The Effects of Prohibited Drug Intake on Human Behavior

The search for a more thorough understanding of the basic commnon processes underlying drug dependence has been thwarted by the lack of a conceptual map of the terrain. Investigators have been in the position of the crew in Lewis Carrolls The Hunting of the Snark. The Bellman brought a map purporting to show the elusive Snarks location: once the voyage was underway, however, the crew discovered the map was completely blank. All too often those of us in the field of drug dependence find ourselves floating on an uncharted conceptual sea, zigging and zagging in search of a common causal process. It would be as naive to suppose that all forms of heart disease have a common cause. Instead, it is more reasonable to suppose that,†¦show more content†¦To a degree, this has been a fortuitous historical development which has become entangled with unwarranted tenacity in our theoretical fabric. In attempting to specify the mechanism responsible for the effects of mescaline on the behavior of certain native Indian tribes who use the drug as part of religious rites, it is not especially helpful to specify the receptor sites in the central nervous system activated by the drug. The mechanisms which account for the drugs effect have to do with psychological, social, and cultural factors rather than specific neurochemical factors. It becomes evident that the choice of level of analysis is dictated by the system under study and by the degree to which the mechanisms proposed fit into an established set of lawful relationships. The existence of a substantial knowledge base with a rich network of lawful relationships makes it profitable to explore behavioral mechanisms of drug action. By behavioral mechanism of drug action, we refer to a description of a drugs effect on a given behavioral system (1ocus) expressed in terms of some more general set of environmental principles regulating behavior. Specifying the behavioral mechanism(s) responsible for an observed effect involves: a) identifying the environmental variables which typically regulate the behavior in question, and b) characterizing the manner in which the influence of those variables iS altered by the drug. In some Instances, the drugShow MoreRelatedShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1514 Words   |  7 Pagesfact that people say it can help reduce or put an end to the drug war violence and thus lower down crime rates in countries like Mexico (Berlatsky, 2), meaning it would decrease the amount of violence and problems from occurring, it’s not enough to outweigh the risks of recreational marijuana on people. 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