Drugs
Drugs
Drugs
The Bottom Line: Meth is powerfully addictive and damaging to your body and brain.
Faces ofMeth
HEROIN
Heroin is a highly addictive drug. Overdose is a real, and deadly risk. Heroin is an opiate, a class of
drugs that are either naturally derived from the flowers of the poppy plant, or synthetic substitutes.
In the case of heroin, it’s produced from morphine, a naturally occurring substance that comes from
the seedpod of poppy plants. It carries a strong risk of addiction and physical dependence. Heroin
is
abused by injecting, snorting or smoking it, and all three can cause the same level of addiction, as
well as serious health problems. Targets and stimulates brain’s natural reward system.
AKA: Smack, horse, brown sugar, dope, H, junk, skag, skunk, white horse, China white, Mexican black
tar
Short Term Effects Long Term Effects
- Suppressed breathing - Infection of the heart lining
- Nausea and vomiting and valves
- Blood clots can form - Liver disease
and travel to the lungs, - Lung disease
liver, heart or brain, - Hepatitis and
which is instantly fatal. HIV/AIDS from needle
- Addiction and use
physical dependency
in a short amount of
time
The Bottom Line: It’s a fast high, but just as quickly, it can take over your
life and be fatal. Heroin and other opiate addictions are treatable,
but the path to recovery requires a commitment that can
often last years or even decades
COCAINE
Cocaine is a highly addictive drug that can be risky even the first time you use it. It is a
hydrochloride salt derived from processed extracts of the leaves of the coca plant.
Overstimulates the brain’s natural reward system, causing it to be a highly addictive drug.
AKA: Blow, bump, C, candy, Charlie, coke, snow
The Bottom Line: Using cocaine even once is dangerous, and the more you use it, the worse the
effects are on your brain and heart. Cocaine-related deaths are often caused by cardiac arrest
or seizures, followed by respiratory failure.
CRACK-COCAINE
Crack-cocaine is the crystal form of cocaine, which normally comes in powder form. It comes in
solid blocks or crystals varying in color from yellow to pale rose or white. Crack is heated and
smoked, which allows it to reach the brain more quickly and brings an immediate and intense –
but short lived- high. Addiction can develop even more rapidly if the substance is smoked. An
abuser can become addicted after his or her first time trying crack.
AKA: Crumbs, hard rock, rock, crack, apple jacks, tornado, snow coke, sugar block, ice cube
Whitney Houston
Singer & Actress
Cause of Death: Complications of cocaine
and heart disease (2012, Age 48)
Amy Winehouse
Michael Jackson
Singer
Pop Singer and Icon
Cause of Death: Fatal
Cause of Death: Cardiac arrest,
alcohol poisoning;
acute propofol intoxication,
alcoholism
various prescription drugs (2009,
(2011, Age 27)
Age 50)
Heath Ledger
Actor
Cause of Death: Combined drug
toxicity due to oxycodone,
hydrocodone, alprazolam, diazepam,
temazepan, doxylamine (2008, Age 28)
CONSEQUENCES OF DRUG USE- ON CHILDREN
• MISCARRIAGES
• PREMATURE BIRTH
• LOW BIRTH WEIGHT
• BIRTH DEFECTS
• DEVELOPMENTAL PROBLEMS
CONSEQUENCES OF DRUG USE-
SOCIETY
Brains from addicts are different from the brains of people who are not addicted. It is
difficult, in some cases impossible, to return the brain to normal. Because drug abuse
and addiction have so many dimensions and disrupt so many aspects of an individual's
life, treatment is not simple. Effective treatment programs typically incorporate many
components, each directed to a particular aspect of the illness and its consequences.
Addiction treatment must help the individual stop using drugs, maintain a drug-free
lifestyle, and achieve productive functioning in the family, at work, and in society.
Because addiction is typically a chronic disease, people cannot simply stop using drugs
for a few days and be cured. Most patients require long-term or repeated episodes of
care to achieve the ultimate goal of sustained abstinence and recovery of their lives.
IS IT WORTH THE RISK?
TRYING A DRUG MIGHT COST YOU MUCH MORE THAN YOU
BARGAINED FOR. IS IT WORTH THE RISK?
DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS TO YOURSELF?
SOURCES
www.drugabuse.gov
www.pubs.niaaa.nih.gov
www.liverfoundation.org
www.ncadd.org
www.nim.nih.gov
www.who.int/tobacco
www.cds.gov/tobacco/data-statistics
www.abovetheinfluence.com
www.lakeviewhealth.com
www.drugfreeworld.org
www.webmd.com/baby/drug-use-and-pregnancy
www.drugabuse.gov/treatment-approaches
www. drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/anabolic-steroids