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Medicine and Illegal Drugs

Stimulants-Any 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 well-being (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.

• Meth users pick at their skin and rot their teeth.

Depressants

Depressants-Any 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.

RohypnolAn 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”

MarijuanaDried 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.

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

Opiates

Any drug that is produced from the milk of the opium poppy plant (grows in Europe & Asia)

Opiates• 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.

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.