Signs and symptoms of use:

• Dulled mental processes
• Lack of coordination
• Odor of alcohol on breath
• Possible constricted pupils
• Sleepy or stuporous condition
• Slowed reaction time
• Slurred speech

Note: Except for the body odor, these are general signs and symptoms for most depressant substances.

Health Effects:

The chronic consumption of alcohol, the average of three servings per day of beer (12oz), liquor (1oz), or wine (6oz) over time may result in the following health hazards:

• Decreased sexual functioning
• Dependency (up to 10% of all people who drink alcohol become physically and/or mentally dependent on alcohol and can be termed "alcoholic")
• Fatal liver diseases
• Increased cancers of the mouth, tongue, pharynx, esophagus, rectum, breast and malignant melanoma.
• Kidney disease
• Pancreatitis
• Spontaneous abortion and neonatal mortality
• Ulcers
• Birth defects (up to 54% of all birth defects are alcohol related)

Social Issues:

• Two-thirds of all homicides are committed by people who drink prior to the crime.
• Two to three percent of the driving population is legally drunk at any one time. This rate is doubled at nights and on weekends.
• Two-thirds of all Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related vehicle accident during their lifetimes.
• The rate of separation and divorce in families with alcohol dependency problems is seven times the average.
• Forty percent of family court cases are alcohol problem related.
• Alcoholics are 15 times more likely to commit suicide than are other segments of the population.
• More than 60% of burns, 40% of falls, and 69% of boating accidents are alcohol related.

The Annual Toll:

• 24,000 people will die on the highway due to legally impaired drivers
• 12,000 more will die on the highway due to the alcohol-affected driver
• 15,800 will die in non-highway accidents
• 30,000 will die due to alcohol-related liver disease
• 10,000 will die due to alcohol-induced brain disease or suicide
• Up to another 125,000 will die due to alcohol-related conditions or accidents

School or Workplace Issues:

• It takes one hour for the average person (150lbs) to process one serving of an alcoholic beverage from the body.
• Impairment in coordination and judgement can be objectively measured with as little as two drinks in the body.
• A person who is legally intoxicated is six times more likely to have an accident than a sober person.

Would you like more information on Alcohol? Send us a note

Cocaine is used medically as a local anesthetic. It is abused as a powerful physical and mental stimulant. The entire central nervous system is energized. Muscles are more tense, the heart beats faster and stronger, and the body burns more energy. The brain experiences an exhilaration caused by a large release of neurohormones associated with mood elevation.

Description:

• The source of cocaine is the coca bush, grown almost exclusively in the mountainous regions of northern South America.
• Cocaine hydrochloride - "snorting coke" is a white to creamy granular or lumpy powder that is chopped into fine powder before use. It is snorted into the nose, rubbed on the gums, or injected in veins. The effect is felt within minutes and lasts 40 to 50 minutes per "line."
• Cocaine base - a small crystalline rock about the size of a small pebble. It boils at low temperature, is not soluble in water, and is up to 90% pure. It is heated in a glass pipe and the vapor is inhaled. The effect is felt within seven seconds. Common paraphernalia includes a "crack pipe" (a small glass smoking device for vaporizing the crack crystal) and a lighter, alcohol lamp, or small butane torch for heating.
• Trade/street names include coke, rock, crack, free base, flake, snow, smoke and blow.

Signs and Symptoms of Use:

• Financial problems
• Frequent and extended absences from meetings or work assignments
• Increased physical activity and fatigue
• Isolation and withdrawal from friends and normal activities
• Secretive behaviors, frequent non-business visitors, delivered packages, and phone calls.
• Unusual defensiveness, anxiety and agitation.
• Wide mood swings
• Runny or irritated nose
• Difficulty in concentration
• Dilated pupils and visual impairment
• Restlessness
• Formication (sensation of bugs crawling on skin)
• High blood pressure
• Hallucinations and paranoia
• Hyperexcitability and overreaction to stimulus
• Insomnia
• Profuse sweating and dry mouth
• Talkativeness

Health Effects:

• Research suggests that regular cocaine use may upset the chemical balance of the brain. As a result, it may speed up the aging process by causing irreparable damage to critical nerve cells. The onset of nervous system illnesses such as Parkinson's Disease could also occur.
• Cocaine use causes the heart to beat faster and harder and rapidly increases blood pressure. In addition, cocaine causes spasms of blood vessels in the brain and heart. Both effects lead to ruptured vessels causing strokes or heart attacks.
• Strong psychological dependency can occur with one "hit" of crack. Usually, mental dependency occurs within days (crack) or within several months (snorting coke). Cocaine causes the strongest mental dependency of any known drug.
• Treatment success rates are lower than for other chemical dependencies.
• Cocaine is extremely dangerous when taken with depressant drugs, Death due to overdose is rapid. The effects of an overdose are not usually reversible by medical intervention.

