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Drugs
and Alcohol
Alcohol
is a drug; like cigarettes, like cannabis, like heroin and like
tranquilizer. It can affect your mood, cause changes in your body
and you could become an alcoholic! Before this happens though, it
can put you through an enormous amount of grief!
Alcohol is a
"downer." It actually depresses the central nervous system.
That's why drinking a lot causes slowed reactions, slurred speech
and sometimes even "passing out"! Check out the Anatomy of a Hangover.
There is about
the same amount of alcohol in a can of beer as there is in a shot
or, for that matter, in a small glass of wine. Any combination of
these obviously has a more drastic effect! So, when someone tells
you that "a few pints can't hurt." Just remember that
each beer has the same effect as a small whisky.
The smaller
the body, the greater the effect of the alcohol. The long-term effects
of your physical development are uncertain. When you go out with
your friends and get really blasted, it’s worth knowing that
acute inflammation of the stomach or pancreas, pneumonia, stopping
breathing and even death can occur. You’ve seen the ambulance
turn up outside the pub to collect someone who has overdone it!
Alcohol is the most frequent factor to the leading cause of death
in teenagers.
The single most
dangerous and immediate consequence of alcohol use by young people
is that it can produce abnormal, uninhibited behavior. Alcohol use
is associated with a false sense of confidence, even invulnerability
that often leads to a disregard for the health, safety and welfare
of self and others. Drinking can hold back the development of a
wide range of social skills preventing you from gaining self-confidence,
maintaining relationships, or from fulfilling your potential. If
young people learn to use alcohol to numb such common emotions as
pain, anger or shyness for example, they fail to get hold of social
skills, and alcoholism and long term problems are likely to develop.
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Cannabis
is a natural substance from a plant called Marijuana. It comes in
a solid, dark lump known as "resin" or as leaves, stalks
and seeds called "grass", or as a sticky oil, although
this is a very rare form. It can be rolled with tobacco in a joint,
smoked on its own in a special pipe, or eaten. The strength of cannabis
varies - some are very strong.
Getting "stoned"
on cannabis makes most users relaxed and chatty. Many users also
experience 'the munchies', which is basically a heightened appetite
and craving for certain foods. Cooking with and eating hash makes
the effects more intense. It can leave people feeling tired and
lacking energy.
Affects on short-term
memory and ability to concentrate are common. Getting stoned affects
coordination, increasing the risks of accidents. It impairs driving
skills, so never drive or get in a car with someone who is stoned.
It can make users paranoid and anxious, depending on their mood
and situation. Smoking joints with tobacco can lead to users getting
hooked on cigarettes. Smoking cannabis over a long period of time
may increase the risk of respiratory disorders, including lung cancer.
Many users find cannabis hard to quit. It can also have an effect
on sexual performance.
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Cocaine
- This white powder is usually 'snorted' up the nose, often through
rolled up bank notes, although some users inject it into the vein.
Cocaine is a very powerful stimulant that creates a sense of well-being,
making users feel alert and confident. These feelings only last
for about 30 minutes and a strong craving will be experienced more
and more often. Regular users will continue to take cocaine in an
attempt to delay the 'comedown', which is usually felt as tiredness
and depression. There have been many high profile cases of the rich
and famous using cocaine.
This may have
led to cocaine being given a kind of "celebrity status".
Cocaine is expensive and is often used by people with high pressure
jobs to help give them confidence and energy in the workplace.
Cocaine can
cause heart problems and chest pain. Heavy or continued use may
cause convulsions, restlessness, confusion and paranoia.
Snorting cocaine
may seriously and permanently damage the lining of the nose, leading
to a permanent reduction in the sense of smell and taste. Regular
users of cocaine often sniff alot as they find that they can't control
their nose running.
The habit of
taking cocaine is very expensive and extremely difficult to control.
Death often
occurs as a consequence of accidental overdose.
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Ecstasy
has many alternative names; E, echoes, XTC, eccies, disco biscuits,
doves, hug drugs and burgers. Ecstasy tablets come in all different
shapes, sizes and colors - but usually white. Ecstasy is swallowed.
As E starts
working (known as "coming up") users may feel a tightening
of the jaw, nausea, sweating and an increase in heart rate. Later,
the user can feel alert and in tune with their surroundings and
with other people too. They feel full of energy and think that everyone
is their friend. Sound, color and emotions can feel much more intense.
