Alcohol
Ethyl alcohol is the main ingredient in a variety of beverages including spirits, beer, wine, malt beverages, and coolers. The Alcohol alone provides eighty calories per ounce.
Ativan
Ativan (Lorazepam) is an anti-anxiety agent (benzodiazepines, mild tranquilizer) used to relieve anxiety, agitation, and irritability; to relieve insomnia; to calm people with mania/schizophrenia; and is used intravenously as a sedative, for nervous tension, or to relieve anxiety prior to surgery. Ativan may also be used to help in the prevention of severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms (delirium tremens, DTs), to treat amnesia, or in patients who are undergoing chemotherapy and have severe vomiting. It may be given to children to treat serial seizures by placing it under the tongue.
Cocaine
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that directly affects the brain. Cocaine is not a new drug. In fact, it is one of the oldest known drugs. Cocaine abuse has a long history and is rooted into the drug culture in the United States. It is an intense euphoric drug with strong addictive potential. With the increase in purity, the advent of the free-base form of cocaine, known as crack, and its easy availability on the street, cocaine continues to burden both the law enforcement and health care systems in America. The powdered, hydrochloride salt form of cocaine can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected. Crack is cocaine that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride salt. This form of cocaine is a rock crystal that can be heated and its vapors smoked. The term ‘crack’ refers to the crackling sound heard when it is heated.
Codeine
Codeine is in a group of drugs called narcotic pain medicines. Codeine is used to treat mild to moderate pain. Codeine may be habit-forming and should be used only by the person it is prescribed for. Codeine should never be given to another person, especially someone who has a history of drug abuse or addiction. Dangerous side effects or death can occur when alcohol is combined with a narcotic pain medicine.
Crystal Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a very addictive stimulant drug that activates certain systems in the brain. It is chemically related to amphetamine but, at comparable doses, the effects of methamphetamine are much more potent, longer lasting, and more harmful to the central nervous system (CNS). Methamphetamine is a Schedule II stimulant which means it has a high potential for abuse and is available only through a prescription that cannot be refilled. It can be made in small, illegal laboratories; however, its production endangers the people in the laboratories, neighbors, and the environment. Street methamphetamine is referred to by many names such as ‘speed,’ ‘meth,’ and ‘chalk.’ Methamphetamine hydrochloride, clear chunky crystals resembling ice, which can be inhaled by smoking, is referred to as ‘ice,’ crystal,’ ‘glass,’ and ‘tina.’
Demerol
Demerol is a group of drugs called narcotic pain relievers. It is similar to morphine. Demerol is used to treat moderate-to-severe pain. Used beyond a prescriptive dosage, Demerol can be highly addictive.
Ecstasy
The chemical name of ecstasy is methylenedioxymethylamphetamine. It is generally known in scientific terms and medical circles as MDMA. Many users simply call it ‘M.’ Ecstasy can lead to serious addiction. It influences nerve cells of the brain that release ‘Serotonin.’ Serotonin controls sleep, depression, anxiety, appetite, sexual behavior, and emotional instability. Due to the effects of MDMA on Serotonin, a user will feel tired, depressed, or moody. The drug has unpredictable effects on different individuals, even if they have taken the same dosage. Other effects of MDMA can be a loss of body temperature regulation, leading to precipitous rises and falls of body temperature. Unpredictable changes in blood pressure and heart rate usually occur as well.
Fentanyl
Fentanyl is an analgesic with the potency of approximately eighty times that of morphine. It was introduced into medical practice in the 1960s as an intravenous anesthetic under the trade name Sublimaze. Duragesic is a Fentanyl transdermal patch used in chronic pain management. Actiq is a solid formulation of Fentanyl citrate on a stick that dissolves slowly in the mouth for transmucosal absorption. Actiq is intended for opiate-tolerant individuals and is effective in treating breakthrough pain in cancer patients.
GHB
GHB (Gama Hydroxybutyric Acid) is a synthetic depressant produced in clandestine laboratories. While available as a prescription for sleep disorders in some other countries, GHB was banned in the United States by the FDA in 1990 because of the dangers associated with its use. However, on July 17, 2002, GHB was approved by the FDA for treatment of a rare form of narcolepsy. Most of the GHB used in the United States is illegally manufactured within its borders. Like Rohypnol, GHB and its analogs are considered ‘date rape’ drugs because they can be mixed with liquids (even water) and a victim will not detect its presence by smelling or seeing it. GHB, by itself, has a soapy or salty taste, but when mixed with liquid, is it difficult to detect.
Heroin
Heroin is a highly addictive drug and is the most widely abused and most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of certain varieties of poppy plants.
LSD
LSD (Lysergic Acid Dethylamide) is one of the major drugs making up the hallucinogen class of drugs. Hallucinogens cause hallucinations – profound distortions in a person’s perception of reality. Hallucinogens cause their effects by disrupting the interaction of nerve cells and the neurotransmitter, Serotonin. Distributed throughout the brain and spinal cord, the Serotonin system is involved in the control of behavior, perceptual and regulatory systems, and the LSD interruption will affect mood, hunger, body temperature, sexual behavior, muscle control, and sensory perception.
Marijuana
Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa). Cannabis is a term that refers to marijuana and other drugs made from the same plant including sinsemilla, hashish, and hash oil. All forms of cannabis are mind-altering, psychoactive drugs. The main active chemical in marijuana is THC ( Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol). Short-term effects of marijuana uses include problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, loss of coordination, increased heart rate, and anxiety.
Morphine
Morphine is a group of drugs called narcotic pain relievers. Morphine is used to treat moderate to severe pain. Short-acting morphine is taken as needed for pain. Extended-release morphine is for use when around-the-clock pain relief is needed. Morphine in not for treating pain following surgery unless the patient is already taking morphine before surgery.
Opiates
Opiates, sometimes referred to as narcotics, are a group of drugs, which are used medically to relieve pain and have a high potential for abuse. Some opiates come from a resin taken from the seed pod of the Asian poppy. This group of drugs includes opium, morphine, heroin, and codeine. Other opiates, such as meperidine (Demerol), are synthesized or manufactured. Opium appears as dark brown chunks or as a powder and is usually smoked or eaten. Heroin can be a white or brownish powder, which is usually dissolved in water and then injected. Most street preparations of heroin are diluted, or cut, with other substances such as sugar or quinine. Other opiates come in a variety of forms including capsules, tablets, syrups, solutions, and suppositories.
Percoset
Percoset is a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen. Oxycodone is in a class of drugs called narcotic analgesics. The addition of acetaminophen, a less potent pain reliever, actually increases the effects of the oxycodone and is used to relieve moderate-to-severe pain. It is an opiate and should never be taken with alcohol or other drugs.
Percodan
Percodan is a combination of oxycodone and aspirin and is in a class of drugs called narcotic analgesics. It is an effective pain reliever for moderate-to-severe pain when used as prescribed. Percodan is highly addictive.
Valium
Valium (diazepam) is habit forming. You can become physically and psychologically dependent on this medication. Diazepam is a member of the benzodiazepine family. Benzodiazepines are sedatives that cause dose-related depression of the central nervous system (CNS). They are useful in treating anxiety, insomnia, seizures, and muscle spasms.
Vicodin
Vicodin can be habit forming. If you take this drug over a long period of time, you can become mentally and physically addicted to it and you may find the drug no longer works to relieve moderate-to-severe pain at the originally prescribed dosage.
Xanax
Xanax is in a group of drugs called benzodiazepines. Xanax affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause anxiety. Xanax is used to treat anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and anxiety caused by depression.
