Medicine and Illegal Drugs
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StimulantsAny drug that increases the body’s
activity.
– Stimulants cause heart rate and breathing to
speed up.
– User feels awake & alert
(possibly for days)
Types: caffeine, cocaine,
crack cocaine, &
methamphetamine.
Cocaine & Crack Cocaine
Cocaine
Crack Cocaine
Cocaine –
Powerful drug (stimulant) made from
the coca plant. Cocaine comes in a white
powder and inhaled through the nose.
Crack Cocaine (ROCK) –
Cocaine that is altered or cooked into a
different form, which can be smoked.
Effects are more intense and do not last as
long as cocaine.
• Both cocaine and crack cocaine cause intense
euphoria- physical and mental sense of wellbeing (exaggerated state of mind).
• Due to the short lived effects of both drugs
people must use the drug often to make the
effects last. High lasts about 10-15 minutes
followed by physical illness and depression.
• Addiction can lead to overdose which results
in heart attacks or strokes (brain damage or
death)
•
Prolonged cocaine snorting can
cause scabs to form on your mucus
membranes, damage your nasal
septum and eventually make your
nose collapse
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
• A stimulant that is synthetic and comes in a rock
form.
• Street Names: Meth, Crystal, Crystal Meth
• Ways that it is used: smoked, injected, or inhaled.
• Effects will last for hours and is extremely
addictive.
• Short term-effects: euphoria, decreased appetite,
increased body temperature.
• Permanent kidney damage, liver damage, brain
damage, death.
Effects of Meth Use
Meth Video Interactive Meth
• Meth users pick at their skin and
rot their teeth.
Additional Meth Sites:
• Meth: Before and After
• Interactive Meth Effects
• Meth video
• part 2
Depressants
DepressantsAny drug that decreases activity in the body.
- Also known as sedatives.
– Heart Rate & Breathing slows down
– Blood Pressure drops
– Mild relaxation
– Deep sleep
– Very addictive
Types of depressants:
• Tranquilizers – mild depressants that help
treat anxiety.
• Barbiturates – makes you drowsy and
sleepy. Also used to treat
seizures
• Hypnotics – very powerful depressants,
causes sleep
• Overdose can cause coma, death and brain
damage.
• Interacts strongly with alcohol causing severe
effects.
Rohypnol
An extremely powerful hypnotic depressant.
Rohypnol:
• Small white tablets, lasts for 8 hours
• Street names: roofies, roach, rope
• Effects: sleepiness, slurred speech, impaired
judgment, difficulty walking, loss of muscle
control, and BLACKOUT. Effects are increased
when mixed with alcohol.
• Blackout – is the inability to remember anything
that happened while under the drugs effects.
• Known as the “date rape drug”
Marijuana
Dried flowers & leaves of the Cannabis plant.
Marijuana:
• Most abused drug.
• Known as the “Gate Way Drug”
• Street names: Grass, weed, pot, dope, Mary
Jane, green, bud, and reefer.
• Most of the time it is smoked, but it can be
mixed with food and eaten.
• THC – (tetrahydrocannabinol) chemical
substance in marijuana. Levels of THC may
vary based on the plant.
• Marijuana smoke contains 50% to 70%
more cancer-causing substances than
tobacco smoke. One major research study
reported that a single cannabis joint
could cause as much damage to the lungs
as up to five regular cigarettes smoked
one after another. Long-time joint
smokers often suffer from bronchitis, an
inflammation of the respiratory tract.
Long Term Effects of
Marijuana
• Decreases ability to think and concentrate
• Decreases desire and energy.
– “Lethargic”
• Because it is smoked marijuana use can
have similar effects as smoking cigarettes.
– Chronic bronchitis
– Respiratory problems
– Circulatory problems
Synthetic Marijuana
• Street Names: Spice, K2, fake weed, moon rocks
• Contains dried, shredded plant material and man made
chemical additives that are responsible for the mindaltering effects
• Chemicals are similar to marijuana but the effects can be
very different.
• Some users report psychotic effects like extreme anxiety,
paranoia, and hallucinations.
• Synthetic Marijuana
Opiates
Any drug that is produced from the milk of the
opium poppy plant (grows in Europe & Asia)
Opiates
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Extremely addictive (quickly addictive)
STRONG HIGH
Develops a strong tolerance
Hardest addiction to break
Intense (painful) withdrawals symptoms:
cramps, vomiting, muscle pain, shaking,
chills, panic attacks.
Types of Opiates
• Prescription Opiates:
Used to treat pain, coughs, and intestinal
problems. These can be abused leading to
addiction with failure of following a doctors
instructions.
Roxy's
Types of Opiates
• Heroin:
– The most powerful and addictive opiate.
– Made from Morphine.
– Inhaled through nose, smoked, or
injected (most popular way to take it is
to inject it).
Effects of Heroin:
• Euphoria, sleepiness, warm feeling in the skin,
shallow breathing, and nausea.
• Infections of the heart, liver disease, and lung
disease
• Using dirty needles can lead to diseases such as
hepatitis or HIV.