Module 10 Introduction

Drugs and Consciousness

117

The odds of getting hooked after using various drugs:

Let’s imagine a day in the life of a legal drug user. It begins with a wake-up latte. By midday, several cigarettes have calmed frazzled nerves before an appointment at the plastic surgeon’s office for wrinkle-smoothing Botox injections. A diet pill before dinner helps stem the appetite, and its stimulating effects can later be partially offset with a glass of wine or two Advil PMs. And if performance needs enhancing, there are beta blockers for onstage performers, Viagra for middle-aged men, hormone-delivering “libido patches” for middle-aged women, and Adderall for students hoping to focus their concentration.