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View the Full List of Illicit Drugs
View the Full List of Illicit Drugs
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Taking advantage of the bountiful medicines provided by nature is necessary for many aspects of ideal living, but abusing these gifts can lead to adverse physical health and strained psychological well-being. Ayahuasca is one such substance that can be beneficial in small, mediated doses but can also easily be abused.
What is Ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca is a brewed beverage first made by indigenous cultures within the Amazon from leaves of the Chacruna or Chagropanga plants mixed with Banisteriopsis caapi vines. The leaves are a source of dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, a naturally inactive hallucinogen that becomes active when combined with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, or MAOI. By brewing this concoction slowly, the active ingredients are released much slower into the body than through direct consumption of pure active DMT. The native Amazonian people believe they were given direction to brew Ayahuasca from the spirits of the plants themselves.
What are the Consequences of Ayahuasca Use?
Users of Ayahuasca report one of two experiences, in general, which follows along the lines of other, less potent hallucinogens. In the first type of experience, the users describe spiritual, emotional, and psychological awakenings, sometimes combined with visions of higher dimensions and the beings that inhibit those places. These experiences are often considered by those who experience them to be life-changing or a form of rebirth. The second type of experience exists on the opposite end of the spectrum, although they are not as common. These experiences tend to be inward and depressive, and often result from being ill prepared or from a mistake in the brew itself.
Ayahuasca Abuse Symptoms
Ayahuasca is not only a powerful psychedelic drink, but it also creates intense nausea, vomiting, sweating, and several other negative side effects that occur before the hallucinations begin. The experience lasts up to 12 hours and recovery can take up to 24 hours so that abuse could be a serious issue. The substance is essentially a poison that the body has to process, and it does damage with every use just like any other drug. Each instance of use is simply much more damaging, and many people have reportedly been killed as a result of Ayahuasca use.
Effects of Ayahuasca Abuse
Each case of Ayahuasca use is separate as the body processes the full dose after about 24 hours. After the toxins have been filtered away, you’re only left with the damage that was done due to the initial use, such as injury to the digestive tract, as well as potential tremors in mental stability.
Ayahuasca Withdrawal Symptoms
Ayahuasca has no physically addictive qualities, so there are no withdrawal symptoms associated with its use. Some studies indicate the contrary, as a matter of fact. Ayahuasca has been recommended as a potential treatment for serious addicts of other drugs, like opiates and other painkillers. The reason for such an effect is unknown, but many researchers cite the extreme brain chemistry that results from consuming Ayahuasca as a possible cause.
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Another wave of dangerous drugs has developed, creating astounding side effects in young people, more commonly referred to as “Bath Salts.” The most common names for this substance include “Vanilla Sky,” “Cloud Nine,” and “Scarface,” but is formally referred to as mephedrone (4-MMC), methylone (MDMC), and methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV or MDPK). The drug has a crystalline, powdery consistency similar to that of Epsom salts and closely resemble them.
Pharmacology and Types of Bath Salts
Bath Salts have been cleverly disguised as plant food, cleaning products (Drano, for example), and hookah cleaner due to its coarse salt-like appearance. The chemical composition of them include derivatives of pyrovalerone (a psychoactive drug) or pipradrol (a central nervous system stimulant). This recreational party drug is manufactured in various bright and engaging colors and aromas because of the addition of synthetic colorings and artificial flavorings.
Uses and Effects of Bath Salts
Bath Salts may be ingested, inhaled, smoked, or injected to allow for immediate absorption into the body. They are most commonly consumed with alcohol, intensifying the psychostimulant and rewarding effects which include a significant increase in dopamine levels. The other main side effects include:
Addiction and Withdrawal Symptoms
The euphoric qualities of Bath Salts are the sources of rapid addiction in users in addition to its being easy to obtain (e.g. the internet, convenience stores, and smoke shops). Unusually large doses of the drug prompt emergency room trips caused by psychotic episodes, but users still fail to cease drug use afterward. Standard drug treatments for a Bath Salts overdose are ineffective because of their complete chemical properties.
Withdrawal symptoms for Bath Salts addiction include cravings, depression, anxiety, fatigue, memory loss, inability to focus, sinus problems, violent behavior, and poor sleeping habits. Constant monitoring of the patient is crucial as well as a full detoxification regimen during the withdrawal period.
Long Term Effects of Bath Salts Abuse
Prolonged addiction to Bath Salts creates irreparable damage to bodily organs and severe psychological illness such as liver failure, heart attack, brain swelling, panic disorders, and psychosis. Professional treatment methods should be used to address addiction for the patient, family, and friends. Several U.S. states have introduced legislation to ban the sale of these drugs, labeling them with additional chemical dependency warnings.
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What is Cocaine?
Cocaine is a white powder, made from the coca plant, which is native to South America. It has a powerful stimulating effect and produces a short-term feeling of euphoria. Users have increased energy, are often talkative, and feel happy.
Cocaine can be inhaled in its powdered form. Once in the nose, the drug is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissue. It can also be dissolved in water and injected. Cocaine can be processed into small rocks, called crack, and then smoked. Smoking or injecting the drug deliver it into the system quicker and give a more powerful high, but the high doesn’t last as long. Smoking or injection high lasts from 5 to 10 minutes, while a snorting high can last up to half an hour.
