Types of addictive drugs
This is a limited list to be used as an example of the different types of addictive drugs that are available both legally and illegally.
Marijuana
Marijuana is produced from the leaves and flowers of the hemp plant. The main active ingredient in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), but it can contain over 400 other chemicals. The brain makes a chemical called anandamide, which is similar to marijuana.
In the United States, buying, growing, or possessing cannabis is illegal except by legal provisions of some states that allow limited cultivation and use of marijuana for medical purposes. Possessing hemp (the roots, stalks, or stems of the cannabis plant, which can be made into cloth or paper) is legal but, because cultivating hemp without also producing marijuana is impossible, no hemp is commercially produced in the United States without a special license from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
Marijuana is also known as: cannabis sativa, grass, hashish, hashish oil, joint, roach, Mary Jane, Acapulco gold, bhang, ganja, grass, hemp, jive, Maui wowie, Panama red, Panama gold, pot reefer, ragweed, sativa, tea, Thai sticks, hash, hash oil, honey oil, weed oil.
Methods of Use
Marijuana is usually smoked in a cigarette or cigar, but it may be used in any number of ways:
• Joints (marijuana cigarettes)
• Bongs (water pipes that filter the marijuana smoke)
• Pipes (similar to tobacco pipes)
• One-hits (a small metal pipe that allows a single "draw" of marijuana smoke)
Effects on the Central Nervous System
THC, the main active ingredient in marijuana, binds to membranes of nerve cells in the central nervous system that have protein receptors. After binding to nerve cells, THC initiates a chemical reaction that produces the various effects of marijuana use. One of the effects is suppression of memory and learning centers (called the hippocampus) in the brain.
Intoxication
Getting "stoned" on marijuana makes many users feel relaxed and talkative. Other pleasurable sensations sought by marijuana users include mood lift, relaxation, and altered senses and state of consciousness (while high, users report feeling more philosophical, aware, or enlightened). The main effects usually plateau for about half an hour after use and then taper off, but evidence suggests that some effects may last for days or weeks after use.
Marijuana use may also cause increased appetite, dry mouth, slowness, and difficulty thinking logically or linearly. The more negative side effects of marijuana intoxication include:
• Nausea
• Short-term memory loss
• Racing heartbeat
• Agitation, anxiety
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Paranoia
Life Risks
•Marijuana smokers may develop many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, including chronic cough with phlegm and chronic bronchitis. Long-term use of smoked marijuana may injure or destroy lung tissue. Marijuana smokers inhale many times more carbon monoxide and tar than do tobacco smokers, possibly because marijuana joints are usually unfiltered.
•Marijuana increases blood pressure and heart rate, especially when combined with cocaine.
•Use of marijuana may impair important cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and learning. Research on marijuana use among young people shows lower achievement than among non-users.
•A mother may pass THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, to her children through breast milk. Additionally, some children of women who use marijuana have low birth weight.
Warning Signs
•Marijuana paraphernalia, including rolling papers, roach clips, bongs, fluorescent or high-energy discharge lamps (for indoor marijuana gardens), and heat-resistant pipes. Bongs may be constructed of homemade materials like mason jars and glass pipettes.
•Personality changes including inappropriate laughter and paranoia, poor judgment, loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities.
•Impairment of memory, concentration, and learning
•Evasive behavior, lying about activities
Ecstasy
Ecstasy, also called MDMA, is a partial derivative of amphetamine and has effects similar to others in the amphetamine group. It is sometimes classified as a hallucinogen. Ecstasy has spread, especially on American college campuses and among young people all around the country. Most individuals who use Ecstasy also use other drugs. Other names for Ecstasy include MBDB, MDE, MDA, MDEA and 2CB.
Methods of Use
Ecstasy is usually swallowed in tablet form, but it can be injected, snorted, or smoked.
Effects on the Central Nervous System
Because Ecstasy is a stimulant, it causes increased neural activity across the central nervous system and has diverse stimulating and arousing effects on other organ systems. Evidence suggests that Ecstasy produces euphoric feelings through action on the neurotransmitter called dopamine ; however, other effects, especially the more general physiological effects of the drug, can be attributed to action on the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine.
