the form of a white powder.  It is sometimes mixed with other substances such as cornstarch or
sugar.  It is expensive, but because of the addiction, people do anything to get it.  This has made
another problem, drug violence.  People kill people for cocaine or cocaine money.  The drug was
originally injected.  One of the affects was bulging of the veins in the nose.  This led to the discovery
of sniffing, or snorting cocaine.  It can also be smoke, if it is
prepared in a certain way.  The high is described as mind
racing.  It makes you feel as if everything is moving very fast. 
People often cannot talk correctly and are very spastic.  They
often do stupid things.  Short term effects include the
following:  very rapid heart rate and high blood pressure,
confusion, violence, difficultly in talking and other thing.  Long term effects include, heart problems,
liver problems, brain damage, stuttering, and the destruction of the separation between the nostrils. 
You can overdose on the drug and die.  People use this drug because they are addicted.  This drug is
by far the most dangerous of the popular drugs.  They often link it to violence and gangs.
     The drug problem in Franklin County isn't as large as in cities, but is existent.  People use
drugs, mainly because of peer pressure.  Most people would not agree with this, but it is true. 
Ignorance is a major player in the drug problem.  People don't realize

HOW dangerous it is.  If all people understood the information in this

report, the problem could go decrease.  It was stated that if marijuana

was legalized, the drug problem would cease.  This does have some

truth to it, but most people say that marijuana leads to other drugs, but studies
show that approximately 5% of people who try marijuana try other drugs. 
Marijuana does not lead to other drugs.  However, this does not nullify the fact
that marijuana kills people.  It does it with the same potency of cigarettes.  This
is due to the fact that people do  not smoke 40 joints a day, like some cigarette
smokers, they smoke about two joints a week.  But, there is not excuse for other
"hard drugs" like LSD, heroin and cocaine.  People need to learn what they are doing to themselves;
that is the key to solving the drug problem.