Drugs
& Drug Abuse
MIDN 2/C SMITH, N.
14 SEPT 2006
References
CNETINST 1533.12G “Regulations for the
Administration and Management of the Naval
Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC),” 9
August 2002
MCO P1700.24B, “Marine Corps Personal
Services Manual,” 17 December 2001
CNET Official Mail Message #076-02, “Navy’s
Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention/Control
Program,” 6 May 2002
OPNAVINST 5350.4C, “Drug and Alcohol
Abuse Prevention and Control,” 19 April 2000
SECNAVINST 5300.29B, “Alcohol Abuse,
Drug Abuse and Operating Motor Vehicles,”
16 March 2000.
Objectives
Know the naval policy for drug use
Know what constitutes drug abuse
Become familiar with different types of drugs
and their effects
Navy Policy on Drug Abuse
ZERO TOLERANCE!
Drug abuse
Drug abuse involves use, possession,
manufacture, or distribution of a controlled
substance.
The term “use” encompasses all methods of
introducing a drug into the body (i.e. inhaling,
injecting, ingesting, etc.)
Drug Stats
As of 1999, 87.7 million Americans had tried
an illegal drug.
55% of high school seniors reported having
used an illegal drug.
Drugs have become much more potent in the
last 30 years.
– The average THC level in marijuana has
increased from 1.5% in 1970 to over 7.6% today.
– The purity level of heroine has increased approx.
10% and now averages 35%.
Who it effects…
Drug abuse affects everyone.
This is especially true in the
Navy/Marine Corps
Drug users have been
surveyed as using twice the
medical benefits of a non-drug
user, taking 1/3 more leave
time, and are 60% more likely
to be responsible for an
accident.
Illegal drug users are far more
likely to be involved in domestic
abuse, violent altercations, and
other crimes.
Taking action…
Even if you do not do drugs, it is important
that you know the dangers of substance
abuse in order to better understand how
they affect our fellow Sailors and Marines.
If you know a shipmate that is having a
problem with drug abuse, it is in his or her
best interest to seek immediate help. It is
your duty as a midshipman and future
officer to unsure that your shipmate’s
problem is being handled properly.
Types of Drugs
The following are among the most frequent
misused substances in the world today:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Tobacco
Alcohol
Prescription Drugs
Methamphetamine
Marijuana
6. MDMA (Ecstasy)
7. Crack Cocaine
8. Heroin
9. Steroids
10.Inhalants
Cocaine
Street names: Crack, rock, blow, cuch
Cocaine is a white powder substance
that is snorted, injected, and smoked.
The effects of smoking crack are felt
almost immediately, are very intense,
and do not last long.
Addiction can become quite severe as
it is a powerful stimulant to the central
nervous system that heightens
alertness, inhibits appetite and the
need for sleep, and provides intense
feelings of pleasure.
Cocaine: Side Effects
Repeated use of cocaine gives birth to
certain long-term effects.
Euphoria gradually displaced by
restlessness, extreme excitability,
insomnia, paranoia – and eventually
hallucinations and delusions.
Heavy users may also suffer from mood
swings, paranoia, weight loss, insomnia,
and death.
Date-Rape Drug: Rohypnol
Rohypnol is a sedative. It is usually crushed
from a tablet form and combined with alcohol.
Street terms: roofie, La Rocha, Roach-2
The effects or Rohypnol are 7 to 10 times
more potent than Valium.
Effects appear approx. 15 to 20 minutes after
administration and last approx. 4 to 6 hours.
Effects include drowsiness, dizziness, loss of
motor control, lack of coordination, slurred
speech, confusion, and gastrointestinal
disturbances lasting 12 or more hours.
Date-Rape
A rapist often laces the alcoholic beverage of
an unbeknownst victim and waits for the drug
to take effect.
Victims are often unable to clearly recall an
assault upon them, the assailant, or the
events surrounding the assault.
Precautions:
– Never go out alone
– Never leave drinks unattended
– Be leery of friends and acquaintances, as most
assaults are perpetrated by someone the victim
knows and trusts
– If you feel intoxicated after only 1 or 2 drinks, then
get help fast.
Things to think about:
1 of every 10 rape victims is male.
99% of offenders are male
80% of rape victims are under age 30
GHB
GHB was originally thought to be a safe and
“natural” food supplement, as it is also created
by the human body.
It was soon discovered that the drug causes
overdoses and other health problems
Street names: Liquid X, G, Juice, Gamma-OH
It can be found in a liquid form or as a white
powdered material.
It is frequently combined with alcohol and is
commonly abused at rave parties.
GHB: Effects
It can produce drowsiness, dizziness,
nausea, unconsciousness, seizures,
severe respiratory depression, and coma.
Many use it for its intoxicating effects.
Bodybuilders use it for its anabolic effects.
GHB has been documented as being used
to incapacitate people with the intent of
sexual assault.
Ecstasy (MDMA)
Street terms: X, Bean,
Scooby Snacks
Ecstasy is taken orally,
usually in tablet or capsule
form, and its side effects last
approx. 4 to 6 hours.
