Many adults, young adults, and kids now adays think its "cool" to drink and get high. But little do they know the effects the 21 shots on your birthday or the joint can do on you, as a person. Under the administration of George W. Bush, the white house released these effects of drugs/alcohol on the body:
"Specific Drugs and Their Effects
Drug name: Alcohol
Drug Type: Depressant
Facts for Parents: 25% of 8th graders have admitted to being intoxicated at least once.
Other Names: Beer, wine, liquor, cooler, malt liquor, booze
How Consumed: Orally
Effects: Addiction (alcoholism), dizziness, nausea, vomiting, hangovers, slurred speech, disturbed sleep, impaired motor skills, violent behavior, fetal alcohol syndrome, respiratory depression and death (high doses).
Drug Name: Amphetamines
Drug Type: Stimulant
Facts for Parents: Chronic use can induce psychosis with symptoms similar to schizophrenia.
Other Names: Speed, uppers, ups, hearts, black beauties, pep pills, capilots, bumble bees, Benzedrine, Dexedrine, footballs, biphetamine
How Consumed: Orally, injected, snorted, or smoked
Effects: Addiction, irritability, anxiety, increased blood pressure, paranoia, psychosis, depression, aggression, convulsions, dilated pupils, dizziness, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, malnutrition. Increased risk of exposure to HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases if injected.
Drug Name: Metamphetamines
Drug Type: Stimulant
Facts for Parents: Some users avoid sleep 3 to 15 days.
Other Names: Speed, meth, crank, crystal, ice, fire, croak, crypto, white cross, glass. "Ice" is the street name for the smokeable form.
How Consumed: Orally, injected, snorted, or smoked
Effects: Addiction, irritability, aggression, hypothermia, stroke, paranoia, psychosis, convulsions, heart and blood vessel toxicity, hallucinations, arrhythmia, formication (the sensation of insects creeping on or under your skin).
Drug Name: Ecstasy
Drug Type: Stimulants
Facts for Parents: Ecstasy is popular at all-night underground parties (called raves) and is the most common designer drug.
Other Names: XTC, Adam, MDMA
How Consumed: Orally
Effects: Psychiatric disturbances, including panic, anxiety, depression, and paranoia. Muscle tension, nausea, blurred vision, sweating, increased heart rate, tremors, hallucinations, fainting, chills, sleep problems, and reduced appetite
Drug Name: Ritalin
Drug Type: Stimulant
Facts for Parents: Some children buy or steal from their classmates
Other Names: Speed, west coast
How Consumed: Tablet is crushed, and the powder is snorted or injected.
Effects: Loss of appetite, fevers, convulsions, and severe headaches. Increased risk of exposure to HIV, hepatitis, and other infections. Paranoia, hallucinations, excessive repetition of movements and meaningless tasks, tremors, muscle twitching.
Drug Name: Herbal Ecstasy/Ephedrine
Drug Type: Herbal Ecstasy, Cloud 9, Rave Energy, Ultimate, Xphoria, and X
Facts for Parents: The active ingredients in Herbal Ecstasy are caffeine and ephedrine.
How Consumed: Orally
Effects: Increased heart rate and blood pressure. Seizures, heart attacks, stroke, and death.
Drug Name: Designer Drugs
Drug Type: Stimulants
Facts for Parents: Changing the molecular structure of an existing drug or drugs to create a new substance creates Designer drugs.
Other Names: Synthetic heroin, goodfella
How Consumed: Injected, sniffed, or smoked.
Effects: Instant respiratory paralysis. Potency creates strong possibility for overdose, many of the same effects as heroin.
Drug Name: Cocaine
Drug Type: Stimulant
Facts for Parents: Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug. Heavy use may produce paranoia, hallucinations, aggression, insomnia, and depression.
Other Names: Coke, snow, nose candy, flake, blow, big C, lady, white, snowbirds.
How Consumed: Snorted or dissolved in water and injected.
