Types of Drugs and Their Effects

Teenage Problems by: Ashkan Sobhe

Types of Drugs and Their Effects

Marijuana:

                        Facts:

1-      Marijuana affects your brain – THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) affects the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed.

2-      Marijuana affects your self-control – Marijuana can seriously affect your sense of time and your coordination, impacting things like driving. In 1998, nearly 77,000 people were admitted to emergency rooms suffering from marijuana-related problems, an increase of more than 373 percent since 1991.

3-      Marijuana affects your lungs – There are more than 400 known chemicals in marijuana. A single joint contains four times as much cancer-causing tar as a filtered cigarette.

4-      Marijuana affects other aspects of your health – Marijuana can limit your body’s ability to fight off infection. Long-term marijuana use can even increase the risk of developing certain mental illnesses.

5-      Marijuana is not always what it seems – Marijuana can be laced with other dangerous drugs without your knowledge. “Blunts”-hollowed-out cigar filled with marijuana-sometimes have substances such as crack cocaine, PCP, or embalming fluid added.

6-      Marijuana can be addictive – Not everyone who uses marijuana becomes addicted, but some users do develop signs of dependence. In 1995, nearly 165,000 people entered drug treatment programs to kick their marijuana habit.

7-      Marijuana is illegal – It is illegal to buy or sell marijuana in most states, holding even small amounts of marijuana can lead to fines or arrest.

The Signs are:

1-    Seeming dizzy and having trouble walking.

2-    Having red blood shot eyes and smelly hair and clothes.

3-    Having a hard time remembering things that just happened.

4-    Acting silly for no apparent reason

Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault

When Drugs Are Used As a Weapon….



*Drugs like Rohypnol, GHB, Ketamine, and Ecstasy can be used as a weapon in sexual assault crimes.

*When they are hidden in a drink, they may be completely undetectable.

*Yet, they are powerful and dangerous. They can seriously harm or even kill you.

What is Rohypnol?!



-Rohypnol is the brand name for flunitrazepam, a benzodiazepine drug.



It is in the same family of medications as valium, and Xanax. But, unlike these other drugs, Rohypnol has never been approved for any medical use in the United States. It is illegal to manufacture, distribute, or possess Rohypnol in this country.

Ecstasy:



Ecstasy is a very toxic stimulant drug which has a psychedelic effect. Ecstasy has no accepted medical use in the United States. It is illegal to manufacture, process, or sell it. Ecstasy is made in other countries and produced illegally in the United States

What does Ecstasy look like?



Ecstasy comes in small tablet or capsule form and as powder that can be snorted or smoked. Occasionally it is found in liquid form. It is made by many different vendors. Each vendor may use a different logo or color. Some of the frequently used logos include: butterflies, lightening bolts, and four-leaf clovers.

What is Ketamine?

Ketamine is a dissociate general anesthetic. It has hypnotic, stimulant, and hallucinogic properties. Although it is used in some medical settings, it is primarily used by veterinarians to anesthetize animals for surgery. It is also a “club drug.”

What is GHB?

GHB is gamma-hydroxy butyrate. It has been tested for potential medical use in the United States, but has never been approved for any use outside of FDA-approved research trials. GHB also has been promoted for body building, although the efficacy of the drug for this use has never been documented.

Inhalants:

1-      Inhalants affect your brain – Inhalants are substance or fumes from products such as glue or paint thinner that are sniffed or “huffed” to cause an immediate high. Because they affect your brain with much greater speed and force than many other substances, they cause irreversible physical and mental damage before you know what’s happened.

2-      Inhalants affect your heart – Inhalants starve the body of oxygen and force the heart to beat irregularly and more rapidly-that can be dangerous for your body.

3-      Inhalants damage other parts of your body – People who use Inhalants can lose their sense of smell; experience nausea and nosebleeds; and develop liver, lung, and kidney problems. Chronic use can lead to muscle wasting and reduced muscle tone and strength.

4-      Inhalants can cause sudden death – Inhalants can kill you instantly. Inhalants users can die by suffocation, choking on their vomit, or having a heart attack.

