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Drugs are everywhere, but it’s up to you to say NO! They can make you do angry or bad things, and sometimes drugs can kill you. Methamphetamines or “Meth” meth in powder form meth in rock form Would you like to look like this? Just like the household chemicals you have in your house, some people use them to put in drugs, it’s poison! Let’s talk about Methamphetamine or “Meth” for example. Do you know what some of the things used to make Meth is? Let’s talk about a few of them. Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer - This is used in dynamite to make explosives. Farmers also use it to fertilize their land for their crops and whatever else they may be harvesting their crops. Starter Fluid - Your parents might use this to help get the fire going in the grill this summer. Liquid Drain Cleaner - This is a type of acid used to unclog your sink or tub drains. Meth makes you see things that are not really there and it makes you nervous, Meth makes you feel threatened. Meth can cause you to have mood swings. Meth can even cause you to lose your appetite. Meth can put you in the hospital for malnutrition, poisoning, drug overdose and many other serious health problems. Wow! Explosives and acids! These things are extremely dangerous! By taking meth, you are burning your body from the inside out.
marijuana plant marijuana joint a marijuana bong pipe
marijuana suckers that have appeared in stores and marijuana candy as sold on the street Another drug is marijuana. Just like meth it can still hurt you. You may see others smoking marijuana and saying, “Try this it won’t hurt you.” The truth is, marijuana can hurt you and it will! Some facts about marijuana are: Marijuana interferes with your ability to think. You can’t think clearly when you are under the influence of marijuana. You may have a hard time remembering how to do certain things easily while you are using marijuana. Marijuana can delay the thought process. When you smoke marijuana, you may see things that are not really there. Your speech may become rapid and people may not be able to understand what you are saying. Marijuana can cause you to lose the your memory of what happened while you are smoking it. Marijuana affects different people differently, but it still does affect them. Can you think of the happiest day of your life? Was it your 8th birthday? How about your first day of school? Was it going to Six Flags with your family? How about getting that new bike for Christmas? Whatever it is, how would like to lose that memory, or worse, all your favorite memories? If you are smoking marijuana on these happy days in your life, you may not remember them. Even though marijuana use may not cause all of these symptoms to happen to you, do you want to take a chance that even one of these things could happen to you? Marijuana makes you a dead-head (and I'm not talking about the Grateful Dead followers here!). Wouldn’t you rather be out having fun with your friends doing things like swimming, riding bicycles, playing games, building a fort or other fun activities instead of laying on a couch and doing nothing? Smoking marijuana doesn’t make you the life of the party. Marijuana becomes your life. It makes your clothes stink, your breath stink, and it takes away your money. Leave it alone. Marijuana is not your friend. Only you can make the decision to say no to marijuana and other harmful drugs.
Cocaine or crack cocaine
The top right photo shows powdered cocaine and a snorting straw in the top half of the photo. The bottom part of the photo reveals crack cocaine. What does crack or cocaine do to you? It can make you see things that are not really there. It can give you headaches, blurred vision and seizures. It can even cause you to have convulsions. Cocaine or crack cocaine can also increase your heart rate to a dangerous level causing you to have chest pain or even a heart attack. Cocaine or crack cocaine can make you lose your appetite which could possibly lead you to being in the hospital. It can also have the reverse effect and cause you to gain a lot of weight. Cocaine or crack cocaine can make you sick and vomit or have diarrhea. It can increase your temperature which can become extremely dangerous and could make you have seizures. Cocaine or crack cocaine can cause you to cough, have bronchitis, or make you stop breathing. Not only does cocaine or crack cocaine do damage on the inside of your body where no one can see it, cocaine or crack cocaine changes your appearance on the outside as well. It can cause yellowish/grayish skin color or acne. It certainly doesn’t make you better looking! You are already healthy. Why would you or anyone else want to ruin their good health by taking drugs like cocaine or crack cocaine? It can’t be because of all the fun side effects.
Steroids may be injected or swallowed. Be careful around all drugs. Let’s look at another drug, Steroids. Steroids are drugs used by doctors to treat people who have been injured or had surgery. Some people don’t bother to see a doctor before using steroids. That makes it illegal and dangerous! A lot of athletes use steroids illegally because it makes them have more muscle quickly. Men, women, boys and girls have all used steroids. They may be professional weightlifters, marathon runners, swimmers, track & field competitors, body builders, and football players. Steroid use may cause: Oily skin Edema (swelling) Jaundice (yellow skin) Severe acne Unexplained dark skin Purple or red colored spots on the body, in the mouth, or as a nose rash Most athletes must complete a drug test. If steroids show up in their system they may be disqualified from their competition, have to pay a fine, or they may even get sent to jail!
Alcohol is a drug also. It is the #1 most used drug in our country today and the #1 drug problem of teenagers and children. Alcohol can be found in beer, wine, mixed drinks, cough medicines, mouthwashes and many other items. Even though alcohol is a legal drug, the effects of alcohol can cause a lot of problems. These problems can lead to jail or even death! How does alcohol work on the body? Once you take a drink of alcohol, it may take 20 to 30 minutes to feel the effects. The body takes one hour to burn off one ounce of alcohol off once it is absorbed into the bloodstream. Once the body absorbs it, nothing will make it go away. Your friends may have told you that if you drink coffee, tea or tomato juice or take a cold shower that you can get over the effects of alcohol quickly. These solutions or any of the other remedies your friends may have told you about will not help you get over the effects of alcohol any sooner.
Alcohol makes you sleepy. It causes your mood to change and can cause
changes in the body. Alcohol is very habit forming. Alcohol causes you
not to think clearly because it impairs your judgment. It slows your
reactions and you don’t think quite as fast. Alcohol is not going to
make you smarter.
There are so many drugs out in the world today! Please be careful and learn to say, “NO!” If someone tries to offer you something and you don’t know what it is, don’t take it. It could be drugs! Special Note For Parents: To learn more information about drugs, or to get your child help if they are suspected of doing drugs, please contact our agency or one of the agencies below. ALCOHOL ABUSE: Al-Anon Group Hqts., Inc. 1600 Corporate Landing Parkway Virginia Beach, VA 23454-5614 1-800-356-9969
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Office P.O. Box 459 Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163 (212) 870-3400
Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD) Worcester, MA 01605 1-800-ALCOHOL
National Clearing House for Alcohol and Drug Information P.O. Box 2345 Rockville, MD 20847-2345 1-800-729-6686
Students Against Driving Drunk (SADD) P.O. Box 800, 255 Main. St. Marlboro, MA 01752 (508) 481-3568
DRUG ABUSE: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, National Drug & Alcohol Hotline 1-800-662-HELP 1-800-66-AYUDA (Spanish)
Nar-Anon Family Group World Services Headqtrs. 302 W. 5th St., Suite 301 San Pedro, CA 90731 (310) 547-5800
Teen Challenge P.O. Box 98 Rehrersburg, PA 19550 (717) 933-4181
American Council for Drug Education 1-800-378-4435
“Just Say NO” International 1-800-258-2766
***Please note: This web page is written to address the questions and concerns of children and is not intended in any way to encourage drug use.
Last updated: January 23, 2008 |
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The Facts
About Drugs