Users of the drug say that it
produces profoundly positive
feelings, empathy for others,
elimination of anxiety, and
extreme relaxation.
Ecstasy: Side Effects
Ecstasy suppresses the need to eat, drink, or
sleep, enabling users to endure partying for 2 or
3 days.
Consequently, X can result in severe dehydration
or exhaustion.
It can also cause nausea, hallucinations, chills,
sweating, hypothermia, tremors, involuntary teeth
clenching, muscle cramping, and blurred vision.
An OD is characterized by high blood pressure,
faintness, panic attacks, loss of consciousness,
seizures, hyperthermia, and death due to heart
failure or extreme heat stroke.
LSD
LSD is the most potent
hallucinogen known to
man.
It is sold in tablet form
(microdots), on sugar
cubes, in thin squares of
gelatin (window panes),
and, most commonly, as
blotter paper (sheets of
paper soaked in or
impregnated with LSD).
LSD: Side Effects
During the first hour of ingestion, the user
may experience visual changes with
extreme changes in mood.
The user may also suffer impaired depth
and time perception, with distorted
perception of the size and shape of
objects, movements, color, sound, touch
and the user’s own body image.
PCP
Street names: Angel Dust,
Embalming Fluid, Rocket Fuel
PCP is an anesthetic that has
hallucinogenic effects.
It comes in liquid, crystal, pill,
or powder form and can be
smoked, snorted, swallowed,
or injected.
The most popular method of
use is smoking marijuana,
parsley, or tobacco sprinkled
with PCP powder.
PCP: Side Effects
PCP abuse is associated with intoxication and
euphoria.
Being an anesthetic, PCP deadens feelings in the
extremities, making it almost impossible for users to
feel any pain until the drug wears off.
Prolonged users experience disturbances in
judgment, memory, concentration, and perception.
They report speech problems, as well as hearing
voices and sounds that don’t exist.
Other signs and symptoms of use include
unpredictable behavior, mood swings, intoxication,
disorientation, agitation, and violent and aggressive
behavior.
Ketamine
Street names: Special K, tranq, Kit-Kat
This drug is commercially sold as Ketlar, a
powerful anesthetic mainly used on farm
animals.
It usually comes as a liquid, but it also comes in
the form of a white powder or pill
It can be inhaled, swallowed, or injected.
Side effects include strong intoxication,
hallucinations, and loss of feeling in the
extremities.
Large doses can induce unconsciousness,
which could lead to a heart attack.
Methamphetamine
Street names: Speed,
Ice, Crystal, Crank
Methamphetamines are
synthetic stimulants made
generally from ephedrine
and household
chemicals.
“Meth” can be smoked,
snorted, injected, or taken
orally.
It is typically a white,
odorless, bitter-tasting
powder that easily
dissolves in water.
Meth: Side Effects
“Meth” acts as a false transmitter in the brain
synapse, constantly stimulating and overexciting
the brain.
Psychological addiction occurs quickly, often
instantly.
After prolonged use, the dopamine cells in the
brain may never fully recover, causing lack of
pleasure in acts that are normally pleasurable.
Withdrawal is characterized by depression,
suicidal tendencies, exhaustion, weight gain,
and convulsions
Marijuana
Street name: Pot, Grass,
Weed, Mary Jane, Reefer
The most commonly used
illicit drug in America
today.
A tobacco-like substance
produced by drying the
leaves and flowering tops
of the cannabis plant
Is usually smoked in the
form of loosely rolled
cigarettes (joints) or
hollowed-out commercial
cigars (blunts).
Marijuana: Side Effects
Marijuana contains known toxins and cancercausing chemicals that are stored in fat cells of
users for up to several months.
Marijuana users experience the same health
problems as tobacco smokers, such as
bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchial asthma.
Some side effects include increased heart rate,
dryness of the mouth, reddening of the eyes,
impaired motor skills and concentration, and
frequent hunger.
Heroin
Street names: dope, smack,
black tar, brown sugar
A narcotic derivative of the opium
poppy plant
Pure heroin is a white powder
with a bitter taste.
Other colors result from impurities
in the manufacturing process or
the presences of additives
Heroin is mostly injected;
however, high purity heroin is
also snorted or smoked
Inhalants
A chemically diverse group of
psychoactive substances commonly
found in over 1,000 common
household products. (i.e. glue,
gasoline, hair spray
Inhalants may be sniffed directly from
an open container or “huffed” from a
rag soaked in the substance and held
to the face.
The effects of inhalant intoxication resemble those of alcohol
inebriation – stimulation and loss of inhibition, followed by depression.
Other effects include distortion of perception of time and space,
headache, nausea or vomiting, slurred speech, loss of motor
coordination, and wheezing.
A rash around the nose and mouth may be seen, and an odor of paint
or solvents on clothes skin and breath is sometimes a sign of inhalent
abuse.
Other substances that can be abused
include the following:
– Steroids
– Prescription Drugs
Ritalin
Valium
Percocet
Codeine
Questions? Concerns? Anxieties?