Ella Clark, age 15, of Akron, Ohio, for her question:
WHY ARE AMPHETAMINES BAD?
Amphetamines are drugs that increase physical and mental activity and prevent sleep. Many scientists believe these drugs are bad because they can cause addiction since many people become psychologically dependent on them.
Doctors sometimes prescribe amphetamines. The drugs decrease appetite but lose this effect after only a few weeks. They also control an illness called narcolepsy, which causes sudden, uncontrollable attacks of sleep.
The drugs are also sometimes prescribed by doctors to calm children with hyperkinesis, a brain disorder that causes constant activity and inability to concentrate. Physicians do not know why amphetamines have the opposite effect on hyperkinetic children than on other patients.
Most doctors agree that amphetamines, like most drugs, can be bad for people if misused.
Some people occasionally take amphetamines to stay awake or to increase their confidence and energy for such activities as study or athletics. But doctors agree that amphetamines do little to speed learning, and they may slow it down. In athletics, the drugs may increase alertness and may quicken reflex actions. But the effect is unpredictable and the drug will often cause poor judgment.
Regular use of amphetamines will eventually make a person feel dizzy, irritable, nervous or shaky. An addicted person will find himself taking larger and larger doses.
Repeated large doses of amphetamines may produce a sense of joyous excitement. The user becomes extremely active and talkative. He feels able to do anything.
But then disaster strikes. When the effects of amphetamines wear off, the user sleeps for hours. After awakening, he feels as sad as he formerly felt happy. To feel better, he may start to take amphetamines again. This only leads to later periods of deep depression.
Most doctors give this advice: Stay away from amphetamines.
Large, repeated doses of amphetamines, doctors tell us, may make the user overly alert, tense and suspicious. He may believe that others want to hurt him. An amphetamine user may try to injure these "enemies" and sometimes succeeds.
In many ways, the actions of a heavy user of amphetamines resemble those of some persons with the mental illness paranoia.
A person addicted to amphetamines may also hallucinate, or see, hear and feel things that are not present.
Continued use of large amounts of amphetamines may cause permanent brain damage, physical collapse and even death.
It isn't always easy for a doctor to cure a person's addiction to amphetamines. Often the treatment involves constant supervision. Group discussions with former amphetamine users also help some users break their drug habits.