Non-prescription Drugs Wasted Youth
Marijuana (Cannabis) Short-Term Effects Using cannabis will probably make you feel more relaxed, free and open. If you smoke cannabis, you will probably feel the high quickly,, and it will last two to four hours. If you eat it, the high happens later, and you feel it for a longer time. Cannabis makes you clumsier and slow to react. While high on cannabis, you lose some of your ability to learn. Some users feel severe anxiety and high doses can cause panic attacks, fearful suspicious feelings (paranoia) and temporary psychosis. These effects usually disappear within hours. After very high doses, you might hallucinate, but this is unusual.
Marijuana (Cannabis) Effects of Long-Term Use Using cannabis heavily for a long time can have serious side effects: Cannabis smoke contains cancer-producing chemicals. Smoking cannabis damages the lungs and can lead to chronic coughing and lung infections. Many people who use cannabis heavily for a long time have problems with short-term term memory, concentration and abstract thinking. Some heavy cannabis users appear less active and ambitious than other people.
Marijuana (Cannabis) Cannabis and Addiction People who use cannabis often may find that they need more and more to get the same effect. Heavy users can become mentally and physically dependent or addicted to how it makes them feel. They can t stop using cannabis even when it causes serious problems. Dependent users who quit may feel mild withdrawal symptoms like troubled sleep, irritability, anxiety, nausea, sweating and loss of appetite. These symptoms usually last less than a week, but craving can last longer.
Club Drugs - Ecstasy Effects of Short-Term Use Ecstasy can make you feel mildly intoxicated, relaxed and energetic; Users report feeling trusting, loving and warm toward others. Ecstasy also makes sensations stronger (especially touch). Ecstasy can also cause jaw clenching, teeth grinding, anxiety or panic attacks, blurred vision, vomiting, and increased sweating, blood pressure and heart rate. It may cause depression, irritability, poor concentration, forgetfulness, exhaustion and paranoia. Ecstasy has been involved in deaths due to severe dehydration and heat exhaustion, abnormal heart rhythms and liver failure. There is evidence that high doses of Ecstasy can damage brain cells.
Club Drugs - Ecstasy Effects of Long-Term Use Using Ecstasy for a long time may cause permanent chemical changes in the brain. Some regular users become irritable, paranoid, or depressed; they may experience flashbacks or psychosis. Repeated use can cause liver damage. People who use drugs often can develop serious personal problems. Young people who use drugs heavily may not learn how to solve problems, handle their emotions, and become mature, responsible adults.
Club Drugs - Ecstasy Ecstasy and Addiction People who use Ecstasy regularly for several weeks or months need larger amounts to feel the same effects. There is little information on whether Ecstasy produces dependence or withdrawal symptoms if regular use stops.
Club Drugs - Methamphetamine Short-term term effects Increased attention Decreased fatigue Increased activity Decreased appetite Euphoria and rush Increased respiration Hyperthermia
Club Drugs - Methamphetamine Long-term effects Dependence Addiction psychosis Paranoia Hallucinations Mood disturbances Repetitive motor activity Stroke Weight loss
Club Drugs - Methamphetamine Meth and Addiction Regular amphetamine users develop tolerance. After chronic use, even at low doses, users can develop dependence. Withdrawal from amphetamine use can result in extreme tiredness, disturbed sleep, anxiety, hunger, depression and suicidal thoughts.
Club Drugs - Ketamine Also called K, Ket,, Special K, and Vitamin K Short-term term effects Effects can be felt in about 10 minutes and last for about one hour, depending on the dose. Users report feeling relaxed and sedated. At higher doses, Ketamine distorts perceptions, and can cause confusion and blackouts.
Club Drugs - Ketamine Risks While there is very little risk of overdose, Ketamine is addictive and there is a risk of dependence. Large doses can cause delirium, amnesia, high blood pressure, depression and breathing problems. Some regular users become withdrawn, paranoid and very uncoordinated.
Club Drugs - GHB Also called G or Liquid X Short-Term Effects Effects are felt in about 10 to 20 minutes and can last up to four hours. At lower doses, GHB produces effects similar to alcohol and can make the user feel relaxed, happy, and sociable.
Club Drugs - GHB Risks Overdose can occur quickly - combining with other drugs, including alcohol, greatly increases the risk. Large doses can produce dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, headaches, loss of consciousness, loss of reflexes, impaired breathing and death. Regular use may produce physical dependence. Withdrawal symptoms include insomnia, anxiety, tremors and sweating.
