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Activity # 1: Name that Drug

Name How it Works Effects How to tell if someone has been using

Cocaine / Crack Cocaine
Street Names: Blow, C, Charlie, Coke, Crack, Flake, Freebase,  Nose Candy, Rock, Snow, Stardust
Forms: Powder, crystals or rocks
Type:
Stimulant

It affects the brain and makes you very energetic and alert.

Euphoria, insomnia, dry mouth and lips, masks fatigue, loss of appetite, lowers inhibitions, hallucinations, rapid heart and breathing rate.

  • Dilated pupils
  • Chapped nostrils
  • Nose bleeding
  • Track marks
  • Sniffling
  • Slurred speech

Magic Mushrooms
Street Names: Mush, Shrooms, Mushies, Fungus, Fungus Delight (tea)
Forms: Mushroom, brown powder
Type:
Hallucinogen

They are absorbed by the bloodstream and then travel to the brain where they alter your perception.

Nausea and vomiting, numbness, exaggerated reflexes, paranoia/confusion, loss of urinary control, increased blood pressure and heart rate.

  • Dilated pupils
  • Convulsions
  • Muscle weakness or twitching

Heroin
Street Names:
Smack, Dope, H, Horse, Black Tar, Dust, Point
Forms:
Fine, white crystalline powder, grainy brown substance, dark brown sticky gum
Type:
Depressant

It travels through the bloodstream to the brain, where it’s converted back into morphine. It interacts with your brain and can change the way a person experiences pain.

Nausea and vomiting, lack of emotion, headaches, reduced appetite, constipation, itching of the skin.

  • Decreased response to pain
  • Small (pinpoint) pupils
  • Slowed speech and movements
  • Track marks

Marijuana (Cannabis)
Street Names: Pot, Mary, Mary Jane, MJ, Joint, Weed
Forms: Dried leaves, buds seeds or stems, resin, sticky liquid

THC is absorbed into the bloodstream and travels to the brain. In the brain, it binds to cannabinoid receptors, which produces the effects you would feel.

Dry mouth, increased appetite, calm, relaxed feeling, panic, anxiety, impaired short term memory and coordination, hallucinations, increased heart rate. Cannabis impairment is different for every individual.

  • Strong odor
  • Red eyes
  • Slow mental reactions
  • Spontaneous laughter

Acid (LSD)
Street Names:
Acid, Acid Cap, Blotter, Micro, Microdots, Bull’s Eye
Forms:
Tablets, blotting paper
Type: Hallucinogen

It enters all tissues of the body including the brain. The effects of it are felt gradually within 30-60 minutes, peak within 2 to 4 hours and gradually diminish within 10-12 hours.

Effects can range from a sense of joy/well-being to fear, panic, aggression and severe anxiety. One can also experience “pseudo-hallucinations” (user is aware the hallucination is not real).

  • Excitable
  • Wild-eyed
  • Dilated pupils
  • Hallucinations

Ketamine
Street Names:
Special K, Vitamin K, Ket, Ketty
Forms:
Liquid, powder, tablets
Type:
Hallucinogen

It travels through the bloodstream to the brain. There, it affects the neurotransmitter (brain chemical) glutamate, which impairs memory, learning, the perception of pain and responses to the environment.

Drunken/dizzy feeling, confusion, memory loss, loss of coordination, inability to speak, decreased response to pain, confusion, nausea and vomiting.  Some people have “near death” or “out-of-body” experiences, and this is referred to as “going through the k-hole”.

  • Insensitive to pain
  • Difficulty reasoning
  • Coordination problems
  • Slurred speech

 

Ecstasy (MDMA)
Street Names: E, XTC, X, Pill, Peanut, Ecstasy, Dove, Love Drug, M&M
Forms: Tablets with various logos and colours
Type:  Stimulant and/or hallucinogen

It is absorbed into the bloodstream and travels to the brain, where it causes the release several neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine) which produce the effects you would feel.

Euphoria, increased alertness, teeth grinding and jaw pain, anxiety, nausea and vomiting, dehydration, heightening of emotions and sensory perceptions, loss of inhibitions and hallucinations.

  • Excitable
  • Wild-eyed
  • Dilated pupils
  • Hallucinations

 

Meth (Methamphetamine)
Street Names: Crystal Meth, Ice, Crank, Speed, Chalk, Pep Pill
Forms: Powder, crystals, tablets
Type: Stimulant

It travels to the brain through the bloodstream. Once in the brain, it causes the release of a chemical that is responsible for “pleasure”, which explains the “high” created by the drug.

Euphoria, increased alertness of mind, excessively talkative, decreased appetite, dry mouth, teeth grinding, muscle shaking, paranoia, anxiety, hallucinations and difficulty sleeping, increased breathing and heart rate

  • Dilated pupils
  • Blurred vision
  • Restlessness
  • Tremors
  • “Tweaking” (combination of anxiety and hallucinations)

“Spice”
Street Names:
Synthetic Marijuana, Hayze Spice
Forms:
Mix of herbs sprayed with man-made compounds that mimic the effects of marijuana
Type:
Hallucinogen

It is absorbed into the bloodstream and travels to the brain. In the brain, it binds to cannabinoid receptors which produces the effects you would feel.

Nausea and vomiting, dizziness, extreme anxiety, agitation and panic attacks, euphoria, unrealistic fears, altered sense of time and space, confusion, insomnia, short-term memory loss, convulsions, seizures, suicide, increased heart rate.

  • Shortness of breath
  • High blood pressure
  • Chest pain
  • Dry mouth