Effects: Addiction, pupil dilation, elevated blood pressure and heart rate. Increased respiratory rate, seizures, heart attack, insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, irritability, increased body temperature, death from overdose.
Drug Name: Crack
Drug Type: Stimulant
Facts for Parents: A cheaper form of cocaine that may be more addicting.
Other Names: Rock, freebase
Effects: Same as cocaine
Drug Name: Heroin
Drug Type: Opiates
Facts for Parents: Heroin users quickly develop a tolerance to the drug and need more and more of it to get the same effects, or even to feel well.
Other Names: Smack, horse, mud, brown, sugar, junk, black tar, big H, dope.
Effects: Addiction. Slurred speech, slow gait, constricted pupils, droopy eyelids, impaired night vision, nodding off, respiratory depression or failure, dry itching skin, and skin infections. Increased risk of exposure to HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases if injected.
Drug Name: PCP
Drug Type: Hallucinogens
Facts for Parents: Marijuana joints can be dipped into PCP without the smoker's knowledge.
Other Names: Angel dust, ozone, rocket fuel, peace pill, elephant tranquilizer, dust.
How Consumed: Snorted, smoked, orally, or injected.
Effects: Hallucinations. Out-of-body experiences, impaired motor coordination, inability to feel physical pain, respiratory attack, disorientation, fear, panic, aggressive behavior. Increased risk of exposure to HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases if injected. Death.
Drug Name: LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethyl amide)
Drug Type: Hallucinogen
Facts for Parents: LSD is the most common hallucinogen. LSD tabs are often decorated with colorful designs or cartoon characters.
Other Names: Acid, microdot, tabs, doses, trips, hits, sugar cubes.
How Consumed: Tabs taken orally or gelatin/liquid put in eyes.
Effects: Elevated body temperature and blood pressure, suppressed appetite, sleeplessness, tremors, chronic recurring hallucinations.
Drug Name: Mushrooms
Drug Type: Hallucinogens
Facts for Parents: Many mushroom users purchase hallucinogenic mushroom spores via mail order.
Other Names: Shrooms, caps, magic mushrooms.
How Consumed: Eaten or brewed and drunk in tea.
Effects:Increased blood pressure, sweating, nausea, hallucinations.
Drug Name: Inhalants
Facts for Parents: Hundreds of legal household products can be sniffed or huffed to get high. All inhalants can be toxic. Other Names: Laughing gas, whippets, aerosol sprays, cleaning fluids, solvents.
How Consumed:Vapors are inhaled
Effects: Headache, muscle weakness, abdominal pain, severe mood swings and violent behavior, nausea, nose bleeds; liver, lung, and kidney damage; dangerous chemical imbalances in the body, lack of coordination, fatigue, loss of appetite, decreases in heart and respiratory rates, hepatitis, or peripheral neuropathy from long-term use.
Drug Name: Marijuana
Facts for Parents: The average age of first use is 14. Can be smoked using homemade pipes and bongs made from soda cans or plastic beverage containers.
Other Names: Weed, pot, reefer, grass, dope, ganja, Mary Jane, sinsemilla, herb, Aunt Mary, skunk, boom, kif, gangster, chronic, 420.
How Consumed: Smoked or eaten.
Effects: Bloodshot eyes, dry mouth, impaired or reduced comprehension, altered sense of time, reduced ability to perform tasks requiring concentration and coordination --such as driving a car, paranoia, intense anxiety attacks, altered cognition, making acquisition of new information difficult; impairments in learning, memory, perception, and judgment; difficulty speaking, listening effectively, thinking, retaining knowledge, problem solving.
Drug Name: Steroids
Facts for Parents: Steroid users subject themselves to more than 70 % potentially harmful side effects.
Other Names: Rhoids, juice
How Consumed: Orally or injected into muscle
Effects: Liver cancer Sterility, masculine traits in women and feminine traits in men, aggression, depression, acne, mood swings.
Drug Name: Tobacco
Facts for Parents: 1 in 5 12th graders is a daily smoker. How Consumed: Cigarettes, cigars, pipes, smokeless tobacco (chew, dip, and snuff).