Club Drugs - Rohypnol Also known as Roofies or Roche; sometimes called the "date rape" drug because of its reported use in sexual assaults; particularly dangerous because it is undetectable when placed into a flavoured drink Short-Term Effects Effects can be felt in about 20 minutes and last from eight to 242 hours depending on the dose. Users report feelings of intoxication, relaxation, drowsiness, sedation and loss of inhibitions. At higher doses it may cause low blood pressure, dizziness, confusion, headaches, slurred speech and difficulty walking. Has been known to cause amnesia and blackouts.
Club Drugs - Rohypnol Risks Prolonged use can produce physical and psychological dependence. Withdrawal symptoms include headaches, muscle pain, confusion, hallucinations, and convulsions.
LSD (Acid) Other names Acid, trips, tabs, blotters, microdots, dots Appearance/Use Inch squares of paper, often with a picture on one side, which are swallowed. Microdots and dots are tiny tablets. Effects are known as a trip and can last for 8-128 hours. Users will experience their surroundings in a different way. Sense of movement and time may speed up or slow down. Objects colours and sounds may be distorted.
LSD (Acid) Health risks Once a trip starts it cannot be stopped. Users may have a 'bad trip', which can be terrifying. 'Flashbacks' may be experienced where part of a trip is relived after the event. Can complicate mental health problems.
Cocaine and Crack Short-Term Effects can make you feel intense pleasure; can feel alert, energetic and confident. increases your breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure; dilates your pupils, decreases appetite and reduces need to sleep. Large doses can produce euphoria, severe agitation, anxiety, erratic and violent behaviour,, twitching, hallucinations, blurred vision, headaches, chest pains, rapid shallow breathing, muscle spasms, nausea and fever. Overdose can cause seizures, strokes, heart attacks, kidney failure, coma and death. high can last from 5 minutes to 2 hours; when users crash, they feel very depressed, anxious and irritable.
Cocaine and Crack Effects of Long-term Use Heavy cocaine users can feel depressed, restless, agitated and nervous; can have sleeping, eating and sexual problems; can have dramatic mood swings, delusions, hallucinations and paranoia. High blood pressure and irregular heartbeats occur. Repeated use may cause long-lasting lasting problems with memory, attention and behaviour. Chronic snorting causes stuffed, runny, chapped or bleeding noses, s, and holes in the barrier separating the nostrils. Those who inject cocaine risk infections including hepatitis and HIV, the virus that t causes AIDS. Freebase and crack smokers report severe throat and lung irritations. They may cough up black phlegm or blood.
Cocaine and Crack Cocaine and Addiction People who use cocaine heavily over a long period of time, or binge for several days, develop tolerance. They need to take more cocaine to feel the same effects. Regular users can develop powerful psychological dependence, a constant craving for the drug. They continue to use the drug even when it causes overwhelming physical, mental and social problems. When dependent users stop using cocaine, they go through withdrawal. Symptoms include sleeping and eating disorders, depression, anxiety, irritability and strong cravings to use again.
Heroin Effects of short-term term use Effects can be felt in seconds (if injected into a vein, inhaled) ) or minutes (if snorted, injected into a muscle under the skin). Heroin use results in feelings of intense pleasure (euphoria) and reduced pain. Nausea, vomiting and severe itching are not uncommon. Longer-lasting effects include nodding (alternating between a wakeful and drowsy state) that occurs for several hours; breathing becomes shallow. Large doses can slow breathing so much that users can slip into a coma and die. Because it is difficult to know the strength of heroin bought on the street, it is easy to overdose.
Heroin Effects of long-term use Injecting heroin regularly can lead to such medical problems as collapsed veins; bacterial infections; abscesses; infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV; infection of the heart lining and valves and arthritis; smoking heroin often can lead to pneumonia and other lung conditions. Heroin decreases appetite, which can result in malnutrition; chronic constipation is also common. Women who use heroin can have irregular periods, and men can become impotent.
Heroin Heroin and addiction If heroin is used regularly, tolerance and addiction develop. When an addicted person stops using heroin, withdrawal symptoms within a few hours. Withdrawal symptoms include restlessness, yawning, runny nose, muscle and bone pain, sweating, tears, diarrhea, cramps, goose bumps, high blood pressure and strong craving. These effects get stronger for two to four days and then gradually ly weaken. Depression, insomnia, weakness and stress can last for several weeks or months.