If you’re overwhelmed and feeling stressed by the pressure to perform, there are safer, more effective solutions than taking medication that hasn’t been prescribed to you.

AKA

Addies, Study Drugs, the Smart Drug

What is it?

Adderall is the trade name for a prescription stimulant (amphetamine) used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

When prescribed and taken correctly, under medical supervision, prescription stimulants can help treat a few health conditions. In addition to ADHD, they can be used to treat narcolepsy and occasionally depression. In treating ADHD, stimulants help regulate and normalize the dopamine and norepinephrine function in the brain, so a patient with this condition can focus better and pay more attention.1

Other brand-name prescription stimulants include Adderall, Ritalin, Dexedrine, and Benzedrine.

The Risks

These drugs require a prescription for a reason. When abused they can become dangerous, and in some circumstances, even deadly. Effects include increased blood pressure and heart rate, and at high doses, stimulants can cause irregular heartbeat, dangerously high body temperatures and the potential for seizures or heart failure.

Combining with alcohol can make for an especially dangerous mix. Stimulants mask the alcohol’s depressant effects, increasing the risk for alcohol overdose or poisoning.

Long-Term Effects

Stimulants can be addictive. The more you take, the easier it is to get hooked. Taking high doses of some stimulants repeatedly over a short time can lead to feelings of hostility or paranoia. There is also the potential for cardiovascular failure (heart attack) or lethal seizures.

The Bottom Line

Some people mistakenly believe that prescription stimulants can help them focus and perform better in school, whether or not they’ve been diagnosed with ADHD. Multiple studies show this isn’t the case; in fact nonmedical use of prescription stimulants has been linked to lower GPAs among college students.

If you haven’t been diagnosed with a condition that requires taking these drugs, and aren’t taking them under a doctor’s supervision, stimulant abuse can lead to dangerous side effects. If you’re overwhelmed by the pressure to perform well in school, there are more effective solutions.

Alcohol is a depressant that affects nearly every part of your body. The damage it does now can impact the rest of your life.

AKA

Drink, booze, brew, liquor, sauce

What is it?

Alcohol is a depressant derived from the fermentation of natural sugars in fruits, vegetables and grains. These are brewed and distilled into a wide range of beverages with various alcohol contents.

The Risks

In small doses, some of the short-term effects of alcohol are reduced tension and relaxation, but these are also accompanied by reduced inhibition (your ability to stop yourself from doing something you know you shouldn’t), coordination and reaction time – all of which put you at risk.

When you drink a lot and drink fast (binge drinking), the risks go up even faster. In addition to the serious danger of alcohol poisoning, the depressant effects of alcohol can overwhelm your body’s defenses. Unable to move and think clearly, you can do risky and reckless things that are unsafe, or even lethal.

Each year, approximately 5,000 people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking. This includes about 1,900 deaths from car accidents, 1,600 homicides, 300 suicides, and hundreds of other deaths due to accidents like falls, burns and drownings.

Long-Term Effects

Alcohol travels through your bloodstream and can damage your brain, stomach, liver, kidneys and muscles. As a teenager, your body is still developing, so damage done to it now can affect the rest of your life.3 Over time, drinking can wreak havoc with your body and mind.

The Bottom Line

Yes, it’s legal for people 21 and older. One reason is that alcohol can have seriously dangerous, long-term impacts on a body and brain that are still developing. Also, statistics show that more teens are killed by alcohol than by all illegal drugs combined.

Though the name may sound harmless, bath salts contain dangerous synthetic stimulants that carry the risk of easy overdose, hallucinations and even death.

AKA

Brand names include Blizzard, Blue Silk, Charge+, Ivory Snow, Ivory Wave, Ocean Burst, Pure Ivory, Purple Wave, Snow Leopard, Stardust, Vanilla Sky, White Dove, White Knight and White Lightning

What is it?

A synthetic stimulant, typically in the form of a white or brown crystalline powder, that contains one or more chemicals that are physically similar to amphetamines and MDMA (ecstasy), but whose effects on the human brain are not fully known yet. Because the drug is new and some of the contents unknown, using Bath Salts in any way is highly dangerous.

The Risks

There have been reports of a surge in visits to emergency rooms and poison control centers linked to Bath Salts. Their full risks and effects are still unknown, but commonly reported reactions include rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, chest pains, agitation, hallucinations, extreme paranoia, aggressive behaviors, and delusions. Bath salts have also been fatal in several instances.

Long-Term Effects

Bath salts are a relatively new drug, so it’s hard to know the full range of long-term effects, but they seem to have many similarities to methamphetamine (meth). Taking a lot of it for a long time can lead to emotional and physical “crash-like” feelings of depression, anxiety and intense cravings for more of the drug.

The Bottom Line

Since it contains amphetamine-like chemicals, bath salts are likely to carry the risk of stroke, heart attack and sudden death. Bath Salts may be marketed as a cheap substitute for drugs like cocaine, but the risks could be costly. And risks are compounded by the fact that these drugs can contain other, unknown ingredients with their own hidden dangers.

If you haven’t been diagnosed and aren’t taking these drugs under a doctor’s supervision, abuse can lead to dangerous side effects. If you’re momentarily feeling stressed or overwhelmed, there are better solutions.

AKA

Xanies, Sticks, Bars, BenZ

What is it?

Benzodiazepines (“Benzos”), like brand-name medications Valium and Xanax, are among the most commonly prescribed depressants in the US. They are most frequently used to treat anxiety and tension.

