ARE YOU AWARE ?

There is an increase in the variety and quality of drugs available on the South African market.

The age of onset of experimentation of drugs is decreasing to 9-13 years.

The extent of experimentation is increasing (i.e. young people who previously may not have experimented are now prone to do so)

Non-drug use is no longer a value / norm (individual and community)

Peer group pressure to experiment with drugs is very strong.

Very few drug-free places of entertainment are available to youth specifically

The youth are seeking “spirituality” not in religious activities but rather in the “out of body” experiences provided by drugs, especially the hallucinogens e.g. LSD

Teachers appear to be a high-risk group with regards to the development of alcoholism with important implications regarding role modelling, discipline etc. Youth (of school going age) are increasingly becoming involved in selling drugs on and off the school premises.

Knowledge alone about the potential for adverse consequences does not deter young people from drug experimentation and abuse.

Adults, in general, are not well informed about drugs and regard drug experimentation and drug use as an intellectual matter (it won’t happen to my children).

SOME SIGNS OF DRUG ABUSE :

PERSONALITY CHANGES:

Becomes disrespectful—is verbally and physically abusive

Is angry a lot, acts paranoid or confused, or suffers from extreme mood swings

Seems depressed and less out-going than usual

Is secretive and lies about what he is doing and where he is going

Is stealing or “losing” possessions he used to value

Seems to have a lot of money, or is always asking for money

Withdraws from the family and family activities
 

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:

Not taking care of hygiene and grooming

Not sleeping or sleeping too much

Loss of appetite

Weight loss or weight gain

Too hyperactive or too little energy
 

SOCIAL ACTIVITY/SCHOOL PERFORMANCE:

Drops old friends and activities

Is skipping school

Loses interest in school work and is getting low grades

Is sleeping in class

Loses concentration and is having trouble remembering things
 

TYPICAL DRUG EFFECTS USING DIFFERENT DRUGS :

Narcotics: Lethargy, drowsiness, euphoria, nausea, constipation, constricted pupils, slowed breathing

Hallucinogens: Trance-like state, excitation, euphoria, increased pulse rate, insomnia, hallucinations

Alcohol: Slurred speech, impaired judgment and motor skills, incoordination, confusion, tremors, drowsiness, agitation, nausea and vomiting, respiratory ailments, depression

Depressants: Drowsiness, confusion, incoordination, tremors, slurred speech, depressed pulse rate, shallow respiration, dilated pupils

Cocaine/Crack Cocaine: Excitability, euphoria, talkativeness, anxiety, increased pulse rate, dilated pupils, paranoia, agitation, hallucinations

Inhalants: Slurred speech, incoordination, nausea, vomiting, slowed breathing

Marijuana: Mood swings, euphoria, slow thinking and reflexes, dilated pupils, increased appetite, dryness of mouth, increased pulse rate, delusions, hallucinations

Stimulants: excitability, tremors, insomnia, sweating, dry mouth and lips, bad breath, dilated pupils, weight loss, paranoia, hallucinations

Tobacco: Smelly hair, clothes, and breath; yellowing of teeth; coughs; increased asthma attacks; shortness of breath and poorer athletic performance. After only a few weeks, users of spit tobacco can develop cracked lips, white spots, sores, and bleeding in the mouth
 

Please be careful, having a child come back from a party with a little extra energy does not mean he or she IS taking drugs. Try to have an open relationship with your child so that he/she would have the courage to come to you for help.

DIFFERENT DRUGS

TOBACCO : biggest killer (400,000 deaths/year)

Street Names: Fags, rollies, smokes, ciggies

The leaves of the tobacco plant are dried then rubbed to produce a brown, flaky mixture. It can be bought loose like this as rolling tobacco or in ready-made cigarettes. Tobacco is most often smoked but some people chew it. The cost depends on the scale of a smoker's habit. As a guide, smoking 20 a day for five years will cost +- R80 000.00 Tobacco contains over 400 chemicals. Many of them are known to do nasty things to the human body. Smoking any drug gets it to the brain quickly. When a smoker inhales, the nicotine reaches the brain in around 8 seconds. Regular smokers say it helps them relax, feel less hungry and feel better. Nicotine speeds up the heart rate and increases blood pressure. First time smokers often feel sick and dizzy.Nicotine is a highly addictive drug. Smokers can get hooked very quickly and it can take years and a huge effort to kick the habit. Not many people are able to remain occasional smokers. Smokers are more likely to get coughs and chest infections.
Long-term addiction could leave you with cancer, emphysema or heart disease.
Smoking has been linked to the amputation of 2000 limbs a year.
It's estimated smoking contributes to 120,000 premature deaths in the UK every year. Other people breathing in your smoke could end up with breathing difficulties, asthma or even cancer.

