INTRODUCTION

From the dawn of civilization, there had many drug elements to use which increases day by day. Drug and alcohol addiction is big problem in recent years to the world population. Everyday we are getting affected by young bright child to get addicted and ruin the family. It not only devalued the moral of the society but also creating criminal, jobless to the young dynamic youth. Substance that affects the function of living cells, used in medicine to diagnose, cure, prevent the occurrence of diseases and disorders, and prolong the life of patients with incurable conditions.

Since 1900 the availability of new and more effective drugs such as antibiotics, which fight bacterial infections, and vaccines, which prevent diseases caused by bacteria and viruses, has increased the average American’s life span from about 60 years to about 75 years. Drugs have vastly improved the quality of life. Today, drugs have contributed to the eradication of once widespread and sometimes fatal diseases such as poliomyelitis and smallpox. Drug addiction may be conceptualized as crime without victim, addict himself is the victim who becomes a prey of it’s misuse. This devastating melody is eroding the roots of social, economic & cultural fiber of Indian society. It gives rise to criminality & criminal behavior which eventually leads to social disorganization. Drug habituation has been prevalent in most societies over the ages because of their allegedly pleasurable & relaxing effects or as a means of relieving physical tensions, fatigue & as stimulant to withstand adversities. However, with the unprecedented expansion of pharmaceutical industry, the use, abuse & misuse of alcohol & drugs have increased leaps & bounds covering almost all sections of society.

Alcoholism & drug addiction are indicative of the irresponsibility & weakness of the character of the persons using these intoxicants. The relation between alcoholism & various aggressive & criminal acts is often confirmed by police records & prison statistics which indicate that in the present day there is a considerable increase in such alcoholic-criminal episodes. Experience has shown that various preventive & punitive measures such as fine, imprisonment or detention for drunkenness & other disorderly behaviours have failed in eliminating this menace.

Drug

Drug is a substance that is used as a medicine or narcotic. It is like any substance, other than food, that is used to prevent, diagnose, treat or relieve symptoms of a disease or abnormal condition. Also refers to a substance that alters mood or body function, or that can be habit-forming or addictive, especially a narcotic.

For broadly speaking, a drug is any substance that alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in medicine, government regulations, and colloquial usage.

In pharmacology, Dictionary.com defines a drug as "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being. Drugs may be prescribed for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.

A drug is any biological substance, synthetic or non-synthetic, that is taken primarily for non-dietary needs. It is usually synthesized outside of an organism, but introduced into an organism to produce its action.1

Any substance presented for treating, curing or preventing disease in human beings or in animals. A drug may also be used for making a medical diagnosis or for restoring, correcting, or modifying physiological functions.2

So it may define as, Drug is a chemical compound or substance that can alter the structure and function of the body. Psychoactive drugs affect the function of the brain, and some of these may be illegal to use and possess. And drug is a substance used as or in medicine. Drug is a chemical entity that affects the processes of a living organisms or system.

Any recognized chemical compound that may be used on or administered to humans or animals as an aid in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease or other abnormal conditions termed as drug.

Drug means any controlled substance approved for hair or urine testing by OSDH, including amphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), hallucinogens, methaqualone, opiates, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, synthetic narcotics, designer drugs, or a metabolite of any of the substances.

Drug Addiction

Drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease, characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, and by neurochemical and molecular changes in the brain. Drug abusers gradually spend more and more time and energy obtaining and using the drug. Once they are addicted, the drug abusers' primary purpose in life becomes seeking and using drugs.

Classification of drugs1 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug

2 www.chemdiv.com/en/Information/glossary

A. The UK classification system of DrugAccording to Nutt, King, Saulsbury and Blakemore's research, In March 2007, The Lancet published the results of the study that, in their opinion, highlighted the inadequacy of the current drugs classification system in the UK, calling it "not fit for purpose”. The research, which compared 20 substances, some classified and some not classified, concluded that alcohol was the fifth most harmful drug, behind heroin, cocaine, barbiturates and methadone. Tobacco came ninth, resulting more harmful than cannabis, and even than some Class-A drugs like LSD and ecstasy.