The Risks

Side effects can include impaired motor skills, drowsiness, fatigue, depression, impaired memory and cognitive function, slurred speech, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. And because depressants work by slowing the brain’s activity, they can diminish heartbeat and respiration to dangerously low levels. This is especially true when depressants are combined with alcohol or OTC medications. It’s a combination that can become lethal.

Long-Term Effects

Depressants are highly addictive drugs, and when chronic users or abusers stop taking them, they can experience severe withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety, insomnia and muscle tremors. In fact, going “cold turkey” off of some depressants can have life-threatening consequences, like seizures, convulsions and, in rare instances, death.

The Bottom Line

Depressant drugs can make you depressed, confused and irritable. And addiction increases your chances of more dangerous outcomes, like overdose, slowed breathing and heart rate, and even death.

Cocaine is a highly addictive drug that can be risky even the first time you use it. Common side effects include increased heart rate and blood pressure, but seizures, cardiac arrest and even death are real dangers.

AKA

Blow, bump, C, candy, Charlie, coke, snow

What is it?

Powder cocaine is a hydrochloride salt derived from processed extracts of the leaves of the coca plant. “Crack” is a type of processed cocaine that is formed into a rock-like crystal.

The Risks

Cocaine is a powerful stimulant, which means it might keep you wired, but not without major risks. Cocaine causes your blood vessels to constrict immediately, increasing your heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. At first, this may make you sweaty and shaky, but seizures, cardiac arrest and even death are real risks. The risk of sudden death is even greater when cocaine is combined with alcohol.

Long-Term Effects

Cocaine, like most drugs of abuse, targets and overstimulates your brain’s natural reward system. While this may result in the drug’s pleasurable effects, over time it can actually change the way your brain works, teaching you to repeat the behavior. In other words, cocaine can be highly addictive. And smoking it, in the form of “crack,” increases the risk of addiction because it gets into your brain even faster. Binge-pattern use – taking the drug repeatedly and at higher doses in a short period of time – can lead to irritability and anxiety. Abusers may even experience temporary states of paranoid psychosis.

Prolonged cocaine snorting can irritate and cause scabs to form on your mucus membranes, damage your nasal septum (the thin wall that separates your left and right nostrils) and eventually make your nose collapse.

The Bottom Line

Using cocaine or crack-even only once—is dangerous, and the more you use, the worse the effects are on your brain and heart. Continued use can make you depressed, agitated and manic. Cocaine-related deaths are often caused by cardiac arrest or seizures, followed by respiratory failure (meaning, you stop breathing).

When taken as directed, DXM is a safe cold medicine. When abused at higher doses, DXM can be lethal.

AKA

Robotripping, robo, tussin, triple c, dex, skittles, velvet, drank

What is it?

DXM (dextromethorphan) is a cough-suppressing ingredient in many OTC (over-the-counter) cold and cough medications. It’s safe if you take it for a cold and as directed, but taking it at doses higher than the recommended amount can be lethal.

The Risks

A single high dose of DXM can completely distort your vision, and make you dizzy, agitated and paranoid. Hallucinations are another side effect of DXM intoxication. And it can also affect your body. Taking large doses of DXM can make you vomit, lose your coordination and impair your judgment. When abused at high enough doses, DXM can suppress the central nervous system, and result in death.

Long-Term Effects

People who abuse DXM can develop a psychological dependence on the drug, increasing risks over the long-term. DXM can cause serious damage when abused. And many of the over-the-counter medications that contain DXM, also include other ingredients such as antihistamines, analgesics or decongestants that may increase the harmful effects, including potentially fatal liver injury. In combination with alcohol or other drugs, DXM can also lead to overdose and death.

The Bottom Line

Taken as directed to treat a cold or cough, DXM is a safe drug. Abused at high doses, it can impair your senses and it can be deadly. In 2003, a 14-year-old boy in Colorado who abused DXM died when two cars hit him as he tried to cross a highway. Investigators believe that taking DXM affected the boy’s depth perception and caused him to misjudge the distance and speed of the oncoming vehicles.

Once popular at raves and clubs, with GHB, you run the risk of unconsciousness, seizures, coma and even death.

AKA

G, Georgia homeboy, grievous bodily harm, liquid ecstasy, soap, scoop, goop, liquid X

What is it?

GHB, or Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, is a depressant that affects the central nervous system. It first became popular as a club drug at all-night dance parties and raves. It is sometimes used in combination with other party drugs, like Ecstasy and alcohol, which increases its risks, and can be lethal.

The Risks

GHB has severe physical effects. These can range from vomiting, drowsiness and visual distortion, to unconsciousness, seizures, slowed heart rate and even death. Its effects on the brain, including confusion and memory loss – even amnesia – lower your defenses and can make you especially vulnerable. Because GHB is generally taken in a liquid mixture, it’s easy to take it without knowing it, and easy to take too much, which puts you in a vulnerable situation—that’s why it’s known as a date rape drug. Even at a low dose, the drug is extremely dangerous, but taken at a higher dose, or when combined with alcohol, GHB can lead to lung failure, coma and even death.

Long-Term Effects

Using GHB repeatedly can cause severe withdrawal symptoms, including insomnia, anxiety, tremors, and increased heart rate and blood pressure.

The Bottom Line

With GHB, the nickname “grievous bodily harm” is actually no joke. Coma and seizures can occur whenever you use GHB. Combined with other drugs or alcohol, its use can result in lung failure and death.

