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DRUG AWARENESS Alcohol is called a depressant drug because it slows down your brain's ability to think and to make decisions and judgments. Whether the alcohol comes in beer, wine, or liquor doesn't matter. It's the amount of alcohol in your drink, not the type of drink, that affects you. Drinking a lot of alcohol over a long time can do serious damage to your body. * Brain damage, ulcers, liver disease, malnutrition, heart disease, and various cancers are more common among heavy drinkers. * People who drink heavily are likely to die younger than people who drink lightly or not at all. * Pregnant women who drink risk having babies with birth defects, sometimes very serious ones. It is known that the more a pregnant woman drinks, the higher the risk; but it is not known whether just one or two drinks are really "safe." * Especially risky is taking a few drinks with other depressant (or "downer") drugs, such as tranquillizers and sleeping pills. The alcohol and the other drug boost the effect of each other, and a person unexpectedly may seem drunk, pass out, go into a coma, or even die. Even common non-prescription drugs such as antihistamines (for colds and allergies) can make you dopey and clumsy when you take alcohol at the same time. * Taking stimulant drugs such as caffeine, cocaine, or amphetamines after drinking a lot of alcohol isn't a good idea either. These drugs can trick you into thinking you are sober, but you're really not - you are just wider awake and more hyper. * Researchers now believe that alcohol makes the body absorb the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco and cannabis more quickly. If you drink and smoke, you may be more likely to get cancer of the mouth, neck, or throat. Steroids include a wide variety of chemicals found in both plants and animals - for example, cholesterol, toad poisons, sex hormones, and plant toxins. These drugs are used by some athletes who are trying to build up their bodies for sports and by people who think they will look better with bigger muscles. Mentally, steroids can make you aggressive (i's sometimes called "roid rage" or "killer instinct"), as well as edgy, impatient, and paranoid (seeing "enemies" everywhere). Mood swings are quite common - you feel happy one moment and depressed the next. Physically, steroids can give you headaches, nosebleeds, stomachaches, and acne, as well as cause your blood pressure to rise and your heart to beat faster. Some people complain their body becomes less flexible: their tissues retain fluids and their muscles tighten up. As well, they have more injuries while on steroids because of tendon problems. * Steroids can stop a young person from ever growing to his or her full height. It's a serious consequence and there's no second chance. * Long and heavy use of steroids can cause irreversible liver damage and hardening of the arteries that may end in a heart attack or stroke. * Personality can change for the worse. Long- term users can become extremely paranoid, even violent. Often they don't realize what is happening to them, and end up losing friends and family. * Those who inject steroids also run the risk of infections from dirty needles, and of hepatitis or AIDS if they share needles with others. In fact, recent evidence suggests that steroids affect the immune system in a way similar to AIDS. Hallucinogens are drugs that bend your mind so that you see and hear things that don't really exist - you have hallucinations. There are many drugs in this category. Some come from plants and others are made in illegal laboratories. Although such drugs as cannabis, amphetamines, and alcohol are not usually called hallucinogens, large doses of them can sometimes cause hallucinations. LSD The most powerful of the hallucinogens. It has some effects on the body, causing weakness, clumsiness, nausea, chills, enlarged pupils, and rapid heartbeat. But it mainly affects the way you think, feel and act. PSILOCYBIN The mushrooms that are its source can be dried and sold as is, or as a powder in capsules. It may make you feel relaxed or tired, and you may have mystical or "religious" experiences. PCP Effects can last as long as two weeks. Although it makes users "high" it also often makes them violent toward themselves and others. An overdose can be deadly, and PCP's effect on the mind has caused many deaths by accident, suicide, and homicide. MESCALINE Physical effects include enlarged pupils, high temperature, muscle 'weakness, and vomiting. Mental effects include/rapid mood changes; a sense of separation from your body, and a belief that you are experiencing "truth." MDA It most often makes people feel they are "in touch" with themselves. * Dealers often substitute another drug, sometimes a stronger drug, for the one you think you are getting (e.g. LSD or PCP for mescaline, psilocybin, or MDA). You don't know what you're taking or how it will affect you. * Sometimes for no obvious reason, hallucinogen. users take a "bad trip." They suddenly feel paranoid (seeing "enemies" everywhere) and intensely anxious about losing control. These feclings can lead to bizarre and even violent behavior, especially with PCP and sometimes with L.SD. 3 LN BY BL 60 1, (0 DIS | Opiates are very strong painkillers (much stronger than the pills that people take for minor pain). Morphine and codeine are drugs made from opium. Heroin is made by adding a chemical to morphine. Doctors and dentists prescribe opiates for patients who are in severe pain. Because these painkillers are addictive, they shouldn't be taken steadily for a long time. Some of the commonly used and abused opiates are codeine-containing preparations such as Tylenol #1, 2, and 3, 292's, Atasol 8, 15, and 30, Exdol 8, 15, and 30. Opiates can be dangerous if they are used without medical supervision. These drugs (especially heroin) can kill you if you seek the "high" by taking larger doses than your body is used to. With street heroin, it is easy to overdose accidentally, because the purity of the drug varies - anywhere from zero per cent on the low end to almost pure on the high end. The purer the heroin, the more likely an overdose. Many people inject opiates because the effect (called the "rush") is faster and stronger. But they run extra risks: tetanus, other infections, liver disease, and even brain damage from dirty needles and impurities in the drug, and AIDS or hepatitis from needles shared with others. Many heroin users also abuse other drugs, such as barbiturates, alcohol, cocaine, and amphetamines, with the risk of becoming hooked on these drugs as well. Pregnant women who take these drugs risk problems during pregnancy and childbirth. Their babies suffer from withdrawal symptoms and can die if not treated. Cocaine comes from the leaves of the tropical coca plant. It's a double acting drug - a powerful stimulant that speeds up your central nervous system and an anesthetic that numbs whatever tissue it touches. Injecting the drug produces a powerful, fast response that peaks in minutes and disappears within an hour. Freebase and crack are both smokable forms of cocaine and carry a kick similar to injecting the drug. Freebase gives an intense high lasting 2 to 5 minutes, which quickly fades into a restless desire for more of the drug. Crack - rock-like chunks of impure freebase - also jolts your body with a short rush of energy. Cocaine can be a serious problem, here's why. * Damage to heart tissue and rapid heartbeat can cause heart failure and sudden death even though you are otherwise healthy. * A cocaine triggered rise in blood pressure can explode weakened blood vessels in the brain, causing a stroke. * It's casy to overdose on crack, freebase, or injected cocaine - even on small amounts of the drug. You can dic from convulsions, heart failure, or the depression of vital brain centres that control breathing. * Those who inject cocaine also run the risk of infections from dirty needles and impurities in the drug, and of hepatitis or AIDS if they share needles with others. * Those who smoke cocaine risk damaging their entire breathing system. * Finally, as with other stimulant drugs, heavy or long-term use can simply cause the body to burn itself out. Insomnia, weight loss, and malnutrition arc among the first signs of a serious problem.