Effects: Addiction, heart disease, cancer of the lung, larynx, esophagus, bladder, pancreas, kidney, and mouth. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis, spontaneous abortion, low birth weight." (This information was obtaied from this website: http://www.yic.gov/drugfree/drugeffects.html)
Some other drugs may include:
"GHB Facts
Liquid Ecstasy)
What is It?
GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate, or gammahydroxy-butyric acid) is a depressant that is usually available in odorless and tasteless liquid form. It can also be sold as a powder or pill. It takes effect 10-20 minutes after it is ingested and its effects typically last up to four hours. GHB has been used in "date rape." It can be colorless, tasteless, and odorless, and has been added to beverages and ingested without the victim's knowledge. It can also cause anterograde amnesia (loss of memory), which makes it difficult for victims to recall what happened or identify his/her attacker.
Prescription Drug Facts
(Rx)
What is It?
Prescription drugs are medicines that are prescribed to a patient by a doctor to manage pain, treat or cure a health condition such as pain, mental disease, diabetes, cancer, or common infections. These drugs are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are shown to have medical benefits when prescribed and taken exactly as directed by a health provider. For people who are suffering, these drugs allow them to control their symptoms, cure or treat their diseases, control pain, or fight an infection. However, these medicines are only safe when taken exactly as directed by a doctor, healthcare provider, or as indicated on the packaging. This includes following directions on dosages, how often to take these drugs, and never taking any drug that is not prescribed for you.
Taking prescription drugs that are not prescribed to you - or taking them in any way other than directed by a doctor — is considered non-medical use or abuse and can be as dangerous as taking an illegal drug, such as cocaine or heroin. "Misuse" of a prescription drug is taking it to treat a medical condition but not as directed by a doctor or packaging; "abuse" is taking prescription drugs with the sole intention of getting high. When misused or abused, many prescription drugs can be as dangerous and addictive as "street" drugs. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of poisonings and even deaths associated with the abuse and misuse of prescription drugs, including prescription painkillers and anti-depressants.
In other words, even if a medication is prescribed to you, taking larger doses than prescribed, taking it more often than directed, or using it in a way that it is not intended, is abuse and can also lead to severe health consequences and addiction. Between 1995 and 2005, treatment admissions for dependence on prescription pain relievers such as oxycodone (OxyContin) and hydrocodone/acetaminophen (Vicodin) grew more than 300 percent.
Taking prescription drugs without a prescription, not taking them as directed, or mixing them with alcohol are all unsafe and potentially deadly. A 2008 study based on 224,355 U.S. death certificates for which people died from medication errors showed that there was a 3,196 percent increase between 1983 and 2004 in deaths at home from combining prescription drugs with alcohol and/or street drugs.
It's Illegal
Additionally, getting prescription drugs without a prescription, called "diversion" is illegal and may put you at risk for arrest and prosecution. Regardless of how you acquire a prescription medication, using these types of drugs without a valid prescription — written for you — is unsafe and illegal.
Prescription Drugs
Online
What is It?
If you're online and see a promotion, e-mail, or Web site that claims to sell prescription drugs, remember that many Internet pharmacies try to sell these without a valid prescription from a physician — an illegal activity in every State. Because not all online pharmacies are regulated, they may ship expired drugs, drugs that have not been stored properly, or even fake drugs. There have been cases where drugs ordered online turned out to be nothing more than dietary supplements, contained harmful doses of the wrong drug, or contained no medication at all. 64 You should never attempt to purchase drugs without a prescription or take any drug unless directed by a doctor.
Any pharmacy that is willing to sell prescription drugs without a valid doctor's prescription is not taking into account the health and safety of the consumer.
Legitimate online pharmacies are certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), require a valid doctor's prescription, and carry the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) logo. You should also see a doctor and have a personal check-up, because this is the best way to determine whether or not a prescription medication is needed for your ailment — and what type of medication is best for you. Regardless, you should never seek to acquire or take prescription drugs, no matter the source, unless you are being treated by a qualified medical doctor who prescribes the medicine.