Hallucinogens disrupt the normal functioning of your brain, making it hard to think, communicate and focus on reality. Psychosis, panic attacks and dangerous accidents are all possible risks.

What is it?

Hallucinogens are drugs that distort the way you perceive reality. They can cause you to see, feel and hear things that don’t exist, making it hard to communicate or think clearly. They can also cause rapid, intense emotional mood swings.

Hallucinogens work by disrupting how your nerve cells and the neurotransmitter serotonin interact throughout the brain and spinal cord.1 By changing the normal, healthy structure of serotonin in the body, hallucinogens twist and alter the way your brain processes your senses, feelings and visual information, loosening your grip on reality.

LSD (AKA: Acid, blotter, cubes, microdot, yellow sunshine, blue heaven, Cid): an odorless, colorless chemical that comes from ergot, a fungus that grows on grains.

Mushrooms (Psilocybin) (AKA: Simple Simon, shrooms, silly putty, sherms, musk, boomers): psilocybin is the hallucinogenic chemical found in approximately 190 species of edible mushrooms.

Mescaline (AKA: Cactus, cactus buttons, cactus joint, mesc, mescal, mese, mezc, moon, musk, topi): occurs naturally in certain types of cactus plants, including the peyote cactus.

The Risks

Taking any hallucinogens can cause you to experience anxiety, fear and paranoia, sometimes verging on psychosis (a complete loss of contact with reality). In this state of mind, it can be very easy to have a dangerous, or even fatal, accident.

Long-Term Effects

Though more common with LSD, all hallucinogens can cause flashbacksófeelings and thoughts that replay the effects of being on the drug weeks or even years after taking them. Since all hallucinogens disturb the normal functioning of the brain, they put you at risk of developing long-lasting psychoses or mental disorders.

The Bottom Line

The effects of hallucinogenic drugs are highly unpredictable. They depend on the amount taken and on your own unique personality and brain chemistry. And regardless of the effects being sought, these drugs almost always impair judgment, compounding their unpredictability, and making you vulnerable to dangerous or even fatal situations, in addition to the longer-term risks to your mental health.

Heroin is a highly addictive drug. And overdose is a real, and deadly risk.

AKA

Smack, horse, brown sugar, dope, H, junk, skag, skunk, white horse, China white, Mexican black tar

What is it?

Heroin is an opiate, a class of drugs that are either naturally derived from the flowers of the poppy plant, or synthetic substitutes. In the case of heroin, it’s produced from morphine, a naturally occurring substance that comes from the seedpod of poppy plants. All opiate abuse, including heroin and many prescriptions painkillers, carries a strong risk of addiction and physical dependence. Heroin is abused by injecting, snorting or smoking it, and all three can cause the same level of addiction, as well as serious health problems.

The Risks

Heroin enters the brain very quickly, making it particularly addictive. It’s estimated that almost one-fourth of the people who try heroin become addicted. And over time, heroin users develop a tolerance, meaning that more and more of the drug is needed to achieve the same results.

It is extremely easy to not only become addicted, but to become physically dependent on heroin as well. Physical dependence occurs when your body adapts to the drug’s presence, causing withdrawal – symptoms include muscle and bone pain, diarrhea and vomiting – when use stops. Chronic heroin users can begin experiencing withdrawal in as little as a few hours.

Heroin suppresses breathing, which is why using heroin always carries the risk of overdose and death.1 Also, heroin often has additives that will not dissolve in the bloodstream. This can easily cause a blood clot to form and travel to the lungs, liver, heart or brain, which is instantly fatal.

Long-Term Effects

In a short amount of time, regular heroin use destroys the body. Common conditions that plague heroin users include infection of the heart lining and valves, liver disease, lung disease, and hepatitis and HIV/AIDS from needle use.

The Bottom Line

It’s a fast high, but just as quickly, it can take over your life, and become fatal. Heroin and other opiate addictions are treatable, but the path to recovery requires a commitment that can often last years or even decades.

Inhalants are toxic chemical vapors. Sniffing, huffing or inhaling these chemicals can cause brain damage and even be fatal.

AKA

Laughing gas, poppers, snappers, whippets

What is it?

Inhalants are dangerous chemical vapors produced by a range of common, but highly toxic, substances. When inhaled, these chemicals can cause damaging, mind-altering effects and sudden death. The three main types of inhalants are: solvents, gases and nitrates. Inhalants can be found in a range of products – like paint thinners, glues, cleaning products, gases, lighter fluids and aerosol sprays – that may be common, but are highly toxic when abused.

The Risks

Since the “high” feeling of inhalants lasts only a few minutes, people often use them over and over again, which is extremely dangerous. “Sudden sniffing death” can happen to a completely healthy young person from a single session of inhalant use.

Inhalants produce effects similar to those of anesthesia. They slow the body down, produce a numbing feeling and can cause unconsciousness. Inhaling concentrated amounts of these chemicals can cause heart failure, suffocation, convulsions, seizures and coma.

Long-Term Effects

Inhalants go through the lungs and into the bloodstream, and are quickly distributed to the brain and other organs in the body.1 Ongoing exposure to inhalants can lead to brain or nerve damage that produces results similar to that of multiple sclerosis. Inhalants can also do damage to the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. Prolonged abuse can permanently affect thinking, movement, vision and hearing.

The Bottom Line

Inhalants can be damaging to both your body and brain. The dangerous effects can be irreversible, and the truth is, inhaling or “huffing” toxic chemicals can be deadly – even the very first time.