The researchers said that "the exclusion of alcohol and tobacco from the Misuse of Drugs Act is, from a scientific perspective, arbitrary".

There are mainly three categories of drugs, viz.:

Class A drugs Class B drugs Class C drugs

This list is not exhaustive

2C-B (4-Bromo-2,5-dimethoxybenzeneethanamine)

Some list of B class Drug Some list of C class Drug

Acetorphine

Allylprodine

Alphacetylmethadol

Benzethidine

Benzylmorphine

Betacetylmethadol

Clonitazene

Coca leaf

Cocaine

Diacetylmorphine (heroin INN)

Diamorphine (heroin BAN)

Diampromide

Dimepheptanol

Dipipanone

Ethylmethylthiambutene

Etonitazene

Etorphine

Etoxeridine

Furethidine

Hydromorphone

Hydroxypethidine

Isomethadone

Ketobemidone

Levomethorphan

Acetyldihydrocodeine

Amphetamine

Codeine

Dexamphetamine

Dihydrocodeine

Ethylmorphine (3-ethylmorphine)

Flunitrazepam

Methaqualone

Methylphenidate

Nicocodine

Norcodeine

Phenmetrazine

Pholcodine

Temazepam

Benzphetamine

Benzodiazapines Cannabinol cannabinol

Cannabis

Cathine

Chlorphentermine

Fencamfamin

Gammahydroxybutyrate

Ketamine

Mephentermine

Pemoline

Phendirnetrazine

Phentermine

Pipradrol

Prolintane

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

Methyldesorphine

Morpheridine

Morphine

Nicomorphine

Noracyinethadol

Opium,

Pethidine

Phenadoxone

Phenampromide

poppy-straw

Racemcthorphan

Trimeperidine

4-Cyano-2-dimethylamino-4, 4-diphenylbutane

4-Cyano-1-methyl-4-phenyl-piperidine

N,N-Diethyltryptamine

N,N-Dimethyltryptamine

2,5-Dimethoxy-a,4-dimethyl-phenethylaniine

1-Methyl-4-phenylpiperidine-4-carboxylic acid

2-Methyl-3-morpholino-1

1-diphenylpropanecarboxylic acid

4-Phenylpiperidine-4-carboxylic acid ethyl ester

"Any preparation designed for administration by injection which includes" a Class B drug.

Note that preparing a class B drug for injection makes it a Class A drug.

It is an offence to sell or supply them to another person. The exceptions are temazepam and flunitrazepam; it is illegal to possess either of these drugs without a valid prescription, making them both in Class B.

B. The US classification system of Drug

CNS (central nervous system): Relevant for our purposes.

1. Stimulant 2. Depressant 3. No effect 4. Complex effect

1. Stimulants: Amphetamines, Caffeine, Nicotine Cocaine

Excite arousal, increase alertness, elevate mood. Speed up signals to the brain. (Some newer drugs (Prozac) work mainly as mood elevators and do not (supposedly) produce the other effects).

2. Depressants

Analgesics: relieve pain (block signals?)

Narcotics : Opiates and Opioids Non-narcotics: Aspirin, etc.

Sedative Hypnotics : relax, induce sleep

Alcohol (ETOH) Anti-anxiety agents, tranquilizers Non-Barbiturates: Qualude, Halcion Long acting Barbiturates: Phenobarbital Short acting Barbiturates: Seconal

3. Anti-Psychotics: Thorazine

4. Anti-Depressants: Prozac, Lithium

5. Hallucinogens

6. Marijuana

7. Inhalants etc.

C. The Legal Classification: Controlled Substances Act 1990 (original 1970)

(The following is only a partial listing. Decisions as to scheduling may also include amount of a particular substance in a preparation, etc.)