Getting prescription drugs without a prescription is also illegal and may subject a person to arrest and prosecution. Regardless of how you acquire a prescription medication, using these types of drugs without a valid prescription and medical supervision is unsafe and illegal.
Bottom line: taking prescription drugs without a doctor's approval and supervision is always dangerous — and it can be addictive and even fatal.
Over-the-Counter Drug Abuse Facts
(OTC)
What Are They?
Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medications that can be purchased at a pharmacy, grocery, or convenience store without a prescription to treat the symptoms of common colds or pains, such as a headache. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that these medications have medical benefits for common ailments and are safe for general consumption if taken exactly as prescribed by the packaging.
Ketamine distorts sounds and sensations and makes users feel detached from reality. Some ketamine experiences involve a terrifying feeling of almost complete sensory detachment that is likened to a near-death experience sometimes referred to as "the K-hole."
However, all drugs, including over-the-counter medications, change the body’s function or chemistry from its natural state and can be harmful if they are not taken as directed. For example, the common painkiller Ibuprofen (more commonly known as Advil®) can cause kidney damage if taken for prolonged periods or in excessive dosages.
As is the case with any drug, overdoses from over-the-counter medications, can occur. One type of over-the-counter medication that is especially dangerous when abused is Dextromethorphan (DXM), which is found in many types of cough syrup. From 1999 to 2004, there was a seven-fold increase in cases of poisoning and overdoses related to the abuse of DXM reported to poison control centers nationwide. Most of these were among 15- and 16-year-olds.69 An overdose on over-the-counter drugs can vary greatly, depending on what other drugs they are mixed with, the amount of drugs taken, how quickly they are taken, and the individual’s body chemistry. Some over-the-counter drugs can even cause death if used incorrectly.
The only safe way to take over-the-counter medications is to do so exactly as directed by a doctor or as directed on the packaging and to treat the symptoms for which they are intended." (this information was obtained from the website: http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/facts)
"The Science Behind Drug Use and Addiction
There are many reasons why some people start taking drugs. Many of these are social. But with the very first use, c hemical changes occur in the brain that may lead to addiction. Drug addiction is a disease1. And with every additional use, the user increases his or her chance of becoming addicted.
To help people better understand the science and facts about drug addiction, leading scientists in substance abuse at the National Institute on Drug Abuse recently published "Drugs and the Brain."2
How do drugs work in the brain?
Drugs are chemicals. They work in the brain by tapping into the brain's communication system and interfering with the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can activate neurons because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter. This similarity in structure "fools" receptors and allows the drugs to lock onto and activate the nerve cells. Although these drugs mimic brain chemicals, they don't activate nerve cells in the same way as a natural neurotransmitter, and they lead to abnormal messages being transmitted through the network.
Other drugs, such as amphetamine or cocaine, can cause the nerve cells to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals, which is needed to shut off the signal between neurons. This disruption produces a greatly amplified message, ultimately disrupting communication channels. The difference in effect can be described as the difference between someone whispering into your ear and someone shouting into a microphone.
How do drugs work in the brain to produce pleasure?
All drugs of abuse directly or indirectly target the brain's reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion, cognition, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. The overstimulation of this system, which rewards our natural behaviors, produces the euphoric effects sought by people who abuse drugs and teaches them to repeat the behavior.
How does stimulation of the brain's pleasure circuit teach us to keep taking drugs?
Our brains are wired to ensure that we will repeat life-sustaining activities by associating those activities with pleasure or reward. Whenever this reward circuit is activated, the brain notes that something important is happening that needs to be remembered, and teaches us to do it again and again, without thinking about it. Because drugs of abuse stimulate the same circuit, we learn to abuse drugs in the same way.
Why are drugs more addictive than natural rewards?