Intoxication
Ecstasy produces an altered reality and creates a lasting high. Chemically, Ecstasy lowers the levels of serotonin and dopamine, which are important neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the central nervous system). Some researchers have noted a similarity between long-term use of Ecstasy and the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Evidence suggests that even a single dose of Ecstasy is neurotoxic (poisonous) to the human brain. Its use is associated with anxiety and depression, mood swings, memory problems, and sleep disturbance. Long-term use may depress immune system functioning. Other common side effects of using Ecstasy include:
•Increased heart rate
•Fever
•Jaw clenching or teeth grinding
•Nausea or vomiting
•Anxiety
•Appetite loss
•Sweating
Life Risks
•Evidence suggests that Ecstasy is a neurotoxin, meaning that it has direct, damaging effects on nerve cells.
•Partly because of the popularity of Ecstacy, it is often in short supply, placing pressure on unscrupulous dealers to substitute other drugs for it.
•Users of Ecstacy are often at risk of dehydration, water intoxication, and heat stroke. Ecstasy use often elevates temperature and, in addition to stimulating the body, often leaves users out of touch with their own level of exertion. The result may be dehydration from over-activity without enough water, or at the other extreme, drinking enough water to cause water intoxication and, in some cases, brain damage and death.
Withdrawal
The person coming down from Ecstasy often experiences exhaustion, irritability, paranoia, and depression. Coming down from higher doses may cause convulsions, hallucinations, and irrational behavior.
Cocaine
Cocaine, a drug that resembles white powder, often makes the user feel alert, confident, talkative, and strong. Cocaine use is most prevalent among males between the ages of 18 and 25. Its effects last for about 45 minutes. On the streets, cocaine may be diluted with cornstarch, talcum powder, sugar, or other drugs. Because cocaine is extremely addictive, the first-time user cannot possibly predict when loss of control will occur. Street names for cocaine are coke, snow, blow, Peruvian marching powder, or C.
Methods of Use
•Chewed as a leaf
•Smoked as a paste or freebase lumps
•Snorted into mucous membranes of the nose as a powder or vapor
•Applied to mucous membranes of the mouth, vagina, or rectum as a powder
•Injected into the bloodstream in a water solution
•Used with heroin (called "speedball")
•Used with morphine (called "whiz bang")
•Dissolved in liquid and drunk
Types
Cocaine can take many forms, including powder, paste, or vapor (freebase). Coca leaves are sometimes chewed directly. "Crack" cocaine is a popular variant that is usually smoked, producing a fast, intense high. It is rapidly addictive. Once addicted, users have a hard time staying away from it.
Effects on the Central Nervous System
Cocaine acts on the nervous system almost immediately. It blocks the biochemical mechanism that regulates levels of the neurotransmitter called dopamine in the central nervous system. The end result is increased amounts of dopamine, leading to stimulation of pleasure centers in the brain. This mechanism accounts for both the immediate euphoric "rush" of the cocaine experience and the reinforcing effects that lead to long-term addiction. Cocaine also causes increased levels of another important neurotransmitter called serotonin. Other specific neurochemical effects of cocaine use include feelings of wakefulness and increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature.
Intoxication
Cocaine acts on the nervous system almost immediately. Cocaine intoxication may cause hallucinations and other perceptual disturbances, tachycardia, agitation, panic, paranoia, impulsive and aggressive behavior, and poor judgment. Cardiac or respiratory distress can cause death in some cases. Common side effects include:
•Difficulty passing urine
•Dizziness
•Enlarged pupils
•Fast or irregular heartbeat
•Headache
•Increased sweating
•Mood swings
•Paranoia
•Neutralized sense of taste
•Stomach pain
•Nausea and vomiting
•Numbness or tingling in extremities
•Seizures or convulsions
Acute stimulant intoxication is often very similar to symptoms shown by schizophrenic or otherwise psychotic individuals. When these symptoms subside, the user may "crash" and experience depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and other disturbances accompanied by a craving for more of the drug.
Life Risks
•Mixing alcohol and cocaine results in the creation of a new chemical compound called cocaethylene, which intensifies cocaine's effects and increases the risk of sudden death due to depressed life-support functions, such as breathing.
•Long-term use of these drugs has been associated with personality changes that include increased paranoia and aggression, especially in adolescents.
•Cocaine is an illegal substance. Addicts can put themselves in dangerous situations while attempting to buy their drugs. Obtaining, using, and especially dealing cocaine carries significant legal penalties, including lengthy jail times.