The initial high from cocaine is difficult to replicate, and the short high is frustrating. This leads many users to binge on the drug, taking repeated hits in a short period to keep their high going. This type of behavior increases the risk of developing an addiction to the drug.
What Are the Consequences of Using Cocaine?
Frequent cocaine users are at an increased risk of suffering heart attacks and strokes, which can cause sudden death. They also have a higher risk than the general population for contracting HIV. This is due to sharing needles as well as behaving in risky sexual behavior due to impaired judgment. Nosebleeds, hoarseness, problems swallowing, and a chronically runny nose are all common in individuals who frequently snort cocaine.
Signs and Symptoms of Cocaine Abuse
Individuals who are abusing cocaine often experience changes in behavior. They may become irritable, restless, anxious and paranoia. Severe paranoia, including auditory hallucinations, where the user hears things that are not there, are common as well.
Effects of Cocaine Abuse
In addition to severe paranoia, abusing cocaine can lead to a variety of health issues. Cocaine use raises blood pressure and heart rate. Long-term use of the drug can lead to heart, nervous system, and respiratory problems. Cocaine abuse can also cause digestive problems and nutritional deficiencies. Individuals who inject the drug can develop severe skin infections and allergic reactions.
What are the Withdrawal Symptoms of Cocaine?
Withdrawal symptoms include tiredness, depression, an increase in appetite, trouble sleeping, unpleasant, vivid dreams, restlessness, slowed reaction time, movement, and slowed thinking. If you or someone you love is experiencing any symptoms or effects of cocaine abuse, please contact a few accredited cocaine rehab centers before it’s too late
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Some of the most potent medicinal compounds are found all around us in nature and can be accessed with relative ease if you know where to look. Many of these compounds are exceptionally useful in some medical applications, but there are several with extreme effects that offer questionable medical value. DMT is perhaps the most common of these questionable substances.
What is DMT?
One of the most common compounds found in nature is dimethyltryptamine or DMT. This powerful hallucinogen is completely inactive when taken orally in its raw form, such as the plants that produce it. The compound is metabolized by the digestion process long before it has a chance to reach the brain and create any psychedelic effects. However, there is a method of distilling it into a usable form that was discovered by indigenous people within the Amazon rainforest long ago. They brew a concoction called Ayahuasca that takes advantage of the effects of DMT to generate prolonged hallucinations for supposed spiritual or healing effects. DMT has since been synthesized by modern science into a pure form that can be injected or inhaled through vaporization, and these pathways bypass digestion to immediately deliver the hallucinogenic experience.
What are the Consequences of DMT Use?
Pure DMT injected or inhaled does only one thing, but it does that one thing better than any other substance known to man. This hallucinogen earned the nickname “the businessman’s trip” in the 1960s thanks to its quick onset and short, intense duration. Many users describe what they consider to be out-of-body experiences as a result of taking DMT, and some even claim to witness otherworldly entities that communicate with them from unknown dimensions. The experiences have been known to be as short as a few minutes, but some have been longer.
DMT Abuse Symptoms
There are very few measurable symptoms of someone abusing DMT. If the user is injecting the substance, you will clearly be able to identify puncture marks on their arms, but if they are inhaling or ingesting the material, it will be nearly impossible to tell by any visual examination. The symptoms of DMT abuse are much more psychological, and can often present as an apparent disconnection from reality, distractedness, or other mental instability.
Effects of DMT Abuse
The most serious potential negative effect of DMT abuse is self-harm while using the substance. Unless users are under close supervision while experiencing DMT they could easily hurt themselves or others without realizing what they are doing. The drug creates such vivid hallucinations that people have been known to attempt jumping from buildings while on the substance, amongst other reckless things.
DMT Withdrawal Symptoms
Dimethyltryptamine has no known physically addictive qualities so that regular users can discontinue use at any point without any painful withdrawal symptoms. DMT is thought to have some potential psychologically addictive traits, but those impulses are based on the user’s desire to experience the extreme state of altered consciousness once again.
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GHB, also known by the chemical name Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid, is a drug that suppresses the central nervous system. GHB is primarily found in the party, night club, and rave scenes and is mostly used by teens and young adults. The drug temporarily produces intense euphoria, increased sex drive, and elevated energy levels, which explains its popularity with the aforementioned groups. GHB is frequently combined with alcohol for additional effects.
What Are the Consequences of Using GHB?
The most immediate effects of using GHB are reduced inhibition and impaired judgment. Both of these effects can lead to a greater likelihood of engaging in risky or illegal behaviors such as promiscuous or unprotected sex, impaired driving, violent behavior and public lewdness. These effects may be increased if GHB is used alongside alcohol or other drugs.
While the lethal dose for GHB alone is quite high, this threshold is much lower when alcohol is involved because GHB inhibits the body’s ability to process and excrete alcohol. However, even without Combining GHB with other substances, the drug can cause extreme sedation, life-threatening depression of the respiratory system, seizures, and coma.
Signs and Symptoms of GHB Abuse
The main desirable effects of GHB wear off quickly, but there are potential side effects, and the negative after-effects tend to linger. These can include tremors, anxiety, impaired peripheral vision, breathing problems, agitation and irritability, seizures, mood swings, sleepiness, appetite suppression, unexplained weight loss, nausea, and vomiting.
Effects of GHB Abuse
GHB has a high potential for abuse and addiction, especially when it’s frequently used. If the drug is habitually taken alongside alcohol or other substances, the likelihood of experiencing life-threatening effects increases considerably. This is particularly true if the user requires continually larger doses of one or more of the substances to achieve the same effects, which is typical with any abused drug.