The energy buzz from E means users may dance for hours and can last
anything from 3 to 6 hours. This is often followed by a feeling
of calm.
The reports
of people dying after taking E, even after their first time should
be enough to put most people off ever taking E, but these aren't
the only risks. Some people having taken an E feel panicky and frightened
and there is a danger of having an accident because people have
a "spaced out" and dizzy feeling. When the effects of
the drug start wearing off, people feel very tired but find it difficult
to sleep. This along with a feeling of depression is known as a,
"comedown".
Taking ecstasy
and dancing for a long time in a hot place can make the body overheat.
This can be very dangerous and can kill. The only way to reduce
this risk is to take regular rests, drink sips of water on a steady
basis and replenish the body's sodium supply by eating something
salty, like crisps. Overall, the effects of E are unpredictable
- you can never guarantee what's in an E - often there is very little
or even no MDMA (active ingredient) present in the tablet - which
means that it's easy to get ripped off or to end up taking paracetamol
or dog worming tablets!
Ecstasy can
cause liver and kidney problems and that research shows that MDMA
dramatically affects the brain chemistry of animals.
Do you What is Myth and What is Fact about Ecstasy?
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GHB
(sometimes known as GBH) is short for gammahydroxybutyrate. It comes
as a colorless liquid and is sold in bottles or capsules. The liquid
is measured out in capfuls and then swallowed. GHB has no smell
but a salty taste.
It was originally
developed as a medicine for use during surgery and is used as an
alternative to anabolic steroids.
GHB has sedative
properties and can give the user a feeling of euphoria. The effects
have been known to last a day. Lots of 'hits' could lead to sickness,
muscle stiffness, fits and even collapse. GHB is very dangerous
and can be fatal when mixed with alcohol or other drugs. The long-term
effects of GHB are not fully known.
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Heroin
- Call it whatever you want! Smack, Brown, Horse, Gear, H, Junk,
Skag, Jack.....This drug is made from morphine which is a painkiller
used routinely in hospitals. Originally from the Opium Poppy, heroin
comes in a white powder when pure. 'Street' heroin is usually brownish-white.
It is 'snorted' up the nose, smoked or injected.
In small doses,
the effect of taking heroin gives the user a sense of warmth and
well-being. Higher doses lead to drowsiness and relaxation. Taken
excessively, heroin can result in overdose, coma and death. First
time users may experience side effects like dizziness and vomiting.
Nice drug eh!
Heroin is very
addictive and will become the most important thing in a users life
- to the expense of all else! As you get used to it you will need
more and more to get the same effect and eventually you will need
the drug just to feel 'normal'.
Smoking or snorting
heroin may eventually lead to injecting simply to maximize the 'high'
and this will lead to damaging the veins and the risk of infection
and gangrene. One of the most serious risks of injecting drugs is
getting HIV and Hepatitis, both of which can kill!
Heroin is really
easy to start taking. It is VERY difficult to stop and can take
years to be really free. In the meantime life can be a complete
mess. Losing friends and family is commonplace as is homelessness
and crime
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LSD
- Acid usually comes in tiny squares of paper, often with a picture
on one side. Sometimes these pictures are cartoons which make them
look fun.
The problem
with tripping is that one experience can be totally different to
another. It depends who the user is with and where they are. You
can never tell whether your trip will be a good one, which is fine
or a bad one which is like being trapped in hell.
We can't tell
you what doing a trip is like because it's so personal. However,
usually the person who is tripping will experience their surroundings
in a different way and see or hear things that aren't really there.
Some thing will appear exaggerated and emotions may change quickly.
LSD or acid
is often associated with the 60's and the psychodelia of that period.
It's not as popular now as it was back then, but people still experiment
with LSD.
The reason for
taking LSD or acid, trips, tabs, blotters, micro-dots is to make
you hallucinate. Acid has a powerful affect on the mind and the
effects are called a, "trip" which can last as long as
8 to 12 hours.
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Mushrooms
aren’t used as widely as many other drugs, mainly because the
season for picking them is quite short, however, they are used and
the effects are very similar to taking LSD.
Slang names,
include mushies, happies, sillies and shrooms. They don’t look
"magic" at all and are just brown and when dried, shriveled
mushrooms.
They are usually
eaten raw or dried and can be cooked into food or stewed into a
tea – type drink.
