Drugs Abuse

• Marijuana• Inhalants• Club Drugs

• Anabolic Steroids• Stimulants• Depressants• Opiates

• Hallucinogens

Marijuana

Effects• Felt within minutes• May last for two or three hours if smoked• Effects felt within 30 to 60 minutes if swallowed• Short-term effects depend on the person and the strength of the

drug• Slowed thinking ability• Difficulty paying attention• Distorted sense of time and distance• Giddiness• Loss of short-term memory• Loss of balance and coordination• Increased appetite• Anxiety• Panic attack

What could the effects be for someone who smokes pot over a long period of time?

• Some of the same health effects as smoking cigarettes

• Marijuana smoke has been found to have many of the same carcinogens as cigarette smoke• Long-term use may lead to chronic bronchitis and

damaged lung tissue

• Negative effect on learning and social behavior

• THC changes the way sensory information gets into the brain. • Difficulty remembering, processing, and using

information• Difficulty maintaining attention and shifting attention to

meet changing demands in the environment

• Dependence on Marijuana• Regular use leads to tolerance• Tolerance can lead to dependence—after the effects wear off,

some users feel tired, unmotivated, and depressed.• Once users become dependent, they might experience the effects

of withdrawal

• Marijuana and Driving• People high on marijuana can show the same lack of coordination

on standard drunk-driver tests as people who are drunk. • The danger of driving under the influence of marijuana is

increased when it is combined with alcohol

Hashish

• AKA “Hash”—the dark-brown resin collected from tops of the cannabis plant. The resin is compressed into various forms, such as balls or flat sheets. Pieces are then broken off and smoked.

• Effects are the same, but stronger.

Inhalants• Drugs that are inhaled as vapors• Some have medical uses, like nitrous oxide,

AKA “laughing gas.”• Some people abuse household chemicals, like

glue, paint thinner, gasoline, and felt-tip marker fluid.

• Other abused inhalants are propane, butane, and nitrous oxide

Effects of Inhalants• Inhalants are VERY DANGEROUS!• Damage many organs

• Permanent hearing loss• Bone marrow damage• Kidney damage• Loss of bladder control

• Kill brain cells• Vapors replace oxygen found in the blood and cause brain cells to

die from lack of oxygen• Breathing high concentrations of inhalants can cause brain

damage, coma, and death from suffocation• Sudden death

• Some people’s bodies are sensitive to the solvents in some inhalants. Their heart may suddenly stop beating and they might die. This is called “sudden sniffing death syndrome”. People only discover that they are sensitive to solvents after it’s too late.

Other Effects of Inhalants• Hyperactivity• Loss of inhibition• Dizziness• Loss of coordination• Difficulty speaking or thinking• Fear• Anxiety• Depression• Nausea• Vomiting• Headache• Loss of consciousness

Club Drugs (Designer Drugs)• These are drugs that are designed to

closely resemble common illegal drugs in chemical structure and effect.

• Chemists have found re-arranging the chemical structure of an existing drug can yield dramatic improvements in the intoxicating effect.

• Example: – Ketamine is a designer analog of PCP.– The designer drug THREE is a good

example of this effect. An illegal analog of the basic synthetic narcotic drug Fentanyl, 3 Methyl Fentanyl is 500 times more potent than pure natural heroin.

Ecstasy• Most commonly abused club drug• AKA “MDMA

(methylenedioxymethamphetamine)• Has both stimulant and hallucinogenic

properties• Taken as a pill, or crushed and snorted

Effects of Ecstasy• Increased awareness of the senses,

Hallucinations, Increased energy, Loss of judgment

• Muscle tension• Teeth clenching• Impaired learning and memory• Nausea• Chills • Rapid or irregular heartbeat• High blood pressure• Heart attack• Brain damage• Death—it decreases the body’s ability to

control its temperature. People dancing can pass out and even die from heatstroke.

• Large or frequent doses of MDMA can destroy serotonin axons.

