Ecstasy

Ecstasy which is also known as tab, ecty, happy face, disco burgers, doves etc..... Ecstasy is a tablet that is hand made using very dangerous chemicals. Ecstasy has become a very popular drug taken by hundreds of people around the world. It is mainly taken for the party moods, where you can dance the whole night away.

Ecstasy usually takes effect 20 to 30 minutes after you have taken it, it is taken by the mouth and wears off about 3 to 4 hours after it has been consumed. The taker can feel and see things much nicer then it was and also your hearing sounds are better which put you in a dancing mood particularly when the music has a strong rhythm. Ecstasy puts you in a relaxing mood, sleepiness, sexual behavior and in easy temperment.

Afterward, it can cause exhaustion and depression after ecstasy has been consumed and worn out of the body system. The side effects are sweating constantly, chills, blurry vision, increase of the heart rate, it can also cause internal bleeding, damage the liver and kidney and cause heavy period for girls.

PCP is applied to cigarettes or marijuana and smoked

Phencyclidine, commonly known as PCP, is the most dangerous of the hallucinogens. It is sold on the streets under at least fifty other names that reflect its range of bi zarre and volatile effects. Included in those names are angel dust, supergrass, killer weed, K J, embalming fluid, rocket fuel and sherms. In some areas of the country, it is called crystal (not to be confused with methamphetamines). PCP is sometimes passed off as other drugs such as mescaline, LSD, THC, or cocaine.

In its pure form, PCP is a white, crystalline powder that readily dissolves in water. Most PCP is manu- factured in makeshift laboratories containing contaminants that cause the drug's color to range from tan to brown and the consistency from powder to a gummy mass. It is seen most often in powder or liquid form, and is commonly applied to dark brown cigarettes or leafy materials such as parsley, mint, oregano, marijuana, or tobacco, and then smoked. When in its liquid form, PCP is packaged in small vials or other small glass containers.

If your child is under the influence of PCP, he or she may show many of the signs of LSD use, such as appearing detached from reality or estranged from his or her surroundings. Other symptoms include rapid and involuntary eye movement, an exaggerated walk, numbness, slurred speech, blocked speech, and a loss of coordination.

PCP is unique because of its power to produce psychosis indistinguishable from schizophrenia. It can cause extraordinary strength, a sense of invulnerability, and extreme image distortion. The user may become violent, causing injury to himself or others. Although such extreme psychotic reactions are usually associated with repeated use of the drug, they have been known to occur in some cases after only one dose. As with LSD, if your child is under the influence of PCP, he or she should be closely supervised so they do not harm themselves or others.

PCP episodes, or flashbacks, may occur long after the drug has left the body.

Narcotics

Well known for their medical use of relieving severe pain, narcotics are commonly abused drugs because of their euphoric effect and highly addictive quality. Most of the drugs in this category are administered orally or through intramuscular injection, and can be legally obtained under medical supervision. But narcotics such as heroin, opium, morphine, and codeine are frequently sold on the illicit market to addicts. (Not as well known are the narcotics hydromorphone, meperidine, and methadone.)

When narcotics are regularly used, the body eventually demands more of the drug in order to achieve the same high, which is known as developing a drug tolerance. Withdrawal symptoms such as watery eyes, runny nose, yawning and perspiration will develop only six to eight hours following the last use of the drug. Within 48 to 72 hours, more severe withdrawal symptoms may develop, including restlessness, irritability, appetite loss, tremors, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and chills alternating with excessive sweating. It may take one to two weeks for the body to return to "normal."

LSD comes in liquid form and is applied to paper or pills and swallowed

LSD comes in liquid form and is applied to paper or pills and swallowed

LSD is an extremely powerful hallucinogen that was popular in the '60s and is becoming popular once again. It is an odorless and colorless chemically manufactured drug. Street names for the drug include acid, blotter acid, microdot, and white lightning, and the street name for the duration of the hallucinogenic effect or high is called a "trip."

Because LSD is so potent, the dosage needed for a trip is incredibly small. A microscopic drop of the drug can be put on paper, small gelatin squares, or any other absorbant material and ingested.

Anything that can be swallowed can be used as a carrier for LSD.

