Sep
25
Party/Street Drugs
The use of so-called Party Drugs has become fairly common among young people with a noticeable increase in white-collar workers and executives. There are some things you should know about these drugs.
Many are made in small “laboratories” (bathtub chemists) with no quality controls so you never know what you are buying. Some are mixed with other drugs and that can cause complications if there is a negative reaction.
Some people use more than one drug at the same time, which can be dangerous if mixed with the wrong substances in the wrong amounts.
Here is a list of the most common party drugs available:
- ECTASY or MDMA, common street names are “E”, “XTC or “ADAM”. Produces euphoria, endless energy, lasts four to six hours, but can be accompanied by anxiety, nausea, blurred vision, depression, increased blood pressure and heart rate. Long-term use may damage specific brain cell, especially among women.
- KETAMINE also called “Special K”, Vitamin K”. Users smoke or snort it for its hallucinogenic trance which can last from 30 minutes to 2 hours. It may produce loss of consciousness, seizures, reduced respirations, or coma. May require hospitalization.
- LSD. Street name is “acid” or “Microdot.” A colourless, tasteless liquid placed in drinks or dropped on a blotter and sucked. It may cause hallucinations, numbness, nausea, sweating, flashbacks or sleeplessness. It may cause permanent brain damage.
- Phencyclidine street name is PCP, Angel dust, Hog, or Loveboat. This drug may cause delusions, paranoia; it kills brain cells or possibly suicide.
- GHB. One of the date rape drugs called Easy Lay. Usually dropped into a drink, it can result in collapse, loss of consciousness, seizures, respiratory depression, or coma. A female may be powerless to resist assault and may have no memory of the attack.
- ROHYPNOL, also caller “Roe or Rope, Roofies”, it is also a date rape drug, dropped in drinks; users feel relaxed and sociable, but it can result in incapacity, unconsciousness, coma, amnesia.
- EPHEDRINE street name is “E” and it’s found in over the counter cold medications or inhalers but is used at three times maximum dose. It will produce a speed like effect for 3-4 hours. It increases heart rate and blood pressure.
- MARIJUANA called “Mary Jane, MJ, Pot, Weed” is smoked and acts as a relaxant, problems disappear, sedation, blurred vision and dizziness.
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Testosterone
- Another drug which is used to increase male sexual arousal, POPPERS, also called “AMY” are Amyl Nitrite, an inhaled vasodilator. Poppers come in small crushable glass vials which are surrounded by mesh to protect the user from cutting themselves. The drug is inhaled just prior to sexual activity, resulting in a “rush”, full erection and a powerful sense of sexual urgency. The danger is the possibility of having a stroke because of the vasodilation. It is also known that males who used poppers were more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection.
- METHAMPHETAMINE or “Crank”, “Crystal”, “Speed” or “Ice”. Very high energy may last 8-14 hours; results in aggression, violence, psychosis and long term nerve damage.
- Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug. The powdered hydrochloride salt form of cocaine can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected. Crack is cocaine base that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride salt. This form of cocaine comes in a rock crystal that is heated to produce vapors, which are smoked. The term “crack” refers to the crackling sound produced by the rock as it is heated.
- Three routes of administration are commonly used for cocaine: snorting, injecting, and smoking. Snorting is the process of inhaling cocaine powder through the nose, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting is the use of a needle to release the drug directly into the bloodstream. Smoking involves inhaling cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs, where absorption into the bloodstream is as rapid as by injection.
- All three methods of cocaine abuse can lead to addiction and other severe health problems, including increasing the risk of contracting HIV and infectious diseases.
- The intensity and duration of cocaine’s effects, which include increased energy, reduced fatigue, and mental alertness, depend on the route of drug administration.
- The faster cocaine is absorbed into the bloodstream and delivered to the brain, the more intense the high.
- Injecting or smoking cocaine produces a quicker, stronger high than snorting.
- On the other hand, faster absorption usually means shorter duration of action.
The high from snorting cocaine may last 15 to 30 minutes, but the high from smoking may last only 5 to 10 minutes. - In order to sustain the high, a cocaine abuser has to administer the drug again.
- For this reason, cocaine is sometimes abused in binges—taken repeatedly within a relatively short period of time, at increasingly high doses.