Ketamine is an animal tranquilizer that can knock you out, and leave you unconscious and vulnerable.

AKA

K, special K, vitamin K, cat valium

What is it?

Ketamine hydrochloride, or “K,” is a powerful anesthetic designed for use during operations and medical procedures.

The Risks

Ketamine produces a range of effects, from intoxication to delirium. It can also make you unable to move and feel pain. Since it’s an anesthetic, you can easily black out and forget what happened while under the drug’s influence. When combined with simple activities like driving, this drug can become deadly.

A side effect of the drug called a “K-hole” is described as a frightening near-death experience by users who are left feeling completely detached from their body and unable to move.

Long-Term Effects

Using ketamine can cause profound physical and mental problems, including impaired learning ability and memory, amnesia and potentially fatal respiratory problems. Cases are also being reported of significant urinary tract dysfunction linked to ketamine use.

The Bottom Line

In some cases, ketamine can make you black out and become unable to move, so you’ll feel like you’re dead. In other cases, it can make you black out while you continue to be able to move, making you vulnerable to a variety of dangers, including accidents or even assault.

LSD is one of the strongest hallucinogenic drugs. It can disrupt the normal functioning of your brain, possibly for the short term, and possibly for life.

AKA

Acid, blotter, cubes, microdot, yellow sunshine, blue heaven, Cid

What is it?

LSD (or its full name: lysergic acid diethylamide) is a potent hallucinogen that dramatically alters your thoughts and your perception of reality. It was discovered in 1938 in a fungus that grows on rye and other grains. LSD has a high potential for abuse.

The Risks

LSD disrupts how your nerve cells and the neurotransmitter serotonin interact throughout the brain and spinal cord.1 By disturbing the normal functioning of the brain, LSD distorts visual judgment, sensations, moods and feelings. In high enough doses, hallucinations and delusions can occur.

These changes can quickly become frightening. Some users experience terrifying thoughts, feelings of despair, fear of losing control, fear of insanity, or even fear of death. When you’re completely unable to get a grip on reality, it becomes very easy for an unexpected, fatal accident to happen.

Long-Term Effects

Flashbacks are a strange but relatively common experience of LSD users. Suddenly and without warning, a few days or even a year later, the brain can produce feelings and thoughts that replay the effects of being on the drug. In some people, these flashbacks can occur over and over again, causing a debilitating condition known as Hallucinogen-Induced Persisting Perceptual Disorder (HPPD). Flashbacks or not, LSD users can also experience long-lasting psychoses (a complete loss of contact with reality) or severe depression.

The Bottom Line

LSD disrupts the normal functioning of the brain, making you see images, hear sounds and feel sensations that seem real but aren’t. Losing touch with reality can put you at risk of suffering dangerous or even fatal accidents, in addition to losing touch with yourself and the world around you.

Marijuana is at the center of a lot of debate, and there’s often exaggerated and even false claims made by those on each of the opposing sides. What matters is understanding how it can impact you as a teen, and that information can be hard to find in the middle of so much hype. Laws are changing, and there’s potential for new medical treatments, but these don’t erase the risks.

AKA

Blunt, dope, ganja, grass, herb, joint, bud, Mary Jane, pot, reefer, green, trees, smoke, skunk, weed, hash, tea, chronic, loud

What is it?

A green and brown mix of dried flowers, stems, seeds and leaves from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa.1 The main active chemical is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which moves quickly through the bloodstream to the brain and other organs throughout the body.

The Risks

THC acts on specific targets in the brain, called cannabinoid receptors. Ordinarily, these receptors are activated by brain chemicals similar to THC that are part of a neural communication system, and play an important role in brain development and function. Marijuana over activates this system, causing impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and disrupted learning and memory.

Anything that impairs coordination and judgment, which marijuana does, increases a driver’s risk of being in an accident. And when used in conjunction with alcohol, the combined result is worse than either substance alone.

Your brain goes through significant development during your teen and young adult years, and marijuana’s effects on the developing brain create risks unique to that time period. Following marijuana use, a teen’s decrease in cognitive abilities can last much longer than an adult’s, as long as several weeks since last use. With regular use (daily or nearly daily), the alterations to the brain caused by marijuana become prolonged by frequent recurrences, which can in-turn lead to lowered learning capabilities, a shortened attention span, and weakened verbal communication skills.

There is also an association between regular and prolonged marijuana use and mental illness. A link has been demonstrated with later development of psychosis, and rates increase for those who start young. Associations have also been found with other mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts among adolescents. It’s important to note that the nature of these links is still unclear. More research is needed to better understand whether there is only correlation, or whether causality may exist as well.

Long-Term Effects

Marijuana, just like any other drug, can be addictive. It affects the brain’s reward system in the same way as all other drugs of addiction2 – and the likelihood of addiction increases considerably for those who start young.1 When marijuana use becomes daily, or nearly daily, alterations to the brain can actually lead to an inability to perceive any negative impact.

In addition to the possible effects on your cognitive development, marijuana smoke is an irritant to the lungs, and frequent marijuana smokers can develop many of the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, and a greater risk of chest infections.

The Bottom Line

Marijuana has the potential to cause problems in your daily life, or make existing problems worse. It limits your brain’s effectiveness, slows down thinking, and impairs coordination and judgment. And while you’re young and still maturing, marijuana could have a long-lasting, negative impact on your developing brain.