• The serotonin axons are 'communication cables' that the serotonin system uses to send its signals to the rest of the brain. • MDMA works primarily by causing these serotonin

axons to release a lot of serotonin at once, causing euphoria.

These two pictures show slices of a monkey's brain. The serotonin axons have been stained to make them appear as bright lines. The picture on the left (A) is from a normal monkey. The picture on the right (B) is from a monkey that was injected with a very large dose of MDMA.

GHB

• Gamma hydroxybutyrate• Clear liquid or white powder that causes

euphoria, relaxation, dizziness, loss of inhibitions• Higher doses can cause memory loss, respiratory

problems, loss of consciousness, seizures, coma, and death.

• When combined with other depressant drugs, like alcohol, death becomes more likely

• Can be highly addictive

Misconceptions

• Some people think doing GHB with ecstasy will cancel out the effects of each drug.

• Some believe GHB makes ecstasy last longer, but the mix puts the user at a much higher risk of seizure

In the group of drugs known as “date rape drugs.”

• Has been used in many sexual assaults because it makes the user incapable of resisting and can cause blackouts• Rohypnol is another

“date rape drug.”

Ketamine

• AKA “Special K,” “Kit Kat,” “Vitamin K”• Effects include hallucinations, numbness, inability to

move, loss of memory, dissociation (separation from reality).

• Some users hurt themselves because they are unable to feel pain.

• Has been known to cause memory loss and coma.

PCP (phencyclidine)AKA “ANGEL DUST”

• Produces effects that range from mild euphoria to distortions of reality, out-of-body experiences, and psychotic behavior.

• People on PCP act violently toward others and/or themselves• Suicide, accidental suicide, seizures, and coma are risks• Mental disturbances last from a few hours to a few weeks

Look-Alike Drugs

• Substances that are slightly different from other, better-known drugs

• PMA (designer analog of methamphetamine) and DXM (Dextromethorphan)are often sold as Ecstasy

• Often cheaper and more dangerous, depending on what’s in them

• When combined w/alcohol, often dangerous reactions can occur.

Anabolic Steroids!• Synthetic versions of the male hormone testosterone that are

used to promote muscle development.• Anabolic means “building”• When prescribed, used to treat muscle wasting in AIDS patients,

to assist with wound healing in the elderly, and to treat abnormally low levels of testosterone in males.

• Most people who use them are using them illegally.

Effects of Anabolic Steroids

• No immediate psychoactive effects• Effects are on body, not brain• Severe side effects though…

• Males:– Stunted growth– Aggression – Paranoia– Liver cancer– Increased cholesterol– Heart disease– Severe acne– Baldness– Shrinking of testes– Reduced sperm count– Infertility

• Females:– Severe acne– Increased cholesterol– Increased facial hair– Baldness– Deeper voice– Disrupted menstrual cycle– Infertility– Bloating– Rapid weight gain– Liver cancer

Amphetamines

• A group of stimulants produced in labs• Some are prescribed to treat neurological

disorders and life-threatening obesity• One type of amphetamine is highly abused:

Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine• Meth, crystal, ice• White or yellowish crystals called “rocks” that

are crushed and then smoked, injected, or snorted

Effects of Methamphetamine

• Last for hours• Intense• Euphoria• Loss of

appetite• Increased

alertness• Hyperactivity

Repeated Use• Permanent brain, kidney, liver damage• Overdose can cause brain damage or death• Extremely addictive• Tolerance develops rapidly

“Meth Mites”

Cocaine and Crack Cocaine• Cocaine comes from the

coca plant, which grows in South America

• Leaves are processed into a fine, white powder that’s snorted or injected

• Powdered cocaine can be converted into crack, a crystallized form that is smoked

• Effects of crack are stronger but don’t last as long

• Large or repeated doses of cocaine cause aggitation, paranoia, and agression.

• Users can’t eat or sleep• Aftereffects, called a “crash,” include agitation, extreme

sleepiness, depression, and intense craving for more of the drug.

