Just Say No Resource Material
Drugs are substances that change the way your mind and bodywork. They can both benefit as well as hurt us. Prescription drugs are helpful if taken under the supervision of a physician.
However, if stolen, any drug, including medications prescribed by a doctor, can be harmful and even deadly.
It sounds corny, but it's true; good friends don't let friends do drugs. National studies show that the average age when a child first tries alcohol is 11and for marijuana, it's 12. And many students start becoming curious about these substances even sooner. Most start to end up wishing they hadn't. For more information, see our Just Say No Magic Program.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is a depressant drug. It's commonly found in beer and wine. Rum, Vodka, Scotch, and Whiskey are some examples of hard liquors that contain alcohol.
- Absorbed directly into the bloodstream, alcohol can cause a loss of balance, increased violence, and an inability to learn or remember. Also, alcohol changes your personality, causing slurred speech and vomiting. People become addicted to the good feeling of drinking alcohol, but it doesn't last. It is eventually replaced by bad feelings and negative emotions, which can often lead to violence. Also, it stops people's bodies from functioning correctly.
Marijuana
- Marijuana is a drug that comes from a plant. Also called grass or pot, it's made of dried leaves and flowering tops of plants. It's often smoked in hand-made cigarettes called joints, though some people cook with it and brew it in tea. Many scientists classify Marijuana as a hallucinogenic, which disrupts how the brain controls the senses.
- Disrupting the way the brain controls thoughts and emotions, marijuana can change people's moods, making them nervous or easily upset. Long-term use can cause people to lose all interest in everyday activities and damage the brain and nervous system cells. Smoking Marijuana causes lung cancer and may lead to heart disease. It also destroys the body's white blood cells. These cells help fight infections, so Marijuana users will likely get sick more often.
Caffeine
- Caffeine is a substance found in many different things, such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, chocolate, soft drinks, and iced tea. Caffeine is known medically as trimethylxanthine (C8H10N4O2). It's used in hospitals as a cardiac stimulant and a mild diuretic. People use it to provide a "boost of energy" or to stay awake longer. Many people feel as though they "cannot function" in the morning without a cup of coffee to provide caffeine and the boost it gives them.
- An addictive drug, caffeine operates using the exact mechanisms that amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin use to stimulate the brain. If you feel you cannot function without it, you're probably addicted.
Cocaine
- It's the most likely used illegal stimulant. It can be sniffed or snorted. It's a white powder made from coca leaves. Cocaine can also be smoked as a "crack" or "rock." It can also be injected. Cocaine base, or freebase, a smoked mixture made on the street, is the most toxic form of the drug.
- Cocaine causes heart attacks and increases violence. It raises your blood pressure and can numb your body. If sniffed every day, cocaine will cause painful sores and a runny nose. If you keep using it, the drug will make a hole from nostril to nostril. Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant.
Inhalants
- Huffing is sniffing substances like paint, magic markers, whiteout, lighter fluid, hairspray, vegetable cooking spray, and air fresheners. You use these objects in your everyday life. Students are abusing these things to get high. They inhale them through their nose or mouth.
- These drugs can cause you to sneeze and have nose bleeds. People inhaling too much say they feel like their brain is falling out. Sniffing too much at once can cause death. Hundreds of people die because of inhalants. Sometimes the first time people try inhalants, they die. They also depress the central nervous system. Every 1 in 5 students uses inhalants.
Nicotine / Tobacco
- Tobacco is a deadly, gum-like substance. Tobacco is an introduction drug meaning you start with it, and it leads to other drugs.
- Smoking a cigar, pipe, or cigarette, you can get cancer of the lungs and become addicted. The effects of smoking harm nearly every organ of the body and cause many diseases. If you become dependent, you can't stop taking the drug without help from a drug-resistant gum or patch.