MDMA has a rep for being a party drug, but side effects like tremors, muscle cramps and nausea, not to mention anxiety and depression, aren’t much fun. Prolonged use also carries the risk of longer-term problems with memory and learning.

AKA

Molly, ecstasy, XTC, X, E, Adam, Eve, clarity, hug, beans, love drug, lovers’ speed, peace, uppers

What is it?

MDMA (methylenedioxy-methamphetamine) is a synthetic, mind-altering drug that acts both as a stimulant and a hallucinogenic. Other chemicals – such as caffeine, dextromethorphan (DXM), amphetamines, PCP, or cocaine – are sometimes added to, or substituted for MDMA, so purity is always a question, complicating its risks.

The Risks

Like any other stimulant, MDMA will increase your heart rate and blood pressure. Other physical effects include tremors, muscle cramps, nausea, faintness, chills, sweating and blurred vision. People who use MDMA are also at risk of dehydration, which may not seem like a big deal, but by interfering with the body’s ability to regulate its temperature, it puts you at risk of dangerous, sometimes fatal, overheating.

MDMA can also be extremely dangerous in high doses or when multiple small doses are taken in a short amount of time (usually in an attempt to maintain the high). High levels of the drug in the blood stream can increase the risk of seizures and affect the heart’s ability to maintain its normal rhythm.

Shortly after taking MDMA, it’s possible to feel confusion, depression or even severe anxiety—but these psychological effects have also been reported to occur days or weeks after taking the drug.

Long-Term Effects

MDMA directly affects the brain chemical serotonin, and how your brain cells communicate with each other. Clinical studies show that MDMA can be harmful to your brain and can increase the risk of long-term problems with memory and learning.3 Also, taking too much MDMA can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate its temperature. This can cause hyperthermia, which can lead to liver, kidney and cardiovascular failure.

The Bottom Line

People will claim that MDMA is “safer” than other drugs, but there’s never anything safe about disrupting your ability to think clearly and putting your health at risk.

Highly addictive and toxic to the brain, meth will give you a high that can damage your body and brain for life.

AKA

Meth, ice, crank, chalk, crystal, fire, glass, go fast, speed, Tina, T

What is it?

Meth, or methamphetamine, is a powerfully addictive stimulant that is both long-lasting and toxic to the brain. Its chemistry is similar to speed (amphetamine), but meth has far more dangerous effects on the body’s central nervous system.

Meth has a high potential for abuse and may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

The Risks

Like cocaine and speed, even small amounts of meth can cause a rapid and/or irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure and elevated body temperatures. These symptoms, especially when meth is taken at high doses, can cause death from stroke, heart attack or organ failure due to overheating.

Meth works by severely changing the way the brain functions. First, it increases the release of the brain chemical dopamine. At the same time, it blocks the brain from absorbing the dopamine released. Studies show that alterations in the brain’s dopamine system are associated with reduced motor skills and impaired verbal skills.

Long-Term Effects

Meth is a highly addictive drug— and repeated use can negatively affect your body and brain. Abuse can cause extreme weight loss, dental problems (“meth mouth”), and lead to sores and scabs on your skin and face. Chronic meth abusers can become anxious and violent. Meth users often display a range of psychotic behaviors, including paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions. One of the most common meth delusions is the feeling of insects crawling under the skin.

The Bottom Line

Meth is powerfully addictive and damaging to your body and brain. Getting hooked could leave you with paranoia and delusions, “meth mouth” and skin sores, and risking long-term harm to your brain or death.

Natural doesn’t always mean safe. Hallucinogenic mushrooms contain a natural toxin that can potentially cause harm.

AKA

Magic mushrooms, shrooms, caps, boomers

What is it?

The active chemical in hallucinogenic mushrooms is called psilocybin. This chemical is found in approximately 190 species of edible mushrooms.

The Risks

Mushrooms work by disrupting how your nerve cells and the neurotransmitter serotonin interact throughout the brain and spinal cord. By changing the normal functioning of serotonin in the brain, mushrooms distort the way you process information and can make you hallucinate.

When you hallucinate, it becomes difficult to tell the difference between fantasy and reality. You may see, feel and hear things that don’t exist. You can also have rapid and intense emotional mood swings.1 This shift in perception can be frightening. It can cause panic attacks and psychosis (a complete loss of contact with reality). In this state of mind, it’s easy for unexpected and dangerous – or even fatal – accidents to happen.

Long-Term Effects

Suddenly and without warning, a few days or even a year later, the brain can produce flashbacks: feelings and thoughts that replay the effects of being on the drug. And because mushrooms disturb the normal functioning of the brain, it’s important to note that some long-term effects like psychiatric illness and impaired memory have been reported.

The Bottom Line

Psilocybin mushrooms disrupt and potentially damage the normal functioning of your brain, which presents a danger, regardless of how natural they are.

Just because you can buy over-the-counter (OTC) drugs with few restrictions, doesn’t mean they can’t be dangerous, or even deadly, when abused.

What is it?

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are products that are available at supermarkets, drugstores and convenience stores. There is an incorrect but widespread belief that because you don’t need a prescription, these drugs must be less dangerous than those found behind the pharmacy counter. The fact is, it’s risky to abuse either.

The most commonly abused OTC drugs include those that contain the ingredient DXM (dextromethorphan), which is used to treat cough, cold and flu symptoms. Also, OTC medications believed to help with weight loss — like laxatives, diuretics and diet pills — are sometimes abused. All of these medications can have serious and potentially fatal side effects over time.

