The Brain and Abuse: What Is the Most Addictive Drug in the World?

Given the frequent number of drug-related incidents in the news, you would have at least once wondered what the most addictive drug in the world is. But do the experts agree, and is there a drug that is the most addictive? 

Science tells us that crowning a single drug as the most addictive is not possible. Experts have conducted several different experiments. And while a select few drugs are always consistently the forerunners for the title, a definite answer is virtually impossible. 

The addictive potential of a drug or substance is judged through different measuring sticks by different researchers. Some evaluate it based on the level of harm it causes, the value of the drug in the illegal street market, the drug’s total effect on the brain’s dopamine system, how much pleasure the drug induces in a person, the intensity of the withdrawal symptoms when off the drug, and how easily someone gets hooked on the drug after trying for the first time.

The Most Addictive Drug in the World

Heroin

Heroin is one of the most abused opioids (a class of drugs that reduce mild to severe pain) in the world. Heroin is found as either a white or brown powder with a sticky “black tar” substance. Made from morphine, it is a highly addictive drug that is injected, smoked, or snorted/sniffed. It works by releasing a burst of dopamine and endorphins, which trick the brain into thinking it is the main source of intense pleasure, and this leads to habitual use.

Heroin has been noted as increasing dopamine levels by up to 200% in experimental animals. It is also highly dangerous along with being addictive, as a life-threatening dose is only five times larger than the dose that leads to a high.

Crack Cocaine

Cocaine is a very powerful stimulant that is made from coca plant leaves. Used at first by healthcare professionals as a form of anesthesia, it has been abused by people to get high. It is very addictive in nature and is characterized by individuals showing bursts of extreme happiness, focus, energy, and alertness, although it is short-lived and causes irritability and paranoia when abused. 

Cocaine boosts the dopamine levels in the brain, evoking a euphoric feeling which is distinctive from the “high” that other drugs produce. Due to this extreme high, people who abuse cocaine are exposed to adverse psychological issues as withdrawal symptoms during abstinence. These include depression and fatigue, which again lead them to use the drug at an increased amount and frequency to manage the side effects.

Crack cocaine is the “cooked” version of cocaine found in brown small rock form. It gets its crack name due to the crackling sound made when it is processed(cooked). Also known on the streets as rocks, gravel, sleet, and nuggets, it is the mix of cocaine powder,  water, and baking soda boiled together to form solid crystals. People use it by heating it in a glass pipe or smoking it by adding it to marijuana or tobacco.

As the rush of dopamine from crack cocaine cannot be naturally produced by the body, the brain becomes reliant on the drug to achieve the same “high”. Crack cocaine doesn’t need to be taken daily to get a person addicted to it. There are treatments for cocaine use disorder (cocaine addiction), but people often relapse and use it again.

Other Highly Addictive Drugs

Fentanyl: An opioid drug like morphine and heroin. It is fully synthetic, with no natural ingredients. It is prescribed as a pain-relieving medication, as it blocks the pain signals in the brain. It is much more potent than other opioids, and even a small amount can lead to overdose. Currently, there is a Fentanyl overdose crisis in the US, caused by illegal Fentanyl smuggled through the border.

Methamphetamine: Methamphetamine, commonly known as Meth or Crystal Meth, is a man-made, extremely dangerous drug that is a habit-forming stimulant. The rock form is smoked, while the other versions are injected and snorted. It evokes an intense high and a sense of euphoria, but causes psychosis and violent behavior at higher doses. It makes the brain depend on the extra dopamine and norepinephrine that it creates. 

Alcohol: Alcohol is considered a “social drug”, as it decreases anxiety and relaxes people in a social setting. Alcohol is also readily available and legal to consume. It works the same way as other drugs we have mentioned above by releasing dopamine into the brain, although only mildly. It can cause spikes at low doses and during the initial stages of intoxication. Regular use can lead to frequent cravings and distress during alcohol withdrawal periods, which leads to a cyclic pattern of use. 

Nicotine: Nicotine is the major component in tobacco. Similar to alcohol, it is a readily available substance that can be abused. When a person smokes a cigarette or vapes (e-cigarettes), the nicotine is absorbed by the lungs and sent straight to the brain. There are an estimated 1.2 billion smokers in the world, and with more than 7 million tobacco deaths, of which 1.6 million are non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke. Unlike other stimulants, it doesn’t provide extra energy or alertness, but nicotine still activates the brain’s reward system and is addictive in the long run.

What Makes a Drug Addictive?

Drugs work on the pleasure and reward centers of an individual’s brain. Humans are wired to seek out rewards through healthy behaviors like spending time with loved ones or eating a delicious dish. These activities release a chemical called dopamine, which evokes the feeling of pleasure in humans. They make it a habit in us; humans inherently seek out these experiences because they reward us with good feelings.

Drugs, when taken, trigger a surge of dopamine in the brain, and because dopamine produces good feelings, the brain and body ask for more of it. But this huge spike in dopamine levels can lead to negative changes in the body, which affect a person’s thoughts, feelings, and overall behavior. This will in turn create an unhealthy compulsion to seek out more and more pleasure through the substance/drug than through normal healthy experiences and activities.

In time, the substances/drugs will alter a person’s brain chemistry completely by making them desensitized to their effects. This leads to needing a higher quantity of the drugs to produce the same effects as before. This is called tolerance. As a person continues to seek out higher amounts of a substance, it can end up in dangerously harmful doses or mixing of multiple substances that can cause life-threatening events such as an overdose.

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