Question: why do drugs make you high?

Jack Heal answered on 15 Mar 2013:

Your brain is made largely of cells called neurons, which are cells which transmit information. Chemicals called neurotransmitters carry this information around the neurons in the brain.
It depends on the drug, but usually there will be some kind of chemical in the drug which interferes with some of the neurotransmitters. It may help them do their job, or it may stop them doing their job. Either way, they change what is going on in the brain normally.
It is this change in the brain which can lead to a high. However, there are always side-effects involved. In cannabis, the chemical which interferes with the neurotransmitters is called THC. As well as sometimes producing a high, this can cause loss of short-term memory and loss of coordination as well as having more serious long-term effects.