Health and Wellness

Health Risks Associated with Alcohol and Other Drug Use

Numerous health risks have been identified with substance abuse (use of illicit drugs and excessive use of alcohol). Abusers can lose resistance to disease, develop heart problems, contract infections, or become malnourished, physically exhausted, and even die.

Reality is often distorted, reactions may be slower, and the risk of accidents can increase. Extended substance abuse can cause coma, respiratory arrest, and convulsions. Injected drugs increase the risk for infectious diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS. Body systems are affected. The liver, lungs, and heart are damaged.

For women, there is an increase in birth defects associated with use during pregnancy. The Student Services office located in the College Welcome Center (CWC) has more in-depth information on the inherent health risks related to substance abuse.

Adapted from U.S. Department of Justice-publication Drugs of Abuse (website September 2009)

Dependence

Narcotics

Drugs	CSA Schedules	Trade or Other Names	Medical Uses	Physical	Psycho-logical	Tolerance	Duration (Hours)	Usual Method	Possible Effects	Effects of Overdose	Withdrawal Syndrome
Heroin	Substance I	Diamorphine, Horse, Smack, Black tar, Chiva, Negra (black tar)	None in U.S., Analgesic, Antitussive	High	High	Yes	3-4	Injected, snorted, smoked	Euphoria, drowsiness, respiratory depression, constricted pupils, nausea	Slow and shallow breathing, clammy skin, convulsions, coma, possible death	Watery eyes, runny nose, yawning, loss of appetite, irritability, tremors, panic, cramps, nausea, chills and sweating
Morphine	Substance II	MS Contin, Roxanol, Oramorph SR, MSIR	Analgesic	High	High	Yes	3-12	Oral, injected
Hydrocodone	Substance II, Product III, V	Hydrocodone w/ Acetaminophen, Vicodin, Vicoprofen, Tussionex, Lortab	Analgesic, Antitussive	High	High	Yes	3-6	Oral
Hydromorphone	Substance II	Dilaudid	Analgesic	High	High	Yes	3-4	Oral, injected
Oxycodone	Substance II	Roxicet, Oxycodone w/ Acetaminophen, OxyContin, Endocet, Percocet, Percodan	Analgesic	High	High	Yes	3-12	Oral
Codeine	Substance II, Products III, V	Acetaminophen, Guaifenesin or Promethazine w/Codeine, Fiorinal, Fioricet or Tylenol w/Codeine	Analgesic, Antitussive	Moderate	Moderate	Yes	3-4	Oral, injected
Other Narcotics	Substance II, III, IV	Fentanyl, Demerol, Methadone, Darvon, Stadol, Talwin, Paregoric, Buprenex	Analgesic, Antidiarrheal, Antitussive	High-Low	High-Low	Yes	Variable	Oral, injected, snorted, smoked

Depressants

Drugs	CSA Schedules	Trade or Other Names	Medical Uses	Physical	Psycho-logical	Tolerance	Duration (Hours)	Usual Method	Possible Effects	Effects of Overdose	Withdrawal Syndrome
gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid	Substance I, Product III	GHB, Liquid Ecstasy, Liquid X, Sodium Oxybate, Xyrem®	None in U.S., Anesthetic	Moderate	Moderate	Yes	3-6	Oral	Slurred speech, disorientation, drunken behavior without odor of alcohol, impaired memory of events, interacts with alcohol	Shallow respiration, clammy skin, dilated pupils, weak and rapid pulse, coma, possible death	Anxiety, insomnia, tremors, delirium, convulsions, possible death
Benzodiazepines	Substance IV	Valium, Xanax, Halcion, Ativan, Restoril, Rohypnol (Roofies, R-2), Klonopin	Antianxiety, Sedative, Anticonvulsant, Hypnotic, Muscle Relaxant	Moderate	Moderate	Yes	1-8	Oral, injected
Other Depressants	Substance I, II, III, IV	Ambien, Sonata, Meprobamate, Chloral Hydrate, Barbiturates, Methaqualone (Quaalude)	Antianxiety, Sedative, Hypnotic	Moderate	Moderate	Yes	2-6	Oral

