Aarav now takes far larger amounts of cocaine to feel the effect he o…

Aarav, a 22-year-old in Pune, began taking cocaine at parties. Within a year the drug ruled his life. He missed work, quarrelled with his friends and forgot what he had been told a few minutes earlier. A small dose no longer did anything for him; he now takes far larger amounts to feel the effect he once got. His grandmother believes an evil spirit has caught him. His uncle, a physician, says the trouble lies in what is going wrong inside Aarav's body, and only a doctor's treatment of the body will end it. Aarav's sister Meera, a dance student whose teachers praise thin dancers, is sure she is too fat although she is underweight. She checks her body in the mirror many times a day and has lost a lot of weight in three months.

Aarav now takes far larger amounts of cocaine to feel the effect he once got from a small dose. Identify the term for this change.

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → Tolerance

Option (1) Withdrawal — Incorrect. Withdrawal is the set of unpleasant effects that come when a person stops a drug, such as low mood, tiredness and sleep problems. Aarav has not stopped; he needs more of the drug.

Option (2) Overdose — Incorrect. An overdose is taking so much of a drug that it harms the body; with heroin it slows breathing and can cause death. It is a danger.

Option (3) Intoxication — Incorrect. Intoxication is the state of being under the drug's effect at a given time. It describes being high.

Option (4) Tolerance — Correct. Tolerance means the body gets used to a drug, so <strong>more of the drug is needed to get the desired effects</strong>. Aarav's need for ever larger amounts shows this.

NCERT (2026-27): “Heroin
Heroin intake significantly interferes with social and occupational functioning. Most abusers further develop a dependence on heroin, revolving their lives around the substance, building up a tolerance for it, and experiencing a withdrawal reaction when they stop taking it. The most direct danger of heroin abuse is an overdose, which slows down the respiratory centres in the brain, almost paralysing breathing, and in many cases causing death.”

“Regular use of cocaine may lead to a pattern of abuse in which the person may be intoxicated throughout the day”

“Box 4.3 and function poorly in social relationships and at work. It may also cause problems in short-term memory and attention. Dependence may develop, so that cocaine dominates the person’s life, more of the drug is needed to get the desired effects, and stopping it results in feelings of depression, fatigue, sleep problems, irritability and anxiety. …”