Withdrawal
Cocaine withdrawal causes characteristic symptoms of depression that can last for years. How the drug induces long-term depression is not known, but cocaine apparently causes changes in the serotonin system in the central nervous system. Other withdrawal symptoms from cocaine may involve:
•Apathy and listlessness
•Oversleeping
•Intense cravings for cocaine
•Loss of appetite
Warning Signs
A person who is addicted to cocaine may:
•Change the circle of friends and withdraw from non-using family and friends
•Borrow or steal money to buy cocaine
•Become preoccupied with cocaine
•Compulsively seek cocaine and dwell on the next use of it
•Experience personality changes, poor judgment, and loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities
•Behave evasively or lie about activities or whereabouts
Hallucinogens (Psychedelic Drugs)
Hallucinogens, also called psychedelic drugs, create a range of perceptual distortions and various psychological symptoms. Under the influence of hallucinogens, the senses seem to be enhanced, and brilliant hallucinations occur. Many users experience synesthesia, in which various forms of hallucinations occur simultaneously. Many also describe feeling disconnected from their bodies or other altered states of reality.
Street names for LSD, which is a hallucinogen, include acid, twenty-five, Sid, Bart Simpsons, barrels, tabs, blotter, heavenly blue, L, liquid, Liquid A, microdots, mind detergent, orange cubes, hits, paper acid, sugar, sugar lumps, sunshine, ticket, wedding bells, and windowpane. LSD is available in tablets or pills or, more commonly, soaked on small squares of paper called tabs or blotters. The blotters are often printed with images or designs, and a specific supply of LSD may be called by the design that appears on the blotter papers, such as "Bart Simpsons" or "Blue Unicorns."
Methods of Use
•Snorted
•Injected into the bloodstream (mainlining), muscles, or under skin (skin popping)
•Smoked
•Swallowed
•Applied to membrane surfaces
•Cooked in foods
•Chewed
Types
Hallucinogens include LSD, peyote, mescaline (which is the active component of peyote), psilocybin, DMA, DOM, DMT, 2C-B, 2C-T7, and Ayahuasca
Effects on the Central Nervous System
The way that LSD and other hallucinogens affect the central nervous system is not clearly understood, but LSD molecules are structurally similar to the neurotransmitter called serotonin and seem to have an affect on the serotonin system. Serotonin helps regulate important body functions such as sensation, sleep, attention, and mood. Hallucinogenic effects on the serotonin system may help explain how the drugs alter those body functions.
Intoxication
Hallucinogens produce hallucinatory experiences ranging from visual distortions and illusions to multiple hallucinations and even severe panic (during "bad trips"). Effects last from hours to days. Some of the effects of hallucinogen intoxication may last for months, such as the visual "trailing" effect in which moving objects seem to leave visual traces behind. Flashbacks, or spontaneous reoccurrence of hallucinatory effects, may continue to occur long after the drug was used.
Some individuals may experience spontaneous recurrence of the hallucinations experienced during use. These can occur even during drug-free periods, up to several months following the use.
Physical symptoms include enlarged pupils, blurred vision, tachycardia, and poor coordination.
Life Risks
Individuals who use hallucinogens may become delirious or psychotic. Depressive disorders often occur following the use of these substances. In a few individuals, a single, extremely frightening experience can cause severe long-term problems with a dramatic decrease in their ability to function normally.
Withdrawal
Effects of withdrawal from hallucinogens have not been clearly established because these drugs do not seem to be physically addictive. They may, however, be psychologically addictive because users feel emotionally dependent on taking them.
Crack Cocaine
Cocaine base, or crack, is a vapor form of cocaine that can be smoked. It reaches the brain even faster than the injected form, with shorter and more intense effects. Due to the short, intense nature of the smoked form, crack is extremely addictive. Street names for crack cocaine include: rock, crackers, smoke, Bebe, bings, and French fry.
Types
Crack cocaine consists of dried shavings of cocaine combined with baking soda or ammonia in water. A freebase form is made with ether.
Methods of Use
Crack cocaine is smoked as a vapor.
Effects on the Central Nervous System
Cocaine acts on the nervous system almost immediately. It works as a stimulant and induces a feeling of wakefulness, high energy, and euphoria. It also increases heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature.
Intoxication
Cocaine intoxication may produce hallucinations and other perceptual disturbances, racing heartbeat, agitation, panic, paranoia, impulsive and aggressive behavior, and poor judgment. In some cases, cardiac or respiratory distress can cause death.
