PRESIDENTIAL Candidate Rodrigo Duterte then, during the course of the 2016 election campaign, had appeared both famous and infamous for his much-talked leadership style in addressing drug-related problems in Davao City as a mayor. After he was sworn into office as the 16th president of the republic, the nation indubitably expects that identical brand of ‘bloody’ campaign against all sorts of illicit drugs and criminality.
On the latest count, “The Philippine National Police said on Saturday that over 1,200 suspected drug personalities have been killed since the government launched its campaign against illegal drugs”, GMA News Online reports. “The PNP said in a report that 1,216 suspects have been killed from July 1 to September 24”.
“President Duterte always stresses that the use of shabu shrinks the brain so much that this vital and irreplaceable organ can never regain its functionality”, cited Arlo Custodio in his article in the Manila Times. “Moreover, those addicted to the substance, even when they have withdrawn, lose much of their humanistic comportment”.
The alcoholrehab.com defined shabu as “usually in the form of odorless crystal or crystalline powder, white in color and bitter in taste. Some additional names for shabu include ubas, siopao, sha, and ice”. The addictive substance is occasionally referred as speed, meth, and chalk. Methamphetamine hydrochloride, the crystal form inhaled by smoking, is called ice, crystal, glass, and tina.
Moreover, Custodio also wrote that “in comparison to similar stimulants, much higher levels of shabu enters the brain, making it a more potent stimulant drug”. In addition, “it has no longer lasting and more harmful effects on the central nervous system.”
When the dreaded banned drugs are continuously taken, it can generate long-term detriments to the nerve cells in the brain as well as nerve cells itself and in the other parts. It also reduces sexual drive mutually for the male and the female. Conversely, the support cells in the brain facilitate the nerve cells on guarding against contagious microorganisms and get rid of ruined nerve cells from vigorously active duty. However, use of drug damages these systematic functions.
“Known potential consequences of shabu’s impact on brain health include memory impairment, memory loss, reduced ability to think clearly and logically, a reduced to maintain focus and attention, and a reduced ability to regulate violent or aggressive urges,” added Custodio. “Some of the damaging brain effects of chronic shabu use may be permanent, while others may resolve partially if one stops using the drug for extended periods of time.”
Another dangerous effect of shabu on people’s health can worst lead to the ‘highly debilitating state’ called psychosis. Common symptoms of this medical condition include sensory hallucinations, delusional and paranoid thought processes and the abnormal repetition of certain body movements.
A study conducted by three Taiwanese institutions posted in Addiction Biology investigated the prospective function of diminishing levels of a protein called BNDF in boosting the brain injuries found in chronic shabu users and addicts. These proteins are exceedingly significant because it provide the brain with decisive safety and protection by assisting nerve cells grow and nurture, achieve maturity, and clearly persist in fine effective state.
With 59 diagnosed shabu users and 59 generally healthy people who are not users shabu as the samples, the researchers found out that continual shabu users may perhaps develop principally severe disruptions in the production of BNDF. Sequentially, this protein disturbance may lead to a dip in nerve cell protection that helps expound the brain damage coupled with long-term shabu intake.
Furthermore, the brain is said to be constructed to be tough and resilient but sometimes, it can’t bear the toxicity and stress of shabu intake. Dr. Godofredo Stuart wrote in his article published on stuartxchange.org that signs and symptoms of toxicity include arrhythmias, excessive sweating, hypertension, hyperthermia, insomnia, irritability, mydriasis, psychosis, seizure, rapid heart rate, and tremors.
Custodio added, “Because of the stress on blood vessels, there is an increased risk of stroke for a shabu user. A stroke can result in permanent brain damage or death.” Also, prolonged shabu use can trigger the user to acquire symptoms like Parkinson’s disease.
“Shabu appears to have a toxic effect directly on the tissues of the brain. Even after a year of abstinence, shabu addicts show impairments in memory, judgment, and motor coordination”, he further noted. “The heavy abuse of shabu can cause lasting changes in personality and intelligence. Especially when combined with cocaine, shabu intake can result in severe decline in IQ”.
In addition, a shabu addict is perchance disorganized and will have a hard time coping with life. His risk of becoming aggressive, nervous, irritable, violent, suicidal, delusional, or psychotic is extremely high. Some users may also experience schizophrenia.
Upon withdrawal to the use, anxiety, and paranoia don’t automatically come to an end. “After abandonment of this drug, one can suffer from inability to experience any pleasure. This effect alone is enough to send some back to the habit”, underlined Custodio.
Custodio concluded, “Users often experience delusions that they have insects crawling under their skin, causing them to pick at their skin for hours on end, resulting in deep sores. This effect results from changes in the brain that trigger compulsive, repetitive actions like twitching or picking at things”.