Natasa Michaelides

License to Crave Natasa Michaelides

This reading examines the biological, psychological and social association between drug addiction and criminalistic behaviour. Opiate addiction is focused upon as an example of biological hijacking due to its extreme addictive associations and behavioural devotion. Prison population statistics from England and Wales are used to determine what the links are between drug abuse, recidivism and various social-economic backgrounds, as well as the prevalence of mental health disorders. The biochemical mechanisms of drugs, primarily the opiate heroin, and its euphoric effect in the brain are analysed. Eventually, its hold on human biology manifests as physical tolerance and dependence. How cerebral mechanisms, particularly the reward dopaminergic system, are manipulated by opiates to affect behaviour and cognitive processes.