Acute stimulant intoxication is often very similar to symptoms shown by schizophrenic or otherwise psychotic individuals. When these symptoms subside, the user may "crash" and experience depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbance, along with a craving for more of the drug.
Life Risks
Long-term use of crack cocaine has been associated with personality changes, especially in adolescents. The manufacture of crack cocaine in drug labs often results in dangerous, accidental explosions because of a flammable compound (ethyl ether) that is used in the process. Free-basing the drug is also dangerous due the flammability factor.
Withdrawal
Withdrawal from crack cocaine may be accompanied by many unpleasant symptoms:
•Apathy
•Depression
•Disorientation
•Irritability
•Oversleeping
Warning Signs
A person who is addicted to crack cocaine may:
•Change the circle of friends and withdraw from non-using family and friends
•Borrow or steal money to buy the drug
•Compulsively seek crack and dwell on the next use
•Experience personality changes, poor judgment, and loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities
•Become evasive or lie about activities or whereabouts
Amphetamines
Amphetamines and methamphetamines are stimulants commonly used by young people at parties and raves to enhance energy levels for clubbing and dancing. Street names for amphetamine include speed, bennies, glass, crystal, crank, and pep pills.
Some chemically related medications such as Ritalin, Cylert, and Adderol are very useful when they are prescribed to treat Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADD). Those stimulant medications can help people with ADD feel calmer, but they have the opposite effect on people who do not have that disorder.
Methods of Use
The drug can be swallowed, smoked, snuffed, or injected.
Types
Amphetamines are available on the street as capsules, tablets, powders, liquids, or crystals. A more recent form of smokable amphetamine known as "ice" has also appeared. Certain prescription stimulant medications such as Ritalin, Adderall, and Cylert have similar effects and are also abused.
Effects on the Central Nervous System
Methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant that increases wakefulness and physical activity but decreases appetite. In the central nervous system, methamphetamine stimulates an excess release of dopamine, a neurochemical messenger in the brain associated with experiences of pleasure. Long-term exposure to methamphetamine has toxic affects on the brain, especially on nerve cells that produce dopamine and serotonin. Recent research suggests that long-term exposure may cause cell death in the frontal cortex, the area of the brain that governs important executive functions such as control of behavior and personality.
Intoxication
Amphetamine abuse causes acute physical and psychological problems including anxiety, irritability, agitation, depression, and insomnia. Abuse may cause emotional reactions that range from energetic and happy, to talkative and restless, to aggressive and assaultive. Some people experience high blood pressure, chills, nausea, or vomiting. "Amphetamine poisoning" can result in tachycardia and poor coordination. Cerebral hemorrhage (bleeding on the brain) and heart failure may lead to death.
Withdrawal
•Depression
•Anxiety
•Fatigue
•Insomnia or oversleeping
Warning Signs
A person who is abusing amphetamines may:
•Behave violently
•Experience confusion, insomnia, or paranoia
•Compulsively seek stimulants
•Behave evasively or lie about activities or whereabouts
•Be easily excitable
Inhalants and Solvents
Abuse of inhalants and solvents is most common among adolescents and younger children, especially between the ages of 13 to 15, who often use them to gain peer-acceptance. These chemicals, which are easily and cheaply available, are often "gateway drugs" that young people use before moving on to other drugs of abuse. Inhalants and solvents can be habit forming because they contain addictive elements. They can be exceptionally dangerous when abused, and prolonged use has been associated with irreversible brain damage. Sudden sniffing death (SSF) can result from a single use.
Types
Examples of inhalants and solvents include glues, gasoline, rubber cement, aerosols, antifreeze, gasoline, correcting fluid, room deodorizers, paint thinners, nail polish removers, shoe polish, cooking sprays, and household cleaners and waxes.
Methods of Use
•Inhaling gas or vapors from bags or balloons ("bagging")
•Drinking solvents mixed with alcohol
•Sniffing directly from containers
•Spraying aerosols directly into mouth
•Inhaling through a soaked cloth or other material placed directly over the mouth ("huffing")
•Heating and inhaling
•Injection
Effects on the Central Nervous System
Inhaled solvents cross rapidly into the blood, and because they are fat soluble, they arrive quickly in the brain. This is because the myelin sheath that covers nerve cells and the neuronal membrane have a very high fat content. Once in the central nervous system, the solvent acts immediately, depressing the functioning of the nervous system. Unfortunately, the inhaled solvents also begin to eat away the fatty tissues of the brain and the rest of the central nervous system. Over the long term, devastating neurological damage can result.
