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Short and Long Term Effects of Drug Abuse

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.  Narconon provides this information to help parents fight drug addiction before it begins.

Short Term Effects of Drug Abuse
Long Term Effects of Drug Abuse
Effects of Marijuana Abuse
  • Increases in heart rate, body temperature, and appetite.
  • Drowsiness.
  • Dryness of the mouth and throat.
  • Reddening of the eyes and reduction in ocular pressure.
  • Respiratory problems, lung damage, and cancer.
  • Memory and concentration impairments.
  • Possible motivational problems.
Effects of Cocaine Abuse
  • May cause extreme anxiety and restlessness.
  • Twitches, tremors, spasms, coordination problems.
  • Chest pain, nausea, seizures.
  • respiratory arrest, and cardiac arrest.
  • Extreme alertness, watchfulness, impaired judgment
  • Impulsiveness, and compulsively repeated acts.
  • Tissue deterioration inside the nose.
  • Respiratory arrest, and cardiac arrest.
Effects of Alcohol Abuse
  • Reduces sensitivity to pain.
  • Narrows the visual field, reduces resistance to glare.
  • Interferes with the ability to differentiate intensities of light.
  • Reduces ability to make decisions.
  • Damage to vital organs; including liver, heart and pancreas.
  • Twitches, tremors, spasms, coordination problems.
  • Fatty liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis and cancer of the liver.
  • respiratory arrest, and cardiac arrest.
Effects of Methamphetamine Abuse
  • Increase wakefulness and physical activity.
  • Decrease appetite.
  • Interferes with the ability to differentiate intensities of light.
  • Reduces ability to make decisions.
  • Violent behavior, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia.
  • Paranoia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, and delusions.
  • Fatty liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis and cancer of the liver.
  • Respiratory arrest, and cardiac arrest.
Effects of Heroin Abuse
  • Surge of euphoria (“rush”) accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin
  • Alternately wakeful and drowsy state
  • Interferes with the ability to differentiate intensities of light.
  • Impaired night vision, vomiting, constipation.
  • Collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves.
  • Physical dependence.
  • Fatty liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis and cancer of the liver.
  • Respiratory arrest, and cardiac arrest.

Common Drugs of Abuse

Alcohol
Alcohol Abuse Narconon

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. Narconon provides effective treatment for alcohol abuse.

Signs of Alcohol Abuse

Alcohol Drug Information

Marijuana
Marijuana Abuse

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.

Signs of Marijuana Abuse

Marijuana Drug Information

Cocaine
Cocaine Abuse

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.

Signs of Cocaine Abuse

Cocaine Drug Information

Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine Abuse

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
Heroin Abuse

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.”

Signs of Heroin Abuse

Heroin Drug Information

Narconon is committed to providing effective drug rehabilitation and education to families and adults.