 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
  Spaced  
TobaccoBackground Most people have tried tobacco. In Britain, 28 per cent of men and 27 per cent of women smoke. Tobacco was first introduced to the UK in the sixteenth century. Tobacco comes from the dried leaves of the plant nicotiana tabacum. The drug it contains, nicotine, is a mild stimulant / upper. Health concerns about tobacco use have been offset by the money it generates, not least for the government. However, there are now restrictions on advertising and, increasingly, on smoking in public places. Nicotine Nicotine stimulates the central nervous system and raises the heart rate and breathing rate, helping you to keep going and to maintain concentration. Paradoxically, smokers usually feel that smoking helps them relax and reduces stress. As with drinking, alcohol, and smoking cannabis, people also enjoy the taste and sensation of smoking tobacco. Nicotine acts almost instantaneously, but nicotine levels decline very rapidly. Health issues Tobacco contains more than 4,000 chemicals, many of which damage health. The well-documented risks include bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer, heart disease, blood clots, and ulcers. The risks increase in proportion to how much you smoke and how long you've been smoking. Nicotine is particularly habit-forming because the effects don't last long and because tolerance develops rapidly. A remarkably high proportion of people who start smoking go on to become psychologically dependent. Special risks Sudden withdrawal can cause symptoms such as headaches and insomnia, as well as anxiety, depression, and a craving to smoke. Women who smoke during pregnancy tend to have underweight babies. Women who both smoke and take the pill are more likely to develop blood clots and heart disease.
AlcoholLegal You need a licence to sell alcohol, and it's illegal to sell alcohol to someone under 18 or give it to a child under five. It's also an offence to be drunk in a public place or to drive with too much alcohol in your system (more than 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood). Alcohol has been widely used for thousands of years. Alcohol-related legislation in the UK dates from the late-nineteenth century, when age restrictions were introduced. Current restrictions on when alcohol can be sold date from the First World War. The effects The way moderate quantities of alcohol affect you as an individual has a lot to do with personality, mood, and circumstances. The main desirable effects are that it can relieve tension, reduce anxiety and inhibitions, and produce feelings of warmth and contentment. The effects come on after about 10 minutes and can last for several hours if you drink a large amount. The intensity of the effects of alcohol depends mainly on the amount you drink in a session, but weight, metabolism, how much you have eaten, how quickly you're drinking, and how much you usually drink are also factors. On average, women get drunk more quickly than men, partly because they tend to weigh less and partly because water constitutes less of their body weight, so the same amount of alcohol produces a higher concentration in the blood. Ethyl alcohol or ethanol, the type of alcohol found in drinks, is a depressant / downer produced by fermenting or distilling fruits, vegetables, or grains. Short term effects Losing your inhibitions is a good thing only up to a point, as many people realise in the cold light of dawn. In addition, emotions can be unpredictable when you're drunk. Some people become aggressive or tearful after only a couple of drinks and, the larger the amount, the more exaggerated these reactions can be. A lot of violence is associated with alcohol. The more you drink, the worse your brain and body work. Symptoms include slurring of speech, staggering, confusion, loss of memory and comprehension, and, eventually, oblivion. Hangovers are due partly to poisoning by alcohol and other constituents of drinks and partly to short-term withdrawal. Symptoms include headache (caused by dehydration), the shakes, tiredness, vomiting, depression, and anxiety. Many people say certain drinks produce worse hangovers than others, and that mixing grape and grain (for example wine and beer) is particularly bad. However, the amount of alcohol you drink and keep in your stomach is by far the most important factor. Long term effects Psychological dependence on alcohol can occur with the daily use of even moderate amounts. Alcohol can also lead to physical dependence, so that sudden withdrawal produces sweating, anxiety, the shakes, and nausea and vomiting. In severe cases, delirium tremens or the DTs, hallucinations, convulsions, and even death are possible from withdrawal. Long-term alcohol use can directly harm most parts of the body. In particular, it often leads to heart and liver disease and inflammation of the stomach. The risk of serious disease increases in proportion to the amount you drink, though some people are more resilient than others. In addition, almost all drinkers seeking help say they feel anxious and depressed. These feelings are likely to be made worse by other problems associated with alcohol dependence, such as strains on finances and relationships.
CannabisThe effects Cannabis is the most popular illegal drug in the UK: an estimated 42 per cent of people aged between 16 and 29 have used it. Partly for this reason, and partly because there is no conclusive evidence that it has significant ill effects, the illegal status of this drug in particular is controversial. Many people enjoy the taste of cannabis smoke and the rituals associated with using it, just as they do with alcohol. As far as the effects are concerned, small amounts can make you feel relaxed, happy, talkative, and giggly. Many users also feel that their senses are heightened, particularly with reference to colours and music. With large amounts or very strong cannabis, there may be mild, pleasurable hallucinations of colours, patterns and slight movement in objects. The effects can last several hours. If you eat hashish, the effects come on more slowly and last longer. Background Cannabis was used both medicinally and for pleasure in ancient China and later in India. In the UK, it was first legally controlled in 1928, though its widespread use as a recreational drug dates from the 1950s and 1960s. The medical use of cannabis was banned in 1973, despite evidence that the drug can relieve muscular spasms in multiple sclerosis and glaucoma, as well as nausea in patients undergoing drug treatment for cancer. Short term effects Cannabis can make you anxious, panicky, paranoid, confused or depressed, particularly if you're very stoned. Forgetfulness and difficulty in concentration are common. There is also controversy about whether cannabis is a gateway drug, leading to other drug use. It's statistically true that cannabis users are more likely to take other drugs, as are people who smoke tobacco or drink. But there is no evidence of a causal link. Long term effects Cannabis doesn't produce physical dependence, but there is some evidence that long-term heavy users find it difficult to give up. It's likely that smoking cannabis can cause bronchitis and other breathing disorders, and of course people who smoke it mixed with tobacco also run all the health risks associated with tobacco. Someone who is stoned all the time is unlikely to be a live wire, and some people say they suffer from general anxiety, paranoia, or depression as a result of regular, long-term use of cannabis. However, there is no conclusive evidence that cannabis causes any lasting damage to mental or physical health. Long-term cannabis smoking has been linked with cancers, but the link is disputed. Similarly, there is conflicting evidence on whether frequent cannabis use in pregnancy can lead to premature birth.