Intoxication
Inhalants cause euphoria, dizziness, and excitement. Severe intoxication can result in convulsions, coma, and death.
Other serious effects include:
•Brain damage and mental retardation
•Hallucinations
•Mood swings
•Personality changes
•Slurred speech
•Movement disorder
•Assaultiveness
•Poor judgment and bizarre behavior
Life Risks
Inhalant/solvent abuse is extremely dangerous and can result in permanent neurological damage. Additionally, people who use inhalants and solvents often progress to other drugs of abuse. For adolescents and children, use of inhalants or solvents may signal entrance into drug cultures and increased association with other users.
Withdrawal
Withdrawing from inhalants or solvents may involve unpleasant symptoms, just like withdrawing from any other addictive substance. Specific symptoms depend on the substance involved. Because of the poisonous and possibly deadly nature of inhalant abuse, the benefits of immediate withdrawal outweigh any unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.
Warning Signs
A person who is using inhalants or solvents may:
•Have the odor of solvents or inhalants on breath or clothes
•Experience slurred speech or disorientation or have difficulty moving
•Have a runny nose or rash around the mouth or nose
•Attempt to obtain paraphernalia (sprays, propane, lighter fluid, nail polish remover), paper bags, and balloons
•Experience personality changes (especially with increased recklessness or fearlessness), poor judgment, and loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities
•Behave evasively or lie about activities or whereabouts
Heroin
Heroin is a very addictive drug of the opiate class. The body produces its own natural opiates, called endogenous opiates, which control pain and mediate pleasure. Heroin acts on the central nervous system in a similar way but with additional side effects. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the poppy plant. It is fast acting and poses many potentially serious health risks. Because its action is so fast, heroin is particularly addictive.
Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder. Street names for heroin include junk, bomb, skag, Harry, and H. Street names may reflect the specific geographical area of origin (for example, Mexican black tar).
Methods of Use
Heroin can be injected, snorted, or smoked. Historically, most heroin users have injected the drug, but evidence suggests a recent trend towards smoking and snorting.
Effects on the Central Nervous System
Heroin is metabolized and converted to morphine in the brain, where it binds to opioid receptors and produces a euphoric rush of pleasure called a rush. The drug has a depressant effect on the central nervous system, slowing breathing and suppressing pain. After the initial rush, the user often experiences a drowsy state (called being "on the nod") in which thought becomes clouded. The drug also affects other organ systems, such as the digestive system.
Intoxication
In addition to the powerful rush of pleasure, heroin use induces:
•Drowsiness
•Difficulty concentrating
•Vision problems
•Slowed breathing
•Nausea and vomiting
Constipation
•Reduced sex drive
•Increased urination
•Low body temperature
•Sweating
Life Risks
Needle sharing when using street drugs is one of the leading ways to transmit HIV and other diseases. Because street heroin may include impurities that do not readily dissolve, it can obstruct blood vessels that lead to the brain, lungs, liver, or kidneys. Such obstructions can cause infection and cell death in vital organs.
Heroin use is often associated with other serious health conditions, including:
•Fatal overdose
•Spontaneous abortion
•Collapsed veins
•Infection of heart valves and lining
•Infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, from sharing needles
•Liver disease
Warning Signs
•Paraphernalia, including syringes, bent spoons, eye droppers, rubber tubes, and eye droppers
•Lethargy or drowsiness
•Constricted pupils that don't respond to light
•Redness around nostrils from sniffing
•Needle tracks or scars on inner arms or elsewhere
•Personality changes (especially with increased recklessness, fearlessness), poor judgment, loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities
•Scabs or lesions at injection sites
•Evasive behavior and lying about activities
Withdrawal
Withdrawal symptoms can include:
•Drug craving
•Restlessness
•Generalized pain
•Insomnia
•Diarrhea and vomiting
•Cold flashes
•Erratic movements
Withdrawal can occur within hours of the last use, but symptoms may be at their worst between 48 and 72 hours after the last use and then taper off over several days. Severe withdrawal among heavy users is occasionally fatal, but heroin withdrawal is less dangerous than withdrawal from other drugs such as alcohol or barbiturates.