ALCOHOL : most widely abused legal substance


Alcohol comes in all kinds of forms. From the hard stuff - spirits like whisky and vodka - to the Alco pops and mixers that seem innocent but actually contain more alcohol by volume than beer or cider. From own brand lagers to rare single malts, you can pay as much or as little as you like for this favorite drug. Because it's legal and sold only in licensed premises, most alcohol is unadulterated by anything very nasty. It's more likely that someone will try to put something in your drink like Rohypnol or GHB. Like most drugs, alcohol will exaggerate whatever mood you're in when you start drinking. So if you're on a bit of a downer when you hit the pub, you might just stay that way.

Alcohol is a relaxant so in moderation it can reduce feelings of anxiety, reduce inhibitions and make you feel more sociable. It takes your body an hour to process one unit of alcohol. So it doesn't take a genius to work out that if you're downing them like there's no tomorrow, your body won't be able to cope. And you'll end up plastered. One too many can strip you of your dignity. Slurring your words, loss of balance and vomiting are just some of the effects that you may want to avoid. Especially if you're trying to impress someone.

Time is the only thing that will help you process alcohol. Even a bath full of black coffee isn't going to sober you up if you've overdone it. Official guidelines recommend no more than 3-4 units a day for adult men, 2-3 for adult women. One unit is half a pint of beer, lager or cider. One small glass of table wine. Or a 25ml measure of spirits.

If you drink sensibly that's OK, but for some people it can soon get out of control. Alcoholism is a big problem for some people.
Dependence on alcohol can creep up on you. Tolerance increases with use so if you drink on a regular basis, over time you'll need more and more alcohol to reach the same state. It can make you mouthy, argumentative and aggressive. So if you discover you're a nasty drunk you'd be wise to rein it. Especially if you want to keep your mates. Alcohol is blamed for all kinds of problems from violent crime to domestic violence and car related deaths. Serious overindulgence can lead to alcohol poisoning which could put you in a coma or even kill you. Long-term use of alcohol has been linked with illnesses like liver damage, stomach cancer and heart disease.

METHAMPHETAMINE : became a drug of choice.

Street Names :: Amphetamine Sulphate, Phet, Billy, Whizz, Sulph, Base Amphetamine, Paste, Base Ice, Meth, Methamphetamine, Dexamphetamine, Dexies, Dexedrine, Yaba

Amphetamines like speed are usually sold in wraps like cocaine. The powder is off-white or pinkish and can sometimes look like small crystals. Base speed is purer and is a pinkish-grey colour and feels like putty. Crystal meth, or methamphetamine is processed speed that looks like off-white rocks or crystals. Prescription amphetamines like dexamphetamine are usually small white pills. Speed's either dabbed onto the gums or sniffed in lines like cocaine using a rolled up bank note. Sometimes it's rolled up in cigarette paper and swallowed. This is called a speed bomb.

It can be mixed in drinks, or injected and methamphetamine can be smoked in its 'crystal' form. The effects kick in after about half an hour if ingested but much quicker if injected or smoked (methamphetamine) and can last for up to six hours. But it all depends on the quality of the speed. The high is followed by a long slow comedown. Speed isn't the purest drug on the block. Most of it only contains 5-10% amphetamine. It can be cut with Vitamin C, caffeine or any other substance so you don't know what may be in it. Base speed is usually purer. Speed makes people feel wide awake, excited and chatty. Clubbers take it because it gives them the energy to dance for hours without getting tired. Speed was once the main ingredient in diet pills because it stops people feeling hungry. There is a flip side: It's impossible to sit still or sleep on speed. The come down can make users feel irritable and depressed and can last for one or two days. Speed makes some people panicky. Should a person sniff a lot in a short space of time you can expect hallucinations. You can get addicted to Speed. The more speed you take the greater chance you'll need to take more to get the same buzz.