Consistent abuse of GHB, either alone or with other substances, can produce effects such as lethargy, respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, coma, and death. Furthermore, GHB is highly neurotoxic, which can have far-reaching effects on motor function, cognition, and mood when used heavily or for long periods.
What Are the Withdrawal Symptoms of GHB?
As with any other substance, ceasing use of GHB will cause withdrawal symptoms to appear. The symptoms are very similar to those seen in alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal. However, unlike these substances, GHB withdrawal can occur in as little as one hour after use.
The main effects can last anywhere between three days and three weeks, but mood effects may linger for months. GHB withdrawal symptoms may include:
The withdrawal from GHB can be extreme enough to be debilitating, and if the drug was frequently used for prolonged periods, it could be fatal. In moderate to severe cases of GHB withdrawal, patients usually require hospitalization to manage their symptoms and monitor their safety. The delirium is often treated using benzodiazepines, although much larger quantities are needed than with alcohol withdrawal-induced delirium.
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What are Hallucinogens?
Hallucinogens also referred to as ‘psychedelics,’ are substances that can make a person see, smell, hear, taste or perceive things that are not there or are different from how they are. Some hallucinogens are natural plants, for instance, magic mushrooms while others such as LSD can be prepared in a lab.
Consequences of Using Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens interfere with your brain’s ability to store selectively immediate experiences thereby distorting the perception of reality. The central part of the brain—the cortex—gets overwhelmed with sensations. This overflow of information, storing and comparing with past feelings is the basis of the psychedelic experience.
Using hallucinogens can make you feel several relatively contrasting emotions at once or even shift sharply from one emotion to another. Again, your thoughts could jump rapidly from one idea to another or memory to memory.
Hallucinogens produce visual hallucinations and delusions, for instance, altered shapes, light, and colors, and at times, abstract objects appear. These images can include limbs bleeding or melting down of walls, or glittering effects.
Hallucinogenic-related changes in perception make you panic and feel you are losing your mind. Using psychedelics can make you experience feelings of despair, terrifying thoughts, or fear of insanity and losing control and at times, fear of death. LSD users regularly lose their sense of time.
Signs and Symptoms of Hallucinogen Abuse
Heavy users tend to suffer from paranoia, depression, mood swings, blurred vision, and hallucinations. Again, psychedelics addicts tend to suffer from muscle twitches, be aggressive and at times, have a feeling of insects crawling under their skin. Psychedelics users suffer from other physiological effects such as dilated pupils, constricted blood vessels, increased body temperature and an increase in blood pressure and heart rate.
Other Effects of Hallucinogens
Most hallucinogens have an instant effect on the body. Sometimes they act as brain stimulants or as local aesthetics by duplicating the body’s adrenaline response to stress. When taken in small amounts, they make you experience false mental alertness particularly to your senses of touch, sound, and sight. Again, they make you feel energetic, become talkative and ecstatic. They also make you experience insomnia and loss of appetite. Long term use results in dependence and reversal in the brain’s reward system thereby causing addiction.
Long-term use of magic mushrooms, mescaline or LSD, results in anxiety, terminal liver damage, and panic attacks. Pregnant women risk miscarriage, deformities in newborns, low birth weight, the stillbirth of pregnancies, neonatal withdrawal syndrome or premature delivery. One may end up with sexual dysfunction, infertility, bowel incontinence, infection through puncture marks on the regularly injected body part and a high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS resulting from sharing needles.
Withdrawal Symptoms
Withdrawal from a hallucinogen addiction can involve depression, anxiety, irritability, paranoia and extreme fatigue. A severe craving for more of the drug develops. An irrational and repetitive patterned behavior could occur, implying that the person will repeat certain odd actions over and over again. Then, rigorous depressive conditions, agitated restlessness, and a syndrome known as toxic paranoid psychosis may set in.
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What is Heroin?
Heroin is a potent, addictive drug that is derived from a natural drug called morphine. Morphine can be found in an opium poppy plant from Asia. Heroin can be identified as a white powdery substance, but this powder may also be a shade of brown. Black tar heroin looks like a black, tacky material.
What are the Consequences of Using Heroin?
Long-term use of heroin can result in degeneration of the brain. Once this happens, the heroin user may have trouble making decisions and controlling their behavior. Spontaneous abortion, infectious diseases, pneumonia and many other health problems are some of the other consequences of using heroin. Babies born to women who take heroin may be very underweight, and these babies may have to be put in the hospital for treatment of heroin withdrawal symptoms. Toxic ingredients that are often added to heroin can cause irreversible damage to important organs like the lungs, liver, kidneys, and brain by creating blockages in the blood vessels. Heroin can make its user so dependent on the drug that if the user decides to suddenly break away from it, they will suffer from unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Death caused by an overdose can be another consequence of using heroin.
Signs and Symptoms of Heroin Abuse
The person abusing heroin will do just about anything to get it. A heroin abuser will sell all their material possessions to get the money to support their habit. If you see items this person owns start to suddenly disappear, it could be a sign of heroin abuse. Other signs and symptoms of heroin abuse include agitation, slow and shallow breathing, narrowing of the pupils, stomach upset, increased blood flow to the skin, and confusion. Heroin abuse may also encourage productive behavior.
