Information About Drugs & Alcohol

While alcohol is legal for persons over the age of 21 in most U.S. states, club or street drugs are illegal. Medical marijuana is not legal in all 50 states and cannot be obtained without a prescription from a medical professional. Street marijuana is illegal and is not classified as "medical marijuana" regardless of how it is used. Drugs and alcohol use can result in addiction as well as other physical and medical consequences.

Club Drugs

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) classifies ecstasy (MDMA), GHB, Rohypnol, ketamine, methamphetamine, and acid (LSD) as "club drugs." These drugs are usually used by teenagers and young adults recreationally at bars, nightclubs, concerts and parties. Also known by the street names XTC, X (MDMA); Special K, Vitamin K (ketamine); liquid ecstasy, soap (GHB); roofies (Rohypnol), NIDA warns that teenagers as young as 14 years of age are exposed to club drugs and as many as .7 to 1.0 percent have experimented with one or more club drugs within the year. When taken at any age, MDMA can have a damaging effect on brain function. Chronic use of GHB can cause coma and seizures. Ketamine, when taken in high dosage, can lead to delirium, amnesia, and other problems. None of these club drugs should be mixed with alcohol. When Rohypnol is mixed with alcohol it can cause amnesia.

Street Drugs

Crack cocaine, marijuana and heroin are common street drugs. Powder cocaine is converted into crack cocaine by dissolving it in a solution of sodium bicarbonate and water. It is then broken down into "rocks" and weighed by the gram. The DEA estimates that crack rocks are between 75 percent and 90 percent pure cocaine.

Marijuana is derived from the plant cannabis sativa and is the most commonly abused street drug in the world as of 2009. According to NIDA, "Smoking marijuana is more damaging than smoking cigarettes. With 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke, smoking marijuana has a higher risk of cancer than smoking tobacco."

Heroin, also known as smack, junk, brown sugar, dope, horse and skunk, is sold as a powder and can vary in color from white to dark brown depending on the impurities and additives added during the manufacturing process. Heroin is highly addictive.

Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs can be just as damaging and addictive as street drugs if abused or not administered according to the instructions provided by a doctor, health-care professional or pharmacist. According to Abovetheinfluence.com, the most commonly abused prescription drugs are those used to treat pain, mental disease, diabetes, cancer and common infections. Misuse of prescription drugs is described as any use of a prescription drug that is not prescribed to the individual taking the drug or when taking a higher dosage than is prescribed or recommended. A 2008 survey showed a 3,196-percent increase in deaths related to medication error from 1983 to 2004. This statistic includes misuse from combining prescription drugs with alcohol and/or street drugs.

Alcohol

There are a number of misconceptions about alcohol and what constitutes alcohol abuse. According to the National Institutes of Health, alcohol is widely thought to be a stimulant. This misconception is largely attributed to the initial feelings of euphoria experienced by some people. However, alcohol is classified as a depressant, causing sedation and drowsiness as well as unconsciousness, coma, and even death in high concentrations. Impairment of bodily and mental functions can result from small amounts of alcohol, including social drinking. According to National Institutes of Health, a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.02 to 0.04 percent can impair memory and judgment. Intolerance to the effects of alcohol can vary based on the person's weight, nutritional state, gender, exposure to other drugs and other factors.

Warning

Abuse of drugs and alcohol can lead to serious consequences including health-related problems (i.e., depression, poor liver health, high blood pressure, stomach problems, medicine interactions, sexual problems, osteoporosis and cancer), poor relationships and legal troubles. Persons who abuse drugs and/or alcohol should consult a health-care professional or rehabilitation center for professional intervention.

References

• NIDA
• Above the Influence
• National Institutes of Health

Resources

• Street Drugs