Speed users have died from overdose. Speed puts a strain on your heart. It's bad news for people with high blood pressure or a heart condition. An overdose can be fatal. Avoid taking speed and anti-depressants or alcohol. This combination has been known to be fatal. Taking a lot of speed can give your immune system a battering. You could get more colds, flu and sore throats if you use it a lot. Speed can lead to anxiety, depression, irritability and aggression as well as mental illness such as psychosis and paranoid feelings.

Too much sniffing speed and you're sneezing lumps out of your nose into a hanky. Injecting any drug can cause vein damage, ulcers and gangrene. Dirty or shared needles and injecting works can help the spread of hepatitis and HIV. Injecting speed is particularly dangerous because it's cut with so much crap.It's easier to overdose injecting

Speed Drug Information - Please note that we cannot guarantee availability of external sites

MARIJUANA : most widely abused illegal substance

Street names : Bhang, black, blast, blow, blunts. Bob Hope, bush, dope, draw, ganja, grass, hash, hashish, hemp, herb, marijuana, pot, puff, Northern Lights, resin, sensi, sensemilla, shit, skunk, smoke, soap, spliff, wacky backy, weed, zero. Some names are based on where it comes from... Afghan, homegrown, Moroccan etc


Cannabis comes in different forms. Hash is a black-brown lump made from the resin of the plant. It's quite often like putty. Grass or weed is the dried leaves of the plant. It looks like tightly packed dried garden herbs. Less common is sensimilla. This is bud grown in the absence of male plants and has no seeds. And cannabis oil which is dark and sticky and comes in a small jar. Most people mix cannabis up with tobacco and smoke it as a spliff or a joint. Some people put it in a pipe. Others make tea with it or stick it in food like cakes. Varies widely around the country. Grass is usually more expensive than resin (hash). Some unsuspecting people have been known to buy blocks of mud, stock cubes and garden herbs from people pretending to be dealers. The most impure Cannabis is called 'soap bar'. It's contaminated with all sorts of things. This makes it cheaper but it's a false economy really as it is often harder to get stoned. Some users hate it so much they object to smoking it.

The effects of any drug have a lot to do with who the users are with, what mood they're in and how much of the drug they take. Cannabis is no exception. Much like a cigarette, the effects are immediate and last from about an hour to a few hours. Smoking more will make the effects last longer obviously.

Smoking a spliff makes most people happy, relaxed and at peace with the world but the effects vary from person to person. Some people have one puff and feel sick. Others get the giggles until the muscles in their face hurt.

Cannabis is quite an introspective drug. Once stoned, users can find hidden depths in daytime television/ the most unlikely song lyrics. It's a mild hallucinogen. Colors and sounds appear brighter and sharper. It affects co-ordination. So it can make people a bit unsteady on their feet. Doing complicated things like operating machinery is not a good idea. Some people use it to relieve muscle pain associated with illnesses like MS (Multiple Sclerosis). Someone who's been smoking a lot will have bloodshot eyes, a dry mouth and may well have their head in the fridge. Hunger pangs are known as 'getting the munchies'. There is a flip side: Even hardcore smokers can get anxious, panicky and suspicious. Cannabis screws with short-term memory.
Eating or drinking the drug delays the effects and can make them stronger and longer lasting. There is a minimal risk of physical dependence. Psychological dependency occurs in about 10% of users. Users are more likely to get addicted to nicotine if they roll their spliffs with tobacco. There are no physical withdrawal symptoms if you've only been using for a short while and there should be no problem stopping (unless you get addicted to the tobacco).

Most of the risks associated with cannabis are linked to regular, heavy use. Smoking cannabis may be more harmful than smoking tobacco. Cannabis has a higher concentration of chemical 'nasties' that cause cancer. Smoking anything can give you heart problems, bronchitis and cancer. Smoking it with tobacco can get you hooked on tobacco. Cannabis can make asthma worse. And it's a bad idea with heart disease, high blood pressure or if you are at risk from strokes. Regular, heavy use makes it harder to learn and concentrate. Being stoned all the time isn't going to win anyone 'Employee Of The Month'.

