 I Am Thinking Of
Trying Drugs
For
those of you who haven’t yet used drugs
or other substances, PLEASE, PLEASE DON’T! Getting high is a cop out.
It
is only a way to avoid feeling. It doesn’t cure problems or resolve
them,
at best it merely puts them off for another time. And will likely leave
you feeling worse instead of better afterwards.
My Friends Do Drugs
And I Feel Left Out
Friends
don’t get friends to do things
that aren’t good for them. Drugs are not good for you. Okay, yes, I’m
an
adult and you can tell me that I don’t understand. Well, I can
understand
that putting drugs and other substances in your body for the purpose of
altering
the way you feel or are feeling is not healthy. Many drugs can have
effects
on your body that you don’t want, some can cause you to need them more
and
more.
My Parents Do Drugs
Parents should model good behaviors for their
children. The reality is that they don't always make good
choices. Drug abuse doesn't make any more sense for your parents
than it does for you. Don't let their mistakes, their lack of
judgment,
make your choices for you. It's you body and youf life.
Choose
for yourself, and choose wisely!
Who Is Telling The
Truth About Drugs?
Jonah, my friend
from England, suggested we add this section when he was 13. He
had been mislead by people he thought were his friends. They used
drugs to loosen him up, and then they began sexually abusing him.
He said you would want to know what the truth is about drugs because
some people think its good fun; and some people are just against it for
no reason or because its against the law. Jonah asked, "So how so
you
know what's really true?"
Chances
are you know or will know friends
or relatives who are trying or using drugs or alcohol. Most teens
like to feel that they fit in, so when their friends, brother, sister
or cousin ask them if they want to "get high" or try something kewl,
the tendency is to say "yes." I mean who wants to stand out as
someone
different? Being different isn't always fun, but sometimes it is
the
right thing to be!
So
what do you think they are going to say? "Want to try this stuff
that will dull your mind and could
be addictive?" Of course not! On the other hand, there are
also
those who will tell you lots of horrible stuff about using drugs.
Do
you want the truth? Then use your
own brain to learn the facts from reputable sources, like some of the
links
on this page, and make an informed decision for yourself.
My
opinion, and yes, I'm an adult, and
yes this is my opinion, is that drugs are a poor distraction from real
life. If you need to relax, then you're better off learning how
to do it without drugs. The skills you learn will be something
you can use almost everyday of your whole life. If it's to have
fun,
you can have fun straight too, and much more safely! If it's to
escape
problems, you won't, they'll be there when you are sober or come down!
What Kind Of Drugs Do
People Take?
Two
drugs which are legal for use by adults are alcohol and nicotine (the
addictive substance found in cigarettes). A number of other drugs
which have medical uses are commonly abused, such as depressants,
stimulants
and steroids. Still other drugs are bought and sold illegally,
such as heroin and cocaine.
Marijuana
:
Marijuana is a green,
brown or grey mixture
of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds and flowers of the hemp
plant.
Hashish ("hash" for short) and hash oil are stronger forms of
marijuana.
Marijuana is classified as a depressant and a hallucinogen, meaning it
depresses your senses and can cause you to have hallucinations (or
seeing\hearing
things that aren't really there). All forms of marijuana are
mind-altering,
meaning that they change the way that the brain works. They all
contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) the active chemical in
marijuana.
The strength of its effect is determined by the amount of THC.
They also contain some 400 other chemicals. The THC is readily absorbed
by fatty tissues in various organs in your body and can be detected by
urine testing methods for several days after smoking marijuana.
In heavy users, traces can be detected for weeks after they have
stopped using marijuana. Marijuana is usually smoked as a
cigarette (often
called a "joint") or in a pipe or bong. Sometimes marijuana is
eaten as an ingredient in some type of food like baked goods.
What are the
effects of marijuana?
Marijuana
elevates your heart
and pulse rates, causes your eyes to be blood shot, and your mouth and
throat to be dry. The THC is known to cause an enlargment of the
space between nerve cells, resulting in poor transmission of nerve
impulses
between these cells. The effect on your nervous system (the
bodily
system that controls how the rest of your body works) include:
impaired speech; difficulty in comprehending complex issues; loss of
memory; difficulty in concentrating or focusing on one subject;
irregular sleep patterns; lack of body coordination; decrease in muscle
strength;
blurred vision and impaired visual perception.
Some
people feel nothing at all when
they smoke marijuana. Others feel relaxed or high.
Sometimes
marijuana makes users feel thirsty and very hungry - an effect called
"the munchies." Some users get bad effects from marijuana.
They can suffer feelings of anxiety and have paraniod thoughts.