The Risks

Both liquid cough syrups and the tablet or capsule forms of medicine that contain DXM can distort your visual perceptions and damage your sense of judgment. High doses can lead to loss of coordination, dizziness, nausea, hot flashes and hallucinations.

With diet pills, it sometimes starts by trying just a few, but then can quickly turn into a full addiction.

Ephedrine is one of the dangerous stimulants that can be found in diet pills. But even herbal or “natural” weight-loss products can often contain this and other ingredients that may be just as dangerous.

Among the many possible side effects of diet pills are hair loss, insomnia, menstrual cycle disturbances, urinary tract infections, diarrhea, vomiting, blurred vision and anxiety.

Long-Term Effects

DXM can be so physically debilitating, it makes any activity potentially dangerous. When combined with alcohol or other drugs, it can lead to overdose and death.

The stimulants found in diet pills affect the central nervous system, increase your metabolism and make your heart beat faster. This can be especially serious for anyone with a pre-existing heart problem or high blood pressure. But even in a healthy person, diet pills can eventually cause a heart attack or stroke.

The Bottom Line

Since they’re legal and easy to find, OTC drugs are also easy to abuse. Like any medicine, they can have their benefits when taken as directed and in moderation. But there’s always the danger of taking too much, mixing them with other drugs and even overdosing. They can damage your body for life, and even cause death.

When prescribed for you by a doctor, these medications can be incredibly beneficial. But when taken without a prescription or not as directed – they can become dangerous and addictive. At too high a dose, or when combined with alcohol or other drugs, many prescription drugs can also become deadly.

Prescription drugs are medications legitimately prescribed by doctors to treat a variety of health problems. Some people assume that since they’re legal when prescribed by a doctor, they must be safer than illegal drugs. The truth is, these drugs require a prescription for a reason. When abused, they can be just as dangerous, and even deadly. In fact, in recent years, the abuse of prescription painkillers has resulted in more deaths than cocaine and heroin combined.

The most commonly abused prescription drugs fall into three categories: Painkillers, Depressants and Stimulants.

PAINKILLERS

AKA

Captain Cody, Cody, sizzurp, lean, syrup, schoolboy, doors & fours, loads, oxy, oxycotton, oxycet, hillbilly heroin, percs

What is it?

Prescription painkillers often contain opioids that are either naturally derived from poppy flowers, or a lab-made, semi-synthetic substitute. These drugs attach to particular sites in the brain called opioid receptors, which carry messages to the brain. When you take prescription painkillers, the message the brain receives is changed, so that pain is no longer perceived as painful. These are the same receptors that heroin binds to in the brain.

Under a doctor’s direction, painkillers can be vital in relieving severe pain due to physical damage, cancer or other illnesses. Unfortunately, abusing painkillers has become a serious problem. The most commonly abused brand-name painkillers include Vicodin, Oxycodone, OxyContin and Percocet. Codeine, an opioid painkiller often found in prescription cough syrup, is also commonly abused.

The Risks

Prescription painkillers are powerful drugs that can be dangerous, or even deadly, especially when taken at high doses or combined with alcohol. A single large dose can cause breathing difficulty that can lead to death. The short-term effects of painkiller abuse can include lack of energy, inability to concentrate, nausea and vomiting.

Long-Term Effects

Because of their effect on the brain, prescription painkillers can be highly addictive when used for non-medical purposes. Even patients who are prescribed painkillers for a long time can develop a “physical dependence,” meaning that the body becomes accustomed to having the drug. Stopping the drug abruptly can cause severe withdrawal symptoms, so, any changes when using these medications must be reported to and carefully monitored by a doctor.

The Bottom Line

Painkillers are among the most commonly abused prescription drugs. Without a doctor’s prescription and supervision, short- and long-term use of prescription painkillers can lead to dangerous side effects, including accidental overdose. Combining them with alcohol or other drugs increases the risk of death from overdose.

DEPRESSANTS

AKA

Downers, downs, barbs, benzos, reds, red birds, phennies, tooies, yellows, yellow jackets, candy, sleeping pills, tranks, xanies

What is it?

Doctors prescribe depressants to treat a variety of health conditions, like anxiety, panic attacks and sleep disorders. Depressants can be divided into three groups, based on their chemistry and the specific health problem they help address. These groups include barbiturates, which are often prescribed to promote sleep; benzodiazepines, like Valium and Xanax, which are prescribed to relieve anxiety; and new (non-benzodiazepinic) sleep medications, like Ambien and Lunesta, commonly used to treat sleep disorders.

The Risk

In teens, depressants can cause depression, confusion, exhaustion and irritability. And because they work by slowing the brain’s activity, they can diminish heartbeat and respiration to dangerously low levels. This is especially true when depressants are combined with alcohol or OTC medications. It’s a combination that can even lead to death.

Long-Term Effects

Depressants are highly addictive drugs, and when chronic users or abusers stop taking them, they can experience severe withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety, insomnia and muscle tremors. In fact, going “cold turkey” off of some depressants can have life-threatening consequences, like seizures, convulsions and, in rare instances, death.

The Bottom Line

Depressant drugs can make you depressed, confused and irritable. And addiction increases your chances of more dangerous outcomes, like overdose, slowed breathing and heart rate, and even death.

STIMULANTS

AKA

Uppers, bennies, black beauties, crosses, hearts, truck drivers, JIF, MPH, R-ball, Skippy, the smart drug, vitamin R

What is It?

