Possible Effects

Short-term:

Slurred speech, impaired vision, risky sexual behaviors, poor decision-making skills, depressed breathing, lowered heart rate, memory loss, risk of alcohol poisoning and potential death

In combination with energy drinks.

Long-term:

Substance-induced psychosis, neurological and liver damage, high blood pressure, depression, dementia, cancer, severe withdrawal symptoms.

Note: Detox will need to be medically supervised.

Dependence Potential

Highly Addictive

Other Names

ADHD meds – Adderall, Concerta, Dexedrine, Focalin, Metadate, Methylin, Ritalin.

Bennies, Black Beauties, Crank, Ice, Speed, Study Buddies, Skippy, The Smart Drug, Vitamin R, Uppers.

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Increased alertness, attention, energy; increased blood pressure and heart rate; narrowed blood vessels; increased blood sugar; opened-up breathing passages.

In high doses - dangerously high body temperature and irregular heartbeat; heart disease; seizures.

In combination with some antidepressants - increases the risk of irregular heartbeat and seizures.

In combination with alcohol – masks the depressant action of alcohol, increasing the risk of alcohol overdose.

Long-term:

Heart problems, kidney problems, psychosis, anger, paranoia.

Other Health Issues:

Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles.

Dependence Potential

Addictive

Other Names

Anxiety meds - Barbiturates, Benzos, Xanax, Librium, Valium, Ativan, Halicon.

Sleep meds - Lunesta, Sonata, Ambien.

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Drowsiness, slurred speech, poor concentration, confusion, dizziness, problems with movement and memory, lowered blood pressure, slowed breathing.

In combination with alcohol - further slows heart rate and breathing which can lead to death.

Long- term:

Unknown

Other Health Issues:

Sleep medications are sometimes used as date rape drugs. Severe withdrawal symptoms.

Dependence Potential

Highly Addictive 

Other Names

Blow, Bump, C, Coke, Crack, Dust, Flake, Nose Candy, Rock, Snow, Sneeze, Sniff, Toot, White Rock

With heroin: Speedball

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Narrowed blood vessels; enlarged pupils; increased body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure; headache; abdominal pain and nausea; euphoria; increased energy, alertness; insomnia, restlessness; anxiety; erratic and violent behavior, panic attacks, paranoia, psychosis; heart rhythm problems, heart attack; stroke, seizure, coma.

In combination with alcohol - a greater risk of damage to the heart muscle than from either drug alone.

Long- term:

Loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, nasal damage and trouble swallowing from snorting; infection and death of bowel tissue from decreased blood flow; poor nutrition and weight loss; lung damage from smoking, kidney failure.

Other Health Issues:

Pregnancy - premature delivery, low birth weight, deficits in self-regulation and attention in school-aged children prenatally exposed.

Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles.

Dependence Potential

Highly Addictive 

Other Names

Brown sugar, Chiva Dope, H, Horse, Junk, Skag, Skunk, Smack, White Horse

With OTC nighttime cold medicine: Cheese

With Marijuana: A-Bomb

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Euphoria; dry mouth; itching; nausea; vomiting; analgesia; slowed breathing and heart rate.

In combination with alcohol - dangerous slowdown of heart rate and breathing, coma, death.

Long- term:

Collapsed veins; abscesses (swollen tissue with pus); infection of the lining and valves in the heart; constipation and stomach cramps; liver or kidney disease; pneumonia.

Other Health Issues:

Pregnancy - miscarriage, low birth weight, neonatal abstinence syndrome.

Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles.

Dependence Potential

Highly Addictive

Other Names

Air blast, Aimies, Bullets, Laughing gas, Moon gas, Nitrous, Oz, Poppers, Snappers, Snotballs, Toilet Water, Whippets, Whiteout

Possible Effects

Confusion; nausea; slurred speech; lack of coordination; euphoria; dizziness; drowsiness; disinhibition, lightheadedness, hallucinations/delusions; headaches; sudden sniffing death due to heart failure (from butane, propane, and other chemicals in aerosols); death from asphyxiation, suffocation, convulsions or seizures, coma, or choking.

