Types of drug abuse:
Club drugs: This term refers to drugs being used by teens and young adults at all-night dance parties such as "raves" or "trances," dance clubs, and bars. GHB, Rohypnol (Rophies), ketamine, methamphetamine, and LSD are some of the club or party drugs gaining popularity. Because some club drugs are colorless, tasteless, and odorless, they can be added unobtrusively to beverages by individuals who want to intoxicate or sedate others. In recent years, there has been an increase in reports of club drugs used to commit sexual assaults.
MDMA, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, called (Ecstasy) is on the street. A synthetic drug
that can produce both stimulant and mild sensory-altering effects. Taken orally,lasts 3-6 hours
Who uses Ecstasy?
Ecstasy is used most often by young adults and adolescents at clubs, raves (large, all-night dance parties), and rock concerts. Its abuse is increasingly reported in metropolitan areas
What are the health hazards of using Ecstasy?
Many of the risks are similar to those found with the use of amphetamines and cocaine. Also, Ecstasy can interfere with its own metabolism (breakdown), so repeated use over a short interval of time can lead to especially harmful levels in the body. Ecstasy also is related in its structure and effects to methamphetamine, which has been shown to cause degeneration of neurons containing the neurotransmitter dopamine. Damage to these neurons is the underlying cause of the motor disturbances seen in Parkinson's disease.
Symptoms include:
Psychological difficulties, including confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug craving, severe anxiety, and paranoia -- during and sometimes weeks after taking Ecstasy (psychotic episodes have also been reported).
Physical symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, rapid eye movement, faintness, and chills or sweating.
Marked increase in body temperature
(hyperthermia), which may further be exacerbated by the hot and crowded conditions characteristic of the rave environment. Hyperthermia can lead to liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system failure.
Increases in heart rate and blood pressure, a special risk for people with circulatory or heart disease. Other cardiac effects include arrhythmia, heart muscle damage, and reductions in heart rate and blood pressure. (Initially, Ecstasy increases heart rate and blood pressure, but following repeated use, this effect is reversed.)
Ecstasy can affect the hormone that regulates the amount of sodium in the blood, which can also cause hyponatremia (water intoxication).
Chronic use of Ecstasy has been associated with memory impairment, which may indicate damage to the parts of the brain involved in memory processing.
Sometimes a rash that looks like acne will appear on the skin which has been linked with liver damage.
What are other signs of use?
Staying out very late. Most raves begin late and end at daybreak. Raves are the primary distribution point for Ecstasy and other club drugs.
Extreme or moderate irritability the day after consuming these drugs. A depletion of serotonin in the brain causes irritability the day after use.
Possessing a baby pacifier, a pacifier made of candy, lollipops, and candy necklaces. Some club drugs cause the users to clench their teeth tightly which causes discomfort. The pacifier eliminates this discomfort.
Inability to sleep.
Possession of fluorescent light sticks. Because drug users' sensory preceptors are heightened, fluorescent light sticks are popular with club drug users.
Hospital masks lined with menthol ointment. Users use them to get a vapor rush.
Use of Tiger Balm for cramps.
Children's vitamin containers are used to conceal Ecstasy tablets.
Bags of small Tootsie Rolls. These are warmed and unwrapped, Ecstasy pill pushed into the roll and re-wrapped).
Other Club Drugs include:
MDA, the parent drug of Ecstasy (MDMA), is an amphetamine-like drug that has also been abused and is similar in chemical structure to MDMA.
Research shows that MDA destroys serotonin-producing neurons in the brain, which play a direct role in regulating aggression, mood, sexual activity, sleep, and sensitivity to pain. It is probably this action on the serotonin system that gives MDA its purported properties of heightened sexual experience, tranquility, and conviviality.
GHB, gamma-hydroxybutyrate, also known as Grievous Bodily Harm, G, Liquid Ecstasy, Georgia Home Boy, Jib, Blue Nitro, is mainly used by teens and young adults -- often at raves and clubs -- and is also prominent in many gay male communities.
GHB is usually abused either for its intoxicating/sedating/euphoria-inducing properties, or for its growth hormone-releasing effects.
GHB is a central nervous system depressant and its intoxicating effects begin 10 to 20 minutes after the drug is taken. The effects typically last up to 4 hours, depending on the dosage. At higher doses, GHB's sedative effects may result in sleep, coma, or death.
GHB is taken in tablets and capsules, as well as in powder and liquid (clear) forms. It has been increasingly involved in poisonings, overdoses, date rapes, and deaths. GHB is cleared from the body relatively quickly (in approximately 2 hours). There are no GHB detection tests for use in emergency rooms and many clinicians are unfamiliar with it, so many GHB incidents go undetected.
Rohypnol, also known as Roofies, Rophies, Roche, and Forget-me Pill, belongs to the class of drugs known as benzodiazepines (which include Valium, Halcion, Xanax, and Versed). Rohypnol is not approved for prescription use in the United States, although it is used in many countries as a treatment for insomnia, as a sedative, and as a pre-surgery anesthetic.
Rohypnol is tasteless and odorless, and it dissolves easily in carbonated beverages. The sedative and toxic effects of Rohypnol become more pronounced if taken with alcohol. Even without alcohol, a dose of Rohypnol as small as 1 mg can impair a user for 8 to 12 hours.
Although Rohypnol is usually taken orally, there are reports that it can be ground up and snorted.
The drug can cause profound "anterograde amnesia" -- that is, individuals may not remember events they experienced while under the effects of the drug. It has been used in sexual assaults and date rapes, as well as robberies. Other adverse effects associated with Rohypnol include decreased blood pressure, drowsiness, visual disturbances, dizziness, confusion, gastrointestinal disturbances, and urinary retention.
LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide), also known as Acid, Boomers, and Yellow Sunshines, is a hallucinogen, inducing abnormal sensory perceptions.
The effects of LSD are unpredictable depending on the amount taken, the surroundings in which the drug is used, and the user's personality, mood, and expectations.
LSD is sold on blotter paper with cartoon characters and other pictures, in gelatin squares known as windowpane, on sugar cubes, or microdots (tablets). The term "candy-flipping" has been associated with mixing LSD and Ecstasy at the same time. Typically, a user feels the effects of LSD 30 to 90 minutes after taking it. The physical effects include dilated pupils, elevated body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors. LSD users also report numbness, weakness, trembling, and nausea.
There are two long-term disorders associated with LSD -- persistent psychosis and 'flashbacks' (hallucinogen persisting perception disorder).
Methamphetamine is commonly known as speed, meth, chalk, Christina or Tina. In its smoked form, it is often referred to as ice, crystal, crank, and glass. A white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder easily dissolves in water or alcohol. The drug is made easily in clandestine laboratories with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients. These factors combine to make methamphetamine a drug with high potential for widespread abuse. Methamphetamine's chemical structure is similar to that of amphetamine, but it has more pronounced effects on the central nervous system. Like amphetamine, it causes increased activity, decreased appetite, and a general sense of well-being.
Methamphetamine users who inject the drug and share needles are at risk for acquiring
HIV/AIDS. Methamphetamine is an increasingly popular drug at raves students
In addition, as part of a number of drugs used by college-aged. Marijuana and alcohol are commonly listed as additional drugs of abuse among methamphetamine treatment admissions.
Most of the methamphetamine-related deaths (92%) reported in 1994 involved methamphetamine in combination with at least one other drug, most often alcohol (30%), heroin (23%), or cocaine (21%)
The effects of methamphetamine can last 6 to 8 hours. After the initial "rush" or "flash," there is typically a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to violent behavior.
Methamphetamine users can be identified by:
Signs of agitation
Excited speech Bouts of insomnia.
A tendency to compulsively clean and groom and repetitively sort and disassemble objects, such as cars and other mechanical devices
Loss of appetite
Increased physical activity levels Intense paranoia
Visual and auditory hallucinations
Dilated pupils
High blood pressure
Shortness of breath
Nausea vomiting diarrhea occasional episodes of sudden and violent behavior
Inhalants: Known by such street names as huffing, sniffing and wangling, the dangerous habit of getting high by inhaling the fumes of common household products is estimated to claim the lives of more than a thousand children each year. Many other young people, including some first-time users, are left with serious respiratory problems and permanent brain damage.
Marijuana: About one, half of the people in the United States have used marijuana, many are currently using it and some will require treatment for marijuana abuse and dependence.
Stimulants: The possible long-term effects include tolerance and dependence, violence and aggression, malnutrition due to suppression of appetite. Crack, a powerfully addictive stimulant, is the term used for a smoke able form of cocaine. In 1997, an
estimated 1.5 million Americans, age 12 and older, were chronic cocaine users
Opiates :Vicodin® is a narcotic that can produce a calm, euphoric state similar to heroin or morphine--and despite such important and obvious benefits in pain relief, evidence is pointing to chronic addiction. Pure hydrocodone, the narcotic in Vicodin, is a Schedule II substance, closely controlled with restricted use. icodin--one of more than 200 other products that contain hydrocodone--is regulated by state and federal law, but it is not controlled as closely as other powerful painkillers. The lack of regulation makes them vulnerable to widespread abuse and addiction through forged prescriptions, theft, over-prescription, and "doctor shopping." Vicodin pills have been sold for $2 to $10 per tablet and $20 to $40 per 8 oz bottle on the street.
- Vicodin is structurally related to codeine and is approximately equal in strength to morphine in producing opiate-like effects. The first report that Vicodin produced a noticeable euphoria and symptoms of addiction was published in 1923; the first report of Vicodin addiction in the U.S. was published in 1961.
- Every age group has been affected by the relative ease of Vicodin availability and the perceived safety of these products by professionals. Sometimes seen as a "white-collar" addiction, Vicodin abuse has increased among all ethnic and economic groups. DAWN data demographics suggest that the most likely Vicodin abuser is a 20-40 yr old, white, female, who uses the drug because she is dependent or trying to commit suicide. However, Vicodin-related deaths have been reported from every age grouping.
References:
Straight Talk from Claudia Black: What Recovering Parents Should Tell Their Kids about Drugs and Alcohol by Claudia Black
For 20 years, parents who are recovering from addictions have been asking Claudia Black to write this book. Whether they sobered up last year or 15 years ago, there comes a time when they have questions on what to tell their kids about their past addiction. Dr. Black introduces five very different families and reveals how the parents in each family talked to their kids about recovery, relapse and the child's own vulnerability to drug and alcohol addiction
This is Ecstasy
by Gareth Thomas Frank and unbiased, here is full information -- including culture, manufacture, trafficking, medical origin, photographs, illustrations, and short and long-term effects on health -- on this infamous designer drug that venturing out of the club scene and becoming increasingly available in schools and home.
Parents under Siege: Why You Are the Solution, Not the Problem, in Your Child's Life
by James Garbarino and Claire Bedard
In this powerful and practical book, Garbarino, renowned author of Lost Boys, and child advocate Bedard offer both a tough-minded, compassionate vision of why "bad things happen to good parents" and solutions for mothers and fathers who are ready to become stronger forces in their children's lives. . .
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Directory of Family Help in the U.S. and Canada.
To learn more about methamphetamine and other drugs of abuse, contact the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) at 1-800-729-6686. Information can be accessed also through the NIDA World Wide Web site (www.nida.nih.gov/