EcstasyThe effects Ecstasy or 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (E or MDMA for short; also called XTC, pills, jubes, smarties, doves, and so on) is a mind-altering stimulant, combining some of the effects of amphetamines and LSD. It's usually sold in capsules or tablets that vary widely in colour, size, and content. The effects usually take 30 to 60 minutes to come on and can last for several hours. The psychological effects vary to some extent according to mood and circumstances. Ecstasy can make you feel relaxed and calm as well as energetic, exhilarated, and able to experience things with more intensity. Ecstasy is also widely said to make you feel warmer towards other people. Physically, your heart and breathing speed up, your body temperature rises, your mouth dries up, your jaw tightens, and you lose your appetite. The effects Some people feel unsteady and nauseous or actually throw up. Ecstasy can also make you anxious and paranoid. Remember that, as with LSD, your frame of mind and the circumstances in which you take the drug can affect what you experience. When the effects wear off, you will feel tired and you may feel anxious and depressed. Some people report having LSD-type 'flashbacks' - a recurrence of the feelings experienced on the drug. All of these problems are more likely to occur and to be more serious with high and repeated doses. Short term effects A number of deaths have been directly associated with ecstasy. Most were caused by exhaustion, overheating, and dehydration, though a few people have had a heart attack or brain haemorrhage brought on by the stimulant effect of the drug. A very small number have died as a result of drinking too much water, because ecstasy can cause a condition which leads to a build-up of water in the cells of the brain, causing it to swell. Special risks:
Long term effects What is it?
Long term effects
Speed
KetamineLegal Possession of ketamine is not illegal, but it can only be legally supplied on prescription. Ketamine (techno smack, special K, vitamin K, K) is used medically as an anaesthetic, but it also acts as a hallucinogen and painkiller. It's occasionally sold as a liquid for injection, but usually comes as a powder or as tablets. Ketamine tablets are sometimes passed off as ecstasy. The effects As with other drugs with hallucinogenic properties, the experience of taking ketamine varies greatly according to mood, personality, and circumstances. There may be an initial speedy rush, after which effects include visual hallucinations and distortion of hearing, and a feeling of being detached - both from your body and from things around you. If you snort ketamine, the effects come on after 5 to 10 minutes. If you swallow it, effects start after about 20 minutes. They last for up to 3 hours. Risks The possible unpleasant effects of ketamine are pretty much those you'd expect from an anaesthetic - numbness, slurred speech, blurred vision, confusion, lack of co-ordination, and even paralysis. You may feel sick or throw up, especially if you've eaten within a few hours of taking the drug. Some people say ketamine makes them aggressive. The higher the dose, the greater the risk of serious unpleasant effects, and overdose can result in heart or breathing failure. However, deaths from overdose are rare. Long term effects Ketamine does not produce physical dependence, but there is a risk of psychological dependence. There has been little research into its long-term effects, though one study has suggested that memory, vision, and concentration may be affected. Special risks:
HeroinBackground About 1 per cent of the adult population of the UK (about a quarter of a million people) have used heroin at some point in their lives. Heroin, like the other opiates, reduces pain, both physical and emotional. In the short term, it stops you worrying and makes you feel safe, warm and contented. Physically, these drugs slow down the heart and breathing, and higher doses make you sleepy. Opiates don't impair you as mentally and physically as true downers/depressants, such as alcohol and tranquillisers. More info Methadone does not produce such an intense high as heroin, but the effects last longer - up to 24 hours. For dependent heroin users, methadone is mainly used as a way of avoiding withdrawal symptoms. In treatment programmes, it also helps people to move away from the street heroin scene and get more control over their lives. Heroin, morphine, opium, methadone, dipipanone and pethidine are all Class A drugs. Codeine is Class B unless prepared for injection, in which case it's considered Class A. More info Some people take heroin or other opiates occasionally, but these drugs can be very difficult to control, particularly if you're using them because you feel troubled, anxious or unable to cope. Psychological dependence is the biggest risk, but after as little as a few weeks of frequent doses, users also experience physical withdrawal symptoms if they stop using abruptly (going 'cold turkey'). These include a runny nose and sneezing, diarrhoea, vomiting, sweats, chills, cramps, and insomnia. Abrupt withdrawal from heroin is not thought to be as dangerous as abrupt withdrawal from alcohol, however. The effects First-time users may feel sick or actually throw up. With high doses, people can black out and even go into coma. Death from breathing failure is possible. The impurities of street heroin can lead to illness or death if the drug is injected. Death from methadone overdose is also a risk, particularly for people who haven't built up a tolerance. Estimates put the number of people dependent on heroin at up to 200,000. Though methadone is used as a substitute for heroin, some dependent users say that methadone is harder to give up.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
