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Alcohol: is the oldest and most widely used drug in the world. Many people start drinking alcohol with experimentation, then their drinking changes to social use, and in many cases it slowly progresses to alcohol abuse and/or alcoholism. In some cases, the progression is more rapid and they show signs of alcoholism from the very beginning. Alcoholism is a progressive and often fatal disease, if left untreated.

Some of the signs of alcoholism are:

increased tolerance, loss of control, inability to stop or stay stopped, blackouts and continued use despite negative consequences.

If an alcoholic attempts to stop drinking, he or she often experiences some of the following withdrawal symptoms: the "Shakes," feeling agitated, anxiety and panic attacks, insomnia, paranoia, hallucinations (usually visual), nausea and vomiting, and increased blood pressure and heart rate. In serious cases, the withdrawals may lead to convulsions, seizures and/or may even be fatal. In order for the alcoholic to be detoxed as safely as possible, they usually need medical supervision at an inpatient treatment center, which often includes medication to treat the withdrawal symptoms and prevent seizures etc .

Alcoholism can eventually cause very serious health complications such as neuropathy, cardiovascular problems, respiratory failure, and cirrhosis of the liver. Psychological dangers include impaired judgment and verbal ability, apathy, isolation, antisocial and/or criminal behavior, such as violence and/or DWI’s, inability to concentrate, and deterioration of relationships with family, friends, and co-workers. There are an estimated 10 to 15 million alcoholics in the United States, with more than 100,000 deaths each year attributed to alcohol.

Cocaine and Crack: are highly addictive, very toxic and potentially life threatening substances that have significant physiological and psychological consequences for users. Cocaine and crack users often have a destructive and negative impact on their families, communities, workplaces, and society as a whole. Domestic violence, random violence and robberies are often fueled by cocaine or crack addiction. Many people who use and/or sell cocaine or crack end up in the legal system, jail or prison. Children often become the victims of cocaine or crack- using parents and suffer from prenatal exposure,and/or parental neglect and abuse.

Cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant, the most powerful found in nature. Crack is a smokable and rapidly reacting form of cocaine. Cocaine, in any form, causes the heart to beat more rapidly and blood vessels to constrict. With high doses, users can become delusional, paranoid, and even suffer acute “psychosis”. Because crack is smoked, the onset is more rapid and the intensity is greater. Both cocaine and crack often lead to heart attacks, strokes and/or overdoses. For intravenous (IV) cocaine users, there is increased risk of hepatitis, and HIV. For addicts, whether they smoke, inject, or snort cocaine, any promiscuous sexual activity can increase the risk of HIV infection.

Narcotics

Heroin: is the most commonly abused of all narcotics.

Acting mostly on the central nervous and digestive systems, narcotics relieve pain. Narcotics(opiates) include Heroin, OxyContin, Oxycodone, Vicodin, Lortab, Percocet, Opium, Morphine, and Demerol.

OxyContin: Prescription pain pills such as OxyContin are often prescribed by doctors for chronic pain patients and those suffering from cancer. Patients often experience an increase in tolerance to the prescription drugs. They can begin abusing their medication and become “accidental” addicts. This often happens to older adults. Patients often think that they can’t become addicted to it because a doctor prescribed it. As their addiction progresses, they will often start “doctor hopping” in an effort to get more of the drug.

Addiction to OxyContin is a national epidemic, with younger adults often stealing it from family members who are prescribed it as a chronic pain patient, or from pharmacies and doctor’s offices. OxyContin is highly addicting, and most addicts find it very difficult, if not impossible, to get off of without completing a long inpatient treatment program.

Many people fake moderate pain to doctors so they will prescribe narcotic pain pills to them and they can sell the pills on the street. Many addicts buy them on the street for very high prices, and if employed, end up spending their whole paycheck on it. OxyContin can be taken in pill form, or crushed, then snorted, and/or shot up. OxyContin has caused many overdoses and deaths, both in young and older adults. For more information on this serious problem facing us today, please go to www.oxyabusekills.com.

Methadone: a synthetic used mainly in the treatment of heroin addiction, is often abused. People often become dependent on Methadone at clinics, and never get the treatment that they need. Methadone addiction is also responsible for numerous overdose deaths.

The negative consequences of narcotic use range from mild distress to life-threatening dangers and include: dry, itchy skin, skin infections, constricted pupils, nausea and vomiting, constipation, loss of appetite, menstrual irregularity, scaring ("tracks") along veins and collapsed veins from repeated injections, irregular blood pressure, slow and irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), fatigue, breathlessness, and labored, noisy breathing due to excessive fluid in the lungs ("the rattles"). Hepatitis, AIDS, and other infections are caused by unsanitary injection. IV drug users can experience strokes or heart attacks caused by blood clots resulting from insoluble additives.

The behavioral impact of habitual opiate use is generally devastating. Most habitual users are incapable of concentration, learning, or clear thought. Rarely are they able to hold a job. Overdoses are common with frequent hospitalizing and many die before they get to the hospital. They are apathetic, indifferent to the serious consequences, and unable to sustain personal relationships. For many, the inability to honestly earn enough money to meet their drug needs often leads to crime. For the overwhelming majority, compulsive use of opiates prompts behavior that is self-destructive, irresponsible, and often antisocial. Under the influence of Opiates addicts are characteristically indifferent to the injury, pain, or loss it causes themselves and/or others.

