Kid’s Drug Reference Guide

Why Do People do Drugs?

It Feels GoodPeer PressureReputationDepressionBoredomUrge to Try EverythingAddiction

Who makes the drugs?

Drug CompaniesChemical CompaniesCriminals

Why do people sell drugs to kids?

Alcohol – The Most Available Drug

Alcohol – Why People Like It

Feeling of cheerfulness and relaxationReduced inhibitions (feels like a party)Effect lasts only a few hours after stoppingSafe if used in moderation

Alcohol – What's the problem? Alcohol is Yummy!

Too much alcohol is Yucky!

Hangover, Loss of Control and Memory

Alcohol – Serious Risks

DUIRapeAccidental DeathAlcoholismLiver Disease

Alcohol – Serious Risks

Marijuana (Pot)

Marijuana (Pot)– Why People Like It

Makes you feel “High”RelaxedMellow“Deep Thoughts”Effect lasts only a few hours after stopping

Marijuana (Pot)Most Common illegal drugActive ingredient is called THC but it contains over 400 other chemicals! It's usually brown, green, or grayish in color, and has a very noticeable smell. Marijuana is usually smoked and sometimes eaten.Not considered physically addictive

Marijuana (Pot)

You might also feel:

•Changes in the senses (like seeing and hearing things differently or feeling extra-sensitive on your skin, Charlie Brown Head)

•Dizziness, Trouble with walking or coordination

•Laughing and/or finding everything funny

•Slow thinking, slow reflexes, slow speech

•Red eyes, Thirst and dry mouth

•Hunger

•Anxiety, Paranoia, which is the feeling that people are out to get you or that something bad will happen

Marijuana’s Effect on the Teenage Brain

Studies show regular marijuana use — once a week or more — actually changes the structure of the teenage brain, specifically in areas dealing with memory and problem solving.

That can affect cognition and academic performance, she says.

"And, indeed, we see, if we look at actual grades, that chronic marijuana-using teens do have, on average, one grade point lower than their matched peers that don't smoke pot," Lisdahl says.

In one study, researchers from Duke University analyzed data gathered over many years from people living in New Zealand. They compared IQs in childhood through age 38 among marijuana users and nonusers.

"We found that people who began using marijuana in their teenage years and then continued to use marijuana for many years lost about eight IQ points from childhood to adulthood," says study author Madeline Meier, now a professor at Arizona State University, "whereas those who never used marijuana did not lose any IQ points."

The amount people smoked also made a difference. Those who smoked the most — at least every day — saw the greatest drop in IQ, the full 8 points. And the younger they were when they started using cannabis, the greater the IQ decline.

It wasn't just IQ. Adults who smoked marijuana as teenagers did worse in tests of memory and decision-making than adults who hadn't smoked pot.

Marijuana’s Effect on the Teenage Brain

Six percent of high school seniors say they use pot every day, which is triple the rate over the past decade. And, the marijuana they smoke is much more potent than it was in the 1970s, with far higher levels of THC, the main mind-altering ingredient.

"The higher the THC levels, the more brain changes there are and the more there is the risk for addiction," the University of Wisconsin's Lisdahl says.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/02/25/282631913/marijuana-may-hurt-the-developing-teen-brain

Marijuana’s Risks

It is still illegal. Police officers, judges, and government leaders take marijuana very seriously, and the consequences of getting caught with it can be very tough.

Like alcohol, marijuana affects a person's judgment and slows down reflexes, making it very dangerous, and also illegal, to drive a car while under its influence.

While most doctors and scientists don't consider marijuana physically addictive, it can still be habit forming because users get used to being on the drug.

Marijuana’s Real Danger

Marijuana can rob people of energy and ambition, meaning that they will be less likely to succeed and make something out of their lives. The classic "pothead" doesn't really want to do much more than get high!

Trying hard or doing well in life is looked down upon as “uncool”.

Missed opportunities. Life will pass you by and leave you behind.

Club Drugs

Ecstasy (MDMA) is a man-made drug that has some of the properties of an amphetamine and some properties of a hallucinogen (like LSD). It's usually a pill or tablet, often with a design or logo pressed into it.