The hallucinogenic effect of LSD can last from two to twelve hours. During this time, judgment may be impaired, visual perception may seem distorted, and hallucinations may occur (the sense of reality may become highly distorted).

Physical effects of LSD include dilated pupils, elevated body temperature, high blood pressure, hallucinations, and a disoriented sense of direction, distance, and time. Bad trips can result in panic, paranoia, anxiety, loss of control, confusion, and psychosis. If your child is under the influence of LSD, he or she should be closely supervised so they do not harm themselves or others.

One possible side effect of LSD is called a "flashback". For several years after taking the drug, the hallucinogenic effect of the drug may reappear temporarily and without warning.

Cocaine

Cocaine which is also known as coke, or snow. Cocaine is a white crystaline powder mix with talcum powder or fine sugar, it can be sniffed through a straw or a rolled paper or it can also be smoked or injected into the body. Sniffing cocaine can damage the nasal membrane.

Cocaine is know as a medicine used by many doctors around the world as a pain killer.

Cannabis

Cannabis which is also known on the streets, bars etc...as dope, pot, draw, grass and weed. When you smoke it it makes you talk alot, cheers you up, relaxes you and you can find things much more colourful and beautiful. Many users can also find themselves on the eating buzz.

Cannabis causes bloodshot eyes, toubles your heartbeat and makes your mouth and throat very dry. It can also cause panic attacks and make you very paranoid but the symptoms usually disappear after a few hours.

Heavy cananbis user's can cause brain damage, short term memory, and may cause lung cancer, in some women it can cause irregular periods or even heavy periods, and agressive behaviour.

Alcohol

Drinking large amounts of alcoholic drinks such as wine, beer and spirits can lead to every day drinking and put you in financial problems. What may seem as a little bit of light fun to loosen you up could end up becoming an every day habit that you may not be able to control. The dangers of consuming alcohol are enormous from kidney and liver damage, cancerous tumors and damage to your brain and eyesight. Consuming alcohol whilst pregnant can be very harmful to the unborn baby causing premature birth and birth defects. In the long run, it can delay the development of the child throughout its growth as well as cause bad behavior, falling back in school, and various health problems. There is a high risk of fetal alcohol syndrome in the offspring of alcoholic women. Smoking cigarettes doesn't help and can cause lung cancer and be harmful to unborn babies.


The effects of alcoholism, both physical and psychological, are devastating with the consequences being harmful to not only the drinker, but those around him or her. From your first drink, the effects are immediately apparent as one's judgment and coordination becomes impaired. It becomes abused when it takes control of one's physical and mental health and negatively impacts on family, social and work responsibilities.


Here are five physical alcohol effects:

Reduced inhibitions

Memory loss/passing out

Losing control of muscles and body coordination

Coma

Stupor


Short term effects include hangovers, fatigue, headaches, nausea and the effects of continued alcohol abuse include malnutrition, brain damage, liver damage, heart muscle damage, high blood pressure, nerve damage, pancreatitis, increased cancer risks, esophagus bleeding, erectile dysfunction in men, insomnia and depression.

Medication bought in super markets

Taking medication such as painkillers & sleeping pills can make drastic changes to your system, which means that your body can become use to it. If dependency occurs, eventually over time, your body tends to depend on these medications to function normally at all times. When medication (painkillers etc....) are withdrawn, this causes weakness to your body which make you increase the normal dosage.

Drugs in High Schools

It’s a bright, sunny afternoon. The halls, between class periods, are bustling with anxious high school students conversing excitedly with others. Faintly, a student can be heard asking another peer, “How much for an 1/8 g of chronic?” This isn’t a dark and dangerous alley where this drug exchange is occurring. It’s a relatively middle class high school in suburban San Diego.


There is still a belief among adults that drugs cannot possibly be in schools and are not exchanged among adolescent students. Junior Erika Rubalcaba says that, “ parents are naive because they don’t want to believe that their own child is involved in drugs.”


After all, school is supposed to be a safe haven, right? Wrong. The truth is, it’s not.


It’s not uncommon before school for some students to smoke marijuana after their parents drop them off. Not only that, it is often done right on the school campus often far, like the football field, where faculty don’t consider anything mischievous.


Statistics, by the American Medical Association, show that approximately 76 % of high school students say drugs are kept, used, or sold on school grounds.