Sings:

* Slurred speech

* Drunk, dizzy, or dazed appearance

* Unusual breath odor

* Chemical smell on clothing

* Paint stains on body or face

* Red eyes

* Runny nose

Drugs come in different colors and shapes.

Cocaine

Ecstacy

GHB

Your Brain On Drugs

What does drug use do to your memory?

A few years back there was a TV commercial showing a frying pan and an egg. First they held up the egg and said, "This is your brain." Then they cracked the egg into the hot frying pan and said, "This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?" Turns out it was a pretty fair analogy. Here's what happens to your brain and memory on these drugs:

Ecstasy - This is an amphetamine. Extended use of this drug can cause difficulties in telling the difference between reality and fantasy, and problems concentrating. It's hard to write a test if you can't concentrate on it. Studies have found that this drug destroys fibers in the brain tissue. These fibers may grow back, but they don't grow back normally. Like most drugs, this one affects your memory and can cause paranoia, anxiety, and confusion.
Heroin - Heroin is a highly addictive opiate. Brain cells can very quickly come to rely on this drug to the extent that they need it in order to function. While heroin use starts with a rush of pleasure, it leaves the use in a fog for many hours afterwards. The greatest danger with heroin is the addiction. Users soon find that their sole purpose in life is to have more of the drug that their body has become dependant on, and everything else becomes secondary to that need.
Marijuana (Pot) - The parts of the brain which control emotions, memory, and judgment are affected by pot. Smoking pot can not only weaken your short-term memory (making it harder to remember what you learned in biology class today), but can prevent that information from making it into your long term memory. So, when you write your exam at the end of the year, you won't remember what you learned. It can also weaken your problem solving skills.
Alcohol - Don't fool yourself into thinking that booze is safer than drugs (It's not). Alcohol use impairs your judgment and leads to memory lapses. It can even lead to blackouts. It distorts vision, lessons your coordination, and can damage every organ in your body, including your brain.
Cocaine - Cocaine, both in powder form and as crack, is very addictive. Once a person is addicted to a drug, they lose interest in many other areas of their life, including school, sports, and friends. Use of this drug can cause feelings of paranoia and anxiety. Its physical effect on the receptors in the brain reduce their ability to feel pleasure (which in turn causes the dependency on the drug).
Inhalants - These are substances that are sniffed, including glue, gasoline, hair spray, paint thinner, and more. They are very dangerous because their effect on the brain is almost immediate. And while some vapours leave the body quickly, others will stay in there for a long time. The fatty tissues protecting the nerve cells in your brain are destroyed by inhalant vapours. This slows down or even stops transmissions from these nerve cells. Depending on which part of the brain these cells are in, you could lose the ability to learn new things or to solve multi-part problems.
LSD (Acid) - This is an unpredictable drug. It cause paranoia, confusion, anxiety, and panic attacks. Like Ecstasy, the user often blurs reality and fantasy, and has a distorted view of time and distance.
Steroids - Anabolic steroids are taken to improve athletic performance and gain muscles, but unfortunately, many users fail to make themselves aware of the health risks involved. Not only do they cause moodiness, they have been found to permanently impair learning and memory abilities in animals. They may be doing to same in humans.
Tobacco - You may not think of smoking cigarettes as being the same as doing drugs. In fact, you are inhaling a dangerous drug, nicotine, into your body. Nicotine affects the brain quickly, like other inhalants, producing feelings of pleasure, like cocaine, and is highly addictive, like heroin.
Ritalin - Yes, this is the same drug prescribed to ADD patients, but it is quickly becoming an illicit street drug as well. It is readily available, and inexpensive, but many people don't realize that it is illegal to possess the drug without a prescription. The main problem with its use lies in the fact that it was developed to be taken orally, as a pill. Drug users looking for a high will instead crush the pill into a powder and snort it like cocaine, or inject it like heroin. It then has a much more powerful effect on the body and other ingredients in the pill also have an effect. It causes severe headaches, anxiety, paranoia, and delusions.
Now you know the facts. There are no safe drugs, and all of them will adversely affect you in some way, both right now and over the long term. Isn't your future more important than that?

(www.about.com)

GHB

Herion

Inhalants

Marijuana