GHB is a steroid that was once sold to people who wanted to get muscles faster. It's a depressant, meaning that it's supposed to make you feel more calm. It may be a white powder, clear liquid, or capsule.

Rohypnol is a powerful prescription drug (illegal in the USA) that's used to treat insomnia in many countries. It's a small white tablet that has no smell or taste when dissolved in a drink. It is also called roofies and the Date Rape Drug

Ecstasy- Why People Like It

It’s a stimulant. Makes you want to dance all night.It lowers your inhibitionsExpanded sensory awareness

Ecstasy- RisksThe stimulant effects of the drug, which give people the ability to dance for extended periods, combined with the hot, crowded conditions usually found at raves and club, can lead to dehydration, hyperthermia, and heart or kidney failure. Ecstasy tablets are produced in all types of illegal and home labs, so there's no way of knowing exactly how much MDMA, or other dangerous substances, might be in a particular pill. Because Ecstasy lowers your inhibitions, you could easily find yourself in a situation where someone can take advantage of you in some way. Doesn’t mix well with alcohol

GBH- RisksSame as ecstasy plus…GHB can have severe withdrawal effects (effects that start after you stop using the drug) like insomnia, anxiety, trembling, and sweating. Mixing with alcohol (another depressant) can be fatal.

Rohypnol - RisksThe biggest risk is that you don’t know you are taking it!Users experiences blackouts making them vulnerable to assault.Mixing with alcohol (another depressant) can be fatal.

Inhalants An "inhalant" is usually a liquid or gas that was never meant to be used as a drug, like the stuff that's inside a colored marker or the gas in a can of whipped cream that enables you to spray it.

Some people like to inhale these substances to get a short "high" or feel like their mind has been altered. As you may know, many young people like to abuse inhalants because they're easy to get and cheaper than other kinds of drugs.

Inhalants Risks Inhalants are just as dangerous, and sometimes even more dangerous, as other drugs.

The big, serious health risks are: ◦ Permanent hearing loss ◦ Damage to nervous system ◦ Brain damage ◦ Blood oxygen depletion ◦ Liver damage ◦ Kidney damage ◦ Heart failure ◦ Suffocation ◦ Death

Inhalants Risks Using inhalants is a problem because:

Even though the "high" from inhalants only lasts a few minutes, people try to make it last longer by using the inhalant again and again. All these inhalations will make someone feel less in control, and they can eventually lose consciousness.

Sniffing highly concentrated amounts of the chemicals in solvents or aerosol sprays can cause immediate heart failure and death within minutes. This is known as "sudden sniffing death," and is usually connected with the abuse of butane, propane, and chemicals in aerosols.

A New Risk

Addiction is a state that is characterized by either compulsive repetition in a rewarding behavior, despite adverse consequences.

Compulsive means you can’t stop! You are no longer in control.

Addiction

Addiction occurs when the body has to adjust to the substance by incorporating the substance into its "normal" functioning. This state creates the conditions of tolerance and withdrawal.

Tolerance is the process by which the body continually adapts to the substance and requires increasingly larger amounts to achieve the original effects.

Withdrawal refers to physical and psychological symptoms experienced when reducing or discontinuing a substance that the body has become dependent on. Symptoms of withdrawal generally include but are not limited to anxiety, irritability, intense cravings for the substance, nausea, hallucinations, headaches, cold sweats, and tremors.

Methamphetamines (Meth) Also known as meth, speed, crank, croak, crypto, crystal, chalk, glass, white cross, ice

Methamphetamines (Meth) Methamphetamine is a very powerful drug that actually changes how the brain works and speeds up various functions of the body.

It's produced from various chemical ingredients in illegal labs, and takes the form of a white or yellow powder.

Sometimes it appears in large chunks or small pieces, like broken glass. "Crystal Meth" is the nickname for a very pure, powerful form of methamphetamine, and looks like chunks of ice. Methamphetamine can be swallowed, snorted, smoked, or injected with needles.

Methamphetamines (Meth) Why People Like It?

A short "rush" or "flash" of intense happiness

Methamphetamines (Meth) Risks

The big, serious health risks are:

Increased heart rate

Increased blood pressure

Irregular heartbeat

Breathing problems

Extreme weight loss

Brain damage similar to the kind caused by strokes or Alzheimer's disease.

