The drugs that fascinate man the most – those that inspire us to poetry or push us to murder – are those that affect the brain and the spinal cord on which it rests. Some of the first drugs used are said to have been linked to religion and superstition. Some of these drugs include alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, ether, procaine, LSD, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. The list of drugs known to man is almost endless, and there are constantly new drugs being invented or discovered in the things we see around us every day. In the decades to come, the number of drugs could be five times higher than today. From a medical point of view, the drugs were only supposed to be used in the medical field. Medicines are drugs intended to speed up, slow down, or change something about the way your body works. Some of the first drugs introduced to humans were used as painkillers. These drugs were initially used as an anesthetic during surgery to relieve pain. However, doctors still could not completely eliminate the pain safely. As drug inventions increased and were discovered, so did the ways in which they could be used and abused. All drugs used by humans have effects on the brain, whether used for good or bad. The drugs block messages to the brain, which can severely slow reaction times and body functions. They also block all sensations, the desirable ones as well as the unwanted ones. All drugs are essentially poisons. The amount of the drug taken determines the effect. A small amount acts as a stimulant, a larger amount acts as a sedative, and a larger amount is highly poisonous and can kill. Drugs cloud memory, causing blank spaces in the mind. They may make you feel slow or stupid and cause... middle of paper... rules and laws set by their government and parents, but you can hope that through educating as many people as possible. possible, we can help prevent this problem from increasing in the future. Works Cited DEXTROMETHORPHAN DXM. October 24, 2013.HelpGuide.org. Drug abuse and addiction. October 26, 2013.Hyde, Margaret. An Overview for Teens: Smoking 101. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Twenty-First Century Books, 2006.Modell, Walter & Lansing, Alfred. Drugs. Canada: Life Books, 1967. Pope, Susan. Dependence. Woodbridge, Connecticut: Blackbirch Press, Inc, 2001. Russell, George. Marijuana today. New York, New York: The Myrin Institute, Inc, 1983. “The Truth About Drugs.” and The Truth About Drugs, Substance Abuse and Addiction: Drug-Free Project Foundation. October 25, 2013. Wikipedia. "Illegal drugs". and simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drugs. October 28 2013.