Frequent use of cannabis can cut a man's sperm count and suppress ovulation in women. Some people begin to feel tired all the time and can't seem to get motivated. Some research has shown that cannabis may worsen mental illnesses like schizophrenia. It may also slow down any recovery from these illnesses. If you've got a history of mental illness in the family you should think very carefully about getting stoned. Cannabis can cause a range of mental health problems from short lived and more common problems such as anxiety and paranoid feelings, to less common difficulties with actual psychotic states that may require medical treatment. These problems may fade away over several days after stopping using cannabis but occasionally may require a stay in hospital. Smoking cannabis when pregnant may harm the baby. Babies tend to be lower in birth weight and to have developmental problems.
 

MDMA (ECSTASY) : little research on long term effects, still popular

Street names : E, pills, brownies, burgers, disco biscuits, hug drug, 'Mitsubishi's', 'Rolex's', 'Dolphin's', XTC

Pure Ecstasy is a white crystalline powder known to chemists as MDMA. Ecstasy sold on the street is usually in tablet form although it's getting more common to see it sold as powder. E's come in all sorts of colours and some of them have pictures or logos stamped into them.

They are usually swallowed although some people do smoke or snort them.

The effects take about half an hour to kick in and tend to last between 3 to 6 hours, followed by a gradual comedown. It's the drug of choice for many clubbers and 4% of 16-25 year olds have taken some in the last 3 months.

People have been known to take another E because they haven't come up. The danger is both E's kick in and you have a double dose to deal with.

A big problem with E's nowadays is that they're rarely pure. It's cheaper to make them with amphetamine, caffeine, and substances that would feel more at home under your kitchen sink.

Some of the new manmade drugs like PMA and 4MTA are often passed off as E. Their effects can be very different and they may take longer to kick-in with a risk of double-dosing to compensate (and double the side effects).

E gives people an energy buzz that makes them feel alert and alive. Clubbers love it because it means they can dance for hours without feeling tired.
Ecstasy can take anything between 20 and 60 minutes to kick in. E makes people feel in tune with their surroundings. Sounds and colours feel more intense. A certain track of music can suddenly take on a spiritual significance.
E makes emotions feel more intense. Users often feel great love for the people they're with and the strangers around them. E taken on its own is not a drug that makes people violent. Lots of people feel chatty on E. (These chats don't always make sense to people who aren't on E). E dilates the pupils, produces a tingling feeling, tightens the jaw muscles, raises the body temperature and makes the heart beat faster.


There is a flip side: People who aren't on E aren't always best pleased at being hugged by someone who's really sweaty. Or having their girlfriend/boyfriend chatted up by a random stranger. Short-term effects can include anxiety, panic attacks, confused episodes, first-time epileptic fits and paranoia. Current evidence suggests that long term use can cause depression, personality change and memory loss. No one knows what an E's got in it until they've swallowed it. There may be negative side effects from other ingredients in the tablet.
E can makes users feel a bit down afterwards. Ecstasy Blues is the term given to the bad mood many clubbers feel on Mondays and Tuesdays after a big weekend.

There have been over 200 ecstasy related deaths in the UK since 1996. Some are linked to the way ecstasy controls the body's temperature control mechanism. E can cause the body's temperature to rise to dangerously high levels. Add to that a sweaty dancefloor and dehydration and there's the potential for 'double heat-stroke'. Some deaths have been linked to other drugs like PMA which have been sold as ecstasy. Using E has also been linked to liver, kidney and heart problems. Anyone using too much can get paranoid and depressed as well. Ecstasy affects the body's temperature control. Dancing for long periods in a hot atmosphere increases the chances of overheating and dehydration. Make sure you take regular breaks from the dance floor to cool down, especially if it's rammed.

Watch out for your mates. People can get so out of their faces they don't realize they're in danger of overheating or getting dehydrated. Reduce the risks by sipping no more than a pint of water or non-alcoholic fluid every hour. Be careful - drinking too much can be dangerous or even fatal. The drug can cause the body to release a hormone which prevents the production of urine. This means that if you drink a few glasses of liquid too quickly, it interferes with your body's salt balance which can be as deadly as not drinking enough water. Some long-term users report getting colds, flu and sore throats more often. But then staying awake for 24 hours is always going to give your immune system a battering. There is speculation that the exhaustion and dehydration associated with E can activate urine infections like cystitis in women. E's can contain toxic other chemicals like MPTP, a drug known to cause irreversible Parkinson's disease. It's highly unlikely that many E's have MPTP in them. But the point is that taking E is a gamble. Anyone with a heart condition, blood pressure problems, epilepsy or asthma can have a very dangerous reaction to the drug.
 