• Addiction to these stimulants is very difficult to escape• Overdose can cause heart attack, stroke, seizures, or

death

Depressants

• Drugs that cause relaxation and sleepiness• Slow down a person’s breathing and reduce

brain activity• Include tranquilizers (depressants used to

treat anxiety) and hypnotics (powerful depressants used to treat sleep disorders and seizures)

• When abused they are highly addictive

Rohypnol (roh HIP nahl)

• Powerful hypnotic, AKA “roofies,” or “the forget pill”

• Most frequently used date- rape drug

• Easy to mix in alcohol, in which its bitter taste may not be noticed

• A person on Rohypnol will lose his or her inhibitions, become disoriented, and may not be able to remember what happened while on the drug.

• Most survivors of sexual assault do not even remember the actual assault.

• Using or selling Rohypnol in the U.S. is illegal and considered a federal crime.

Tips for Protecting Yourself From Date-Rape Drugs

1. Never leave your drink unattended.2. Never accept an open drink or glass from a

stranger.3. Never drink a beverage that has an abnormal

taste or appearance.

What other tips can you think of?

DXM

• Dextromethorphan is a legal ingredient in cough syrups that help stop coughing.

• In high doses its effects are similar to PCP’s.

• The user feels spacey and may lose muscular control.

• Can produce hallucinations and bizarre sensations

Opiates• These drugs can be both highly valued medicine an deadly

drugs of abuse.• Come from the flowering opium poppy plant (Papaver

somniferum). • Used as medicine, opiates reduce pain, relieve diarrhea,

suppress coughing, and induce relaxation• Example: heroin, opium, codeine, morphine

• When opiates are abused, they can result in addiction very quickly.

• People addicted to opiates experience very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if they try to quit.

• Symptoms include cramps, vomiting, muscle pain, shaking, chills, and panic attacks

Heroin• The most commonly abused illegal opiate• Chemically altered form of morphine that can be

swallowed, snorted, smoked, or injected• Creates an initial “rush” that quickly subsides into a

dreamlike state, feelings of well-being, and drowsiness

• Very addictive• Tolerance to heroin

develops rapidly• Smoking or snorting

loses its effectiveness, and users often begin to inject it to reach same high

• Each year, thousands of people die under the influence of heroin

• It is not uncommon for heroin users to …– Lose their jobs– Have poor living conditions– Suffer from mental health problems– Engage in crime– choke on their own vomit when passed out

• Along with cocaine, heroin is the drug most closely associated with violent crime. Because withdrawal is so unpleasant, addicts will do anything to get another dose.

•Repeatedly injecting heroin can cause skin infections, open wounds, and scarring

•Addicts who share needles run a high risk of infecting themselves with hepatitis or HIV/AIDS

Opium• AKA “black” or “dream stick” • A bitter, brownish drug made of the dried juice of the opium poppy• Mild painkiller• Causes slowed heart beat, slowed breathing, loss of appetite, loss of

inhibitions

Morphine and Codeine

• Morphine, AKA “mister blue” or “morpho” is very similar to heroin. It is used legally for patients in severe pain, such as terminal cancer patients.

• Codeine is used for the relief of milder pain and sometimes to stop coughing

Hallucinogens

• Drugs that distort perception and cause the user to experience things that are not real

• Includes LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), peyote, and mushrooms

• Users’ emotional experiences seem deeper and more important, they may feel extreme anxiety, fear, and paranoia

LSD• Usually taken in the form of

tablets or absorbed through the tongue on small paper squares

• Effects are not easy to predict

• Sometimes it increases energy, alters mood, creates strange thoughts and sensations and huge emotional swings

• Can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and bizarre body sensations

• Some LSD experiences are extremely frightening. Users become panicked and confused, and may feel the effects of the drug long after it has worn off—flashback

Mushrooms (Psilocybin)• Similar effects to LSD• Either eaten raw or mixed with food• Commonly called “magic mushrooms”• Altered perceptions of sight, sound, taste, smell, or touch• Confusion, anxiety, panic• Difficult to tell psilocybin from other types of mushrooms

Legal (so far) Drugs

• Salvia• Ocean• What else?