Canisius College

Drug Addictions

Why Do People Use Drugs?
People may use drugs for a number of reasons. Some take them out of curiosity to see what they feel like or because their friends are using them. Others take them to escape painful feelings and situations. Some use drugs because they are addicted and they cannot stop; the drug becomes more important than family, friends, or school. Still others use drugs because they believe in myths - that a drug can make someone more confident, get more work done, feel less sad, improve their sex life, and have more fun. The biggest myth is that occasional drug use is harmless.

What Effects Can Drugs Have On Me?
Depending on the frequency and type of use, drugs can have severe and long-lasting effects on the body. Some drugs will cause damage after just one use, while others will hurt the body and mind more slowly. Here are some examples of possible effects different drugs can have:

Nicotine - diminished sense of smell and taste, smoker's cough, emphysema, heart disease, stroke, cancer, frequent colds, and chronic bronchitis.

Cocaine and Crack - heart attacks, strokes, respiratory failure, seizures, and reduction of the body's ability to resist infection.

Steroids - liver tumors, high blood pressure, hair loss, severe acne, testicular shrinking, stunted growth, and an irregular menstrual cycle.

Marijuana- sleeplessness, reduced concentration, paranoia, hallucinations, intense anxiety, cancer, and increased risk of infertility.

Inhalants - severe mood swings, suffocation, loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, liver, lung and kidney impairment, and brain damage.

Caffeine - sleeplessness, reduced concentration, intense anxiety, and restlessness.

One can become dependent on any drug, including those listed above.

• "E" has skyrocketed onto the club scene, with millions of pills taken annually. But is it harmless fun or a one-way trip to the ER? If E feels so great, then why is everyone condemning it? The reality is that ecstasy is a potent substance, treated the same legally as crack or heroin.
  
  
• Many people think that ecstasy is a mixture of many drugs, but it is actually just one drug, MDMA, or Methylenedioxymethamphetamine. (How do you like that for a handle?) It works by triggering a massive release of serotonin (the neurotransmitter that helps control bodily functions like mood, sleep, memory, temperature regulation, and heart rate) in the brain, making you feel euphoric and carefree - for a short time. When you take E, you're using up your brain's supply of serotonin, and until it can be replaced, many of your body's functions will work improperly.
  
  
• It's not known how long the effects of ecstasy last in your body, but a recent study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed conclusively that serotonin levels in a post-Ecstasy brain are significantly lower than normal. That deficiency can lead to severe long-term depression, or at least several days of feeling pretty awful. Sometimes the come-down is really bad.
  
  
• Some research has pointed to symptoms similar to those of patients with Alzheimer's in the brains of animals injected with Ecstasy. Whether or not this is proven conclusively, it has already been found in research reported from Guy's Hospital Poisons Unit that Ecstasy is the only drug to permanently damage the nerve terminals in the brain.
  
  
• There are, of course, more acute health risks to taking E. One of the drug's immediate side effects is that it dehydrates the body. The dehydration can be exacerbated by intense dancing or failing to drink water regularly. In fact, if users don't drink enough water, their bodies can undergo severe dehydration, leading to coma, convulsions and eventually death. At the other extreme, in rare instances E causes people to drink water compulsively. Too much water can lead to hyponatremia, a potentially fatal condition in which sodium levels become dangerously low.
  
  
• Ecstasy users may experience an increase in sweating, increased blood pressure and heart rate, nausea, grinding of the teeth and jaw pain, anxiety or panic attacks, blurred vision, and vomiting. There is also the potential, from relatively small doses, for strong negative effects that may last for days or weeks. These include confusion, panic, insomnia, or even convulsions. There is extensive evidence in animals that recreational doses of Ecstasy can cause permanent neurological damage.
  
  
• It's true that people on Ecstasy don't always swagger like they're drunk or space out like potheads. But don't let that lull you into a false sense that E is a safe weekend drug. It can have serious - even deadly - side effects, some of which probably aren't yet known. You need to be prepared to handle the consequences.
  
  
• In addition to the direct effects of Ecstasy on the brain, there are knock-on effects to the body which are noted in the reported fatalities to users. If the user has not noticed they are getting tired, due to the stimulating effects of the drug they continue to dance, raising their body temperature and tiring or straining muscles and impacting their bones. If, as in many clubs, users are drinking alcohol, which is a dehydrating substance, their bodies will become dehydrated. This, along with the raised body temperature from dancing frantically in a hot crowded club, causes collapse and possible failure of body organs like the kidneys, heart or liver.
  