When some drugs of abuse are taken, they can release 2 to 10 times the amount of dopamine that natural rewards do. In some cases, this occurs almost immediately (as when drugs are smoked or injected), and the effects can last much longer than those produced by natural rewards. The resulting effects on the brain's pleasure circuit dwarfs those produced by naturally rewarding behaviors such as eating. The effect of such a powerful reward strongly motivates people to take drugs again and again.
What happens to your brain if you keep taking drugs?
Just as we turn down the volume on a radio that is too loud, the brain adjusts to the overwhelming surges in dopamine (and other neurotransmitters) by producing less dopamine or by reducing the number of receptors that can receive and transmit signals. As a result, dopamine's impact on the reward circuit of a drug abuser's brain can become abnormally low, and the ability to experience any pleasure is reduced. This is why the abuser eventually feels flat, lifeless, and depressed, and is unable to enjoy things that previously brought them pleasure. Now, they need to take drugs just to bring their dopamine function back up to normal. And, they must take larger amounts of the drug than they first did to create the dopamine high - an effect known as tolerance.
How does long-term drug taking affect brain circuits?
We know that the same sort of mechanisms involved in the development of tolerance can eventually lead to profound changes in neurons and brain circuits, with the potential to severely compromise the long-term health of the brain. For example, glutamate is another neurotransmitter that influences the reward circuit and the ability to learn. When the optimal concentration of glutamate is altered by drug abuse, the brain attempts to compensate for this change, which can cause impairment in cognitive function. Similarly, long-term drug abuse can trigger adaptations in habit or nonconscious memory systems. Conditioning is one example of this type of learning, whereby environmental cues become associated with the drug experience and can trigger uncontrollable cravings if the individual is later exposed to these cues, even without the drug itself being available. This learned "reflex" is extremely robust and can emerge even after many years of abstinence.
What other brain changes occur with abuse?
Chronic exposure to drugs of abuse disrupts the way critical brain structures interact to control behavior - behavior specifically related to drug abuse. Just as continued abuse may lead to tolerance or the need for higher drug dosages to produce an effect, it may also lead to addiction, which can drive an abuser to seek out and take drugs compulsively. Drug addiction erodes a person's self-control and ability to make sound decisions, while sending intense impulses to take drugs.
Your Most-Frequently-Asked Questions about Drug Use and Addiction
What do drugs make you feel like?
Depending on the drug, some people might say they feel pleasant or relaxed. However, in many cases, these feelings may be followed by even more powerful sensations, such as depression, anxiety, nausea, confusion, lack of control, paranoia, guilt, embarrassment, hangovers, loneliness, and cravings for more drugs. People who use drugs to have fun or to forget their problems may never really learn how to find things in their lives that truly make them fulfilled or find ways to cope with difficulties, and they may keep returning to drugs because they haven't learned other ways to be happy. Back to the top >
What are the short-term effects of drug use
Drugs are chemicals. Every drug is different, but generally, drugs interfere with your nervous system's basic functions. They work by tapping into the brain's communication system and interfering with the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can activate brain neurons because their chemical structures act like natural neurotransmitters that are found in the brain. This similarity in structure "fools" receptors and allows the drugs to lock onto and activate the nerve cells.
Other drugs, such as amphetamines or cocaine, can cause the nerve cells to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals, which is needed to shut off the signal between neurons. This disruption produces a greatly amplified message, ultimately disrupting communication channels. The difference in effect can be described as the difference between someone whispering into your ear and someone shouting into a microphone.
— From the National Institute on Drug Abuse's "Drugs and the Brain." 1
This is what causes the user to feel different — the signals coming and going from the brain have been altered from the way that they naturally function, leading people to have unfamiliar sensations. This can cause temporary euphoria. But it can also cause hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia, and uncontrolled behavior. It can also affect your muscles and how they function because the signals from your brain that control your movements can be altered. This can cause your respiratory (lungs) and cardiovascular (heart) systems to malfunction or fail.
Some abused substances, such as glue or butane, can cause immediate death. Cocaine, ecstasy, and methamphetamine can give even healthy people a heart attack on the spot.
