Transcript Top 5 drugs used by YP

What are the top 10 drugs
mis-used by young people?
Discuss with a partner then join with
another pair and compare.
Which are hallucinogens, depressants
or stimulants?
Commonly Agreed top ten
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Caffeine
Alcohol
Nicotine
Cannabis
Volatile substances/Inhalants/huffing
Cocaine
Ecstasy
Prescription drugs
Speed (Amphetamine)
Legal highs e.g. ketamine
Amyl Nitrite
We will look at RED
substance today and others
at a later date
Cannabis: True or False
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
It’s a stimulant – it wakes you up
Is not a harmful drug
You can’t overdose on it
It can lead to anxiety attacks
It’s always smoked
It’s legal in Holland
Answers
1. It’s a stimulant – it wakes you up
FALSE: It slows you down (depressant)
2. Is not a harmful drug
It depends: It can make existing mental
Health problems worse and cause MH problems
like schizophrenia; regular use can cause fertility problems and
if smoking it, lung cancer .
3. You can’t overdose on it
TRUE: Large amounts will make people feel disorientated, dizzy and they
may vomit but it wouldn’t cause death.
4. It can lead to anxiety attacks
TRUE: Especially if users are already feeling anxious
5. It is always smoked
FALSE: The resin form can be cooked or just eaten.
6. It’s legal in Holland
FALSE: It is sold in licensed coffee shops – it is not strictly legal but is
tolerated by police providing people are not carrying large amounts.
Ecstasy: True or False
1. It relaxes you
2. It’s addictive
3. It’s an hallucinogen – it makes you have see
and hear things differently
4. If you use it for a long time it causes brain
damage
5. It’s a pill
6. It can make you feel low the next day
Answers (Ecstasy)
1. It relaxes you
FALSE: It gives you an energy rush and is a stimulant
2. It’s addictive
FALSE: At least not in physical sense but people may become
psychologically dependent
3. It’s an hallucinogen - It makes you have see and hear things differently
PARTLY TRUE: People feel more alert; sound, colour and feelings are
greater; increased feelings of love and empathy for people.
4. If you use it for a long time it causes brain damage
Possibly: Although there are other health risks (over 200 ecstasyrelated deaths in last 20 years and is linked to liver, heart and kidney
problems because the body can overheat and become dehydrated when
dancing energetically and not taking breaks and drinks)
5. It’s a pill
TRUE: But it’s mixed with other unknown substances so you don’t
know how strong it is or what the other ingredients are.
6. It can make you feel low the next day
TRUE: It forces lots of the happy chemical (serotonin) into your brain
and the brain can’t make enough the next day so users may feel depressed.
Cocaine: True or False
1. Try it once and you’re addicted.
2. You get flu after taking cocaine.
3. It can make you feel on top of the world.
4. Perfectly healthy, young people can have a fit
or heart attack after taking too much cocaine.
5. Possession can get you up to 5 years in jail.
6. It’s a depressant.
Cocaine
1. Try it once and you’re addicted.
FALSE: You would have to use it more than once – regular users ‘crave’ it.
2. You get flu after taking cocaine.
Sort of TRUE: After taking cocaine many people to feel depressed and run
down like they've got flu.
3. It can make you feel on top of the world.
TRUE but: some people can get over-confident, arrogant and aggressive
and end up taking very careless risks.
4. Perfectly healthy, young people can have a fit or heart attack after taking
too much cocaine.
True: High doses can raise the body's temperature, cause fits and heart
failure.
5. Possession can get you up to 5 years in jail.
FALSE: Up to seven years in jail
6. It’s a depressant.
FALSE: A powerful stimulant, with short-lived effects – which that means it
speeds up the way your mind and body work.
Volatile substances/Inhalants/Huffing
1. They are as household products and safe to
use.
2. Volatile substances are stimulants.
3. They have a similar effect to alcohol.
4. It’s a myth you can suffocate when you take
them.
Volatile substances/Inhalants/Huffing
1. They are as household products and safe to use.
FALSE: They killed more 10-15 year olds than all illegal drugs combined
(2000 -2008). They can kill the first time they are used.
2. Volatile substances are stimulants.
FALSE: Depressants - they slow down your body’s responses.
3. They have a similar effect to alcohol.
TRUE: They make people feel uninhibited, euphoric and dizzy.
4. It’s a myth you can suffocate when you take them.
FALSE:
• Squirting gas products down the throat can cause swelling so you can't
breathe
• Users can passing out and choke
on their own vomit
• Users can suffocate when inhaling from
a plastic bag over their head.
Why do some young people misuse
substances?
To escape unhappiness
To experiment
Peer pressure
To be different
To be cool
Because they want to
Because they don’t know the risks
They are addicted
To escape
unhappiness
Because they
don’t know
the risks
Peer
pressure
To be cool