Drugs

The article frames the basic mechanism of drugs as interference with what the body is doing. The article says drugs may interact with receptors or pathways but are not normal components of body tissues or metabolic processes. All drugs that enter the body must be processed and detoxified by the liver. The degree of liver damage caused by a drug is directly proportional to that drug's toxicity. More toxic drugs inflict greater harm on the liver during the metabolic processing stage. The article characterizes drugs as foreign, unnatural, often synthetic substances. The article says drugs can be appropriate in life-threatening situations when survival justifies the biological cost.