In addition to these mental, behavioral, and health-related effects, drugs also have social consequences. These can include lying to and losing the trust of friends and family; performing poorly in school; quitting academic, athletic, or social activities; losing self control, making bad decisions like drugged or drunk driving; getting pregnant; becoming violent or placing yourself at risk to be a victim of violence; and abandoning old friendships in order to be around people who also use drugs. Back to the top >
What are the long-term effects of drug use?
It depends on the drug, but all drugs can cause negative health effects and can lead to addiction.
Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain - they change its structure and how it works. These brain changes can be long lasting, and can lead to the harmful behaviors seen in people who abuse drugs.2
Individuals who suffer from addiction often have one or more accompanying medical issues, including lung and cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, mental disorders, and obesity; and drug use can also make them susceptible to contracting HIV, hepatitis, and other diseases. Imaging scans, chest x-rays, and blood tests show the damaging effects of drug abuse throughout the body. In addition, some drugs are toxic to nerve cells and may damage or destroy them either in the brain or the peripheral nervous system.3
Some of these effects occur when drugs are used at high doses or for prolonged periods of time. However, some may occur after just one use.4
In addition to health effects like those described above, drugs can also have negative social consequences that can really hurt people - being unreliable, forgetting things, telling lies, stealing money for drugs, sometimes even getting violent with people they love. Their biggest ambition becomes getting high.
While addiction may result from any drug use, there are unique health effects for each drug. Learn more about a specific drug and how they affect your body here.
Back to the top >
Can you get addicted even though you only do it once in a while?
No one wakes up in the morning and says, "I'm going to be an addict." Addiction is a process - not an event. Most people who start using drugs do so with the intention of only using once or occasionally. However, drugs affect the brain; even with only occasional use, changes are happening and you could get addicted. The "occasional" use of drugs can quickly change to frequent use and then to constant use. No one knows when the "chemical switch" goes off in your brain or who will get addicted. It's a lot like playing Russian Roulette - you just never know. The only thing we do know is that if you don't do drugs, you definitely won't get addicted. Back to the top >
How many times does someone have to take a drug to become an addict?
No one knows. A person's genetic makeup plays a role. That's why some people seem to get addicted almost immediately, but for others, it takes more time. There is a lot we still don't know about who becomes addicted and why, and after how much drug exposure. We do know that each person is different, so it's a little like playing a game of chance if you choose to use drugs. But, if you do, the earlier you stop, the more likely you will be to avoid addiction and the harmful brain changes that lead to it.
Here's the science behind it: With repeated drug use, dopamine function in a drug abuser's brain becomes abnormal. Because dopamine is involved in feelings of pleasure and motivation, the person feels flat, lifeless, and depressed when they are not taking the drug. Without drugs, an abuser's life seems joyless. Now the abuser needs drugs just to bring dopamine levels up to normal levels. They need it just to get them close to where they were before they even tried drugs in the first place. Larger amounts of the drug are needed to create a dopamine flood or high, an effect known as tolerance.
By abusing drugs, the addicted person has changed the way his or her brain works. Drug abuse and addiction lead to long-term changes in the brain. These changes cause addicted drug users to lose the ability to control their drug use. Drug addiction is a disease.5 Back to the top >
If drug addiction is a disease, is there a cure?
There is no cure for drug addiction, but it is a treatable disease. Drug addicts can and do recover, but they must always be aware of their addiction and work to never fall into addiction again, which is a lifelong process. Drug addiction therapy uses behavior change or modification and sometimes includes medications that assist the user in refraining from drugs or alcohol. Like people with diabetes or heart disease, people in treatment for drug addiction learn behavioral changes that may be assisted with medications that they need to sustain for the rest of their lives.6 In other words, drug addicts do get better and can work to permanently refrain from drug use. Scientists know that prolonged abstinence from certain drugs allows some of the drug-induced brain changes to reverse. But addicts have to change their lifestyles and learn how to cope with the world - and they may always have to combat the urge to use drugs. It is not easy! Back to the top >
Are there reasons other than physical addiction why people keep taking drugs?