Methamphetamine deeply affects your brain, moods and body. In the short term, meth causes strong changes in one's mood and thinking process such as: severe anxiety, euphoria, agitation, and deep depression. Long-term effects include chronic fatigue, delusional thinking, paranoia and permanent serious psychological damage. Meth causes severe personality changes and it makes them very difficult for anyone to deal with. They are easily agitated, paranoid and angry. Sometimes they become very aggressive and/ or violent. Users often become very anti social, isolated and eventually can engage in criminal behavior such as stealing, armed robbery, drug dealing and/ or manufacturing meth in very unsafe laboratories.

Methamphetamine destroys your body. Crystal meth can be snorted, smoked and/ or injected. Over "amping" on any type of speed is very risky. Creating a false sense of energy, these drugs push the body faster and further than it's meant to go. It increases the heart rate, blood pressure, and can easily cause a stroke or heart attack.. Meth is as addictive as crack and even more powerful. Methamphetamine can kill you. An overdose of meth can result in heart failure. Long-term physical effects such as liver, kidney, and lung damage may also kill you.

Marijuana is, by far, the world’s most commonly used illicit drug—and far more dangerous than most users realize. Marijuana and other cannabis products are usually smoked,sometimes in a pipe or water pipe, but most often in loosely rolled cigarettes known as "joints." Some users will slice open and hollow out cigars, replacing the tobacco with marijuana, to make what are called "blunts." Joints and blunts may be laced with other substances, including crack cocaine and the potent hallucinogen phencyclidine (PCP), substantially making it more dangerous.

Marijuana is a mild hallucinogen that causes depression, anxiety and a decrease in motivation in most of its users. Higher doses prompt more intense and often disturbing reactions including paranoia and hallucinations. Marijuana use reduces learning ability. Chronic marijuana smokers are prey to chest colds, bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchial asthma. Persistent use will damage lungs and raise the risk of cancer. There is just as much exposure to cancer-causing chemicals from smoking one marijuana joint as smoking five tobacco cigarettes. Marijuana limits the ability of the immune system to fight infection and disease. Marijuana also affects hormones and moods. Regular use can delay the onset of puberty in young men and reduce sperm production. When pregnant women use marijuana, they run the risk of having babies with lower birth weights, who are more likely than other babies to develop health problems. Some studies have also found indications of developmental delays in children exposed to marijuana before birth.

Ecstasy: is one of the most dangerous drugs threatening young people today.

Ecstasy is also one of the easiest illegal drugs to obtain. Its effects are similar to those of amphetamines and hallucinogens. One reason Ecstasy can be especially dangerous is the lack of “content” control. Ingredients are hard to get and manufacturers of the drug often use substitutes, mixing other harmful additives with the already dangerous mix.

High dosages can cause convulsions, irrational behavior, and hallucinations. Users have reported having problems with insomnia, anxiety, paranoia, concentration and deep depression after taking the drug. Taking too much Ecstasy can result in extremely high body temperatures, high blood pressure, hallucinations, fast heartbeat, breathing problems and even death.

LSD (commonly called "acid") is the most well known of the hallucinogens. LSD is generally taken orally and in very small doses. It is a very potent drug. Physical effects of LSD may include: dilated pupils, high temperature, rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure, sleeplessness, appetite loss, and tremors. The drug can impair judgment and the ability to recognize immediate danger, so users might easily come to harm should they, for example, attempt to drive a car while "tripping."

Acute anxiety, depression, panic, paranoia, or psychotic behavior may accompany a “bad trip” or may occur after most other effects of the drug have worn off. An overdose can result in a longer, more intense, and more frightening trip, and the spontaneous, recurring hallucinations known as flashbacks can occur days, weeks, or more than a year after LSD use.

GHB, or Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate: is a central nervous system depressant. Because very small amounts of GHB are found in the human body, GHB is often billed as a "natural" supplement, or as an anabolic steroid that helps build muscle mass (this claim was never proven). In actuality, GHB is made from a substance called GBL, which is a solvent found in nail polish and floor cleaning products.

Rohypnol is the brand name for flunitrazepam: it is also a central nervous system depressant. It is in the same drug family as Valium, Halcyon, and Xanax, but is ten times as strong. Rohypnol is used in both Europe and Latin America as a sleep aid, but it is illegal in the United States. The effects of GHB and Rohypnol follow a similar pattern. The effects begin with feeling an intoxication similar to alcohol (the user feels relaxed, sociable, affectionate and playful, and uninhibited), followed by a feeling of drowsiness. Higher doses can lead to a sleep from which the user cannot be woken. The effects can last from 4-24 hours. Both GHB and Rohypnol have a reputation as a date rape drug and are used to sexually assault women and men.

Both drugs present a serious risk for an overdose. Since they are depressants, they can be fatal when mixed with alcohol. Symptoms of overdose can include intense drowsiness, unconsciousness, or coma, muscle spasms, disorientation, vomiting, and slowed or respiratory failure. (Fatalities often occur with respiratory failure.)

Inhalants affect your brain. Inhalants are substances or fumes from products such as glue, paint thinner and/ or house hold sprays that are sniffed or "huffed" to cause an immediate high. Because they affect your brain with much greater speed and force than many other substances, they can cause irreversible physical and mental damage before you know what's happened. Inhalants starve the body of oxygen and force the heart to beat irregularly and more rapidly--that can be dangerous for your body. Inhalants damage other parts of your body. People who use inhalants can lose their sense of smell; experience nausea and nosebleeds; and develop liver, lung, and kidney problems. Chronic use can lead to muscle wasting and reduced muscle tone and strength. Inhalants can cause sudden death. Inhalants can kill you instantly. Inhalant users can die by suffocation, choking on their vomit, or having a heart attack.