Taking magic
mushrooms make people, "trip" – like taking LSD,
but milder and shorter. It often makes the user laugh a lot; they
feel relaxed and "spaced out". As with LSD, the effects
depend on the users mood, where they are and who they are with.
Magic mushrooms may cause hallucinations – objects, color and
sound become distorted. A trip tends to last 4 hours.
The risks are
also similar to LSD. Accidents can happen because people get confused
and clumsy. People can feel sick, often get a stomach ache and have
diarrhea. Another real danger is eating the wrong type of mushrooms
which can cause serious illness and even fatal poisoning. If users
feel sick they should go straight to hospital with a sample of the
mushroom in to explain what’s happened.
Bad trips can
happen and it can be very frightening. Once the trip has started,
there’s no going back. Like any hallucinogen, mushrooms can
complicate mental health problems.
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Poppers
come in small brown bottles and is a liquid. Other names for this
drug are, rush, ram, liquid gold and amyl. Originally Amyl Nitrate
was used in the treatment of certain heart conditions, they came
in glass tubes, wrapped in cardboard. When used, they were snapped
inside the card, making a 'popping' sound, and inhaled. Technically,
poppers are Butyl Nitrate, but it has exactly the same effect as
Amyl Nitrate, hence the same 'street' name.
'Poppers' are
taken by breathing in the vapors from an open bottle. The initial
feeling after taking poppers is a rush but it sometimes leaves the
user with a get headache. If its taken while doing something energetic,
such as dancing, it can make people faint. Swallowing the stuff
is likely to cause a quick death as is anyone taking poppers who
has a heart problem or is taking Viagra!
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Speed,
whizz, billy, sulfate-you’ve probably heard of these before.
They’re the common names for amphetamine sulfate. Speed is
a stimulant - it gives you a buzz, makes you feel energetic, alert
and confident. People who take speed generally want to dance and
talk - much more than they normally would.
Speed is a gray-white
powder which is usually sold in, “wraps” - paper folded
up to hold the substance. Speed can come in tablets which are swallowed.
The main ways to take speed are by snorting up the nose, injecting,
smoking or swallowing. Speed often tastes bitter which is one of
the main reasons why snorting is a more popular way of taking it.
Snorting also helps the drug enter the blood stream quicker than
if it’s swallowed. Speed compared to other drugs is relatively
cheap and is fairly easy to get hold of. Sounds great so far doesn’t
it? Unfortunately with most things that are pleasurable there is
often a downside and speed has a BIG downside.
The comedown
from taking speed can be one of the worst of any drug - heroin being
the exception. Most people experience depression and find that they
cannot sleep - this may last for more than one day. Memory and concentration
may also be badly affected in the short-term. High doses repeated
over a few days may cause panic and hallucinations and long-term
users may be dependent on the buzz speed gives them. Tolerance can
also develop, which means the user needs more to get the same effect.
Use of speed can lead to mental illness and an overdose of speed
can kill you.
Speed is often
cut or diluted with substances such as baking powder and chalk dust.
This means you never really know what you’re taking. As speed
is a stimulant it quickens the heart and breathing rate, therefore
long-term use can put a strain on the heart.
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Tranquilizers
are prescribed by health care providers as short-term treatment
for anxiety, depression and sleep problems.
They are (mis)used
by some people, to help come down from stimulant drugs such as speed
or E's, or is taken in combination with alcohol or heroin. They
calm the user and slow them down mentally. They relieve tension
and anxiety. Higher doses can make users drowsy and forgetful.
Tranquilizers
can be supplied lawfully only by a pharmacist to someone with a
health care provider's prescription. There are many names, including
(slang) for tranquilizers: Valium, Ativan, Mogadon (moggies), Temazepam
(mazzies) and (tranx). They come as different colored capsules or
tablets and can be taken by swallowing or injecting them.
There are huge
risks when taking tranquilizers - they're very addictive. Once the
user has become used to taking them, it can be incredibly difficult
to stop. Tolerance can develop and the user can become dependent,
especially if they rely on the drug to calm them or help them to
sleep. Users trying to quit may suffer panic attacks. People taking
tranquilizers often get headaches, feel sick and become confused
when they stop taking them. Taking too many can make people feel
that they don't care about anything, make them unconscious and even
kill them. They slow down reactions, making accidents more likely.
Injecting the crushed tablets or capsules, and mixing them with
alcohol is extremely dangerous and often lethal.
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