Drugs and Their Side Effects

As, we all know there are about 25 million Americans that are addicted to drugs, Rather it be street, over the counter, prescription, or alcohol, all of these have side effects on your everyday life. Early drug use can lead to Family problems, Low self esteem and parents not being able to take on parenting roles.

Although some people think that if they just do it this one time it will be ok, I won't get hooked but what these people fail to realize is that drugs are very addictive especially heroin and using just one time can lead to the drug abuse.

Nowadays prescription drugs are getting easier for children to get a hold of because of where adults keep them, usually in the medicine cabinet, prescription drug abuse in children is becoming more prominent in today kids and this leads into them abusing drugs usually as an adult, or even worse harder drug use at an early stage in life. This can lead to mental health issues in the adolescent years, along with a poor vision of themselves and failing grades in school.

Every drug user is different in ways, but are the same in many ways, they have a problem with drugs.

Take for example John Doe who is a rich kid, was raised by a good set of parents, was a great student in school, and had no problem making friends, Never missed a day at work till something went completely wrong in his life; He begin using drugs to help him forget the problems he was facing.

He had a good friend named Jane Doe who was raised in a problem family, she had a hard time in school, and problems making friends, Jane begin using drugs because of this and while she was using, thought that she was doing well, everyone was her friend and she was the life of the party, what Jane failed to realize was that her life was based around the drugs that she was using.

See how the two are the same but yet different?

How drugs affect family life

Jane gets married and has children, but Jane still has a problem with drugs and so does her husband, Jane and her husband fight on a daily biases and neither one of them are able to provide for the children, The children are not getting the nourishment that parents should provide on a daily biases. There are many families that are like this in this world.

What types of drugs are there, how are they used and how each drug affects your life?

First let's talk about the most typical type of drug, the one that is well known alcohol.

Alcohol is the most common type of drug because it is legal, and even though sellers are supposed to check State issued Id's, many to this day don't, Thus making it easy for teens to get. Alcohol affects people in many ways; a lot of people don't realize that the more they drink what type of damage is actually done,

With the first drink you take alcohol starts to play with the hands eyes- coordination, alcohol will and does blur the vision; And the more you drink the worse it gets, If you are out driving you are more likely to cause an accident and possibly kill yourself or worse yet, someone else. Alcohol gives a warm feeling over the body and distorts your memory; this is why a lot of people don't remember what they have done the night before.

Not only does alcohol have these side effects but also many others, When a pregnant women drinks it is affecting the unborn child and can lead to fetal alcohol disorder, small birth weight, and premature births, Alcohol has also been known to cause brain damage in children and miscarriages.

Short term effects include hangovers, fatigue, headaches, nausea and the effects of continued alcohol abuse include malnutrition, brain damage, liver damage, heart muscle damage, high blood pressure , nerve damage, pancreatitis, increased cancer risks, esophagus bleeding, erectile dysfunction in men, insomnia and depression, And can lead to death.

Another type of drug that is the easiest to get are Cigarettes,

Cigarettes have nicotine and carcinogens (which can and have been known lead to cancer), nicotine affects the body in many ways, people are more likely to develop emphysema, a breathing condition in the lungs and can kill you, Every time you light a cigarette you take 5 minutes off of your life span.

It has been said that smoking is one of the hardest to quit, the reason so being is not only because of all of the drugs in a cigarette, but it is also physically addictive, hand to mouth.

Pregnant women that smoke are also passing the nicotine and carcinogens on to the unborn child which can cause low birth weight and also premature birth.

One of the easiest drugs that adolescents get a hold of is prescription drugs.

Rather it be cough and cold, pain medicine or anything else that can get a adolescent high and they enjoy it they will take, Because it is one of the easiest for them to get their hands on, all they have to do is open the medicine cabinet.

Date Rape drugs,

There are 5 different types of date rape drugs, and People may not know that 1 of the drugs are common.

The most common drug is Alcohol and is the one that is used most often, alcohol relaxes the body, and distorts the mind enough that anyone using it may not know what they are doing, and can lead into sex without the person actually knowing what is happening, remember that this is still rape and can get you into trouble with the law.

The second favorite date rape drug that people use is GHB, This drug takes effect in about 15 minutes after it is given to somebody, and can last hours.

This date rape drug is made at home or is made in street labs, therefore you don't know what is in it and what effect it will have on you, GHB is very potent thus is very easy to overdose on.

GHB has the following side effects. Relaxation, Drowsiness, Dizziness, Nausea, Problems seeing, Loss of consciousness (black out), Seizures, Problems breathing, Tremors, Sweating, Vomiting, Slow heart rate, Dream-like feeling, Coma and Death

The most heard about date rape drug is called Ecstasy; This can be slipped into a drink while the person is not looking and makes the person more "lovey- dovy " Thus leading into someone being taken advantage of, Anyone willing to take ecstasy has a higher chance of being raped.
The last date rape drug we will talk about is called rohypnol:

(aka Bump, psychedelic heroin)
A person who has taken this may appear drunk, have slurred speech, may pass out, Rohypnol has the same side effects as GHB.
The most common street drugs are
Stimulants are also known as:
Ecstasy, Aka: the date rape drug; comes mostly in pill form. Physical nerviness, memory problems, problems sleeping, kidney failure, cardiac arrest

Meth
AKA speed comes in many forms and colors, Causes the body's nervous system to speed up, causing paranoia and many other problems

Cocaine AKA: coke, snow, and blow Causes anxiety, paranoia, and depression

Depressants are also known as:

Cannabis
AKA pot, weed, marijuana

Studies link this drug with depression, suicide and mental health issues.

Benzodiazepines
Aka: volume
drowsiness, slowed breathing, slurred speech

Heroin

People doing this drug usually experience
Loss of appetite, loss of sexual desire, and chronic constipation.

Hallucinogens are also known as

LSD
Aka: Acid
Increased body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, agitation and loss of appetite.
Long term effects, include flashbacks, decreased memory, prolonged depression and anxiety

Mushrooms AKA: magic mushies
causes poor coordination, and concentration, increased body temps with cold sweats,
long-term effects: Flashbacks and confusion

If any of these drugs are mixed it can lead to death,

Signs that someone is using drugs, sudden drop in grades, they become anti-social, chronic tiredness, if you see any of these signs please get them help as soon as possible, but keep in mind that unless they want the help it may not do any good.

Also remember that talking to them about other subjects, such as previous good times that you may have had together may help in the recovery of the person, always have an open ear and be willing to listen, if you are the support person and they call you at 3 in the morning don't have a closed mind as this may only push them back into a relapse.

Most of this is based on what I remember as a child growing up in a house with a stepmother who was a drug addict and a father that was an alcoholic.