One senior said that they do drugs because it was a sort of “false happiness beyond belief. It was a relaxed feeling that can’t be described because it sort of takes you out of reality into a surreal world where everything seems easy going.”


Drugs are everywhere. And having them around school makes them feel even more pressured by other kids to do them. Drugs, are often a crutch for people to lean on and make them feel good. In other words adolescents feel it gets rid of worries from their everyday lives. Others begin by trying the illicit substance then become hooked on it.


It’s as easy as walking up to a student and asking where they get their drugs. In high schools everywhere, obtaining drugs are all about having connections, knowing those who sell them. Those who sell them are also the ones who have the major connections.


Many students who use drugs regularly depend on the drug dealers for stashes of marijuana. How exactly do these young kids obtain the drugs to sell?


One such dealer, around 17, with a baby face and hazel eyes isn’t what is typically thought of as selling drugs. The truth be told, dealers range in all shapes and sizes. It just so happens this young faced teen became mixed up in a drug induced world-early in high school.


One student drug dealer revealed that he gets the marijuana from a guy who makes trips to Arizona. He in response passes it on to the young kids who then sell it to their fellow students.


Teens sell drugs because they think its quick cash. There is not real labor involved and they might think they are not old enough to work a real job and need money so they sell it.


It’s a materialist world we live in and kids are influenced to want the best. Money is the only way to reach this high life. And selling drugs is often the easiest and best way to get money.


Recent studies show that, “American teenagers are cutting off their use of marijuana,” according to the Department of Health and Human Services in all age groups from 394 schools. But marijuana still remains as the most “popular” illicit substance among students.


The fact remains that drugs continue to be prevalent in schools. It is hard to say that drugs will one day be wiped out. The reality is its difficult to stop a cycle that has already been consumed in society.

Methamphetamine - Ice

Ice comes in clear rock crystals of varying sizes and is sold in clear, heat sealed cellophane packets

Ice is the translucent crystal, smokable form of methamphetamine. It is also commonly called glass or crystal and, like other stimulants, is highly addictive. (In terms of molecular structure, ice and methamphetamine are the same). The use of ice results in a longer, more intense high and an enhanced and more rapid onset of the negative effects of other forms of methamphetamine.

Similar in appearance to rock candy or rock salt, ice is sold in clear, heat sealed cellophane packets. It is smoked by using a one-chamber pipe (bong) where the ice is heated until it turns to a gas, and then inhaled by the user.

If your teenager is using ice, he or she may experience increased alertness, euphoria, appetite loss, dilated pupils, elevated heart rate, increased respiration, and elevated body temperature. Prolonged use can cause blurred vision, dizziness, loss of coordination, collapse and toxic psychosis. Prolonged use of ice will also cause damage to other organs, particularly the lungs, liver and kidneys. Heavy short-term or prolonged use can also cause delusional states or even a toxic psychosis similar to paranoid schizophrenia. Acute depression and fatigue may result when the use of ice is stopped. An overdose can result in high blood pressure, fever, stroke, heart failure and death.


Ice and the pocket micro-torch, and the glass pipe used to smoke the drug

Some law enforcement and treatment professionals see ice as a growing problem because of its purity and its immediate and intense effect, which may, depending on the dose, last from 2-14 hours. In addition, its use may become popular because the smoking of ice eliminates the use of a needle, thereby reducing the risk of AIDS and other blood diseases; while the low cost of production results in large profits for the dealers who sell ice and the clan lab operators who produce it.

Teenage Drug Abuse - Effects on schooling

Drugs have no rightful place anywhere in society; however, they have even less of a place in academic environments where teens are living in their most formative years. That the teen drug/alcohol user's academic performance is severely impaired, along with his or her level of responsibility – such as skipping class, failing to complete assignments, etc. – speaks to the notion that drug and alcohol use is rampant throughout American middle and high schools. This abuse has produced teenage student body's with many abusers whose relationships, reputations, futures, wallets, self-images and especially grades suffer as a direct result of the teen drug abuse.

