Common Drugs of Abuse
Drugs of Abuse |
Prescription Drugs |
Related Topics |
Drugs of Abuse |
Prescription Drugs |
Related Topics |
The factors effecting the short and long term effects of drug abuse vary by drug. Below is a chart giving examples for some common drugs of abuse. In each case the severity and duration of the effect depends on not only the kind of drug taken but also the amount and the way the drug is taken.
Short Term Effects of Drug Abuse |
Long Term Effects of Drug Abuse |
Effects of Marijuana Abuse
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Effects of Cocaine Abuse
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Effects of Alcohol Abuse
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Effects of Methamphetamine Abuse
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Effects of Heroin Abuse
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Alcohol is of course the most commonly used and widely abused psychoactive drug in the country. Street names/slang terms are Booze, Juice and Sauce. It is injested orally. Types include beer, wine, and liquor.
Marijuana is the most frequently used illicit drug in America and has been linked to harming a developing fetus. It has the same or similar effects as depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens. Marijuana cigarettes yield almost four times as much tar as tobacco, creating a higher risk of lung damage.
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. The pure chemical, cocaine hydrochloride, has been an abused substance for more than 100 years, and coca leaves, the source of cocaine, have been ingested for thousands of years.
Today, methamphetamine is second only to alcohol and marijuana as the drug used most frequently in many Western and Midwestern states. Seizures of dangerous laboratory materials have increased dramatically—in some states, fivefold. In response, many special task forces and local and Federal initiatives have been developed to target methamphetamine production and use. Legislation and negotiation with earlier source areas for precursor substances have also reduced the availability of the raw materials needed to make the drug.
Signs of Methamphetamine Abuse
Methamphetamine Drug Information
Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the 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. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as the black sticky substance known on the streets as “black tar heroin.”