Schedule 1: High Abuse, No Recognized Medical Use, Lack of Safety

Heroin LSD MDMA

Marijuana Methaqualone

Schedule 2: High Abuse, Medical Utility, High Dependency Risk

Opium Morphine Coca

Cocaine Methadone Methamphetamine

Schedule 3: Lower Abuse, Medical Utility, Moderate Dependency Risk

Amphetamine Barbiturate Valium

Xanax Anabolic Steroids Codeine

Schedule 4: Limited Abuse, High Medical Utility, Limited Dependency Risk

Chloral Hydrate Meprobamate Paraldehyde

Phenobarbital

Different Types of Drugs in Bangladesh

From a long time past, nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, marijuana has been used by the young and old as a drug.

With the passage of time different types of drugs are found in Bangladesh.There are three types of drugs available in use in Bangladesh-

1. Opium

2. Cannabis

3. Sleeping pill and others.

1. Opium

In a legal context, narcotic refers to opium, opium derivatives, and their semi-synthetic substitutes.

Often smoked, sniffed, or injected.

Typology of Opium: Different types of Drugs which are formed from opium -

1. (A) Heroin:

-An illegal, highly addictive drug.

-Most abused Drug.

-Processed from morphine.

-Extracted from the seed pod of certain poppy plants.

1. (B).Phensidyl:

-Commonly used in Bangladesh.

-Cough Syrup

-Smell less

-Combination of Codeine Phosphate, Promithizin, Ephedrine Hydrochloride.

-Started in Bangladesh from 1983.

Names of Phensidyl in Bangladesh:

- Dyle, RP, Phensi, Cat, Mondir, Mal, Zinish, Mishuk, Thakur etc.

-Used for more sleep.

1. (c) Alcohol:

-Scientific name-Ethyl Alcohol.

-Fermentation or distillation of dead or grape juice.

- It is found from Drakkhalota trees (Chili, France, Italy, and Australia)

-Most productive countries-France, Italy, USA,

Germany, Australia, Chili and Mexico, Hungary.

Types of Alcohol are:- Bear (3%-8%), Wine, Market Alcohol).

1. (D) Tidijesic.

1. (E) Pethidine:

-An analgesic (a painkiller) but also an anti spasmodic.

-Gives relax.

-It is a synthetic version of morphine.

1. (F) Opium:

- Papaver Somniferum (Scientific Name)

-A narcotic formed from the latex.

-Contains up to 16% morphine.

2. Cannabis

Known as ganja (from Hindi: ganja) Psychoactive product of the plant Cannabis sativa. 4 percent of the world's adult population use cannabis annually and 0.6 percent daily. Specific forms of Cannabis are like;

A) Ganja / Barbiturates.

b) Chorosh

c) Marijuana

d) Bhang.

3. Sleeping pill:

People often hope that sleeping pills increase sleep enough to make them more energetic in the day.

Effects are just the opposite of what people hope. The American Cancer Society Study on Sleeping Pill in 1988 and revealed;

-- 25% increased mortality among those taking sleeping pills nightly

-- 10-15% increased mortality among those taking sleeping pills occasionally

Effects of Sleeping Pill:

(i) Creates cancer in people & animals.

(iii) Significantly the probability of higher mortality

(iv) More lethal risks of sleeping pills

-often used in death penalty

- Allow chloride ions to enter the nerve cells (Barbiturates)

-new sleeping pill that’s single dose sometimes can be lethal (Benzodiazepines).

Sleeping Pill Available in Bangladesh:

i) Tranquilizer

ii) Seduxene (Diazapam)

iii) Enoctine

iv) Phenergan

v) Stemetil,

vi) Laxatine.

Others Drugs Available in Bangladesh:

Inhalant Cigarettes (Sometimes called drugs) Hukka Jorda.

