DRUGS
Anabolic Steroid abuse has become a national concern. These drugs are used by weight lifters, body builders, long distant runners, cyclists, and others who think that drugs give them a competitive advantage and improve their physical appearance. It was once thought of as a problem only with professional athletes. Recent reports show that 5 to 12 percent of male high school students and 1 percent of female students have used anabolic steroids by the time they were seniors.
The term "club drugs" refers to drugs primarily used at dance clubs and raves. Lately, they’ve been appearing in other social settings such as bars, on college campuses, and at high school parties or gatherings. Club drugs are often labeled as "non-alcoholic" events for young adults. This way the parents assume their kids will be supervised and safe. Club drugs include, but are not limited to, MDMA (Ecstasy), LSD, Methamphetamine (Meth), GHB, Ketamine, and Rohypnol.
GHB, Ketamine, and Rohypnol are also considered date rape drugs because of their sedative effects. These drugs are often unnoticed since they are odorless and colorless when mixed with water. The drugs tend to have a salty taste, but are almost undetectable when mixed with alcohol, soda, or other beverages. They also dissolve quickly throughout the body leaving little physical evidence that an attack occurred. These drugs can also cause "blackouts" or anterograde amnesia (when a person is unable to recall what happened to them).
Dietary supplements are marketed as "performance enhancers," "energy boosters," "fat burners," "street drug alternatives," or "legal highs." There are two reasons they are dangerous. The first reason is that the supplements contain high levels of stimulants often in combination with caffeine. The second reason is that the makers of the supplements are not required to list the quantity or amount of the stimulants that are in their products.
Inhalants are
common household substances that are inhaled to get an immediate high. "Sniffing" is when a person inhales a substance straight from the container. "Huffing" is when a person uses a rag that has been soaked in the substance and holds it to their face to inhale. A new method has recently developed called "dusting." This is when a person inhales computer cleaners. It has unfortunately resulted in several deaths. Using inhalants, even once,can put you at risk for sudden death, cardiac arrest, suffocation, asphyxia, visual hallucinations, severe mood swings, numbness and tingling of the hands and feet, loss of muscle control, slurred speech, headache, muscle weakness, abdominal pain, decrease or loss of sense of smell, nausea and nosebleeds, hepatitis, violent behavior, irregular heartbeat, liver, lung, and kidney impairment, brain damage, nervous system damage, dangerous chemical imbalances in the body, and involuntary passing of urine and feces.LSD is the most potent hallucinogenic substance known to man. With potential side effects as dilated pupils, higher body temperature, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, tremors, dramatic changes sensations and feelings, feeling several different emotions at once or swing rapidly from one emotion to another, delusions and visual hallucinations. These effects are usually referred to as a "bad trip," and can last for about twelve hours. Terrifying thoughts and feelings, fear of insanity and death, injuries, and fatal accidents can occurred with LSD use.
Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the world and possibly the most controversial. Marijuana is made from the plant cannabis sativa. Marijuana consists of the buds, leaves, and resin of the cannabis plant. The stalks and seeds of the plant are called "hemp." The chemicals in it are called "cannabinoids." The cannabinoid responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis is THC. THC can be found in all areas of the plant, including hemp. This is why hemp is regulated. Some hemp products such as clothing, rope, yarn, lotion and soap are legal products because they do not cause THC to enter the human body.
Methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant that activates certain systems in the brain. It is closely related chemically to amphetamine, but the central nervous system (CNS) effects of methamphetamine are greater. The results from taking even small amounts of methamphetamine include increased wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, hyperthermia, and euphoria. Other CNS effects include irritability, insomnia, confusion, tremors, convulsions, anxiety, paranoia, and aggressiveness. Hyperthermia and convulsions can even result in death.
MDMA is also referred to as Ecstasy, XTC, Adam, and Essence. Advertised as a "feel good" drug, people who use MDMA report feeling profoundly positive, empathy for others, elimination of anxiety, and extreme relaxation. The risks of MDMA use are withdrawal symptoms, including fatigue, loss of appetite, depressed feelings, and trouble concentrating, slight memory loss and poorer retention, interference with the body’s ability to regulate temperature, liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system failure, and death.
It's usually hard for people to recognize that they have a problem. This is why it is so important that friends and/or family step in. People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol may promise over and over that they'll stop, but quitting is hard to do! Many people find they can't do it without help. The best thing you can do is to confide to someone you trust so you don't have to deal with it alone.
Lots of resources are available for people with substance abuse problems. Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous offer information and recovery programs for teens. The Alcohol and Drug Information hotline is 1-800-729-6686.