Nitrites: enlarged blood vessels, enhanced sexual pleasure, increased heart rate, brief sensation of heat and excitement, dizziness, headache.

Long-term:

Liver and kidney damage; bone marrow damage; limb spasms due to nerve damage; brain damage from lack of oxygen that can cause problems with thinking, movement, vision, and hearing.

Nitrites: increased risk of pneumonia.

Other Health Issues:

Pregnancy - low birth weight, bone problems, delayed behavioral development due to brain problems, altered metabolism and body composition.

Dependence Potential

Addictive

Other Names

Cat Valium, K, Lady K, Special K, Vitamin K

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Problems with attention, learning, and memory; dreamlike states, hallucinations; sedation; confusion; loss of memory; raised blood pressure; unconsciousness; dangerously slowed breathing.

Long-term:

Ulcers and pain in the bladder; kidney problems; stomach pain; depression; poor memory.

Other Health Issues:

Sometimes used as a date rape drug.

Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles.

Dependence Potential

Addictive

Other Names

Acid, Blotter, Boomers, Cid, Golden Dragon, Looney Tunes, Lucy Mae, Microdots, Tabs, Yellow Sunshine

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Rapid emotional swings; distortion of a person's ability to recognize reality, think rationally, or communicate with others; raised blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature; dizziness; loss of appetite; tremors; enlarged pupils.

Long-term:

Frightening flashbacks (called Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder [HPPD]); ongoing visual disturbances, permanently dilated pupils, disorganized thinking, paranoia, and mood swings.

Dependence Potential

Possibly Addictive

Other Names

420, Blunt, Bud, Doobie, Dope, Edibles (in food), Ganja, Grass, Green, Hash, Hemp, Herb, Joint, Mary Jane, Pot, Reefer, Sinsemilla, Skunk, Smoke, Stinkweed, Trees, Weed

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Enhanced sensory perception and euphoria followed by drowsiness/relaxation; slowed reaction time; problems with balance and coordination; increased heart rate and appetite; problems with learning and memory; anxiety.

In combination with alcohol - Increased heart rate, blood pressure; further slowing of mental processing and reaction time.

Long-term:

Mental health problems, chronic cough, frequent respiratory infections.

Other Health Issues:

Pregnancy - babies born with problems with attention, memory, and problem solving.

THC vaping products has led to serious lung illnesses and deaths.

Dependence Potential

Addictive

Other Names

Adam, E, X, XTC, Beans, Candy, E-bomb, Thizz, Love Drug, Molly, Rolls, Skittles, Sweets, Vitamin E or X.

Warning: MDMA (Ecstacy/Molly) is almost always cut (mixed) with other highly addictive drugs.

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Lowered inhibition; enhanced sensory perception; increased heart rate and blood pressure; muscle tension; nausea; faintness; chills or sweating; sharp rise in body temperature leading to kidney failure or death.

In combination with alcohol – may increase the risk of damage to the brain or the nervous system.

Long-term:

Long-lasting confusion, depression, problems with attention, memory, and sleep; increased anxiety, impulsiveness; less interest in sex.

Dependence Potential

Addictive

Commonly Abused Substances

Buttons, Cactus, Mescalito

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Enhanced perception and feeling; hallucinations; euphoria; anxiety; increased body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure; sweating; problems with movement.

Long-term:

Permanently dilated pupils, and further long-term effects are unknown.

Dependence Potential

Possibly Addictive

Other Names

Crank, Chalk, Crystal, Dunk, Gak, Ice, Meth, Pookie, Quartz, Rocket Fuel, Scooby Snax, Speed, Trash

With Cocaine: Shabu

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Increased wakefulness and physical activity; decreased appetite; increased breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, paranoia and delusions, temperature; irregular heartbeat.

In combination with alcohol - Masks the depressant effect of alcohol, increasing risk of alcohol overdose

Long-term:

Anxiety, confusion, insomnia, mood problems, violent behavior, permanent paranoia, permanent hallucinations, permanent delusions, weight loss, severe dental problems ("meth mouth"), intense itching leading to skin sores from scratching.