Heart failure

Coma

Stroke

Death

Methamphetamines (Meth) Risks

It's extremely addictive, and addiction can happen quickly.

People use it will develop tolerance, meaning that they eventually need more and more of the drug to get the same effect (slave effect).

Users often have rotting teeth and foul breath.

Users can go on binges, often staying up for several days to well over a week without sleep.

Crystal Meth and methamphetamine can cause violent and unpredictable behavior.

Meth Before and After

Meth Before and After

How Come Nobody is Smiling?

Meth is not worth the risk.

Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens are a category of drugs that affect the brain in such a way that a person's perceptions -- meaning their sights, sounds, feelings, and how they judge time -- become very different and unreal.

Hallucinogens can also cause changes with emotions, memory, and judgment.

Common Hallucinogens – LSD (acid), PCP (angel dust), Magic Mushrooms (shrooms)

Hallucinogens – LSD (dropping acid)

LSD is a very powerful drug made with a chemical found in a fungus. It was originally developed as a treatment for mental patients, but doctors soon learned that it was too unpredictable to be useful.

In the 1960's, many people took LSD because they believed the drug "expanded the mind."

LSD is usually found as pieces of thin paper sprayed with the drug, which are eaten, or in liquid or gelatin form.

LSD Effects Changes in personality and mood Mood swings Hallucinations Delusions Intense fear Confused senses, like "seeing sounds" and "hearing colors" Sweating Loss of appetite Sleeplessness Dry mouth Tremors

You Get Both the Good and the Bad

What is a Good Trip Like - http://youtu.be/P7xdNsi7WBg

Good and Bad Trips Coexist - http://youtu.be/cx_45Z56ZQA

What a Bad Trip is Like - http://youtu.be/fL2nJrEqx2k

You Get Both the Good and the Bad

Using LSD is a problem because:

Scary hallucinations can make people panic, which can lead them into dangerous situations.

LSD "flashbacks" are very common, with the drug's effects returning without warning from a few days to a year later.

Users develop tolerance, meaning that they eventually need more and more of the drug to get the same effect.

Cocaine and Crack Cocaine is a white powder that is snorted through the nose, smoked, or injected with a needle into the bloodstream.

Crack is cocaine that has been processed until it looks like little chunks of crystal or ice, and it's usually smoked (the name comes from the crackling sound it makes when someone does this).

Cocaine and crack are very powerful brain stimulants and are highly addictive.

Cocaine and Crack Why People Like It?

◦ Euphoria, which is another name for a "rush" of well-being◦ Temporarily increased energy

Cocaine and Crack You may also experience…

◦ Dilated pupils◦ Insomnia (the inability to sleep)◦ Restlessness◦ Anxiety◦ Irritability◦ Aggression◦ Paranoia, the feeling that people are out to get you or that

something bad will happen

Cocaine and Crack Serious Health Risks…

◦ Nosebleeds and damage to the nose tissue ◦ Increased temperature, heart rate and blood pressure ◦ Cardiac arrest (the heart stops) ◦ Seizures ◦ Respiratory arrest (breathing stops)

Cocaine and Crack Risks of using…

◦ Cocaine and Crack are very, very addictive, and it can be incredibly difficult to quit.

◦ Users develop tolerance, meaning that they eventually need more and more of the drug to get the same effect.

◦ The high from cocaine is very short, and is replaced by a "crash" that can leave someone tired, irritable, and depressed.

Cocaine and Crack Did you know that…

◦ Until 1903, Coca-Cola included a significant amount of cocaine in each bottle

Heroin Heroin is an opiate, which means that it comes from a flower called the opium poppy.

Opiates are used in hospitals as painkillers for patients in serious pain from injury, surgery, or illness; morphine is another opiate that you might see used for medical purposes.

Heroin is a brown or white powder that is sometimes snorted or smoked. Most of the time, users turn it into a liquid and inject the drug into their veins with a needle.

HeroinWhy People Like It?