Stimulants

Drugs	CSA Schedules	Trade or Other Names	Medical Uses	Physical	Psycho-logical	Tolerance	Duration (Hours)	Usual Method	Possible Effects	Effects of Overdose	Withdrawal Syndrome
Cocaine	Substance II	Coke, Flake, Snow, Crack, Coca, Blanca, Perico, Nieve, Soda	Local anesthetic	Possible	High	Yes	1-2	Snorted, smoked, injected	Increased alertness, excitation, euphoria, increased pulse rate & blood pressure, insomnia, loss of appetite	Agitation, increased body temperature, hallucinations, convulsions, possible death	Apathy, long periods of sleep, irritability, depression, disorientation
Amphetamine/ Meth-amphetamine	Substance II	Crank, Ice, Cristal, Krystal Meth, Speed, Adderall, Dexedrine, Desoxyn	Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, narcolepsy, weight control	Possible	High	Yes	2-4	Oral, injected, smoked
Methylphenidate	Substance II	Ritalin (Illy's), Concerta, Focalin, Metadate	Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder	Possible	High	Yes	2-4	Oral, injected, snorted, smoked
Other Stimulants	Substance III, IV	Adipex P, Ionamin, Prelu-2, Didrex, Provigil	Vasoconstriction	Possible	Moderate	Yes	2-4	Oral

Hallucinogens

Drugs	CSA Schedules	Trade or Other Names	Medical Uses	Physical	Psycho-logical	Tolerance	Duration (Hours)	Usual Method	Possible Effects	Effects of Overdose	Withdrawal Syndrome
MDMA and Analogs	Substance I	(Ecstasy, XTC, Adam), MDA (Love Drug), MDEA (Eve), MBDB	None	None	Moderate	Yes	4-6	Oral, snorted, smoked	Heightened senses, teeth grinding and dehydration	Increased body temperature, electrolyte imbalance, cardiac arrest	Muscle aches, drowsiness, depression, acne
LSD	Substance I	Acid, Microdot, Sunshine, Boomers	None	None	Unknown	Yes	8-12	Oral	Illusions and hallucinations, altered perception of time and distance	(LSD) Longer, more intense "trip" episodes	None
Phencyclidine and Analogs	Substance I, II, III	PCP, Angel Dust, Hog, Love boat, Ketamine (Special K), PCE, PCPy, TCP	Anesthetic (Ketamine)	Possible	High	Yes	1-12	Smoked, oral, injected, snorted		Unable to direct movement, feel pain, or remember	Drug seeking behavior *Not regulated
Other Hallucinogens	Substance I	Psilocybe mushrooms, Mescaline, Peyote Cactus, Ayahuasca, DMT, Dextromethorphan* (DXM)	None	None	None	Possible	4-8	Oral		Unable to direct movement, feel pain, or remember	Drug seeking behavior *Not regulated

Cannabis

Drugs	CSA Schedules	Trade or Other Names	Medical Uses	Physical	Psycho-logical	Tolerance	Duration (Hours)	Usual Method	Possible Effects	Effects of Overdose	Withdrawal Syndrome
Marijuana	Substance I	Pot, Grass, Sinsemilla, Blunts, Mota, Yerba, Grifa	None	Unknown	Moderate	Yes	2-4	Smoked, oral	Euphoria, relaxed inhibitions, increased appetite, disorientation	Fatigue, paranoia, possible psychosis	Occasional reports of insomnia, hyperactivity, decreased appetite
Tetrahydrocannabinol	Substance I, Product III	THC, Marinol	Antinauseant, Appetite stimulant	Yes	Moderate	Yes	2-4	Smoked, oral
Hashish and Hashish Oil	Substance I	Hash, Hash oil	None	Unknown	Moderate	Yes	2-4	Smoked, oral

