Drugs And You By Raulie, Jackie, Gervaisey, and Toni “The Fantastic Four”

Why People Take Drugs Because: they want to fit in they want to escape or relax they're bored the media says it's cool they think it makes them seem grown-up they want to rebel they want to experiment

Common drugs Marijuana Cocaine Heroin Ecstasy Hallucinogens

Marijuana

Marijuana a.k.a. Pot, Dope, Grass, Weed, Mary Jane, Chronic, Reefer, Ganja, Kaya, Dooble, Keef What is it? Marijuana is a green or gray mixture of dried, shredded flowers and leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. It can be eaten in certain foods or smoked. It is an illegal drug. The effects vary from person to person depending on how strong the marijuana is, how it's taken and whether other drugs or alcohol are involved.

Cocaine

Cocaine a.k.a. Coke, Dust, Toot, Snow, Blow, Sneeze, Powder, Lines, Rock, Crack What is it? It is made from the coca plant and causes a short- lived high that is immediately followed by opposite, intense feelings of depression, edginess, and a craving for more of the drug. Cocaine may be snorted as a powder, converted to a liquid form for injection with a needle, or processed into a crystal form to be smoked. People who use cocaine often don't eat or sleep regularly. They can experience increased heart rate, muscle spasms, and convulsions. If they snort cocaine, they can also permanently damage their nasal tissue.

Heroin

Heroin a.k.a. Smack, Horse, Mud, Brown Sugar, Junk, Black Tar, Big H, Dope, Skag What is it? Heroin is an semi-synthetic opioid. It enters the brain quickly. It slows down the way you think, slows down reaction time, and slows down memory. This affects the way you act and make decisions. It poses special problems for those who inject it because of the risks of HIV, hepatitis B and C, and other diseases that can occur from sharing needles. These health problems can be passed on to sexual partners and newborns. Heroin is one of the top three frequently reported drugs by medical examiners in drug abuse deaths.

Ecstasy

Ecstasy a.k.a. E, X, XTC What is it? Ecstasy is illegal and often produced in makeshift laboratories and is impossible to know exactly what chemicals were used to produce it and where it came from. How strong or dangerous any illegal drug is varies each time. Ecstasy is often used at all-night dance parties (“raves”), nightclubs, and concerts. Ecstasy can damage the neurons in your brain, impairing your senses, memory, judgment, and coordination. Ecstasy is a stimulant that increases your heart rate and blood pressure and can lead to heart or kidney failure. Higher doses of ecstasy can cause severe breathing problems, coma, or even death.

Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens a.k.a. Acid, Cid, Blotter, Illusion, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, LSD, Magic Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Shrooms, PCP, Angel Dust What is it? Some hallucinogens can be found in plants, but many hallucinogens are chemicals that don't occur in nature. Hallucinogens alter how the brain perceives time, reality, and the environment around you. They also affect the way you move, react to situations, think, hear, and see. This may make you think that you're hearing voices, seeing images, and feeling things that don't exist. The impact of hallucinogens varies from time to time, so there is no way to know how much self-control you might maintain. They can cause you to mix up your speech, lose control of your muscles, make meaningless movements, and do aggressive or violent things.

HELP!! If you have a friend, sibling, or loved one that is using drugs, you are not alone. If you want to speak with someone now, call (24-hours a day/7 days a week) to be referred to a teen hotline or receive other resources.

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