CRACK COCAINE : cheap, destructive drug making a comeback

Street names : Cocaine is also known as coke, charlie, C, white, Percy, snow, toot.

Coke is a white powder that's usually divided into lines on a smooth surface and snorted up the nose with a rolled up tenner or a straw. It can be smoked and is sometimes made into a solution and injected.

Coke is big business. So it's not unusual to find the odd wrap padded out with a bit of sugar, starch or talcum powder. Truth is that some wraps of coke would do a good job of cleaning the bathroom.

Taking coke makes users feel on top of the world. It's a bit like speed (amphetamines) but it's stronger and doesn't last as long. People taking it feel wide awake, confident and on top of their game. Coke's a stimulant it raises body temperature, makes the heart beat faster and staves off feelings of hunger.

There is a flip side : After a big night on coke it's not unusual for people to feel like they've got the flu. Some people act like they're the greatest... dancer.. lover.. comedian on the planet. Usually they're not. The hit from coke doesn't last long (20-30 minutes). When the effects start to wear off there's a strong temptation to take more.

Coke is very addictive. It can be very difficult to resist the craving and strong psychological dependence due to changes in the brain. Recent evidence suggests possible long-term changes to the nervous system.

Although psychological dependence is more of a problem than physical withdrawal symptoms, low mood and feeling very rough soon after stopping can also tempt people to take more coke. A habit can be expensive and take over your life.

Crack and cocaine users have died from overdose. High doses can raise the body's temperature, cause convulsions and respiratory arrest. Risk of overdosing increases if crack is mixed with heroin, barbiturates or alcohol.
Cocaine is bad news for anybody with high blood pressure or a heart condition. Perfectly fit, young people can have a fit or heart attack after taking too much coke. Those who get into coke often find they begin to crave it more and more. Using it a lot makes people feel depressed and run down.

Too much sniffing coke and you're sneezing lumps out of your nose into a hanky. People who use crack or coke regularly often develop serious problems with anxiety and paranoia. It's a known cause of panic attacks. Because the effects wear off so quickly, cocaine and crack are expensive drugs. A cocaine habit can seriously damage your wallet. Very large doses can cause death from heart or respiratory problems. You may not know you have a pre-existing heart condition. Large or frequent use of coke tends to knock sexual desire on the head. If there have been previous mental health problems coke could bring those problems to the surface again. If a close relative has had mental health problems there might also be an increased risk in some users. Injecting any drug can cause vein damage, ulcers and gangrene. Dirty or shared needles and other injecting works can help the spread of HIV and hepatitis. It's easier to overdose injecting. Cocaine is a local anaesthetic and it deadens pain at the injection site. This makes it harder for injectors to notice the damage they may be doing. Using alcohol and cocaine together can be deadly. Injecting a mixture of cocaine and heroin, known as a 'Speedball' is one of the most dangerous cocktails you can put in a human body. It is also potentially deadly.

 Taking coke when you're pregnant can damage your baby. Coke causes miscarriage, premature labour and smaller babies and may cause congenital abnormalities. Babies born to mothers who keep using throughout their pregnancy show withdrawal syndrome.
 

HEROIN : highly addictive drug making a comeback in some areas

Street names : Brown, skag, H, horse, gear, smack.

Heroin comes as a white powder when it's pure such as that used by doctors. But thanks to the range of substances it's cut with, street heroin can be anything from brownish white to brown.

It can be smoked, snorted or dissolved in water and injected.

Feeding a heroin habit can cost up to R1000 a day. Finding the money to fund a habit is tough and some users turn to crime or even sell their bodies to get the money they need.

Heroin is big business. And the more cheap fillers dealers can mix with it to pad it out, the more cash they'll make.

A user has no way of knowing what their heroin is mixed with. Recent tests have shown it can contain nutmeg, brick dust, and ground-up gravel.

Heroin slows down body functioning and stops physical and psychological pain. Most users get a rush or buzz a few minutes after taking it. A small dose of heroin gives the user a feeling of warmth and well-being. Bigger doses can make the user sleepy and very relaxed. The first dose of heroin can bring about dizziness and vomiting. Effects on the brain cause 'craving' and strong psychological and physical dependence.