Yaba: New Crazy Medicine:

Also called Ya Ba, Yaa baa, Yabba, Ya baa or Yah Bah Crazy medicine" in Thailand Bhul Bhuliya in India Tablets containing a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine Brightly colored in orange or green Carrying logos such as "R" or "WY" Outlawed by the Thai Government in 1970. In 2006-7 Yabba consumption became fashionable for the well-to-do in Bangladesh. e.g-Mr Joynal

& his girlfriend Nikita (Hotel Purbani).Effects of Taking Yaba:

Increased heart beat Dehydration Paranoid feeling Sweating

Insomnia Irritability Hallucinations Depression

Causes of Drugs in Bangladesh

Causes of Availability of Drugs in Bangladesh:

A substance that alters mood or body function Spread within age group of 16 to 25 years Directly influences the economic and social aspects Theft and illegal sale from the government hospitals.

Available drugs in Bangladesh:

Heroin, Phensidyl, Ganja, Alcohol, Beer, Sleeping Pills, Yaba etc.

Factors of Availability of Drugs in Bangladesh:

1. Geographical Causes : Easy land, sea and air access is becoming a major transit point. Central point between the ‘golden triangle’ and the ‘golden crescent’. Surrounded by the major drug producing countries of Asia. Drug smugglers in border crossing points.

Social Causes :

Poverty Lack of Proper Education Spots beside lanes/roads Specific sellers in the locality Drug smugglers in town

Houses near border area Low parental supervision Social & Cultural Disorganization Bad Practice of Religion Imitation & Fashion

Economic Causes :

Lower cost Unemployment problem Industrialization Unplanned urbanization Migration from rural areas to urban centers.

Political and Legal Causes:

Doctors, teachers, students, service-holders, businessmen etc. are involved more or less in drug business with Politicians

Members of Narcotics Control Department are involved in the drug business Police and BDR (takes some percentage of the sale money) Personal Benefit of Political Leader leaders/so-called student leaders Political instability

Lack of proper implementation of Law Flexibility of Law.

Causes of Drug Addiction

Causes of Drug Addiction are many including:

Crime Unhappiness Divorce Major sickness/illness Death of a loved one

What are the underlying causes of drug addiction?

When we take drugs, either for medical purposes or recreation, there is a benefit or reward that we are trying to achieve.

For example pain medication is intended to bring relief to an injured or stressed area of our body. The beginning stages of addiction us to crave more and to use more. The unintended consequences of that is our need to take more and more of the drug to get the same result.

Causes of Drug Addiction: In addition the pathways inside the brain to be altered, physical changes in the nerve cells are brought on by the drug. These neurons communicate with each other releasing neuro-transmitters into the gaps or synapses between the nerve cells. This makes some drugs much more addictive than others.

There are several other factors that contribute to drug addiction. We’ll go into greater detail on another page, but for now the major factors are one’s genetic makeup, personality and peer pressure. Again we’ll explain these as we go along.

What Are The Factors?

Inherited

We are all a product of our parents. If your parents have addiction struggles, chances are you are more susceptible to addiction. That’s why drug addiction is more common in some families than in others. If your parents smoke, chances are good you will smoke. If your parents used alcohol, you’ll probably follow and use that drug in much the same way. If your father was an alcoholic, you have a predisposition to addiction that drug.

Causes of Drug Addiction one generation passes it on to the next.

Certain Personality Types

Aside from the inherited factors, some people have a personality that is more likely to become drug dependent.

- People are curious, so that alone can lead a person to try a drug.

- We experiment and see what happens. - We are looking to relax and have pleasure. - We all want to feel good, and we’re by nature impatient. Drugs give us an instant

gratification that other things do not, so for that moment or hour of for whatever time frame, we feel good.

- We want what we want. - Someone diagnosed with depression, attention deficit disorder, or hyperactivity.- Maybe there has been some stress, or anxiety in their life. - Whatever the case, these are contributing factors.

Even some common personality characteristics, such as aggression, may be a factor. Children who do not have confidence, healthy self-esteem may be prone to turning to drugs to fill the void.