Narcotics
Narcotics are opiates used to obtain a rush of pleasure, euphoria, and freedom from pain. They produce significant degrees of tolerance and physical dependence, causing abusers to spend increasing time and energy obtaining and using them.
Types
Street narcotics include heroin and opium. Other narcotics that can be obtained legally and then abused are codeine, Demerol, methadone, morphine, and Darvon, to name a few. All types of narcotics have been associated with severe withdrawal symptoms for abusers.
Methods of Use
Street versions are generally injected or swallowed.
Effects on the Central Nervous System
Narcotics cross the blood-brain barrier and quickly bind to opioid receptors in the brain, producing a euphoric rush of pleasure. This rush is often accompanied by dry mouth, heaviness in the arms and legs, and flushed skin. The activation of opioid receptors has many effects in the brain and body. Changes in the brain stem may depress vital body functions such as breathing and circulation. Changes in the limbic system may induce powerful emotional responses.
Intoxication
Side effects can include:
•Mood swings
•Psychosis
•Muscle twitching
•Irregular heartbeat
•Breathing problems
•Menstrual irregularity
•Reduced sex drive
Life Risks
Many risks are associated with street narcotic abuse, including drug impurities and contaminated needles. Heroin overdose is particularly dangerous. An estimated 1% of heroin abusers die each year by overdose. Other life risks include:
•Collapsed veins and hardened arteries
•Infected injection sites
•Risk of HIV and hepatitis
•Neglected or destroyed relationships
•Depression of the respiratory system due to long-term use
•Legal problems that result from using an illegal drug for a long time
•Social consequences that include problems about work, housing, and money
•Loss of confidence and skills needed to deal with life challenges
•Disturbed eating and sleeping patterns
Withdrawal
Withdrawal effects can be severe and may require medical treatment, especially in the case of unsupervised, sudden withdrawal from narcotics. Symptoms can resemble a flu-like illness and can range from sweating, muscle twitching, abdominal pain, and restlessness to fever, nausea and vomiting, dehydration, and low blood pressure. Symptoms can last for weeks.
Warning Signs
A person who is addicted to street narcotics may:
•Change the circle of friends and withdraw from non-using family and friends
•Borrow or steal money to buy drugs
•Compulsively seek the drugs and dwell on the next use
•Experience personality changes, poor judgment, and loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities
•Become evasive or lie about activities or whereabouts
Phencyclidine
PCP is a synthetic drug, white crystalline powder that can be easily dissolved in water or alcohol. It has been sold in a variety of tablets, capsules, colored powders, liquids, or pastes. Originally developed as an intravenous anesthetic for surgery, it was later discarded for human use due to extreme adverse side effects. It was later used in veterinary medicine as a general anesthetic or tranquilizer for large animals. It has since been discontinued for use in veterinary medicine and is manufactured in illicit laboratories.
There are many street names such as angel dust, crystal, hog, squeeze, elephant or horse tranquilizer, wack, zoot, rocket fuel, ozone, leno (when combined in dried parsley cigarettes), killer joints or sherms (when combined with marijuana cigarettes), space base (when combined with crack cocaine).
PCP has lost much of its popularity due to its bad reputation as an unpredictable, volatile and dangerous drug. Because of this, it has often been falsely represented and sold as other drugs like mescaline, peyote, and LSD.
Methods of Use
PCP is primarily mixed with dried vegetable matter such as parsley flakes, oregano, mint, alfalfa and tobacco. It is then rolled in the form of a handmade cigarette and smoked. It has also been used with heroin, LSD, marijuana and cocaine. It is sometimes sniffed, eaten, or injected.
Effects
The effects of PCP can vary according to dosage and are unpredictable and volatile in nature. Users experience impaired coordination, slurred speech, difficulty talking, confusion, erratic eye movement, and can have feelings of strength and power. The user can become terrified or overly passive. There is increased heart rate and blood pressure, fever, sweating, nausea, and muscle rigidity and numbness. Bizarre delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, violent and aggressive outbursts are common. Extreme dosages can result in sharp drops in blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiration as well as convulsions, coma, and death. The body can store PCP in muscle and fatty tissues at full psychoactive potential resulting in flashbacks. As a result of the adverse effects and unpredictable nature, other dangerous behaviors and accidents can be experienced. Long-term use can produce memory loss, difficulties with speech and thinking, depression, other mood disorders, and psychological disturbances resembling schizophrenia.
