Drugs Who's Who

The pressures on young people to buy and take drugs are growing, so it's to your advantage to know the facts. And here they are... a rundown of the main drugs and their effects.

LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide):

What is it? LSD is an hallucinogenic drug that comes in tiny squares of paper, often with a picture on one side or as very small tablets

What does it do? LSD can have a powerful, often unpredictable effect on your mind. Users may experience their surroundings in a very different way, including the distortion of objects, movement, vision and hearing. Hallucinations are also common. The effects are commonly known as a -??trip', and may last for 8 to 12 hours. Much depends on the strength of the drug, the user's mood, their location and surroundings. Some users experience flashbacks of past -??trips' for a long time afterwards.

What if I take it? Once the -??trip-? starts, there's no way of stopping it until the effects subside. Bad trips can be terrifying, and can seem very real. Dizziness, disorientation, fear, paranoia, and panic may arise. The likelihood of a bad trip will increase if you are in a bad mood, anxious, nervous, uncomfortable or have a history of mental problems. A bad trip can make you feel very threatened and shaken for a long time afterwards. If you do intend to use LSD, you should make sure that you are with someone who you trust and feel safe with who is not using it, so that they can help you through any problems you experience.

HEROIN:

What is it? Heroin is a painkilling drug made from morphine, which is derived from the opium poppy. It comes as a brownish-white powder and can be injected, smoked or sniffed. It is very addictive. Morphine, Codeine, Pethidine, Diconal, DF118's and Methadone have similar effects and drawbacks to heroin.

What does it do? In small doses, heroin can give you a profound sense of warmth and well being. Larger doses can lead to drowsiness. Heroin in excessive doses can result in overdose or coma that can be fatal.

What if I take it? The first time you use it, you may feel or be sick, especially after injecting. From there, your habit may well spiral out of control and once addicted, you will suffer from withdrawal symptoms, including muscle cramps, sweating, the chills, fever and anxiety if you can't get hold of heroin. It can be very difficult to stop using heroin, and if you try you'll experience a period of diarrhoea, insomnia, vomiting, hot and cold sweats, and cramps. This is known as - cold turkey'.

Long term use, especially by injection, which gets the drug into the bloodstream quickly, can lead to blood infections (like HIV and hepatitis) and abscesses, particularly if shared injecting equipment is used.

ECSTASY:

What is it? Ecstasy is a combined stimulant with hallucinogenic effects. The chemical name for ecstasy is 3, 4 Methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) and usually comes in white tablets or capsules. Different ecstasy tablets may differ in strength or may not be ecstasy at all. This has a huge influence on the effects you'll experience after taking it.

What does it do? Taking it gives you energy and alters your perception of reality. Sound, colour and emotions can seem much more intense, and the buzz you get from ecstasy means that you can dance for hours. It increases your positive feelings towards others which is why it is often referred to as the love drug.

What if I take it? As the drug kicks in, users may experience an initial rush of nervousness, and uncertainty, a tightening of the jaw, an increased heart rate, sweating and nausea. Continual use can cause convulsions, sleeplessness, personality changes and paranoia, liver/kidney damage and occasionally brain damage. The few deaths that have been related to ecstasy use are due to the user having an allergic reaction, or drinking too little or too much fluid. If someone drinks too much water it is absorbed into the blood and results in the brain swelling, leading to collapse, coma or in some cases death. If you do take ecstasy make sure you keep cool if you're dancing, and sip small amounts of water (preferably not fizzy to prevent dehydration).

After the effects have subsided, you might feel tired and depressed for days.

CANNABIS:

What is it? This is the most widely available of all drugs, and comes in a lot of forms, including lumps of resin, leaves, stalks, seeds and oil. It is smoked or eaten.

What does it do? Getting - stoned' on cannabis makes you relaxed and talkative. It heightens your senses, especially when it comes to colours, taste, and music. It relaxes you. Cooking and eating hash makes the effects more intense and harder to control.

What if I take it? You can become psychologically dependent on it. It can also cause memory loss, panic attacks and paranoia, and smoking it causes more damage to your lungs than tobacco. When people start smoking cannabis at a young age, and do so on a regular basis, they may increase their chances of experiencing mental health difficulties later on in life. Getting - stoned' affects your co-ordination and increases the risk of accidents, so think hard before getting in a car if you think that the driver is stoned. There is also evidence to suggest that it can affect your fertility, whether you're male or female. Some employers these days drug test employees, so you should remember that cannabis can also be detected in the urine for up to 30 days after you have taken it, especially if you're a regular user.

