• Question: what is the most horrible drugs in the world

    Asked by 643drug42 to Steven, Oli, Jenny, Hannah on 16 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Hannah Bolt

      Hannah Bolt answered on 16 Nov 2016:

      Hi,

      There are plenty of horrible drugs in the world. Some of these ‘horrible drugs’ are designed to be medicines but have bad side effects. These side effects could include organ damage, causing birth defects to babies, blood clots, strokes or heart failure. For example, a drug called ‘Actos’ was approved to treat type 2 diabetes around 15 years ago. To date, it’s been given to 10 million people. However, more recently it has been shown to cause much higher risk of heart failure in patients that take the drug.

      Other ‘horrible drugs’ were designed to be horrible. For example, a drug called ‘cyanide’ can kill people very quickly in small amounts. Cyanide contains the atoms carbon and nitrogen (CN-) and stops our bodys cells using oxygen to produce energy. When cells cannot make energy, they die and if enough cells die this causes the death of the person. The Nazis used cyanide to commit mass genocide in World War II and it was a truly horrible drug.

      Hannah

    • Photo: Steven Street

      Steven Street answered on 18 Nov 2016:

      Hi 643drug42,

      There are plenty of horrible drugs in the world! The term drug just means a molecule that can have an effect on biological systems… so this means that many things could be considered a ‘drug’. Cyanide is bad, as are many other poisons such as strychnine!

      A lot of recreational drugs also have lots of side effects, including permanent irreversible changes to your brain chemistry!

      Steve

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