Causes of Drug Addiction: Addiction does cause negative changes in personality that can lead to an even more destructive behavior.

Social Pressure/Peer Pressure

We’re all wired to have relationships, and sometimes those relationships cause us to give in to something we otherwise would avoid in order to maintain the relationship. Social/Peer pressure is huge and nowhere is this greater than during our teenage years. Kids want to be cool. It begins as a social action, to take the drugs to be a part of the group, to be accepted. It’s not just teenagers, as peer pressure takes so many different forms. There is social etiquette, for example, to take a drink during a party. “I’m only a social drinker.” How many times have you heard that? Some people actually believe that Addiction will help you to be accepted and part of the 'popular' group.

Access/Availability

If you want to get drugs, you won’t have to look far because they are everywhere. High school students can tell you this. Causes of Drug Addiction: sadly, people to sell drugs to the most vulnerable population, children. It’s not just the stereotypical poor sections of the inner city that serve as the hotbed for drugs. Drugs are found in shopping malls, rural schools, private school, on the job in factories, offices and remote job sites.

Race and/or Ethnicity

We include this heading because we want to stress that there is no data to support any claim that one race of people or any particular cultural group is more prone to drug addiction than another. Drug addiction is a human problem and crosses all boundaries. Causes of Drug Addiction do not include race.

Depression/Loneliness

We want to feel good physically and emotionally. Sometimes drugs are the substitution for a healthy life experience. The person in pain and they want to numb the pain. The drug numbs the pain and for a moment they don’t feel as poorly. The person needs to escape the pain of the life experience, and for a short while, the drug takes them away and they feel “better.”

Severe Anxiety

Sometimes people need some help coping with life. Everyday life becomes a struggle and simple things become too much to handle. Drugs are used to deal with it. In the case of addiction, we are not talking about the use of medication, under the care and observation of a doctor. People

who have been clinically diagnosed with anxiety can lead a very good life. We’re talking here about people who just need to escape. Their drug of choice facilitates that escape.

Effects of drugs

1. Effects on bodyLike all drugs, those used to control nutritional problems can have side effects.  This page has information on those side effects.  There are sections on side effects of

Appetite stimulants     Steroids     Drugs for diarrhoea     Drugs for constipation

A. Appetite stimulants The side effects of the appetite stimulants megesterol acetate and medroxy progesterone acetate are usually very mild and many people do not have any side effects at all.  But they can cause

Feeling and being sick    Headache    Ankle swelling from fluid retention

(mild)    Abdominal pain   

Breast tenderness    Mood changes (rare)    Blood clots (this is rare)    Vaginal bleeding    Impotence in men

People who are diabetic need to monitor their blood sugar levels more closely when taking these drugs.  You may need to adjust the dose of your diabetes medication. If you are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant you should not take these drugs.

B. Steroids The most likely side effects when you first start taking steroids are

Difficulty sleeping    Indigestion    High blood sugar levels, especially if you are already diabetic

There is much more about steroids and their side effects in the Pain Control section of Cancer Help UK.

C. Drugs for diarrhoea Side effects of anti-diarrhoea drugs are not common, but they can happen.  Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away

Dry mouth    Dizziness    Drowsiness    Vomiting   

Stomach pain, discomfort or swelling    Constipation    Fatigue

D. Drugs for constipation

Different laxatives have different side effects.  Bulk forming laxatives can cause wind and swelling in the abdomen.  They can also block up your bowel.  To prevent this you need to drink plenty of water.

Other types of laxatives can cause stomach cramps and wind, and large doses can cause diarrhoea.  The side effects usually go away once your bowels have opened.  But if you continue to have cramping or abdominal swelling, or if you develop diarrhoea, let your doctor know immediately.

2. Effects of AlcoholA. Absorption

Alcohol is primarily absorbed through the stomach and the small intestines. It is considered a food because it has calories, but does not need to be digested and proceeds directly into the body through the digestive system. After ingestion it is carried through the blood stream and crosses the blood–brain barrier, at which time impairment begins. A greater amount of ingestion causes greater impairment to the brain, which, in turn, causes a person to have a greater degree of difficulty in functioning.