Prescription stimulants affect the brain through a slow and steady release of two neurotransmitters—dopamine and norepinephrine.4 When prescribed and taken correctly, under medical supervision, these drugs can help treat a few health conditions, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy and, occasionally, depression.

In treating ADHD, prescription stimulants can help regulate and normalize the dopamine and norepinephrine function in the brain, so a patient with this condition can focus better and pay more attention. Common brand-name prescription stimulants include Adderall, Ritalin, Dexedrine, and Benzedrine.

The Risk

Abusing drugs that are prescribed to treat specific medical conditions is never a good idea. And without a doctor’s supervision or monitoring, side effects can become harmful, or even dangerous. Excessive vomiting, tremors, sweating and anxiety are just some of the risks of abusing stimulants.

When taken at high doses, with alcohol or with over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, stimulants can cause irregular heartbeat, dangerously high body temperatures and the potential for seizures or heart failure.

Long-Term Effects

Stimulants can be addictive. The more you take, the easier it is to get hooked. When stimulants are taken over a long period of time, stimulant abusers run the risk of developing suicidal or homicidal tendencies, paranoia and cardiovascular collapse.

The Bottom Line

Some people mistakenly believe that prescription stimulants can give them energy, help them focus and help them perform better in school. But if you haven’t been diagnosed with a condition that requires taking these drugs, and aren’t taking them under a doctor’s supervision, stimulant abuse can lead to side effects that are both dangerous and deadly.

Dangerous when taken on its own, and fatally dangerous when combined with alcohol, Rohypnol is horrifyingly infamous for being the “date-rape drug.”

AKA

Forget-me pill, Mexican valium, R2, roche, roofies, roach, rope, wolfies

What is it?

Rohypnol is a central nervous system (CNS) depressant medication that is not approved or available for medical use in the United States. In this country, it is abused for its sedative and muscle-relaxant effects.
Because of these effects, it has been associated with sexual assaults and is known as the “date-rape drug.”

The Risks

Rohypnol slows down the central nervous system, causing a range of effects, including exhaustion, sedation, confusion, impaired coordination, impaired judgment and memory loss. Use it, and you can become physically and psychologically incapacitated, meaning you’re unable to move or think—or you’re knocked out. This is why it has been used in targeting people for sexual assault. In the past, it was easy to slip the drug into a drink, because it was colorless and tasteless. In 1997, the drug was reformulated so that when dissolved in light-colored drinks, it will dye the liquid blue. Still, be forewarned: generic versions of Rohypnol may not contain this blue dye.

Long-Term Effects

Rohypnol is lethal when combined with alcohol or other drugs. It can slow the pulse and breathing, leading to unconsciousness, slowed heart rate, suppressed breathing and, ultimately, death.

The Bottom Line

With the extreme damage it can cause to your central nervous system, the effects of Rohypnol can quickly put you in danger, and even turn lethal.

Salvia divinorum can cause you to hallucinate. Unable to tell the difference between fantasy and reality, it’s a state of mind that always leaves you vulnerable to serious situations or fatal accidents.

AKA

Salvia, shepherdess’s herb, diviner’s sage, seer’s sage, Maria pastora, magic mint, Sally-D

What is it?

There are many types of salvia plant, but salvia divinorum is the particular breed that, when ingested or smoked, can cause hallucinogenic effects. Hallucinogens like salvia divinorum make it nearly impossible to tell the difference between fantasy and reality. It can cause you to see, feel and hear things that don’t exist.

The Risks

People who abuse salvia generally experience hallucinations or episodes that mimic psychosis, meaning a complete loss of contact with reality. In this state of mind, you may lose all normal coordination, feel anxious and experience tremors, numbness, memory loss and nausea.

Long-Term Effects

The long-term effects of salvia have not been studied, but experiencing a hallucination or a psychotic episode can make simple activities, like driving or swimming, fatally dangerous.

The Bottom Line

Your brain works tirelessly to process and respond to external information and to keep your body functioning efficiently. Hallucinogens like salvia divinorum are always risky because they can disturb the normal functioning of your brain. When you hallucinate, your brain loses the power it has to protect you, which is always a dangerous state.

Synthetic marijuana – or spice – can result in brain alterations similar to the real thing, but with the added danger that many of its chemical components and other ingredients are often unknown.

AKA

K2, fake marijuana, Blaze, Yucatan Fire, Skunk, Moon Rocks

What is it?

Spice is a mildly hallucinogenic mix of dried plant material that is laced with synthetic cannabinoids (chemicals similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana). But because the chemical composition of many products sold as spice is unknown, it can contain substances that could cause dramatically different effects than the user might expect.

The Risks

When it comes to spice, you really don’t know what exactly is in the mix—many different ingredients have been found that have a high potential for abuse. The inconsistency and variability of ingredients can lead to unexpected harm to your body and brain. People taken to emergency rooms or Poison Control Centers have symptoms that include rapid heart rate, vomiting, agitation, confusion and hallucinations. The drug has also been linked to acute kidney injuries, which left untreated, can lead the kidneys to shut down.

Long-Term Effects

Filling your body with unknown substances can have severe consequences. New risks have continued to emerge – including signs of withdrawal and addiction – however, it’s not yet known how the synthetic cannabinoids and other ingredients in spice may affect you down the line.

