ILLICIT DRUGS

Club Drugs

If you were in a club and somebody slipped a club drug into your drink, wouldn't you realize it immediately?
Probably not. Most club drugs are odorless and tasteless. Some are made into a powder form that makes it easier to slip into a drink and dissolve without a person's knowledge. That is why some of these drugs have been called "date rape" drugs-because there have been increasing reports of club drugs being used in sexual assaults.

Are there any long-term effects of taking ecstasy?
Yes. Studies on both humans and animals have proven that regular use of ecstasy produces long-lasting, perhaps permanent damage to the brain's ability to think and store memories.

If you took a club drug at a rave, wouldn't you just dance off all of its effects?
Not necessarily. The stimulant effects of drugs like ecstasy that allow the user to dance for long periods of time, combined with the hot, crowded conditions usually found at raves, can lead to extreme dehydration and even heart or kidney failure. In addition, some of ecstasy's effects, like confusion, depression, anxiety, paranoia, and sleep problems, have been reported to occur even weeks after the drug is taken.

How can I say no to drug or Alcohol? I'm afraid I won't fit in.
Remember, you're in good company. The majorities of teens don't drink alcohol or do drugs. Also, it's not as hard to refuse as you might think. Try: "No thanks," "I don't drink,", "I don't use drugs," or "I'm not interested.

Tips for Teens: The Truth about Club Drugs
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

Club drugs affect your brain. The term "club drugs" refers to a wide variety of drugs often used at all-night dance parties ("raves"), nightclubs, and concerts. Club drugs can damage the neurons in your brain, impairing your senses, memory, judgment, and coordination.

Club drugs affect your body. Different club drugs have different effects on your body. Some common effects include loss of muscle and motor control, blurred vision, and seizures. Club drugs like ecstasy are stimulants that increase your heart rate and blood pressure and can lead to heart or kidney failure. Other club drugs, like GHB, are depressants that can cause drowsiness, unconsciousness, or breathing problems.

Club drugs affect your self-control. Club drugs like GHB and Rohypnol are used in "date rape" and other assaults because they are sedatives that can make you unconscious and immobilize you. Rohypnol can cause a kind of amnesia--users may not remember what they said or did while under the effects of the drug.

Club drugs are not always what they seem. Because club drugs are illegal and often produced in makeshift laboratories, it is impossible to know exactly what chemicals were used to produce them. How strong or dangerous any illegal drug is varies each time.

Club drugs can kill you. Higher doses of club drugs can cause severe breathing problems, coma, or even death.

Marijuana

Isn't smoking marijuana less dangerous than smoking cigarettes?
No. It's even worse. One joint affects the lungs as much as four cigarettes. Can people become addicted to marijuana?
Yes. Research confirms you can become hooked on marijuana.

Can marijuana help cure cancer?
No. Some people with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases claim to experience relief from pain and other symptoms that they attribute to marijuana use. However, scientific research has not yet confirmed these benefits and more research on this topic is being done. What is known is that smoking marijuana can cause lung damage.

Inhalants

Since inhalants are found in household products, aren't they safe?
No. Even though household products like glue and air freshener have legal, useful purposes, when they are used as inhalants they are harmful and dangerous. These products are not intended to be inhaled.

Doesn't it take many "huffs" before you're in danger?
No. One "huff" of an inhalant can kill you. Or the 10th. Or the 100th. Every huff can be dangerous. Even if you have huffed before without experiencing a problem, there's no way of knowing how the next huff will affect you.

Can inhalants make me lose control?
Yes. Inhalants affect your brain and can cause you to suddenly engage in violent, or even deadly, behavior. You could hurt yourself or the people you love.

NC 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Results

Alcohol and Other Drug Use
39% Drank alcohol during the past month
21% Reported episodic heavy drinking during the past month
24% Used marijuana during the past month
8% Ever used cocaine
15% Ever used inhalants

Tobacco Use
25% Smoked cigarettes during the past month
12% Smoked cigarettes on greater than or equal to 20 days during the past month

Links

CDC-chemical dependency center

Mecklenburg County Health Department

How Alcohol Affects our Body
Effect of Alcohol on Us

The Cool Spot, the institute's website for middle school (11- to 13-year-old) children.

Project Assist

Reach 2010
smoking cessation program
Poison Control

Resources for quitting

Health Statistics - Mecklenburg County

National Cancer Institute - English and Español

American Cancer Society
Prescription Drugs: Abuse and Addiction

Explores the growing problem of Club Drugs, i.e., MDMA (Ecstasy)

Mind Over Matter
The Brain's Response to Drugs Designed for use by middle school students, this series includes a teacher's guide scientifically-based information about how drugs act in the brain and body. The series includes information about the brain's response to: marijuana, opiates, inhalants, hallucinogens, methamphetamine, nicotine, stimulants, and steroids. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)

The following tools from the U. S. Public Health Service can help you quit smoking:

You Can Quit Smoking Consumer Guide
This 12-page booklet tells you how to get help to quit smoking.

Good Information for Smokers
This 12-page easy-to-read booklet tells you why and how to quit smoking.

You Can Quit Smoking 5-day Countdown
This mini-flip booklet gives helpful tips for what to do on each of the five days before you quit.

You Can Quit Smoking Pocket Card
This carry-it-with-you card sums up the four steps to quitting and includes a toll-free help number.