Our brains regulate everything that we do. It’s the most complex organ in our bodies.
You naturally engage your brain to move your toes, appreciate a poster, and drive a car. Even in sleep, your brain works to keep your body at rest while you continue to breath and recharge your body and memories.
At a higher level, you make decisions, remember past experiences, and behave appropriately for the situation by using your brain.
Your brain helps you decipher Pablo Picasso’s Three Musicians (1921) from the shapes in this extraordinary painting that’s part of the MoMA collection. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/78630
How our brains work
“The brain is often likened to an incredibly complex and intricate computer. Instead of electrical circuits on the silicon chips that control our electronic devices, the brain consists of billions of cells, called neurons, which are organized into circuits and networks. Each neuron acts as a switch controlling the flow of information. If a neuron receives enough signals from other neurons connected to it, it “fires,” sending its own signal on to other neurons in the circuit.”
Drug, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain
It’s a team effort in our brains. It’s a disease that affects the whole team.
Sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll was our mantra.
Scientists continue to study what causes the high from drugs. When I grew up, we thought that marijuana ignited our natural endorphins. We believed it was harmless – and a fun thing to do.
What we did not understand was that these surges were much stronger than the burst that naturally occurs in our minds. Eventually simple rewards like eating foods, listening to music, or hanging with friends no longer mattered. What mattered most was getting high. I was there and looking back, it was an awful place to be. I now understand I was shackled to my drug of choice.
According to NIDA, scientists now think dopamine has more to do with “getting us to repeat pleasurable activities (reinforcement) than with producing pleasure directly.”
That’s a problem.
Drugs disrupt your brain waves
“Your brain’s roughly 86 billion interconnected neurons endow it with the ability to understand the world, plan actions, and solve problems. Doing so requires the brain to incorporate all available information. By combining information from all of your body’s senses, the brain paints a picture of the world around you. Then, using inference and instinct, the brain makes sense of the picture it assembles.”
Source: Brain Facts, a primer on the brain and nervous system, published by the Society for Neuroscience available for free download from BrainFacts.org at https://www.brainfacts.org/the-brain-facts-book
When you become dependent on using addictive substances, your brain changes — and so do you. Your brain no longer thinks about consequences of your actions. You no longer see the world around you as beautiful. Your mind becomes focused on when, where, and how you’ll get your next high. The drug induced endorphins dull your natural endorphins. Eventually a hug from your child no longer thrills you.
I left everything and everyone behind when I began selling, and then distributing, marijuana.
Fortunately, I had not started a family – or a career. I felt single and free. Or – was I?
My friends called me “9 by Ninemire” alluding to the nine joints I would smoke before noon. What was I thinking? Obviously, I wasn’t. My decisions centered on my next smoke and sale. Eventually I became a drifter, traveling around with my “partners in crime.” Not exactly the people I would want my nieces and nephews to marry.
Unfortunately, I also didn’t think about my future. Believe me when I tell you that serving 27 years in a federal prison by the time I turned 35 was not part of my plan. Yet, that was my reality. In real life, prison sucks.
Don’t let it be your reality.
Any questions?
The war on drugs is what got me my 27-year sentence for distributing marijuana. Ok, it really wasn’t the war on drugs, it was the consequences of my actions. I know that – no question about it. The war on drugs just extended my time behind bars.
I’m sharing with you Rachael Leigh Cook’s 1997 public service announcement (PSA) Your Brain on Drugs and her 2017 Your Brain on Drug Policy.
Personally, I believe both these videos present some of the horrors experienced from drug abuse. If you’ve ever been there, you may be able to relate. I can.
1997
2017
Take care. Be strong.
~Peter
Resources
For more information about your brain, check out the following sites:
BrainFacts.org https://www.brainfacts.org/ | Public information initiative, BrainFacts.org shares the stories of scientific discovery and the knowledge they reveal.
Brain Facts Book, a primer on the brain and nervous system, published by the Society for Neuroscience available for free download from BrainFacts.org (accessed May 2020) at https://www.brainfacts.org/the-brain-facts-book
Glamour Rachael Leigh Cook Is Back with a New Drug PSA—but There’s a Twist by Elizabeth Logan (April 21, 2017) at https://www.glamour.com/story/rachael-leigh-cook-war-on-drugs-psa
Live Science This Is Your Brain on Drugs (Really) By Stephanie Pappas (April 20, 2018 ) https://www.livescience.com/62367-this-is-your-brain-on-drugs.html
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) https://www.drugabuse.gov/
NIDA Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction (accessed May 2020) at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain
Partnership for Drug-Free Kids https://drugfree.org/ Brain Development, Teen Behavior and Preventing Drug Use (accessed May 2020) at https://drugfree.org/article/brain-development-teen-behavior/
Videos
Public Service Announcements (PSA) by Partnership for Drug-Free Kids (formerly The Partnership for a Drug-Free America) https://drugfree.org/
• 1987 This is your Brain on Drugs
• 1997 Rachael Leigh Cook with Your Brain on Drugs
• 2017 Rachael Leigh Cook with Your Brain on Drug Policy