Effects of Heroin Abuse
Habitual use of heroin often makes one physically dependent on the drug. Once this substance is taken, the user may feel extremely happy. They may experience dryness of the mouth, and their limbs may feel heavy. After the feeling of well-being passes, this person may have periods of feeling sleepy and then observant. Individuals who do not take heroin by injection may feel all the effects mentioned, but not the immediate feeling of euphoria.
What are the Withdrawal Symptoms of Heroin?
Withdrawal from heroin can produce harsh symptoms. Symptoms of heroin withdrawal include a feeling of uneasiness, pain in the bones and muscles, insomnia, kicking, loose stools, and throwing up. There may also be times when the person withdrawing from heroin will suddenly feel cold. Someone who’s trying to kick the habit may find it hard to do due to intense cravings for the drug.
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When recreational drugs are mentioned to the public, people will immediately think of common substances, such as cocaine or heroin. However, there are numerous drugs available today that are starkly different than these traditional stimulants. Inhalants are slowly growing in popularity among kids, teens, and even adults. Consider the various types of inhalants today and their impact on the mind and body.
What are Inhalants?
Inhalants are any substances that have noxious fumes. These fumes are byproducts of chemicals within a product, such as paint or cleaning agents. Some of the top inhalants include shoe polish, glue, pens and spray paints. These inhalants are often found around the home, so they’re easily used by almost any age group. Other substances, such as nitrous oxide, are also popular inhalants, but they’re often difficult to find.
What are the Consequences of Using Inhalants?
Users might say that they’re only breathing in a benign substance, but inhalants slowly damage the body on several levels. It’s possible to damage the kidneys, liver and bone marrow with regular inhalant use. The long-term hearing loss is also a concern, depending on the inhalants’ types. When you breathe in substance, it enters the lungs and filters out to the rest of the body by moving through the blood vessels. Over time, it’s possible to damage many other organ areas with inhalants because of their widespread travels across body membranes.
Signs and Symptoms of Inhalant Abuse
There are marked differences in a person when they’re addicted to inhalants. Users will display a lack of caring for either work or school. Grades and work performances might drop in quality. The person will usually have a poor attitude with angry feelings toward almost everyone. In some cases, users could have delusions as they go about their day.
Effects of Inhalant Abuse
If a person is currently under the influence of inhalants, you’ll notice several effects. When the person speaks, they’ll seem to be drunk because of slurred words and sounds. The user will be uncoordinated and might complain of dizziness. Nausea and sleepiness are other effects that you’ll see in an inhalant user. Over time, these effects will increase in frequency and strength unless the person can kick the habit.
What are the Withdrawal Symptoms of Inhalants?
Users may not think that they have an inhalant problem, but they’ll notice exact withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking the substance. They’ll feel muscle cramps, chills, and sweating. Headaches are common too. In severe withdrawal cases, users might have convulsions. The withdrawal period varies widely for every user because it depends on the inhaled substance and the length of time it’s been used as a drug.
It’s important for kids to know about possible inhalant dangers so that they can avoid any issues with use during social interactions. If they see friends trying an inhalant, they can walk away before it’s even offered to them. Preventing drug use and addiction is the best way to deal with this emerging drug culture.
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What Is Ketamine?
Ketamine is in a class of drugs known as dissociative anesthetics. It most often comes in liquid form so that it can be injected, but this drug can also be turned into a powder that is snorted, placed in a beverage, or smoked. Ketamine is also referred to as a “date rape” drug because it will make an individual completely unable to move or make decisions in higher doses. People often abuse this substance because it can create a dream-like state where the user feels disconnected from their body.
What Are the Consequences of Using Ketamine?
This is a very powerful substance that can be fatal when mixed with other drugs or taken in high doses. In the initial stages, users will often feel delirious, confused, and agitated as their cognitive functions are affected. As time goes on, many people will become completely oblivious to their surroundings. This drastically increases one’s risk of being placed in dangerous situations. Because this drug increases the user’s heart rate and blood pressure, there is a very high risk of overdosing when it is taken with any other drugs that affect one’s cardiovascular system. Those that inject ketamine increase their risk of contracting infections such as HIV and hepatitis C. This is also a restricted drug, so using, selling, or even possessing it can result in serious charges.
Signs and Symptoms of Ketamine Abuse:
Those that are abusing ketamine will often begin to show many of the same signs as those that are abusing powerful opiates and painkillers. They will start to lose their cognitive abilities and have difficulty speaking, walking, or carrying out any other regular tasks. At higher doses, they will often appear to be in a stupor and not respond to any stimuli. Anyone that has been abusing ketamine for an extended period might become agitated when they are coming down off of a high.
Effects of Ketamine Abuse:
Just as with any other potent substance, long-term abuse can result in a variety of serious side effects. Within a short period, this drug will begin to damage organs such as the heart and liver. Ongoing ketamine abuse will put an incredible amount of strain on these organs and can lead to organ failure. Individuals that abuse this drug regularly will also increase their risk of social and legal problems such as being fired from work or getting arrested while driving under the influence.
What Are the Withdrawal Symptoms of Ketamine?
