Why do drugs so drastically affect one person versus another? One person can take a sip of alcohol once and be an alcoholic for life. One person can take OTC narcotics and have almost no effect, while another person takes the same drug and knocked out for hours. Why are there such vast differences when for the most part, our biology is so similar?
In: Chemistry
Drugs interact with you via your neurons. The link between them (synapsis) can be filled with different substances. These substances encourage or inhibit the signaling in your body. The mechanism behind this is similar to a lock. Some substances act as keys for receptors, which in this analogy would be the locks. The amount of receptors you have is determined by your genetics and by a learning effect. Everyone has different genetics (except identical twins) therefore the reaction to drugs differs from person to person.
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