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Alcohol: The most commonly used drug in the United States is legal for adults older than 21.
Amphetamines: Amphetamines are stimulants or "uppers" -- usually made synthetically in illegal labs. The effects include stimulation of the central nervous system, a sense of well-being and higher energy, a release of social inhibitions, and feelings of cleverness, competence and power. These are similar to the effects of cocaine but last longer. The term "amphetamine" refers to a large class of stimulants: amphetamines (black beauties, white bennies), dextroamphetamines (dexies, beans), and methamphetamines (crank, meth, crystal, speed). They can be taken orally, injected, smoked or snorted. Chronic use can cause paranoia, picking at the skin, auditory and visual hallucinations, and extremely violent and erratic behavior. Amphetamines are addictive.
Binge drinking: Drinking to intoxication. Drinking five or more drinks at a time is considered binge drinking for men. For women, this amount is four or more.
Cocaine: Cocaine, from the leaves of the coca plant, is one of the most powerfully addictive drugs. Cocaine is distributed on the street in two main forms: cocaine hydrochloride, a white crystalline powder that can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected, and crack cocaine hydrochloride that has been processed with ammonia or baking soda and water into a freebase cocaine. These chips, chunks or rocks can be smoked. Heavy use of cocaine may produce hallucinations, paranoia, aggression, insomnia and depression. Cocaine in powder form is also called coke, snow, nose candy, flake, blow, big C, lady, white and snowbirds.
Designer drugs: Designer drugs are made by underground chemists in order to create street drugs that are not specifically listed as controlled substances by the Drug Enforcement Administration. A designer drug is made by changing the molecular structure of an existing drug or drugs to create a new substance. An example is Ecstasy. The street names vary. Because unlicensed and untrained amateurs create them, these drugs can be extremely dangerous. In many cases, these forms are more dangerous and potent than the original drug. Designer drugs derived from the pharmaceutical drug fentanyl have been associated with hundreds of deaths in the United States.
D-methamphetamine: D-methamphetamine, also called Meth, is a twist on amphetamines. Meth use in California, the Southwest and parts of the Midwest has increased markedly in recent years. Meth -- also known as speed, crank, crystal, ice, fire and glass -- is a crystal-like, powdered substance that sometimes comes in large rock-like chunks. Meth can be snorted, swallowed, injected or smoked. It initially produces heightened physical and mental performance, enabling the user to work around the clock for days on end. Meth is addictive and users quickly develop a tolerance. Prolonged meth use results in paranoia, hallucinations, repetitive behavior patterns and delusions of parasites or insects on the skin. Long-term use and high dosages can cause violent, aggressive and paranoid behavior.
Ecstasy: Ecstasy, or MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), is a synthetic drug that acts simultaneously as a stimulant and a hallucinogen. Users sometimes take Ecstasy for the sense of well-being, the sensory distortions caused by the drug or to stay awake. Ecstasy has been shown to cause brain damage in animals. In 2004, consumers were warned not to buy or consume a liquid called Green Hornet. This product is promoted on the Internet and sold in stores as an herbal version of the illegal street drug called ecstasy. The Food and Drug Administration considers this product to be an unapproved new drug since it contains, among other ingredients, the undeclared active ingredients diphenhydramine and dextromethorphan, found in over-the-counter drugs. Four teens died after consuming Green Hornet.
Heroin: Heroin, a highly addictive drug derived from morphine, is obtained from the opium poppy. It is a "downer" that affects the brain's pleasure systems and interferes with its ability to perceive pain. Heroin can be injected into a vein (mainlining) or a muscle; smoked through a water pipe or standard pipe; mixed in a marijuana joint or regular cigarette; inhaled as smoke through a straw (chasing the dragon) or as powder through the nose. Heroin -- also known as smack, horse, brown sugar, junk, big H, and dope -- is fast acting, especially when injected or smoked. Heroin users quickly develop a tolerance for the drug and need more and more to get the same high.
Ice: "Ice," a slang term for smokeable methamphetamine, has a translucent rock-like appearance and is a highly addictive and toxic amphetamine.
Inhalants: Inhalants are ordinary household products that are inhaled or sniffed by children to get high. More than one in five eighth graders has used inhalants. Common ones are model airplane glue, nail polish remover, cleaning fluids, hair spray, gasoline, the propellant in aerosol whipped cream, spray paint, air conditioner fluid (freon), cooking spray and correction fluid. Inhalants, like anesthesia, slow down the body's functions. Users may feel stimulated, disoriented or out of control. Inhalants starve the body of oxygen. This can lead to brain damage, unconsciousness or death.
LSD: LSD is the most common hallucinogen and one of the most potent mood changing chemicals. It is manufactured from lysergic acid, found in a fungus that grows on rye and other grains. LSD, commonly referred to as "acid," is sold on the street in tablets, capsules and occasionally in liquid form. It is odorless and colorless, with a slightly bitter taste. Users refer to positive LSD experiences as a "trip" and to acute adverse reactions as a "bad trip." Users may experience panic, confusion, suspicions, anxiety and loss of control. Flashbacks also occur after they stop taking the drug.
Marijuana: Marijuana -- also called weed, pot, reefer, grass, dope, ganja, mary jane and hash -- is the drug most often used in this country. It is a mix of dried, shredded flowers and leaves of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). Most users roll loose marijuana into a cigarette (called a "joint"). The drug can also be smoked in a water pipe, called a "bong" Some users mix marijuana into food or use it to brew a tea. Hash users either smoke the drug in a pipe or mix it with tobacco and smoke it as a cigarette. A new way of smoking marijuana is to slice open a cigar and replace the tobacco with marijuana, making a "blunt." When smoked with a 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor, it is called a "B-40."" All forms of cannabis are mind-altering (psychoactive) drugs.
PCP: Phencyclidine, or PCP, is a white crystalline power with a distinctively bitter chemical taste. PCP turns up on the illicit drug market in a variety of tablets, capsules and colored powders. It is snorted, smoked or eaten. When smoked, PCP is often applied to a leafy herb such as mint or parsley, or to tobacco or marijuana. It is called "crystal supergrass" and "killer joints" when mixed with marijuana. PCP was developed as an intravenous anesthetic. Medical use of PCP in humans was discontinued because patients often became agitated, delusional and irrational while recovering from its anesthetic effects. PCP is often sold on the street as "angel dust," "ozone," "wack" and "rocket fuel."
Special K: Special K, ketamine hydrochloride, is widely used as an animal tranquilizer by vets in pet surgery. It is made by drying ketamine in a stove until it turns from a liquid to a powder. Special K is a powerful hallucinogen, usually snorted, but sometimes sprinkled on tobacco or marijuana and smoked. Special K is frequently combined with other drugs, such as ecstasy, heroin and cocaine. It produces hallucinations that include visual distortions and a lost sense of time and identity. The high lasts anywhere from a half hour to two hours. Special K is also called Vitamin K, Ketalar, Ketajec and Super-K.
This article was reviewed and updated
June 2007.
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