Ketamine withdrawal symptoms will take place when a person steadily abuses this drug over an extended period or binges on the drug and then comes down off of their high. Some of the most common withdrawal symptoms include double vision, hearing loss, and an elevated heart rate. With severe addictions, the withdrawal symptoms might include a complete loss of motor skills, hallucinations, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
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Medicinal and recreational drugs are potent substances that can drastically affect your mental and physical well-being, so it’s of vital importance that you know as much as you can about these substances. LSD has been available on the US drug market for years, and it is one of the most severe compounds on the streets. Proper education is perhaps the most efficient way to combat the prevalence of such illicit substances.
What is LSD?
LSD is a hallucinogenic compound produced from lysergic acid found in the ergot fungus. The compound is synthesized in illegal labs and first takes on a crystalline form before it is converted into a liquid. The liquid is colorless, odorless, and often has a slightly bitter taste. When sold on the street LSD goes by the name ‘acid’ and can be found in solid tablets, gel caps, or absorbed into stamp sized pieces of paper. Occasionally LSD is sold as a liquid, but it’s rare to find it in such a form.
What are the Consequences of LSD Use?
The use of LSD creates vivid hallucinations within the mind of any who imbibe it, and these ‘trips’ as they are called in the drug community can last anywhere from 4 to 12 hours, depending on the potency of the substance. Often a user will find themselves in what is known as a ‘bad trip,’ in which case the effects of the drug have spiraled into a horrifying living nightmare. Users will believe they are experiencing terrifying instances of an untrue reality, like bleeding walls, physical bodily distortions, and other disconnections from the real world.
Symptoms of LSD Abuse:
It can be difficult to determine if someone is abusing LSD unless you catch them in the act of experiencing a trip.
Some signs you may watch out for if you suspect someone you know of using LSD are:
LSD can have several adverse effects with continuous use, like paranoia and even flashback scenarios in which the user suddenly begins feeling the effects of LSD without consuming any of the substance. LSD trips have been known to instill a false sense of understanding or insight that users want to replicate after the first use. In general, the drug puts the user into an altered state of consciousness that could lead to fear, panic, injury, and even death.
Withdrawal Symptoms of LSD:
Unlike many other illegal drugs LSD is not considered to be physically addictive, meaning it has no withdrawal symptoms associated with its use. For this reason, withdraw treatments aren’t required, but it should be noted that LSD is considered psychologically addictive, which explains why many users are unable to discontinue using the compound.
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What is Marijuana?
Marijuana is also widely known as Cannabis and by various other names such as ‘pot,’ ‘weed,’ or ‘bhang.’ Marijuana is a preparation of the hemp plant, Cannabis Sativa, used as a psychoactive drug or medicine. It has close to 500 active ingredients, but the primary psychoactive part of marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which makes you feel high.
What are the Consequences of Using Marijuana?
The other active compounds in Cannabis also affect how your body works. Sometimes, marijuana is used as a medicinal drug while at times used for recreation. In some legalized states or countries, it is used during chemotherapy to reduce vomiting and nausea, to help with muscle spasms, chronic pain and to improve appetite. When used for recreational purposes, it gives immediate desirable effects such as ecstasy and relaxation.
The drug can be smoked, vaporized or added to tea or food, but whichever way the drug gets into your body, the effects are still adverse. The active ingredients in the drug affect almost all organs of your body including the nervous system and the immune system. Taking marijuana increases your heart rate up to two-and-a-half times the average rate and can, therefore, result in a heart attack. It affects your blood sugar, lowers blood pressure and increases bleeding.
Signs and Symptoms of Marijuana Abuse
After using marijuana, its effects can last for 3-6 hours. One will suffer from dizziness, shallow and quick breathing, impaired psychomotor or slowed reaction time, red eyes, dilated pupils, or dry lips and mouth. Again, using the drug results in anxiety and an individual is always paranoid. You may also experience short-term memory loss, randomized thinking, and loss of the sense of time. Additionally, one is always confused, far from the real world, relaxed, or euphoric.
Effects of Marijuana Abuse
Long-term use of marijuana may lead to severe physiological and psychological damage. Heavy use lowers a man’s testosterone levels, and sperm count and quality that can affect your libido thereby resulting in infertility. Its use can also worsen health problems if you are suffering from conditions such as diabetes, low blood pressure or liver disease. The psychological outcomes could be suicidal thoughts, schizophrenia, and short-term psychosis. Smoking the drug adds tar to the lungs and may easily lead to cancer.
A 2015 review uncovered a connection between the use of Cannabis and Testicular Germ Cell Tumors (TGCTs) development. Long-term use of Cannabis is also suspected to be a cause of rare cases of a cardiovascular condition called arteritis. It may also lead to permanent impairment of attention and memory, which results in a decline in IQ.
What are the Withdrawal Symptoms of Marijuana?
Cannabis withdrawal symptoms are less severe compared to those of alcohol. Heavy users of marijuana are most likely to suffer withdrawal symptoms when they try quitting the use of the drug. These symptoms could be irritability, cravings, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and boredom. According to a 2013 review by the National Institute on Drugs Abuse (NIDA), those with a history of academic under-performance, deviant behavior in adolescence and childhood, rebelliousness, poor parental relationships, and a parental history of alcohol and other drugs abuse are at the highest risk of dependence.
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MDMA also called Ecstasy, “E,” “X” or “XTC.”
What is MDMA?