Anabolic Steroids

Drugs	CSA Schedules	Trade or Other Names	Medical Uses	Physical	Psycho-logical	Tolerance	Duration (Hours)	Usual Method	Possible Effects	Effects of Overdose	Withdrawal Syndrome
Testosterone	Substance III	Depo Testosterone, Sustanon, Sten, Cypt	Hypogonadism	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	14-28 days	Injected	Virilization, edema, testicular atrophy, gynecomastia, acne, aggressive behavior	Unknown	Possible depression
Other Anabolic Steroids	Substance III	Parabolan, Winstrol, Equipose, Anadrol, Dianabol, Primabolin-Depo, D-Ball	Anemia, Breast cancer	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Variable	Oral, injected		Unknown	Possible depression

Inhalants

Drugs	Trade or Other Names	Medical Uses	Physical	Psycho-logical	Tolerance	Duration (Hours)	Usual Method	Possible Effects	Effects of Overdose	Withdrawal Syndrome
Amyl and Butyl Nitrite	Pearls, Poppers, Rush, Locker Room	Angina (Amyl)	Unknown	Unknown	No	1	Inhaled	Flushing, hypotension, headache	Methemoglobinemia	Agitation
Nitrous Oxide	Laughing gas, balloons, Whippets	Anesthetic	Unknown	Low	No	0.5	Inhaled	Impaired memory, slurred speech, drunken behavior, slow onset vitamin deficiency, organ damage	Vomiting, respiratory depression, loss of consciousness, possible death	Trembling, anxiety, insomnia, vitamin deficiency, confusion, hallucinations, convulsions
Other Inhalants	Adhesives, spray paint, hair spray, dry cleaning fluid, spot remover, lighter fluid	None	Unknown	High	No	0.5-2	Inhaled

Alcohol

Drugs	CSA Schedules	Trade or Other Names	Medical Uses	Physical	Psycho-logical	Tolerance	Duration (Hours)	Usual Method	Possible Effects	Effects of Overdose	Withdrawal Syndrome
		Beer, wine, liquor	None	High	High	Yes	1-3	Oral	Impaired memory, slurred speech, drunken behavior, slow onset vitamin deficiency, organ damage	Vomiting, respiratory depression, loss of consciousness, possible death	Trembling, anxiety, insomnia, vitamin deficiency, confusion, hallucinations, convulsions

Tobacco/Nicotine

Brief Description:

Through the use of tobacco, nicotine is one of the most heavily used addictive drugs and the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the U.S. Cigarette smoking accounts for 90% of lung cancer cases in the U.S., and about 38,000 deaths per year can be attributed to secondhand smoke. Cigarettes and chew tobacco are illegal substances in most U.S. states for those under 18; a handful of states have raised the age to 19.

Effects:

Nicotine is highly addictive. The tar in cigarettes increases a smoker's risk of lung cancer, emphysema, and bronchial disorders. The carbon monoxide in smoke increases the chance of cardiovascular diseases. Pregnant smokers have a higher risk of miscarriage or low birthweight babies. Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in adults and greatly increases the risk of respiratory illnesses in children.

Statistics & Trends

In 2008, nearly 71 million Americans age 12 and older had used a tobacco product at least once in the month prior to being surveyed. Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration Web Site). The NIDA-funded 2008 Monitoring the Future Study showed that 6.8% of 8th graders, 12.3% of 10th graders, and 20.4% of 12th graders had used cigarettes and 3.5% of 8th graders, 5.0% of 10th graders, and 6.5% of 12th graders had used smokeless tobacco at least once in the month prior to being surveyed. And while rates of smoking have continued to decline to historically low levels the overall rate of smoking by Americans remains unacceptably high. Source: Monitoring the Future (University of Michigan Web Site)