One might readily argue that teenage drug abuse has reached epidemic proportions on some college campuses and high school facilities. Alcohol – one of the most misused drugs today – is also one of the most popular and readily available of all types of drugs and controlled substances found on high school campuses. Waking in a stupor after the previous night's party, missing classes, falling behind and ultimately losing whatever funding may have accompanied one's higher education is but a single representation of how drugs and/or alcohol can detrimentally impact one's academic experience. Many teens think college is just one big party now that they are on their own at school. However, the soiree does not last long once parents find out the extent to which their teen children have detrimentally impacted their scholastic rating by skipping class, failing to complete assignments and generally neglecting their scholastic responsibilities.

There was once a time when college students represented some of America's most lively, ambitious and energetic population. However, the teenage drug abuse and alcohol abuse of today has severely tarnished that image. "…Attitudes toward society among college students today have changed beyond recognition" (Stockwell, 2001). Being that college and high school is one of the most stressful of all periods in a person's life, students claim that removing their ability to blow off steam has proven even more detrimental than the activities caused by drinking. "When the Man comes along and denies students the right to have fun (like tailgating at Munn field) they're going to be pissed off. It's like taking away some people's purpose in life. It's sad to think that it's the only thing that people do, but that's what's important to them and they'll fight for it" (Alcid, 1998, p. PG).

Common ways to store and conceal marijuana.

In low doses, marijuana can induce restlessness, a dreamy state of relaxation, red or bloodshot eyes, and increased appetite. Stronger doses can cause shifting sensory images, rapidly fluctuating emotions, a loss of self-identity, fantasies, and hallucinations or image distortions.

Marijuana is smoked in small pipes or rolled into cigarettes which are sometimes held by "roach clips".

Marijuana is smoked in small pipes or rolled into cigarettes which are sometimes held by "roach clips".

Paraphernalia associated with marijuana includes pipes, bangs, rolling papers, plastic bags, roach clips, "stash boxes" (decorative boxes designed to conceal and store marijuana), and eye drops and breath fresheners used to cover up signs of use of the drug.

Marijuana is sold in plastic bags or in hand rolled cigarettes known as joints.

Marijuana is sold in plastic bags or in hand rolled cigarettes known as joints.

Following alcohol, marijuana is the second most popular drug with youth. It consists of the leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds of the cannabis plant, which are dried and chopped into small amounts. Marijuana can also be found as Sinsemilla, the potent flowering tops of the female marijuana plant.

Commonly referred to as grass, pot, weed, Acapulco Gold, ganja, and smoke, marijuana is usually sold and stored in small plastic bags, aluminum foil, or small rolled cigarettes. Marijuana is usually smoked in hand-rolled cigarettes called "joints," and has a strong, pungent odor when smoked. Once the marijuana cigarette is partially smoked, it is often held by a small clip called a "roach clip." (Roach clips are made from many items, such as tweezers or electrical clips.) The leaves can also be smoked in small wooden pipes or water-filled pipes called "bongs." And finally, marijuana can also be blended into food, then cooked and eaten, most often in brownies.

Troubled Teens - The teen drug problem

Troubled Teens - The teen drug problem
The teen drug problem in America has drawn the attention many parents in recent years. According to the 1998 National Household Survey on Teen Drug Abuse, nearly ten percent of teens between the ages of twelve and seventeen used illegal drugs - a number less than 11.4 percent from just the year prior – including marijuana (8.3%), cocaine (0.8%) and inhalants (1.1%) (SAMHSA, 1998). Statistics for 2002 reflect a slight drop in teenage drug usage to 8.3 percent for overall consumption of all illicit drugs. Still heading the list as most commonly used drug for troubled teens was marijuana (75% of all teen users) followed by cocaine (0.9%) and marijuana combined with one or more other drugs (20%). Cigarettes were found to be a strong precursor for troubled teens to who used illicit drugs, representing about eight times the number to those teens who smoked (48.1%) and those teens who did not (6.2%). Gender differences play a role as well amongst teenagers, with a greater majority of male teens using illegal drugs (12.3%) than their female teenage counterparts (10.9%) (SAMHSA, 2002).

Alcohol, a legal drug restricted to teens only by age, proves both plentiful, available and popular among teens aged twelve through seventeen, with both casual and binge drinking reflecting a higher percentage of usage in college-age teens (GDCADA, 2004). This website aims to explore statistics, and problems to the