AMPHETAMINES:

What are they? These are stimulants available in tablet or powder form. It can be snorted, injected or swallowed.

What do they do? Amphetamines give a sustained burst of energy, and can make you more talkative and confident for a while. But they can also cause aggression and violent moodswings, and you can't sleep or relax whilst speeding, which can cause exhaustion.

What if I take it? Amphetamines are psychologically addictive, and tolerance can develop rapidly (you need more and more to get the same high you got the first time you used). Regular users run the risk of serious weight loss, depression, paranoia and heart problems, not to mention blood borne viruses, if it is injected.

COCAINE and CRACK:

What is it? Cocaine comes in white powder form, and is either snorted or injected. Crack is smokeable cocaine. It comes in crystal form (rocks) and is usually smoked with a pipe, but can also be prepared for injection.

What does it do? Cocaine is a powerful stimulant with similar effects and drawbacks to those of amphetamines. It produces feelings of well being, mental exhilaration and euphoria. The sensations often last between 15-30 minutes, followed immediately by a - coming down' period. Anxiety, paranoia, depression, and often the inability to sleep can occur during the come down period, which encourages you to repeat the dose in order to maintain the effect. Other effects can include tremors, muscle twitching, a rapid pulse, nausea, anxiety, high blood pressure, cold sweats and mood changes.

Crack has similar effects to cocaine, but the sensations associated with using it are more intense and shorter lived (about 10 minutes), with a more unpleasant comedown. It causes high blood pressure that can lead to heart problems.

What if I take it? Chronic sneezing, frequent nosebleeds, and nasal congestion can happen if you snort cocaine, and repeated snorting can cause serious damage to the membranes lining the nose and the structure separating the nostrils. The mucous membranes may become so irritated and inflamed that sores develop inside the nostrils. If you use it regularly you can develop a strong psychological dependence on it.

POPPERS:

What are they? Poppers is the name for a group of chemicals called butyl alkyl nitrates. They come as liquids in small bottles, and the vapour is inhaled.

What do they do? You get an instant rush that lasts for only a few minutes, and you'll probably be left with a headache.

What if I take them? As well as headaches, you may feel sick and dizzy, or pass out.

SOLVENTS AND GASES:

What are they? These include aerosols, lighter fuels, glues, cleaning fluids, gas, chemical solvents, paint stripper, correcting fluids and propellant fluids. You take them by inhaling the vapours of these products into your lungs.

What do they do? The experience of solvent inhalation is like being intensely drunk for a short period of time. Your breathing and heart rate slow down, and a feeling of unreality kicks in. You may feel thickheaded, dizzy, giggly, and dreamy, and you may feel sick. The effects last between 15 to 45 minutes. Headaches and/or feelings of drowsiness are common after-effects.

What if I take it? Solvents and gases are very dangerous to inhale and can cause hallucinations, illusions, stomach cramps and facial inflammation. You could also risk damage to your heart, lungs, kidneys and liver. Around a third of the young people who die every year from using solvents were using them for the first time. Accidental death or injury can happen -?? steer clear of unsafe environments such as a canal or river bank, on a roof or near a busy road or train line. Sniffing to the point of becoming unconscious also means that you risk death through choking on your own vomit.

TRANQUILLISERS:

What are they? These are medicines prescribed by doctors to treat sleeping disorders, anxiety and depression. They come in tablets or capsules for swallowing, and are often used by people to lessen the effects of stimulant drugs.

What do they do? Tranquillisers relieve anxiety, and lead to drowsiness. Effects can last up to 36 hours, depending on which drug is used and how much is taken.

What if I take them? You'll quickly develop a tolerance to them, and you'll need more and more to get the same effects. They are extremely addictive, and withdrawal is very difficult leading to sickness, panic attacks, sleeplessness and irritability. If you combine taking them with other drugs, particularly alcohol, it increases the chances of serious health problems.

KETAMINE:

What is it? It is an anaesthetic used in both human and veterinary medicine.

What does it do? It causes very powerful hallucinations and out of body experiences that can last for several hours.

What if I take it? Ketamine lowers your sensitivity to pain, so if you injure yourself whilst using it, you might not realise it. Because its action is through the brain, you risk experiencing unpleasant hallucinations and mental health problems, which may take you some time to recover from.