Marijuana
affects memory, judgment
and perception. This drug can make you mess up in school, in
sports
or clubs, or with your friends. If you are high, you are more
likely
to make stupid mistakes that could embarass or even hurt you or those
around you. If you use it a lot, you could start to lose interest
in how you look and how you're getting along in school or at work.
Marijuana
has serious harmful effects
on the skills required to drive safely: alertness, the ability
to concentrate, coordination, and the ability to react quickly.
These effeccts can last up to 24 hours after smoking marijuana.
Use can make it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and
sounds on the road.
Heavy
or daily use of marijuana affects
the parts of the brain that control memory, attention and
learning.
A working short-term memory is needed to learn and perform tasks
that call for more than one or two steps. Smoking marijuana
causes
some changes in the brain that are like those caused by cocaine,
heroin and alcohol. Some researchers believe that these changes
may put a person more at risk of becoming addicted to other drugs, such
as cocaine and heroin. Additionally, some frequent, heavy users
develop a tolerance for marijuana, meaing that the user needs larger
doses of the drug to get the same desired results that he or she used
to get from smaller amounts.
YOU
DON'T HAVE TO USE MARIJUANA JUST
BECAUSE YOU THINK EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT!
MOST TEENS DON'T USE
MARIJUANA!
Cocaine and
Crack:
Cocaine:
Cocaine is a
short-acting powerful central nervous system (CNS) stimulant which
comes
form the South American coca bush. The cocaine (cocaine
hydrochloride)
most common in the U.S. is a white crystalline powder extracted from
the coca leaves. The "street" drug is a mixture of this pure
substance
along with any of a number of fillers used to "cut" the cocaine to
increase
the profits of its seller. These additives (which can be as much
as 30-95%) include: talc, flour, powder laxatives, sugar, or other
powdered substances like anesthetics or stimulants.
Crack: Crack is a form of cocaine and is a light brown
or beige pellet of ready-to-smoke freebase cocaine. Crack is
formed
when powdered cocaine is processed with ammonia and sodium bicarbonate
(baking soda) and water and heated to remove the hydrohloride.
The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture
is smoked (heated). CRACK IS VERY ADDICTIVE!
Both cocaine and crack can erode physical and mental health
and can become so strong a driving force, that they can dominate all
aspects of an addict's life. Cocaine abusers often depend on
other drugs, including alcohol, to help them sleep or to combat the
jettery
feeling that characterizes a cocaine high. Because it is
smoked, high doses of cocaine reach the brain almost instantly, causing
a dramatic high. As a result, physical and psychological
addiction
can occur in as little as two weeks. EVEN FIRST TIME USERS CAN
EXPERIENCE SEIZURES OR HEART ATTACKS, WHICH CAN BE FATAL (meaning you
can die)!
What are the
effects of Cocaine and Crack ?
Beyond
those
already mentioned, possible effects include: suicidal tendencies;
drastic mood swings; chronic (meaning almost all the time) nose bleeds
and runny nose; chronic sore throat; chronic nausea/vomitting; chronic
fatigue/exhaustion; weight loss resulting from loss of appetite chronic
headaches; respiratory ailments; vitamin deficiencies; addiction; death.
Heroin:
Heroin
is processed from morphine, a naturally
occuring substance extracted from the seed pod of the Asian poppy
plant.
Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder and is usually
injected
into the veins, although it has also been snorted and smoked because
of increased purity and a misconception that those forms of use will
not lead to addiction. Heroin is a highly addictive
drug! Heroin abuse is associated with serious health
conditions including: fatal overdose; spontaneous abortion;
collapsed
veins; and infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis (from
use of shared needles).
What are the effects
of
Heroin?
The
short term effects of heroin appear soon after
a single dose and disappear in a few hours. After an injection
of heroin, the user reports feeling a surge of euphoria ("rush")
accompanied
by a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth, and heavy extermities
(meaning
your arms and legs feel very heavy). Following this initial
euphoria, the user goes "on the nod," an alternately wakeful and drowsy
state. Mental functioning becomes clouded due to the depression
of the central nervous system.
Long
term effects of heroin appear after repeated use for some period of
time. Chronice users may develop
collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses,
cellulitis, and liver disease. Pulmonary complications, including
various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health condition
of the abuser, as well as heroin's depressing effects on respiration
(breathing).
In
addition to the effects of the drug itself, street heroin may have
additives that do not readily dissolve
and result in clogging of the blood vessels that lead to the lung,
liver, kidneys or brain. This can cause infection or even death
of small patches of cells in vital organs.
With
regular use, tolerance develops. This means that the abuser must
use more heroin to achieve the same intensity
or effect. As higher doses are used over time, physical
dependence
and addiction develop. With physical dependence, the body has
adapted
to the presence of the drug and withdrawal symptoms may occur if
use is reduced or stopped.