Some people keep taking drugs because they become addicted to them. They want more - in fact, they feel like they need more. Eventually, trying to get drugs becomes the most important thing in their lives - using up their time, money, and energy, and hurting people they're close to.
However, those people who don't become addicted to drugs may continue to use drugs for the same reasons they started, including feeling bored or wanting to fit in with a particular group, even though drugs aren't helping them. But whatever the reason, these people need to find healthy and constructive ways to be happy without drugs. They can do this by finding friends who share similar interests, finding healthy activities that make them happy, talking with people about their concerns, and finding friends who enjoy their company when they are not altered by drugs and alcohol.
Learn more about The Science Behind Drug Addiction. Back to the top >
Marijuana is just a plant... is it really that dangerous?
Yes, marijuana is a plant but it has real health consequences, including addiction. While some people or Web sites may try to convince you that "it's no big deal," the real science shows a different picture. More teens are in treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined.7 Young people who use marijuana weekly have a greater risk of depression later in life.8 This risk is even higher for girls; the odds that a female who uses marijuana daily will be depressed at age 21 are higher than the odds of non-users.9 The odds that a heavy marijuana user will be diagnosed with schizophrenia later in life are higher than the odds of non-users.10 And the odds that a teenager who use marijuana will drop out of school are more than the odds of non-users.11 Back to the top >
I know a few "straight A" students and some professional athletes who use marijuana and they seem to do OK. What's that about?
Weed affects everyone differently; this unpredictability is one of the reasons it is so dangerous. Some people seem to be able to use it for a while, while others experience paranoia and seem to get hooked early on. Remember, we never know when addiction actually starts, and a person's genetics seem to play a major role, meaning that some people get addicted much faster than others. The bottom line is that no matter how in control someone may seem, there are chemical changes occurring in his or her brain (some of which are common to all abused drugs, including cocaine and heroin12 ) and sooner or later, it will affect his or her ability to perform mentally and physically.
Are prescription drugs dangerous?
ALL drugs are chemicals that affect the body. But some people don't realize that prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs can be equally as dangerous as street drugs. The very reason prescription drugs require a prescription from a doctor is because they are powerful substances and need to be regulated and taken under a physician's care to ensure that patients take them safely.
Even if a person is prescribed a medication, taking more of that drug, or taking it more often than recommended, is dangerous. The most recent research on deaths in the U.S. due to unintentional poisoning over a five-year period shows that nearly all poisoning deaths are attributed to prescription and illegal drugs. Prescription opioids such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, and methadone account for the greatest percentage of deaths from prescription drugs. 13
Side effects of prescription drugs, including painkillers, depressants, and stimulants, include respiratory depression, dizziness, slurred speech, poor concentration, feelings of confusion, increased heart rate and breathing, excessive sweating, vomiting, tremors, anxiety, hostility and aggression, suicidal and homicidal tendencies, convulsions, lack of energy, inability to concentrate, nausea and vomiting, apathy, heart attacks, addiction, coma, and death. 14 15 16 17
Prescription drugs can also be addictive. Between 1995 and 2005, treatment admissions for abuse of prescription pain relievers grew more than 300 percent. 18
Additionally, getting prescription drugs without a prescription is illegal and may subject a person to arrest and prosecution. Regardless of how you acquire a prescription medication, using these types of drugs without a valid prescription and medical supervision is unsafe and illegal. Back to the top >
Are over-the-counter (OTC) drugs dangerous?
All drugs, regardless of whether they are illegal, prescription, or over-the-counter (available without a prescription), change the body's function or chemistry and can be harmful. OTC drugs are available to the public with the understanding that they will be used only as directed and to treat a particular ailment.