School or Workplace Issues:

• Extreme mood and energy swings create instability. Sudden noises can cause a violent reaction.
• Lapses in attention and ignoring warning signals can significantly increase the potential for accidents.
• The high cost of cocaine frequently leads to workplace theft and/or drug dealing.
• A developing paranoia and withdrawal create unpredictable and sometimes violent behavior.
• Work performance is characterized by forgetfulness, absenteeism, tardiness, and missed assignments.

Would you like more information on Stimulants? Send us a note

What are inhalants?

Inhalants are breathable chemicals that produce psychoactive (mind-altering) vapors. People do not usually think of inhalants as drugs because most of them were never meant to be used that way. They include solvents, aerosols, some anesthetics, and other chemicals. Examples are model airplane glue, nail polish remover, lighter and cleaning fluids, and gasoline. Aerosols that are used as inhalants include paints, cookware coating agents, hair sprays, and other spray products. Anesthetics include halothane and nitrous oxide (laughing gas). Amyl nitrite and butyl nitrite, are inhalants that also are abused.

What is amyl nitrite?

Amyl nitrite is a clear, yellowish liquid that is sold in a cloth-covered, sealed bulb. When the bulb is broken, it makes a snapping sound; thus they are nicknamed "snappers" or "poppers." Amyl nitrite is used for heart patients and for diagnostic purposes because it dilates the blood vessels and makes the heart beat faster. Reports of amyl nitrite abuse occurred before 1979, when it was available by prescription. When it became available by prescription only, many users abused butyl nitrite instead.

What is butyl nitrite?

Butyl nitrite is packaged in small bottles and sold under a variety of names, such as "locker room" and "rush." It produces a "high" that lasts from a few seconds to several minutes. The immediate effects include decreased blood pressure, followed by an increased heart rate, flushed face and neck, dizziness, and headache.

Who abuses inhalants?

Young people, especially between the ages of 7 and 17, are more likely to abuse inhalants, in part because they are readily available and inexpensive. Sometimes children unintentionally misuse inhalant products that are often found around the house. Parents should see that these substances, like medicines, are kept away from young children.

How do inhalants work?

Although different in makeup, nearly all of the abused inhalants produce effects similar to anesthetics, which act to slow down the body's functions. At low doses, users may feel slightly stimulated; at higher amounts, they may feel less inhibited and less in control; at high doses, a user can lose consciousness.

What are the immediate negative effects of inhalants?

Initial effects include nausea, sneezing, coughing, nosebleeds, feeling and looking tired, bad breath, lack of coordination, and a loss of appetite. Solvents and aerosols also decrease the heart and breathing rate and effect judgment. How strong these effects are depends on the experience and personality of the user, how much is taken, the specific substance inhaled, and the user's surroundings. T he "high" from inhalants tends to be short or can last several hours, if used repeatedly.

What are the most serious short-term effects of inhalants?

Deep breathing of the vapors, or using a lot over a short period of time may result in losing touch with one's surroundings, a loss of self-control, violent behavior, unconsciousness, or death. Using inhalants can cause nausea and vomiting. If a person is unconscious when vomiting occurs, death can result from aspiration.

Sniffing highly concentrated amounts of solvents or aerosol sprays can produce heart failure and instant death. Sniffing can cause death the first time or any time. High concentrations of inhalants cause death from suffocation by displacing the oxygen in the lungs. Inhalants also can cause death by depressing the central nervous system so much that breathing slows down until it stops.

Death from inhalants is usually caused by a very high concentration of inhalant fumes. Deliberately inhaling from a paper bag (huffing) greatly increases the chance of suffocation. Even when using aerosol or volatile (vaporous) products for their legitimate purposes, i.e., painting, cleaning, etc., it is wise to do so in a well-ventilated room or outdoors.

What are the long-term dangers of inhalants?

Long-term use can cause weight loss, fatigue, electrolyte (salt) imbalance, and muscle fatigue. Repeated sniffing of concentrated vapors over a number of years can cause permanent damage to the nervous system, which means greatly reduced physical and mental capabilities. In addition, long-term sniffing of certain inhalants can damage the liver, kidneys, blood, and bone marrow. Tolerance, which means the "sniffer" needs more and more each time to get the same effect, is likely to develop from most inhalants when they are used regularly.

What happens when inhalants are used along with other drugs?

As in all drug use, taking more than one drug at a time multiplies the risks. Using inhalants while taking other drugs or medications that slow down the body's functions, such as tranquilizers, sleeping pills, or alcohol, increases the risk of death from overdose. Loss of consciousness, coma, or death can result.

Source: Drug Enforcement Administration in cooperation with the National Institute on Drug Abuse

Would you like more information on Inhalants? Send us a note.