Drugs act on the nervous system, such as the brain, and impact a person's mental state may be loosely and informally classified into categories.
The following categories are not fully agreed upon globally:
Most addictive drugs like nicotine, alcohol, and cocaine affect the brain’s “reward” circuit, which is part of the limbic system. This area of the brain affects instinct and mood. Drugs target this system, which causes large amounts of dopamine—a brain chemical that helps regulate emotions, feelings of pleasure, and motivation to execute tasks—to flood the brain. This flood of dopamine is what causes a “high” in some drugs, and is generally the main cause of drug addiction.
Although initial drug use may be voluntary, drugs can alter brain chemistry. This can change how the brain performs and interfere with the way that we make choices. [source?] Using drugs with a high danger of physical dependency (which most hard drugs fall into) can lead to cravings, compulsive and habitual usage. Over time, this behavior can turn into a substance dependency or addiction.
Hard drugs can negatively impact almost every organ in the human body: [source?]
Legal penalties for hard drugs are usually, but not always, harsher than for soft drugs. Opioid trading and trafficking are treated seriously by the law in many countries due to the potential harm caused by this hard drug. In contrast, cannabis, generally considered to be a soft drug, is increasingly tolerated in western countries. Especially beginning in the early 2000s, legislation has been passed to legalize the usage of marijuana for medical, cultural, and recreational purposes, however there are significant differences in the legality of cannabis between different countries and municipalities. Generally the medical use of cannabis is allowed in many more countries.
The law is also different for alcohol. Generally considered a hard drug, alcohol is sold widely in the western world though it was briefly made illegal in Finland in 1919 and in the United States in 1920 during what was called prohibition. In many Muslim countries there are laws regulating, heavily restricting, or even outright banning the selling and drinking of alcohol, especially in public.
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