The Bottom Line

It’s known that marijuana can limit your brain’s effectiveness, and synthetic versions can have the same impact on your developing brain. You can never predict exactly what’s in these mixes or how toxic it could be, and that’s a potent – potentially deadly – combination.

When prescribed by a doctor and used according to instructions, steroids can help treat some medical conditions. But abusing steroids as a short-cut to building muscle or improving athletic performance, has dangerous side effects.

AKA

Arnolds, gym candy, juice, pumpers, roids, stackers, weight trainers

What is it?

Steroids are a class of drugs used to treat a wide variety of medical conditions. Estrogen and cortisone are some of the hormones in this class. Anabolic steroids are designed to imitate the hormone testosterone. Anabolic steroids are designed for medical use only, and to treat conditions like hypogonadism, delayed puberty and impotence. Anabolic steroids have a high potential for abuse, and only a very small number are approved for human and animal use in the U.S.

The Risks

When you’re young and your body is still developing, the effects of steroids can be dangerous and unattractive, and they can also be permanent. Males can get shrunken testicles, develop breasts and lose hair. For females, it can stop your menstrual cycle, may cause excessive body and facial hair, leave you with male-pattern baldness and decrease your breast size.

Steroids can also make you irritable, hostile and aggressive, and cause you to develop severe acne.

Long-Term Effects

Abusing steroids while you’re still growing can cause a range of physical changes, including stunting your height permanently. But the long—term effects are not just superficial. Steroid use can lead to high blood pressure, an increased risk of blood clotting and increases in LDL (bad cholesterol)—all three combined are a recipe for heart failure.

The Bottom Line

In addition to the more unattractive risks of steroid use – opposite-sex characteristics, hair loss, excessive body hair – you’re also risking your long-term health.

Tobacco is a carrier for the highly addictive drug nicotine. Once your body gets a taste for nicotine, it can quickly become a life-long addiction, with extremely fatal consequences.

AKA

(Cigarettes) smokes, cigs or butts. (Smokeless tobacco) chew, dip, spit tobacco, snus or snuff

What is it?

Nicotine is the main drug in all forms of tobacco. Nicotine is one of the most heavily used and most addictive drugs in the U.S.

The Risks

Whether smoked or chewed, nicotine is one of the most highly addictive drugs used in today’s society. And once you’re hooked, it’s extremely hard to overcome this addiction.1 Surveys have shown that most adult smokers first tried cigarettes during their teen years, and there is a direct relationship between early smoking and adult addiction.

Smoking harms your immune system and can affect nearly every organ of your body. The nicotine gets you hooked, but it’s the other chemicals in tobacco like carbon monoxide, tar, formaldehyde, cyanide and ammonia that cause the major damage–many of these are known carcinogens (cancer-causing poisons). Carbon monoxide keeps red blood cells from getting the full load of oxygen needed for healthy cellular growth. This encourages the carcinogens in tobacco to bind to the cells throughout your body and cause cellular damage.

Chewing or sniffing tobacco is just as dangerous as smoking and also has a high risk of addiction. And prolonged use of smokeless tobacco leads to a high risk of cancers of the mouth.

Bidis and hookahs have become popular alternatives to smoking cigarettes, and some people seem to think they are less harmful than regular cigarettes. The truth is that hookah smoke still delivers addictive nicotine, and bidis actually have more nicotine than cigarettes.

Long-Term Effects

You probably already know that the greatest long-term risk of smoking is cancer and lung disease. Here are some numbers to consider: In the 40 years between 1964 and 2004, cigarette smoking caused an estimated 12 million deaths, including 4.1 million deaths from cancer, 5.5 million deaths from cardiovascular disease, 1.1 million deaths from respiratory disease and 94,000 infant deaths related to mothers smoking during pregnancy.

Even after 30 years of warnings on packages, tobacco continues to impact our health. In 2010, more than 220,000 new cases of lung cancer were reported, and more than 150,000 Americans died as a direct result of the disease.

The Bottom Line

Smoking tobacco and smokeless tobacco are both carriers of the highly addictive drug nicotine. Once your body gets a taste for nicotine, it can easily become a life-long addiction, with highly fatal consequences. Although quitting can be difficult at any age, the good news is that by giving up tobacco for life, you can drastically improve your health and reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease and other life-threatening diseases associated with tobacco use.

If you haven’t been diagnosed and aren’t taking these drugs under a doctor’s supervision, abuse can lead to dangerous side effects. If you’re momentarily feeling stressed or overwhelmed, there are better solutions.

AKA

Xanies, Sticks, Bars, BenZ

What is it?

Xanax is the trade name for a prescription depressant commonly used to treat anxiety and tension. Other similar brand-name medications include Valium,  Ativan and Klonopin.

The Risks

Side effects can include impaired motor skills, drowsiness, fatigue, depression, impaired memory and cognitive function, slurred speech, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. And because depressants work by slowing the brain’s activity, they can diminish heartbeat and respiration to dangerously low levels. This is especially true when depressants are combined with alcohol or OTC medications. It’s a combination that can become lethal.

Long-Term Effects

Depressants are highly addictive drugs, and when chronic users or abusers stop taking them, they can experience severe withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety, insomnia and muscle tremors. In fact, going “cold turkey” off of some depressants can have life-threatening consequences, like seizures, convulsions and, in rare instances, death.

The Bottom Line

Depressant drugs can make you depressed, confused and irritable. And addiction increases your chances of more dangerous outcomes, like overdose, slowed breathing and heart rate, and even death.