  
• Another frightening report has been that of internal hemorrhaging (bleeding) in users. This could be due to E having anti-coagulant properties--that is, it stops blood from clotting and therefore a person runs the risk of bleeding to death.
  
  
• Finally, there is the risk of what a user is actually taking. A wide range of products have been passed off as E. These range from pure amphetamines, paracetamol, methadone and any mixture of these with pure Ecstasy in addition to some more alarming items such as worming pills and fish tank oxygenating tablets.
  
  
• Besides the possibility of physical toxicity, the ultimate risk in taking E is psychological. Because your boundaries are gone with E, you are more liable to the possibility of psychosis. Anyone who has an inner feeling that they have had difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy should realize that they are at high risk. Persons who are very anxious and prone to anxiety disorders, phobias, depression and panic attacks are more likely to suffer adverse consequences from psychedelic and MDMA-like drugs. E can cause anxiety disorders and chronic panic attacks.
  
  
• Depression and mania definitely can be triggered by Ecstasy if you are predisposed. MDMA lowers serotonin, and low serotonin levels have been linked with depression and suicide in some studies (not of MDMA users). The effect of many antidepressants (e.g. Prozac) is to increase the action of serotonin. In very simple terms, antidepressants have the opposite effect on serotonin action to MDMA. There are thus theoretical reasons to propose that MDMA use will show an association with depression and possibly suicidal thoughts, though this association has not been established as yet. Doctors are worried that in ten to fifteen years time, there may be a generation of suicidal depressed people who have used E on a regular basis.

• Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB), a chemical promoted as an alternative to steroids for bodybuilding, recently has gained favor as a recreational drug because of its intoxicating effects.
  
  
• The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has reissued a warning against this drug because it is potentially dangerous.
  
  
• Since 1990 there have been numerous symptoms reportedly GHB related, including vomiting, dizziness, tremors, and seizures. Many people have required hospitalization and several deaths have occurred.
  
  
• This drug is often promoted as an aphrodisiac or an easy high, under street names such as "cherry meth", "liquid X", and "liquid ecstacy".
  
  
• GHB is usually a clear liquid or a white powder, with a salty taste that can be easily disguised in a beverage. Because of it's effect, it has been used to render a potential victim more helpless and vulnerable to rape.

• Methamphetamine (sometimes known as "Crank") is making a comeback. Even Iowa, a small rural state, is reporting a dramatic increase of users. It is reported that in 1996 over 50,000 Iowans were involved with "Crank." The report on "Crank" use in Iowa showed that people there are using "Crank" as a method for staying up over a week at a time. Some have even stayed up as long as 30-40 days without sleeping at all. This takes a devastating toll on the body and mind.
  
  
• There may be some students who might turn to 'crank' as a method for staying awake to increase studying time; however, "Crank" does kill. Some "Crank" users die due to the body being unable to fight off infections, others suffer from brain damage and some experience convulsions and comas. This is a dangerous drug and people should be aware of its consequences. ( Some of the symptoms to watch for include: loss of appetite, decreasing body weight, irritability, and staying up for hours on end. "Crank" may seem 'attractive' as a possible, although desperate, way to lose weight.
  

• Amyl nitrate, butyl nitrate, nitrous oxide, propane, butane, glue and paint are all inhalants that can be abused by "huffing" or inhaling them. Because of the easy availability of these common products, this new wave of drug use is reaching epidemic proportions. The latest statistics involving seventh and eighth graders in Massachusetts shows that one in four of them have already used inhalants!
  
  
• The use of inhalants causes many problems both long and short term. Immediate effects include relaxation of sphincter muscles and lowered blood pressure. Long term usage can cause headaches, dizziness, accelerated heart rate, nausea, loss of erection, hallucinations, liver, kidney, bone-marrow and brain damage and death. There is also a high psychological addiction rate with the use of inhalants.
  
  
• As you can see, the effects of "huffing" are serious and deadly! Even brief experimentation can cause brain damage and death. The ease of availability of these products makes inhalants very risky business. Don't gamble with your life and health!