Intervention |

Drug Information

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Inhalants

Chemical, medical, or scientific name:

Varies, based on inhalant. Inhalants fall into four separate classifications: volatile solvents, aerosols, gases and nitrates. All are brought into the body by inhalation, often with the assistance of a bag or balloon.

Street names:

Often known as Huffing.

Drug Classification:

Inhalants

The short-term nature of the high leads many users to repeatedly "huff" over the course of several hours, increasing the effect and damage of the drug.

Short-term effects:

Euphoria. Headaches. Slurred speech and a lack of motor functions, potential vomiting.

Long-term effects:

In some cases, long term inhalant abuse leads to destruction of myelin, a tissue that protects certain nerve fibers. This causes lasting difficulty with motor functions such as walking and talking. Hearing loss and bone marrow, liver and kidney damage is also possible.

Mental effects:

Impaired judgment, belligerence and apathy.

Physical effects:

The displacement of oxygen from the lungs may cause unconsciousness or even death. Dilated blood vessels lead to an increased heart rate and a related sensation of warmth.

Ketamine

Chemical, medical, or scientific name:

2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-methylamino-cyclohexan-1-one

Street names:

This drug is often called special K or vitamin K.

Drug Classification:

Dissociative anesthetic

A strong sedative, ketamine has been used as an anesthetic for humans and animals. Ketamine has also been used as a “date rape” drug because its ability to put the user into altered state. In this mental state, the user has a type of “out of body” experience, feeling disconnected from the world and may not be able to talk or move. It is chemically similar to PCP. The drug can be swallowed, smoked, or injected.

Short-term effects:

Besides trip-like sensations and pain-killing properties, the drug may cause numbness, muscle stiffness, speech problems, memory loss, and nausea.

Long-term effects:

Little is known about the long-term effects of this drug. There are some indications that it may impact mental functions, such as memory. Some mental health problems may occur when the drug is used frequently and in high doses.

Mental effects:

Ketamine may cause mental confusion, agitation, or aggression as well as visual and auditory delusions or distortions and memory loss. A user may fall into a motionless, trance-like mental state. At high doses, it can make the user delirious or depressed.

Physical effects:

It may cause loss of coordination, difficulty speaking, and muscle problems. Like other drugs of its kind, it may increase heart rate and blood pressure, cause numbness, and impair motor skills. At high doses, it can bring on respiratory problems.

LSD

Chemical, medical, or scientific name:

lysergic acid diethylamide

Street names:

This drug is known as acid, blotter, dots, pane, and trip among other names.

Drug Classification:

Hallucinogen

Many cultures in the world have a history of taking hallucinogens as a part of their religious and social practices. Before LSD, hallucinogenic drugs came from natural chemical compounds. LSD was discovered by a chemist in Switzerland in the 1930s, and the first synthetic drug to produce similar effects to natural hallucinogens. The drug became popular in the United States during the 1960s and is often associated with the hippie culture of the time. It is still being used today with 243,000 Americans aged 12 and older claiming to have used LSD for the first time in the past year, according to the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The drug is usually put on paper, which is divided into smaller pieces, making individual doses. A person takes LSD by placing the paper in his or her mouth. It can also be made into tablets or added to thin bits of gelatin called “window panes.”

Short-term effects:

Taking LSD causes hallucinations—an experience usually referred to as a trip. It alters a person’s sensory perceptions, changing the way he or she sees and hears the world around him or her. These trips can be pleasant or extremely frightening with users having scary thoughts and feelings and can last up to 12 hours. While taking the drug, a person may experience increased heart rate and blood pressure, nausea, and dizziness.

Long-term effects:

Extensive LSD use has been shown to cause two types of psychological disorders: psychosis and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD). Psychosis can be any kind of mental problem that relates to a break from reality with such symptoms as delusions, hallucinations, and difficulty in thinking and communicating. HPPD is commonly known as “flashbacks.” These short episodes usually consist of brief, primarily visual hallucinations.

Mental effects:

The drug triggers hallucinations and changes how a person experiences reality. With heavy use, severe psychological problems may occur.

Physical effects:

Although LSD primarily affects the mind and senses, it can cause a rise in heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature as well as depress appetite. Body tremors and numbness have also been reported by LSD users.

Information sources for Intervention Drug Information: Main sources- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); http://www.drugabuse.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and SAMHSA’s National Clearhouse for Alcohol & Drug Information; http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/. Drug Abuse Warning Network; https://dawninfo.samhsa.gov/default.asp

Drug Facts from the Office of National Drug Control Policy; http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/index.html

Additional Sources—Club Drug Information: National Institute on Drug Abuse “Club Drugs Aren’t ‘Fun Drugs’”; http://www.drugabuse.gov/Published_Articles/fundrugs.html

U.S. Department of Justice Information on MDMA; http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/mdma.htm

Additional sources—Cocaine: U.S. Department of Justice Information on cocaine
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/cocaine.html

Additional sources—Heroin: U.S. Department of Justice Information on Heroin
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/heroin.html

Additional sources—LSD: U.S. Department of Justice LSD factsheet
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/lsd_factsheet.html

Additional sources—Methamphetamines: U.S. Department of Justice Information on Methamphetamines
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/meth.html

Additional sources—Pain killers: U.S. Department of Justice Information on Oxycontin
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/oxycontin.html