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The likelihood that any drug will lead to perdition varies widely, the researchers point out; with every mood-changing drug known to man, there is a proportion of people who can use it without suffering harmful side effects or a habit, and of those who cannot. Just as some drinkers become convivial or aggressive and others morose and withdrawn, drug users get as much of their kick from their surroundings and the set of their own psyches as from the chemicals they use. The danger of heavy dependence, the crucial problem with most pop drugs, also depends largely on the personality of the user.
A profile of the "dependency-prone" individual has emerged from recent work with alcoholics as well as pop-drug abusers. He is likely to be narcissistically preoccupied with himself, and be mistrustful of most people. Many heavy drug users, says Anthony F. Philip, a psychologist who heads the Columbia College student-counseling service, are driven by an "intolerable, chronic, low-grade depression," which includes "a sense that somehow they have been cheated by life." Psychologists cannot predict which social drinkers will become alcoholics, and they have no sure litmus test for spotting potential drug abusers either. They warn, however, that the young should be particularly worried if they find themselves popping drugs to overcome an emotional upset or calm their worries about the draft, bad grades or their careers.
In terms of risk, mind-bending drugs can be ranked in an informal hierarchy. The list:
HEROIN, also known as "scag" or "smack," is still the most hazardous. A true narcotic, relieving pain as well as producing sleep, it is the strongest of the opiates. These also include morphine and codeine, which doctors very often prescribe as painkillers in carefully measured doses. Heroin users, who administer their own doses, seek the white powder because it makes them feel physically warm and peaceful and raises their self-esteem and confidence. Large doses can sufficiently slow bodily functions to cause death; more commonly, heroin users develop abscessed veins and hepatitis from dirty needles, are undernourished and prone to infections. Users occasionally have a fatal reaction even before the needle leaves their arm. A person on any of the opiates develops the familiar symptoms of physical dependency: a tolerance that demands constantly increasing doses to maintain the high, and withdrawal symptoms of sweating, cramps and even occasional convulsions when the drug wears off. Although doctors report rare cases of the occasional user who does not develop a heroin habit, nearly 100% of all people who try it on any regular basis become hooked.
BARBITURATES are used by doctors as sleeping pills and tranquilizers. They are taken by kids only out of naivete or in the absence of anything better, since their high is minimal: after an initial flash of relaxation, in which tensions seem to disappear, they produce physical and mental lassitude and can cause death. Barbiturates also create heavy physical dependency.
SPEED, as the hippies warn, kills. Users feel that amphetamines sharpen their physical reactions and increase confidence. In small doses for short periods, these stimulants are considered safe and are legitimately used to treat depression and curb appetite. To get high, speedsters give themselves six to