Withdrawl,
which in regular abusers may
occur as early as a few hours after the last use, produces drug
craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and
vomitting,
cold flashes with goose bumps, kicking movements, and other
symptoms.
Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last
dose and subside after about a week.
Adapted from: NIDA, National
Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Health,
http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/heroin.html
Inhalants:
Inhalants
are
breathable chemical vapors
that produce psychoactive (mind-altering)
effects. Although many people are exposed to volatile solvents
and other inhalants in the home and in the workplace, many do not think
of inhalable substances as drugs because most of them were never
meant to be used in that way.
What are the
effects of
Inhalants?
Nearly all abused
inhalants produce effects similar to anesthetics, which act to slow
down the body's functions. When inhaled by the
nose or mouth into the lungs in sufficient concentrations, inhalants
can cause intoxicating effects. Intoxication can last only a few
minutes or several hours if inhalants are taken repeatedly.
Initially,
users may feel slightly stimulated; with successive inhalations, they
may feel less inhibitied and less in control; finally a user can lose
consciousness.
Inhalants
fall into the following categories:
- Industrial or
household solvents or solvent containing products, including paint
thinners or solvents, degreasers (dry-cleaning fluids), gasoline, and
glues
- Art or office supply
solvents , including correction fluids, felt-tip-marker fluid, and
electronic contact cleaners
- Gases used in
household or commercial products ,
including butane lighters and propane tanks, whipping cream aerosols or
dispensers (whippets), and refrigerant gases
- Household aerosol
propellants and associated
solvents in items such as spray paints, hair or deodorant sprays, and
fabric protector sprays
- Medical anesthetic
gases , such as ether,
chloroform, halothane, and nitrous oxide (laughing gas)
- Aliphatic nitrates ,
including cyclohexyl nitrate, which is available to the general public;
amyl nitrate, which is available only by prescription; and butyl
nitrate, which is now an illegal substance.
Sniffing
highly concentrated
amounts of the chemicals in solvents or aerosol sprays can
directly induce heart failure and death. This is especially
common from the abuse of flurocarbons and butane-type gases.
High concentrations of inhalants also cause death from suffocation
by displacing oxygen in the lungs and then in the central
nervous system so that breathing ceases. Other irreversable
effects caused by inhaling specific solvents are:
Hearing
loss - toulene
(paint sprays, glues, dewaxers) and trichloroethylene (cleaning fluids,
correction fluids)
Perpheral
neuropathies
or limb spasms - hexane (glues, gasoline) and nitrous oxide (whipping
cream, gas cylinders)
Central
nervous system
or brain damage - toulene (paint sprays, glues, dewaxers)
Bone
marrow damage - benzene (gasoline)
Liver
and kidney damage
- toulene - containing substances and chlorrinated hydrocarbons
(correction
fluids, dry cleaning fluids)
Blood oxygen depletion
- organic nitrates ("poppers," "bold" and ""rush") and methylene
chloride
(varnish removers, paint thinners)
Death
from inhalants
usually is
caused by a very
high
concentration of fumes. Deliberately inhaling from an attached
paper
or plastic bag or in a closed area greatly increases the chances of
suffocation.
Even when using aerosols or volatile products for their legitimate
purposes
(i.e., painting, cleaning), it is wise to do so in a well-ventilated
room or outdoors.
Adapted
from:
NIDA, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of
Health, http://www.nida.nih.gov/DrugPages/Inhalants.html
Steriods:
Anabolic-androgenic
steroids
are man-made substances related to male sex hormones. "Anabolic"
refers to muscle-buidling, and "androgenic" refers to increased
masculine characteristics. "Steroids" refers to the class of
drugs.
These drugs are available legally only by prescription, to treat
conditions
that occur when the body produces abnormally low amounts of
testosterone,
such as delayed puberty and some types of impotence, and also to treat
body wasting in patients with AIDS and other diseases. Abuse of
anabolic steriods can lead to serious health problems, some
irreversible.
Today, athletes and others abuse
anabolic
steroids to enhancve
performance and also to improve physical appearance.
Analbolic steroids are taken orally
(by mouth)
or injected, typically
in cycles of weeks or months, rather than continuously, in patterns
called
cycles. Cycling involves taking multiple doses of steroids over
a specific period of time, stopping for a period, and starting
again.
In addition, users frequently combine several different types of
steroids
to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing negative effects, a
process
known as stacking.
