申論題

Some drugs can trace their roots to plants (like cocaine), others are devised purely in laboratories (in the case of methamphetamines), and some are a combination of both (such as heroin). Street drugs carry the added risk of being mixed with other substances in order to deliver a more powerful and unique effect, leading to such hybrids as a “speedball” (cocaine as a stimulant and heroin as a depressant) or marijuana being used with other drugs. As for the first category, a blog on Scientific American explains that the cultivation of drugs in rainforests goes back thousands of years, with indigenous South Americans chewing coca leaves as part of tribal rituals that gave them stimulation and energy. While they may have attributed this to mystical or religious properties, we – and drug manufacturers – know today that coca leaves contain the alkaloid cocaine, which, even in its natural form, is capable of stimulating the brain (similar to the effect of coffee).