There was a test done a few years ago. They took six drivers out on a test track (cone slalom, reverse parking, emergency stops - that kind of thing) and timed them all "straight". Penalties were added for making mistakes, killing kittens, that kind of thing.
Then they gave two drivers a beer, two drivers a spliff and kept the other two as a straight group.
Then they sent them out again. Then back in for another beer/spliff/cup of tea.
The results found that obviously the straight group performed consistently with their first run. The drinkers immediately increased their pace and increased their penalties. So the time to complete got lower, but the number of penalties they incurred increased (by a huge amount towards the end).
The dope smokers times increased, but their penalties decreased from their first run. The dope smokers in the end were the slowest around the course, but picked up the fewest penalties. It's not really a shocking result to honest. Drinking increases aggression and impairs decision making abilities. So they drive faster and make mistakes.
Dope makes you very cautious and distracted. It naturally causes a slow down and you do things much more carefully (you're more likely to make mistakes due to decreased physical abilities, but this is countered by the amount of time and effort put into it :lol: ).
Obviously this doesn't condone the taking of dope and driving - it's a silly thing to do. You're still in a poor mental state to be driving around in a 1 ton killing machine. UK breathalisers (and I assume others too) can pick up dope use as well as alcohol. I don't think it measures the blood/dope like it does blood/alcohol - but it does give the police the right to take you in for a blood test for an accurate measure. I think that's right anyway, if Ian or somebody can confirm it?
Anyway, I've now watched the next two in this series: Cocaine and Ecstasy. Both drugs I know what the effects of people taking it are (no personal experience this time), but no idea what the physiological effects are.
Coke is essentially a "coaster high" :lol: It's exactly the same physiological change that we get when riding a huge, scary, fast roller coaster. Adrenaline and Dopamine are released and that's what the hit is. It's different to a coaster high though, as coke stops the re-absorption of the triggers in the brain, so instead of having that immediate "come down", the brain produces more and more adrenaline and dopamine for the next half an hour or so until the chemical is flushed from the body. So I think everyone reading this has personal experience of what a coke user gets from their first ever snort (an abridged version :lol: ).
There was more about the long term effects on the neurons. That the receptors die off with over use so it gets harder and harder to get as much adrenaline and dopamine triggered, so you need to take more and more coke. This is why it's not physically addictive, but mentally addictive - you simply can't produce enough feel good dopamine in a normal way to feel normal all the time. It's coke that causes this by the way, not over production through too much coaster riding
E and MDMA was something a little different. It's all about Serotonin production. This is the chemical that makes us feel "content". Most people who suffer depression often have a shortage of serotonin and the depression is simply that they don't have enough to keep their mood high.
MDMA causes this to be produced massively which is what causes the entire "I love you" thing. It also focusses the part of the brain that works on repetition and turns the focus to hearing which is why people like repetitive music while up
On top it creates adrenaline too which works against the serotonin and means you're full of being anxious (fight or flight) while loving everyone and being calm. This comes out as a bit of a conflict and you need to move to deal with the adrenaline (dance).
Quite cool I guess.
Again, focus on the negative sides with some pretty nasty and shocking images of operations and people who have lost loved ones.
One thing I have noticed (and this backs Joey up) is how selfish drug taking really is. While people may be doing things all together, it's actually a very personal and self indulgent thing. E particularly makes people feel empathic, but in reality its all just in their head. They may feel like they've made a best friend with somebody for half an hour, but in reality they've just got on somebody's tits :lol:
It's not going to stop me from enjoying it mind - there are lots of things we all enjoy which are self-centred, but yeah, I do see Joey's point a little more now