•Euphoria, a "rush" of intense well-being •Reduced pain

Why Choose Life when you can Choose Heroin

http://youtu.be/W89cZHJ9q1w

HeroinYou might also experience…

•Dry mouth•Droopy eyelids and smaller pupils•Flushed skin•Heavy arms and legs•Slow thinking and movement•Slow and slurred speech•Periods of sleepiness, sometimes called "the nod"•Vomiting•Constipation

Major problems…

•High Risk of Death by overdose

•Heroin is one of the most physically addictive drugs in the world, and breaking the addiction can be very difficult.

•Users develop tolerance, meaning that they eventually need more and more of the drug to get the same effect.

•Because heroin can be expensive, users often turn to crime to get drug money.

•Sharing needles can lead to infectious diseases, including hepatitis and AIDS.

•Quitting the drug or "kicking the habit" can lead to bad withdrawal symptoms, including pain, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, cold flashes, and an incredible craving to return to the drug.

•Quitting suddenly, called "going cold turkey," can lead to death in long-term addicts in bad health.

Prescription Medicines

As you probably know, prescription drugs can really improve a person's life if given to him or her by a doctor and used in the right way. But it's becoming more and more common these days for people to abuse these drugs, especially because they may be easier to get.

Prescription Medicines Pain Relievers (opioids)

◦ morphine, codeine, "brand names" like oxycodone (OxyContin), propoxyphene (Darvon), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid).

◦ Taking a large single dose could cause severe breathing problems or be fatal.

◦ Can be very addictive.

◦ Dangerous drug interactions (no doctor or pharmacists supervision)

Prescription Medicines

You may be thinking: "If doctors use these drugs to relieve pain, how can they be bad for us?" The difference is that when a prescription drug is "abused," it's not being used correctly, and this can lead to big problems.

Prescription Medicines

Every day in the US, 2,500 youth (12 to 17) abuse a prescription pain reliever for the first time.

Depressants, opioids and antidepressants are responsible for more overdose deaths (45%) than cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and amphetamines (39%) combined.

In the United States, the most deaths used to take place in inner cities in African-American neighborhoods, but they have now been overtaken by white rural communities.

Prescription Medicines

Ritalin

Ritalin is a medication prescribed for people (usually kids) who have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Ritalin is a pill or tablet that has a calming effect on those who take it as medication.

Some people abuse the drug by crushing it up and then snorting the powder or injecting it as a liquid. When abused, Ritalin acts as a stimulant (similar to methamphetamine or cocaine).

So Why do People take Drugs?

Peer Pressure

Sometimes when people feel lonely and bad about themselves, they think that being part of a group, even a group of drug users, will make everything better. Of course, drug use usually makes self-esteem problems worse, not better, and eventually kids who cave in to peer pressure might wake up and realize that they're hanging out with people who aren't fun to be around.

So Why do People take Drugs?

A Drug’s Reputation

Some people choose to do a specific drug because of all the things they hear about it. They may have heard that a certain drug makes music better to listen to, or makes you feel more relaxed in social situations. The truth is that the people making and selling illegal drugs won't tell you about all their serious negative effects.

So Why do People take Drugs?

Depression

When people get overwhelmed by sadness or experience clinical depression, they may look at drugs as an escape from the real world for a little while. The tragic part about this is that illegal drugs almost always make depression worse.

So Why do People take Drugs?

Boredom

Some people just aren't very creative, and can't think of healthy, legal ways to have fun. They may start doing drugs because they think it will be an interesting way to kill time, and end up doing serious damage to their bodies and brains.

So Why do People take Drugs?

The urge to "try everything."

Growing up means experiencing lots of new things in life and exploring who you are as a person. Some people take this to the extreme and think of drugs as something they have to experience for themselves in order to feel more mature.

But the fact is, you can't try every experience that's out there, and it may not be the best idea to try something just so you can say that you did. Explore and experience, but take the time to choose the experiences that are right for you.

So Why do People take Drugs?

Addiction

Most drugs are habit-forming, meaning that once you start taking them, it's very difficult to stop. Maybe a person was given a prescription painkiller by a doctor, and took it more often than she was supposed to, and became addicted. Maybe a person just wanted to try a drug for a little while to see what all the fuss was about, and before he knew it, he couldn't stop.

Addiction is very powerful, and can turn a drug "experimentation" into something that lasts a very long time and ruins a person's life.

References Sources:

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/body/drugabuse/article2.html

http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/prescription/abuse-international-statistics.html