Drugs have been developed to help treat heroin addiction. These include substitutes for heroin such as methadone and subutex (bupranorphine) and also drugs like naltrexone that block the effects of heroin so you can't get a high.

Deaths from overdose occur. But the risk increases after a period off the drug because the body's tolerance for the drug goes down. Excessive doses can lead to coma and even death from respiratory failure. If heroin is taken with other drugs, including alcohol, overdose is much more likely. Other downers such as benzodiazepine tranquillisers are also associated with heroin overdose deaths. There's a risk of death due to inhaling vomit as heroin stops the body's cough reflex working properly. Injecting heroin can do nasty damage to your veins and has been known to lead to gangrene. The risks of sharing needles and other works to inject are well-known, putting you in danger of infections like hepatitis B or C and of course HIV/AIDS.
 

STEROIDS : horrible side effects, the toll they're taking on athletics

Street names : Sustanon 250, Deca-Durabolin, Dianabol, Anavar, Stanozolol.

Steroids can be bought as tablets which are swallowed. They're also bought as liquid which is injected.

Popular with bodybuilders, athletes and other sports people because of their performance enhancing effects. As not all tablets contain active ingredients, it's not uncommon for some people to consume 10-100 times the medical dose.

Many counterfeit anabolic steroids are sold which don't do what the packet says they do. In fact, users can end up paying for tablets that don't contain any active ingredient at all. It's not unusual for anabolic steroids intended for veterinary use to be sold.

Users claim the drug makes them feel more aggressive. Sports enthusiasts claim steroids make them able to train harder. If taken during a strict exercise regime, they can help build muscle mass. They may also help users recover from strenuous exercise faster.

Steroids are not so much physically addictive but a user can quickly become psychologically dependent. After stopping, withdrawal can include lethargy and depression

Normally calm people can become aggressive or even violent. If you're young, abuse of anabolic steroids can stop you growing properly. Injecting any drug can cause vein damage, ulcers and gangrene. Dirty or shared needles and other injecting works can help the spread of HIV and hepatitis. If you're male, you can get erection problems, grow breasts, become sterile and develop acne. It can also make your testicles shrink. Quite a big price to pay for impressive muscles. If you're female, you can get extra facial hair, a deep voice, shrinking breasts and an increased risk of menstrual problems. You could experience dramatic mood swings and ultimately long-term depression. You may find that you start getting paranoid, confused and have trouble sleeping. Steroids can also give you high blood pressure and increase your risk of liver failure, stroke or heart attack.
 

INHALANTS : abuse is on the rise among youth again


Street names : Gases, Aerosols, Glue, Thinners, Volatile Substances

All sorts of famous household names. Each contain different substances with different effects.

Solvents are sniffed from a cloth, a sleeve or a plastic bag. Some users put a plastic bag over their heads and inhale that way. Gas products can be squirted directly into the back of the throat which makes it difficult to control the dose.

Most users are between 11 and 16.

Sniffing solvents isn't for anyone whose body is a temple. There's all sorts of chemical muck involved. It all depends on what's being sniffed.

Users say it's like being drunk with dizziness, dreaminess and fits of the giggles. It can be difficult to think straight. The hit is quite short so users tend to keep repeating the dose to keep the feeling going. Depending on what's being inhaled, some users can hallucinate. This can last for up to 45 minutes.
It can give users a 'hangover' afterwards, giving them the mother of all headaches and making them sleepy. Depending on the substance, it can give users a red rash around their mouths

There's no evidence that inhaling solvents can make a user physically dependent although a tolerance can build up within 2-3 days of continual use. It is possible to be psychologically dependent.

At best, you risk nausea, vomiting and blackouts. At worst, you risk fatal heart problems which have been known to kill users the very first time they sniff.
Squirting gas products down the throat is a particularly dangerous way of taking the drug. It can make your throat swell so you can't breathe and make your heart slow to a dangerously low level. You risk suffocation if you inhale from a plastic bag over your head. Sniffing can seriously affect your judgement and when you're high, there's a very real danger you'll try something reckless.
Long-term abuse of solvents has been shown to damage the brain, liver and kidneys. It can be hard to get the amount right. Just enough will give the desired high, just a little too much can result in coma. Using solvents in combination with alcohol can lead to an increased risk of death.