What are the effects of
steriods? Anabolic steroids
can produce lean muslce mass, strength, and ability to train longer and
harder. There are several health hazards to steroid abuse,
however,
and some are irreversible. In addition, people who inject
anabolic
steriods run the added risk of contracting or transmitting hepatitis,
which causes serious damage to the liver, or HIV, the virus that leads
to AIDS. Users may also suffer from severe mood swings that can
lead to violent behaviors. Users may also suffer from paranoid
jealousy,
extreme irritability, delusions, and impaired judgment stemming from
feelings
of invincibility.
The major side effects of anabolic
steriod
abuse include liver tumors
and cancer, jaundice (yellowing of the skin, tissues, and body fluids),
fluid retention, high blood pressure, increases in LDL (bad
cholesterol)
and decreases in HDL (good cholesterol); other side effects include
kidney
tumors, severe acne, and trembling. In additon, there are some
gender-specific
side effects:
Adapted from:
NIDA, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of
Health,
http://www.nida.nih.gov/DrugPages/Steroids.html
Hallucinogens:
Hallucinogenic
drugs are sustances that distort the perception of objective reality
(meaning
they change your how you see, hear and feel things). The most
well
known hallucinogens are phencyclidine, known as PCP, angel duct or love
boat; lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD or acid;
mescaline
and peyote; and psilocybin, or "magic" mushrooms. Under the
influence
of hallucinogens, the senses of direction, distance, and time become
disoriented.
These drugs can produce unpredictable, erractic, and violent behavior
in users that sometimes leads to serious injuries and death.
What are the effects of
hallucinogens? Hallucinogens
can cause increased heart rate and blood pressure; sleeplessness and
tremors;
lack of muscular coordination; sparse, mangled, and incoherent speech;
decreased awareness of touch and pain that can result in self-inflicted
injuries; convlusions; coma; and heart and lung failure. Some of
the psychological risks associated with using hallucinogens are:
a sense of distance and estrangment; depression, anxiety and paranoia;
violent behavior; confusion, suspicion, and loss of control;
flashbacks;
behavior similar to schizophrenic psychosis; and catatonic syndrome
whereby
the user becomes mute, lethargic, disoriented, and makes meaningless
repetitive
movements. The effects can last for 12 hours.
The effects of LSD are unpredictable,
depending upon the amount taken,
the user's personality, mood and expectation and the surroundings in
which
the drug is used. Usually, the user feels the first effects of
the
drug 30-90 minutes after taking it. These effects include dilated
pupils, higher body temperature, increased heart rate and blood
pressure,
sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and
tremors.
The user may feel several different emotions at once or swing rapidly
from one emotion to another. LSD does not produce compulsive drug
seeking behavior like cocaine, alcohol, or nicotine, but LSD does
produce tolerance, so that users who take the drug repeatedly must take
progressively
higher and higer doses in order to achieve the same state of
intoxication.
This is extermely dangerous, given the unpredictability of the drug and
can result in increased risk of convulsions, coma, heart and lung
failure,
and even death.
Adapted from: The
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information: http://store.health.org/catalog/results.aspx?h=drugs&topic=50
The
Affects Of Drugs
If you took the time to
read the
information
above, then you know a little about what can happen. What
you
don't know is what will happen. Each of us, each of our
bodies,
reacts differently to changes in our chemistry. Among the
problems
with the recreational use of drugs is that no one of us can accurately
predict
how our boudy will react to a particular drug. Some of us may
have
violent or deadly reactions! Some of us may become addicted after
just
one or two uses! The real point is that the recreational use of
drugs
is dangerous. It may affect your life in ways you are not
expecting
and for for long periods of time, like all of your life! Please
be
careful! Please consider saying NO!
Help!
I Am Addicted!
If you think you
may have
a
problem, then the chances are that you do if a problem! If
friends
and family see a problem, then it is worth your time to listen to what
they
are saying!
If you have a
problem,
seek
professional help! If you can't do it yourself, then find a
friend
or adult who you trust and speak with the,. Make sure that they
understand
that you are asking them to assist you in finding help! Try one
of
the Hotlines listedd below or find a hotline or program at your school
or
in the area where you live! Remember it is far better to admit
that
you have a problem and seek out help then to lie and cover it up!
If
you try to ignore your problem, you will ultimately find that you
can't!
Seek competent, professional help!!
Help!
I Am In Trouble With The Law!
If you find
yourself in
trouble
with the law because of your abuse of some drug, then maybe this is a
good
time to realize that you may have a problem! Seek professional
assitance!
IF you are arrested, do not say anything to anyone and ask for an
attorney
( a lawyer). A good exception to this rule is when someone,
including
yourself, is sick or in danger of dying because of taking some drug.
If
you know what you or they took, then be smart! Save a life by
sharing
that information!!. If you cannot afford a private attorney, then
the
Court will have to provide one for you.
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