MDMA is an acronym for methylenedioxymethamphetamine. The drug, commonly referred to as Ecstasy, is popular among the Rave crowd. It comes in several forms including small, colored pills that are often strung on the elastic cord like candy necklaces; tablets, powder, salt crystals, and gel caps. In the powdered form, when it is thought to be unadulterated and pure, it is referred to as “Mandy” in the UK and “Molly” in the US. It does have some possible therapeutic uses, for instance in the treatment of PTSD, but it has dangerous side effects like impaired cognitive functioning. For this reason, it is seldom prescribed, and its use is mainly recreational.
Consequences of Using MDMA:
Within 30 to 60 minutes after ingesting the drug people begin to feel euphoric. They experience increased sociability and empathy— a sense of “oneness” with companions. Users report feelings of “inner peace” and a greater awareness of colors and sound. There is an increased sensuality and sexuality. It is also a mild hallucinogen. The drug effects peak at about two hours and last another three hours.
Signs and Symptoms of Abuse of MDMA:
Ecstasy is highly addictive. That means the primary sign that a person is abusing the drug is a drive to get more of it. Also, though, you can suspect Ecstasy abuse when you note someone is dehydrated, overheated, and grinding or clenching their teeth involuntarily. People who are abusing Ecstasy perspire profusely and have an increased heart rate and blood pressure. They can have a noticeable loss of appetite. Because of the sensory stimulation, drug users want to be touched. They have increased energy, for instance dancing all night at Rave parties. You might suspect MDMA abuse if you find the drug in a person’s possession and if they have irregular sleep patterns, staying awake for days and then sleeping for long periods of time. People who abuse Ecstasy also have little pain awareness.
Effects of Abusing MDMA:
Some symptoms of MDMA abuse subside within hours after using the drug, and others may last for a week or more. Some effects may persist for years. People who abuse Ecstasy experience paranoia, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, erectile dysfunction, pupil dilation and cognitive impairment. Depression and irritability can also occur and may persist for a week or more after the drug wears off. Some Ecstasy abusers have impaired memory and insomnia that may last for some time as well. Also, studies have shown that use of the drug can cause brain lesions—in other words, brain damage.
Withdrawal Symptoms from MDMA:
People withdrawing from Ecstasy may suffer from panic attacks and anxiety. They also may have insomnia and depression that is co-existing or arises from some of the other symptoms. Paranoid delusions are common in withdrawal, as is de-personalization and feelings of worthlessness.
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The usefulness of a drug is often characterized by its effects on the body and mind. Many natural substances make ideal medicines because of their beneficial responses to human disease, but some other compounds that are capable of interacting with our body chemistry have no direct medical value, or very little. Mescaline, or as it’s more commonly known, Peyote, is one such substance.
What is Mescaline?
The Peyote cactus is the source of mescaline, individually small disc-shaped growths near the crown of the plant. The substance is extracted from these growths by chewing or gentle boiling to capture the compound that produces hallucinations. For generations, mescaline has been used by the native people of both northern Mexico and the southwestern United States in both religious and spiritual ceremonies, as well as a recreational substance. The drug is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States, so access to the material is strictly prohibited and reserved for use in medical situations only.
What are the Consequences of Using Mescaline?
Only about half a gram of pure mescaline is enough to produce up to 12 hours of hallucinations in an average person. These altered states of consciousness are often accompanied by intense visual and auditory experiences, and they are usually categorized by those who experience them as euphoric or dreamlike. Some users, on the other hand, have reported anxiety, increased heart rate, disgust, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and many other unappealing side effects associated with a negative trip.
Mescaline Abuse Symptoms:
Overuse of mescaline can lead to a pronounced susceptibility to the most adverse side effects of the drug, which include vomiting, nausea, and other digestive issues associated with bodily toxins. Paranoia and anxiety will also affect the regular user of mescaline more so than others. If you suspect someone you know of abusing mescaline you will most likely only be able to confirm your suspicions by catching them in the act of using or having recently used the drug. A full range of mental illnesses can be exacerbated by the use of mescaline, so any new suspicious behaviors of the suspected user should be noted.
Effects of Mescaline Abuse:
Mescaline is primarily a hallucinogen, which means the primary mode of its affect on a person is psychological. Up to 12 hours of hallucinations can be experienced with a small amount of this substance, which can cause serious detriment to psyches of any level of stability. Physical self-harm, as well as the harm, is done to others, is one of the biggest potential risk factors involved with using mescaline. Continuous use will push the user further and further from reality as they break farther from it with each dose.
Mescaline Withdrawal Symptoms:
One positive about the use of mescaline is that it is not physically addictive, as is the case with many hallucinogens. The damage done while taking mescaline will have to be overcome, but no withdrawal symptoms will affect the user who decides to regain control over the substance.
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What Is Methamphetamine?
Methamphetamine is a stimulant drug. It has many other names, including meth, ice, crystal and chalk. This substance can be smoked, ingested or dissolved in alcohol or water. It can also be injected into the body. Methamphetamine works by increasing the amount of dopamine in the body. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is involved in motivation, reward, and pleasure. Meth users experience an intense feeling of euphoria.
This euphoric feeling quickly fades, which is why meth users continue to use the drug. Repeated meth use can easily lead to addiction. Methamphetamine has a Schedule II drug classification, which means that its potential for abuse is high. In rare cases, it used to treat ADHD. However, when meth is used for medical purposes, it is prescribed in small doses.
It is estimated that 0.4 percent of people in America have used meth within the past year. Additionally, 0.2 percent of individuals have used meth within the previous month.
What Are Consequences Of Using Meth?