B. Metabolism/Elimination

The majority of alcohol in the body is eliminated by the liver. Ninety percent is eliminated through the body, while ten percent is eliminated (unchanged) through sweat and urine. Before the liver can process alcohol, a threshold amount is needed and can occur at the rate of one 12 oz. can of beer, one 5 oz. glass of wine, or 1 1/2 oz. shot of whiskey per hour.

C. Brief Overview

Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. Alcohol is among the most abused drugs in our society. Alcohol can be as potent as many other illegal drugs. Alcohol can cause severe damage to a developing fetus. People often do not realize that they are becoming dependent on alcohol.

D. Short-term Effects

Reduces sensitivity to pain. Affects vision in the following ways: narrows the visual field, reduces resistance to glare,

interferes with the ability to differentiate intensities of light, and lessens sensitivity to colors.

E. Long-term Effects

Damage to vital organs; including liver, heart and pancreas. Linked to several medical conditions; including gastro intestinal problems, malnutrition, high

blood pressure, and lower resistance to disease. F. Effects with other drugs

1. Alcohol produces a synergistic effect when taken with other central nervous system depressants. These include: sedative hypnotics, barbiturates, minor tranquilizers, narcotics, codeine, methadone, and some analgesics.

2. Alcohol can be additive in nature when taken with antipsychotic medications, antihistamines, solvents or motion sickness preparations. When used on a daily basis, in conjunction with aspirin, it may cause gastro intestinal bleeding. Also, when used with acetaminophen, an increase in liver damage could occur.

4. Effects of drugs

A. Method of Administration

Drugs are administered to or enter the human body in a number of ways, including injection, inhalation, and ingestion. The method of administration impacts on how the drug affects the person. For example: injection takes the drug directly into the blood stream, providing more immediate effects; while ingestion requires the drug to pass through the digestive system, delaying the effects.

B. Factors Affecting Absorption/Metabolism

Factors that affect absorption/metabolism include physical, emotional and drug-related factors.

a. Physical Factors Physical factors that affect the absorption or metabolism of a drug include:

a. Person's weight and age – The amount of physical mass a drug must travel through will have an outcome on the drug's total effect on the body. Also, the aging process affects the manner in which the drug exerts its effects on the body.

b. Individual biomedical/chemical make-up – Each individual tolerates substances differently. For example: a person's physical condition as well as hypersensitivity (allergies) or hyposensitivity (need for larger doses to gain the desired effect) will influence the total effect of the drug on the individual.

c. Rate of metabolism – Each drug metabolizes or processes within the body at a different rate. The drug remains active in the body until metabolism occurs. For example: certain medications require dosages to be taken every four, twelve or twenty-four hours, depending on the duration and rate at which the drug is metabolized.

d. Food – Food in the body slows absorption of the drug into the body by not allowing it to pass directly through the digestive process without first being processed by the digestive system. A slower process occurs, since the body is digesting food in addition to the substance or drug utilized by the person.

b. Emotional Factors The emotional factors that may influence drug absorption and metabolism within the body are:

a. Emotional state – A person's specific emotional state or degree of psychological comfort or discomfort will influence how a drug may affect the individual. For example: if a person began using alcohol and was extremely angry or upset, the alcohol could intensify this anger or psychological discomfort. On the other hand, if alcohol was being used as part of a celebration, the psychological state of pleasure could be enhanced by the use of the drug.

b. Anticipation/Expectancy – The degree to which a person believes that a given drug will affect them, may have an effect on their emotional state. If a person truly believes that by using a substance, they will experience a given effect, then their expectations may cause a psychological change in the manner in which the drug affects them.

c. Specific Effects on the Central Nervous System

Drugs affect the various areas of the brain and change normal brain activity. It is important to know what specific functions are located in each of the major brain areas, to better understand the effects of drugs and alcohol on behavior and functioning.

A. Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus regulates homeostasis, the body's system for keeping itself balanced. This includes: sleep and wake cycles, hunger, thirst, sexual behavior, blood pressure, and temperature. Also, the hypothalamus determines what parts of the body are affected by analgesics and regulates hormonal impulses and emotions.

B. Medulla

The medulla is responsible for head balance, movement, and assisting the hypothalamus in regulating automatic body functions.

C. Cerebral Cortex

The cerebral cortex contains half of the nervous system's cells, which regulates the speed and vomiting reflexes. It is also responsible for language, abstract thinking, personality, and interpretation of emotion and sensory information, including judgment.

D. Cerebellum

The cerebellum is responsible for coordination of muscles, maintenance of balance, and specific memory and learning system functions that are not to one part of the brain.

5. Effect in the brain

Because serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT) and dopamine to flood the brain. Both are neurotransmitters which influence the flow of information throughout the brain. Changing the balance between the two changes your mood. E gives you a glow of well-being, happiness, empathy, euphoria, increases your sensitivity to rhythmic music, and makes you want to dance.

The latest studies show that Ecstasy use can impair the serotonin system and memory performance. Please see our guide - Can Ecstasy Impair Your Memory? - plus safe dancing tips on how to protect yourself.

6. Effect on Future Incarnations

A weak body cannot maintain the higher vibration which accompanies any spiritual growth, and it is only through spiritual growth that the present generation can prepare itself for the coming Aquarian Age. Since our next embodiments may take place during this Age, it is necessary that we make this preparation or we will be unable to compete with beings incarnating on the new higher level, since

they will have prepared themselves for this coming event. Failure, in this life, could mean that we will incarnate in the next as members of a lower race group.

  Many factors are involved in spiritual development. This discourse will be limited to the discussion of those whose continued use is detrimental to the upward progress of the individual, namely: alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. Their importance lies in the fact that they may impede or even reverse the evolution of the individual. Volumes have been written about the effects these substances have upon the physical body, and articles appear daily in newspapers and periodicals warning of the problems which may result from their continued use. It is the purpose of this writing; however, to point out the spiritual implications which must be considered after all aspects of the physical have been studied.

We learn in the Western Wisdom Teachings that the desire body and the mind are in the early stages of evolutionary development. Our growth depends upon the work that we do to gain control of these important vehicles. The use of any substance which weakens our control of these bodies prevents us from exercising the needed discipline to learn the lessons for which we incarnated at this time -- lessons which must be learned if we are to continue our upward progress. This means that we must put forth every effort to gain control of the desire body and the mind.

7. Long Term Effects of Drugs

Drugs such as marijuana, heroin, and LSD, used especially by the younger generation to produce a so-called "high" or "trip," are by far the most dangerous. To understand why the young person is susceptible to the use of these mind-boggling drugs, it is necessary to understand that he recently may have acquired the desire body (at about age 14) or the mind body (at about the age 21). This is a time for him to determine the limits of his ability and to see how far he can challenge the status quo. Many young people are wilting to test the limits of their adaptability. Others desire spiritual revelation, which they believe can be induced by the use of drugs. At this critical period in the life of the individual, he often lacks the confidence and warmth of an elder companion, one who can guide him through this trying time. For too many of today's youth it is a time of trial and error, a period of blind growth. Drugs offer a way out, but as time wilt reveal, it wilt be the wrong way. Being hallucinatory, they do not bring about the desired results; instead, they put the aspirant in danger of being controlled by undesirable spirits, of undermining the physical body, and of exposing himself to extremely harmful effects on his spiritual bodies. Any damage to these vehicles may require many lifetimes to restore them to the adaptability they originally had. This means a decided setback in evolution. A person, therefore, who made much progress in former embodiments, could lose the value of previous hard work by seriously affecting the present life instruments.