For example, the common pain reliever ibuprofen (more commonly known as Advil®) can cause kidney damage if taken for prolonged periods.19 Just like with any drug, overdoses from over-the-counter medication can occur. From 1999 to 2004, there was a seven-fold increase in cases related to the abuse of DXM reported to poison control centers nationwide. Most of these cases were among 15- and 16-year-olds.20 The health risks of abusing OTC cough and cold remedies include impaired judgment/nausea, loss of coordination, headache, vomiting, loss of consciousness, numbness of fingers and toes, abdominal pain, irregular heartbeat, aches, seizures, panic attacks, psychosis, cold flashes, dizziness, diarrhea, addiction, restlessness, insomnia, high blood pressure, coma, and death. 21
An overdose on over-the-counter drugs can vary greatly depending on what other drugs they are mixed with, the amount of drugs taken and how they are taken. Some over-the-counter drugs can cause serious problems or even death if used incorrectly.22 The only safe way to take over-the-counter medications is exactly as directed on the bottle and to treat the symptoms for which they are intended.
ABOVE THE STRESS
Learn to Deal With It
Dealing with pressures and stress in high school can be hard sometimes. The pressure to make friends, earn good grades, excel in sports or other activities, deal with crammed schedules, establish and maintain relationships, and navigate an occasionally difficult home life can feel overwhelming at times. Dealing with all of this can mess with your self-esteem, outlook on life, mood, and health. The next thing you know, you're feeling stressed, or worse.
What is Stress?
When you are stressed, your body reacts to enhance your senses and ability to meet a challenge like taking a test, building the courage to ask someone out on a date, scoring a goal, or swerving to avoid a car crash. Your body releases hormones called adrenaline and cortisol into the bloodstream, which increases your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure, boosts energy supplies by increasing glucose (blood sugar) in the bloodstream, and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues.1 All of these things happen to prepare you to handle anything that comes your way, whether it's running away from a rabid dog or staying up late to finish a paper.
Mild stress may cause changes in our brains and bodies that are useful, but if stress is constant or prolonged, the changes that it produces can be harmful.2
Some people think they can deal with stress by taking drugs. They think if they are unhappy, drugs will make them feel bette. And some people say they think that taking drugs might help them to cope with stress in their lives. But drugs don't fix the problems that are causing the stress in the first place, and they don't stop the feelings themselves. Drug use can actually worsen the situation and lead to even more stress, anxiety, or even depression.
It is important to remember that everyone feels stressed sometimes and everyone goes through hard times. It might not seem like it now, but most things get better with time, especially if you confront the problems and work through them. Dealing with your problems directly might be difficult at first, but it will make you happier in the long run. For example, you may have to lessen your work load or talk with a parent, teacher, or other professional about something that is bothering you at home. But if you find your feelings do not improve, you could also be suffering from depression, which can be caused by unbalanced chemicals in the brain — and is not your fault. Depression is totally treatable - read more about it here.
[For immediate help, call The Girls and Boys Town National Hotline, a 24-hour crisis, resource and referral line staffed by highly-trained counselors who can respond to any of your mental or physical health problems. The organization also has a chat room staffed by trained counselors.]" (the information was obtained from http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/)
In short, all the drugs, tobacco, and alcohol affect the body, mind, and emotions. Not everyone is doing drugs, and it is better to be above the influence than under the influence. The "excuses" addicts use are just to pull you down with them. As the old saying goes, "misery loves company." The drugs and alcohol can kill you, perminately impair/damage you, or land you in jail. Addicts can rip families appart, and devistate families. As an addict, you use all your money, time, and energy into your addiction putting hardships on your family. I know a few people (friends and family) who are addicts and their lives have gode down hill (as opposed from their life "pre" addictions(s)). One of my friends that I have known since elementary school, and they had been very involved in school, church, etc. And since starting drugs, they have stopped all of that, and has slacked off in school (they're barely getting by on academic probation), thats where they spend the little bit of money they have (they don't even have a job), and amungst other things. Another person I know, has a boyfriend who uses and drinks, and doesn't even care. He withholds money and has a terrible terrible temper. He'll blow off family and work to go and get high. Drugs do no good to anyone involved.