Meth users like the feeling that they get when they use the drug. However, both short and long-term meth use can have serious consequences. Meth can raise the body temperature drastically, which can cause a person to pass out. It can also cause severe itching.
Long-term meth use can also cause a condition known as meth mouth. Meth mouth is where a person has a dry mouth and broken teeth due to meth use. Additionally, meth use can cause emotional problems.
Signs And Symptoms Of Meth Abuse
Some signs suggest a person is abusing meth. Individuals who abuse meth may have trouble sleeping, and they may also lose weight rapidly. They may suffer from anxiety. Additionally, they may be unusually active.
Effects Of Methamphetamine Abuse
Irregular heartbeat, violent, aggressive behavior and confusion are some of the many adverse effects of long-term meth abuse. It is important to note that meth is one of the most damaging illicit drugs on the market. Heavy meth users may experience hallucinations. There have been many stories reported of meth users picking their skin because they thought that bugs were crawling all over their body.
Meth can interfere with a person’s judgment. As a result of this, he or she is more likely to engage in risky behavior, such as unprotected sex. Furthermore, individuals who use meth are more liable to neglect responsibilities at work and home.
What Are The Withdrawal Symptoms?
Many meth users want to quit, but they find that the unpleasant withdrawal symptoms make this difficult. Heart palpitations, hypertension, tremors, and shaking are some of the possible withdrawal symptoms. Users may also experience an intense craving for the drug.
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What is PCP?
PCP, medically known as phencyclidine and known as Angel Dust on the streets, is a dissociative drug that was once used as a powerful anesthetic. However, because of its serious side effects, the medical usage of PCP was discontinued in 1965. Ironically, PCP’s side effects have also made it a popular recreational drug that comes in a variety of forms including pills, powder, and liquid.
What Are the Consequences of Using PCP?
Since PCP is highly addictive, there can be some severe consequences associated with using the drug. Due to the side effects caused by PCP, not only can users suffer from a variety of serious health issues, but they can also experience such things as job loss, alienation of family and friends, imprisonment, and extreme financial difficulties.
Signs and Symptoms of PCP Abuse:
Signs and symptoms of PCP abuse may vary among users; however, common signs of abuse often include rapid eye movements, blank staring, drooling, stuttering and loss of balance. Likewise, some common symptoms of PCP abuse typically include shallow breathing, blurry vision, nausea, vomiting, rapid heart rate and numbness in the extremities.
Effects of PCP Abuse:
The effects of PCP abuse leave users feeling as if they are detached from their bodies as well as their environment. This, in turn, can lead to hallucinations and extreme mood changes ranging from severe depression to violent hostility. Chronic abuse can cause memory loss, seizures or coma and may result in death through overdose or accidental suicide.
What Are the Withdrawal Symptoms of PCP?
People who want to quit using PCP may experience a variety of withdrawal symptoms as their bodies return to normal functioning without the drug. Although these symptoms may differ from one user to another, some common PCP withdrawal symptoms include the following conditions:
PCP, once widely used as an anesthetic in the medical world, is now a popular recreational drug known as Angel Dust. This is a powerful drug that can pose severe consequences as well as other health effects upon users, which is the primary reason medical officials discontinued its usage in medical facilities.
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What is Psilocybin?
Psilocybin is a psychedelic compound that occurs naturally. It is produced by many species of mushrooms, which are referred to as psilocybin mushrooms. As a prodrug, the body turns psilocybin into psilocin. This has mind-altering effects that mimic LSD, mescaline, and DMT. The general effects of psilocin are euphoria, changes in perception, visual and mental hallucinations, a spiritual experience, and a distorted sense of time. Other adverse reactions can occur such as nausea and panic attacks.
What are the consequences of using Psilocybin?
Some consider Psilocybin to be an entheogen, a tool for supplementing practices for religious transcendence, meditation, and Psychonauts. The duration and intensity of Psilocybin’s effects are variable. This depends on the species of mushrooms, how much is ingested, and individual body makeup. After ingestion, the body turns Psilocybin into Psilocin, which acts on the brain’s serotonin receptors. The resulting mind-altering effects last anywhere from two to six hours. This may seem longer to the user, however, as the drug alters one’s sense of time. There has been scientific research on the potential therapeutic benefits of Psilocybin in treating conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, cluster headaches, and cancer-related anxiety.
Signs and Symptoms of Psilocybin abuse.
Psilocybin is not physically addicting. The possibility of psychological addiction is present, however. Users of Psilocybin may exhibit signs such as dilated pupils, increase or loss of appetite, hypothermia, nausea, vomiting, increased heart rate, impaired motor skills, stomach pain, and rapid breathing. This covers the physical effects, but there are psychological effects as well. These include flashbacks, severe emotions, panic attacks, depression, Schizophrenia, psychosis, and paranoid delusions. Many of these effects will last the duration of the drug. Typically, the effects lessen shortly after the drug is out of the system.
Effects of Psilocybin Abuse
There are possibilities of dangerous situations arising when abusing Psilocybin. The psychological effects can be hazardous. There is often a psychological fallout with the misuse of Psilocybin. Use of this drug can cause had adverse consequences on the body, such as short-term memory loss, extreme paranoia, unwanted hallucinations, and the onset of schizophrenia. A user must also consider the various outcomes Psilocybin can have in other areas of life. Loss of family, loss of career, and the loss of stability, both financially and emotionally. Additionally, using Psilocybin can result in a prison sentence.