Tolerance and Dependency
PCP is psychologically addicting and produces tolerance with regular use.
Methadone
Methadone is a synthetic narcotic analgesic that acts in a manner similar to morphine or heroin. It was developed as a pain killer, but now its primary use is the sedation, maintenance, and detoxification of narcotic addicts. It is given to addicts in sanctioned methadone programs to reduce their opiate use. Methadone is sometimes used for severe pain management, usually with cancer patients.
Methadone is produced in tablet, oral, and injectable forms. In the United States, methadone clinics prescribe and dose in liquid form only, per federal regulations. Methadone is classified as a Schedule II drug and is a federally controlled substance.
Methods of Use
Methadone is usually prescribed in oral doses as treatment for narcotic addictions. Methadone treatment for narcotic addiction works best when used in combination with a comprehensive counseling program.
In methadone treatment, doses of methadone are typically given to addicts once every 24 hours. Dosage depends on the patient's tolerance levels and must be carefully assessed to avoid negative and adverse side effects.
In methadone maintenance, regular doses of methadone are given to addicts to keep them from using other narcotics. Methadone can also be used to withdraw addicts from other narcotics, usually over a 21-day period.
Tablet and injectable forms of methadone are obtained and used illegally.
Effects on the Central Nervous System
Methadone works primarily with the body's opiate receptors in the central nervous system and in organs composed of smooth muscle tissue. Because methadone is a synthetic narcotic, it has the potential to produce drug addiction with psychological dependence, physical dependence, and tolerance. Major hazards include respiratory depression, circulatory depression, respiratory arrest, shock, and cardiac arrest. Methadone must be used carefully when combined with central nervous system depressants (such as general anesthetics), other narcotic analgesics, tranquilizers, sedative-hypnotics, and tricyclic antidepressants.
Intoxication
When appropriately prescribed, methadone does not produce intoxication. It is used as a medication to treat narcotic addictions and to aid patients with chronic severe pain.
Adverse reactions and side effects may include dry mouth, lightheadedness, dizziness, sedation, vomiting, nausea, sweating, euphoria, dysphoria, weakness, headache, insomnia, agitation, disorientation, anorexia, constipation, faintness, urinary retention, and reduced libido and potency.
Life Risks
The major hazards of methadone overdose are respiratory depression, and to a lesser degree, circulatory depression, respiratory arrest, shock, and cardiac arrest. Methadone can cause psychological dependence, physical dependence and tolerance. Overdose and death can also occur.
Withdrawal
Methadone abstinence syndrome (withdrawal) is similar to withdrawal from morphine and heroin, but the onset of withdrawal is slower, the course is prolonged, and fewer severe symptoms occur. Symptoms may include restlessness, irritability, weakness, anxiety, depression, goose flesh, fever, chilliness, excessive perspiration, tachycardia, abdominal cramps, body aches, involuntary twitching and kicking movements, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and intestinal spasms.
GHB / Rohypnol
Rohypnol, or flunitrazepam, is a benzodiazapine (tranquilizer) similar to Valium but approximately 10 times more potent. It is an addictive drug. Rohypnol cannot legally be produced or sold in the United States, but is available by prescription in Europe and Latin America. It arrives into the United States through smuggling operations, often by mail, and is apparently most common in South Florida, Texas, and Southern California at this time. Rohypnol can be abused either for its intoxicating, sedative, euphoria-producing properties, or for it's release of growth hormones, which can build muscles. Recently, it has been identified as a "date rape" drug used to anaesthetize victims. It can be added to food or drink with little possibility of detection. Street names for Rohypnol include roofies, roopies, rope, ropies, R2, or roaches.
Another drug, known as GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate), also has a reputation as a "date rape" drug. It is a particularly dangerous drug because it depresses breathing and is easily overdosed. GHB is commonly used among adolescents and young adults and has been reported primarily in New York, Detroit, Miami, Phoenix, Honolulu, and Atlanta. It is available as a clear liquid that looks like water or in white powder, tablet, or capsule form. Street names for GHB include G, Liquid Ecstacy, somatomax, scoop, Georgia Home Boy, and Grievous Bodily Harm.
Methods of Use
Rohypnol and GBH can be taken by mouth in a clear liquid, white powder, or capsule form. They are often used in combination with other drugs or alcohol, making them even more dangerous.
Effects on the Central Nervous System
Like the other benzodiazepines, both drugs are depressants of the central nervous system. And like other benzodiazapines, they have five main effects: hypnotic (causing sleepiness), anxiolytic (reducing anxiety), anti-seizure (reducing seizures and convulsions), muscle relaxant, and amnesic (disrupting memory).
Intoxication
Although intended for their depressant and calming effects, these drugs cause some people to become excitable and aggressive. Other effects include:
•Slurred speech
•Impaired judgment
•Decreased motor coordination
•Seizures
•Confusion
•Aggression and excitability
Withdrawal
When taken regularly, Rohypnol and GBH can cause withdrawal symptoms, which may include hallucinations, delirium, convulsions, shock, derealization, and cardiovascular distress. As with benzodiazapines, withdrawal from Rohypnol or GBH should be undertaken gradually and with medical supervision. Symptoms may last a week or longer. In some areas, this drug is used to relieve withdrawal symptoms from other drugs.
Warning Signs
A person who is abusing Rohypnol or GHB may:
•Appear intoxicated (slurred speech, poor coordination, swaying, and blood-shot eyes) but have no odor of alcohol
•Experience personality changes, poor judgment, and loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities
•Behave evasively or lie about activities or whereabouts
Steroids
Anabolic steroids are man-made drugs similar to male sex hormones. Like male sex hormones, steroids promote the growth of skeletal muscle and the development of male sexual characteristics. Although anabolic steroids are available only by prescription in the United States, many steroid supplements are available over the counter and are marketed under several names.
Steroids and steroid supplements are often taken to increase performance in sports. Some people take them to develop muscles. Abusers of steroids take many times the recommended dosages in an effort to bulk up. Steroid abuse has been increasing in recent years, especially among middle-school-age young people.
Steroid use has been associated with chemical dependence and withdrawal syndrome.
Types:
Examples include dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and androstenedione (called Andro).
Methods of Use
Different steroids are often taken together, sometimes in combination with other drugs like stimulants or painkillers. This practice is called "stacking" and is supposed to result in greater muscle build-up. In another practice, called "pyramiding," the user builds the dosage over several weeks and then tapers off in a second cycle. This technique is supposed to allow the body to adjust to the changed levels of hormones. None of these techniques has been substantiated by research.
The steroids themselves may be:
• Swallowed in pill or tablet form
• Injected
• Rubbed as a cream on the skin
Effects on the Central Nervous System
Evidence suggests that anabolic steroids affect the functioning of the limbic system, which may explain characteristic increases in aggression and erratic bursts of emotion. Steroids also affect the hypothalamus, which regulates many basic body functions by regulating hormones.
Intoxication
Although steroid intoxication has not been fully researched, evidence suggests that steroid use has rapid effects on mood and emotional functioning. These effects include anxiety, exhilaration, agitation, and depression. In extreme cases, psychotic reactions can occur.
Life Risks
Taking anabolic steroids disrupts the normal system of hormone production. Along with the intended effects of greater muscle mass or increased physical performance, steroid abuse causes a number of unpleasant and dangerous side effects. See Warning Signs.
Withdrawal
Withdrawal symptoms have been reported among users who discontinue steroids. These include mood swings, depression with suicidal behavior, and aggression with violent and assaultive behavior. Complicating the withdrawal picture, quitting steroids causes sometimes-dramatic reductions in size and strength. That loss of size and strength may contribute to the depression associated with steroid withdrawal.
Research on steroid withdrawal syndromes is still developing. Withdrawal symptoms vary, depending on the individual and the type of steroid used.
Warning Signs
Performance athletes and bodybuilders often use anabolic steroids, but recent evidence suggests that steroid abuse among adolescents is on the rise. Although more males than females abuse steroids, steroid abuse is growing rapidly among young women.
Males and females who abuse anabolic steroids experience a number of health and behavioral consequences.
Males
• Atrophy of testicles
• Decreased sperm count
• Decreased sperm motility
• Fluid retention
• Prostrate enlargement
• Development of breasts
• Baldness
• Psychotic episodes
Females
• Increased body hair
• Decreased breast size
• Fluid retention
• Acne
• Deepening of the voice
• Aggressiveness
• Menstrual irregularity
• Psychotic episodes
Psychological effects in both sexes include depression, aggressiveness, mania, and delusions.