What are the withdraw symptoms of Psilocybin?
Psilocybin does not cause any physiologic addiction. However, long-term abusers of Psilocybin who are going through withdraw may experience depression, flashbacks, or insomnia. Unexpected flashbacks can be brought on by stress, fatigue, or other mind-altering drugs such as alcohol or marijuana. However, there is not yet any documented evidence of withdrawal symptoms of Psilocybin.
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What Is Salvia?
Salvia is short for Salvia Divinorum. It has many nicknames, including Hojas De Maria, Sally D, and Magic Mint. This is a herb that is native to southern Mexico. It is known for producing hallucinogenic effects. There are several ways that Salvia can be ingested. The juices from the leaves can be extracted. People can also chew the Salvia leaves. Additionally, people can put Salvia in a pipe or cigarette and smoke it, or they can vaporize and inhale it.
What Are The Consequences Of Using Salvia?
The active ingredient in Salvia is Salvinorin A. It targets the kappa opioid receptors. The effects of Salvia are felt quickly. In fact, one can start experiencing symptoms within one minute of using the herb. The effects go away within 30 minutes. Feelings of detachment, emotional swings, changes in visual perception and decreased the ability to interact with surroundings. Other effects include uncontrolled laughter, hallucinations and lack of control of body movements.
Signs And Symptoms Of Salvia Abuse
Many people will only use Salvia one time because they find their first time using it to be an unpleasant experience. However, others will continue to use it for a long time. Because the effects of Salvia are short-lived, it can be difficult to detect whether a person is abusing this herb.
Some signs are common in all individuals who are abusing a drug. Mood changes are one of the symptoms a person may experience. One may become more depressed and withdrawn. Uncooperativeness, hostility, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, deteriorating family relationships and trouble concentrating are some of the signs a person may exhibit if he or she is abusing Salvia.
Effects Of Salvia Abuse
There have not been many studies done to examine the long-term effects of Salvia abuse. That is why most states have not passed any legislation to make Salvia illegal. There have not been any stories reported of people dying from a Salvia overdose. However, there have been quite a few stories reported of people dying because they did something dangerous while under the influence of Salvia.
In 2012, a man committed suicide after smoking Salvia several times in a week for several months. He shot himself in the face. His mother and girlfriend reported that he could not stop using the drug, which means that it can potentially be psychologically-addictive.
Withdrawal Symptoms Of Salvia
One of the reasons people have a hard time quitting Salvia is because it can potentially cause withdrawal symptoms. Some of the reported withdrawal symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea. However, more research needs to be done to examine the effects of Salvia.
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The majority of people are familiar with the drug called pot or marijuana which is a natural plant found in nature. In today’s modern drug world, there are synthetic versions of this drug type. Synthetic cannabinoids are similar to real marijuana but are human-made products with detrimental effects. Familiarize yourself with synthetic cannabinoids and their addictive qualities so that you can avoid any possible addiction.
What are Synthetic Cannabinoids?
Traditional marijuana needs to be grown and carefully cultivated, but synthetic cannabinoids are entirely different. Drug manufacturers simply need random plant material, so that they can spray on a chemical. This chemical-covered plant material is smoked in pipes for a high. Alternatively, manufacturers create a liquid cannabinoid drug that’s vaporized for instant absorption into mucous membranes. These synthetic cannabinoids are also referred to as “Spice” or “K2” on the streets. It is not real marijuana, but it’s a substance meant to mimic the typical plant’s effects on the brain.
What are the Consequences of Using Synthetic Cannabinoids?
Because synthetic cannabinoids are relatively new to the drug scene, there isn’t an extensive library of their long-term effects. However, extended periods of psychosis have been evaluated by doctors and scientists. The person doesn’t have to be under the influence of the drug to have psychotic episodes. Doctors are concerned about kids and teenagers taking synthetic cannabinoids during their developmental years. The chemicals permanently alter the brain in younger users.
Signs and Symptoms of Synthetic Cannabinoids Abuse
If you’re worried about a loved one being under the influence of synthetic cannabinoids, there are distinct signs and symptoms of abuse. Users will have an elevated mood and perceive the world around them in strange ways. In some cases, nausea and vomiting afflict the user too. They’ll be relaxed at one moment while suffering from a rapid heartbeat in only a few minutes. Chemicals within synthetic cannabinoids are so different with each batch that symptoms often evolve with each hit.
Effects of Synthetic Cannabinoids Abuse
Synthetic cannabinoids are highly addictive, so their effects are usually apparent to close friends and relatives. A friendly person might develop a violent side to their personality. Some users describe hallucinations and visions that they see as they go about their day. As a result of these cognitive changes, many users have suicidal thoughts. Unless the user stops this harmful habit, the adverse side effects will add up over time.
What are the Withdraw Symptoms of Synthetic Cannabinoids?
Addicted people want to continue their synthetic cannabinoid use because it wards off frustrating withdrawal symptoms. Without spice’s influence, users feel anxiety and lash out with irritable tirades. They often suffer from depression and headaches too. These effects will wear off, but the user must have the strength to deal with the withdrawal.
Almost every synthetic drug has the potential for addiction, so it’s important to know what’s around you at parties, concerts, and other events. Don’t smoke or ingest any substance unfamiliar to you. Addiction might occur by accident with far-reaching effects in the future.
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