Other Health Issues:

Pregnancy - premature delivery; separation of the placenta from the uterus; low birth weight; lethargy; heart and brain problems.

Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles.

Dependence Potential

Highly Addictive

Other Names

Angel Dust, Embalming fluid, Hog, Rocket Fuel, Sherms

With Marijuana: Zoom

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, problems thinking, a sense of distance from one's environment, anxiety, slight increase in breathing rate; increased blood pressure and heart rate; face redness and sweating; numbness of the hands or feet; problems with movement.

High doses - nausea; vomiting; flicking up and down of the eyes; drooling; loss of balance; dizziness; violence; seizures, coma, and death.

Long-term:

Memory loss, problems with speech and thinking, loss of appetite, anxiety.

Other Health Issues:

Linked to self-injury

Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles.

Dependence Potential

 Highly Addictive 

Other Names

Vicodin, Norco, Zohydro, Demerol, Pain Killers, Morphine, Oxy, Oxycodone, Oxymorphone

Synthetic Opioid - Fentanyl

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Pain relief, drowsiness, nausea, constipation, euphoria, slowed breathing, death.

In combination with alcohol – dangerous slowing of heart rate and breathing leading to coma or death.

Synthetic opioid - risk of death by overdose is extremely high.

Long-term:

Increased risk of overdose or addiction if misused, decreased pain tolerance.

Other Health Issues:

Pregnancy – Miscarriage and low birth weight.

Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles.

Dependence Potential

Highly Addictive

Other Names

Little Smoke, Magic Mushrooms, Purple Passion, Sacred Mush, Sewage Fruit, Shrooms, Zoomers

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Hallucinations, altered perception of time, inability to tell fantasy from reality, panic, muscle relaxation or weakness, problems with movement, enlarged pupils, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness.

Long-term:

Risk of flashbacks and memory problems.

Other Health Issues:

Risk of poisoning if a poisonous mushroom is accidentally used.

Dependence Potential

Possibly addictive

Other Names

Circles, Date Rape Drug, Forget-Me Pill, La Rocha, Mind Eraser, Pingus, R2, Rib, Variations of: Roaches, Roapies, Rochas Dos, Roofies, Rope, Rophies, Rowie, Ruffies

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Drowsiness, sedation, sleep; amnesia, blackout; decreased anxiety; muscle relaxation, impaired reaction time and motor coordination; impaired mental functioning and judgment; confusion; aggression; excitability; slurred speech; headache; slowed breathing and heart rate.

In combination with alcohol - Severe sedation, unconsciousness, and slowed heart rate and breathing, which can lead to death.

Long-term:

Unknown

Dependence Potential

Unknown

Other Names

Chia seeds, Diviner's Sage, Magic Mint, Sally-D, Ska Pastora

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Short-lived but intense hallucinations; altered visual perception, mood, body sensations; mood swings, feelings of detachment from one's body; sweating.

Long-term:

Unknown

Dependence Potential

Unknown

Other Names

Gear, Gym Candy, Juice, Pumpers, Roids, Stacking

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Builds muscles, improved athletic performance. Acne, fluid retention (especially in the hands and feet), oily skin, yellowing of the skin, infection.

In combination of alcohol – increased risk of violent behavior.

Long-term:

Kidney damage or failure; liver damage; high blood pressure, enlarged heart, or changes in cholesterol leading to increased risk of stroke or heart attack, even in young people; aggression; extreme mood swings; anger ("roid rage"); extreme irritability; delusions; impaired judgment.

Other Health Issues:

Males - shrunken testicles, lowered sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts.

Females - facial hair, male-pattern baldness, enlargement of the clitoris, deepened voice.

Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles.

Dependence Potential

Addictive

Commonly Abused Substances

Black Mamba, Bliss Fake Weed, Fire, Genie, K-2, Moon Rocks, Solar Flare, Skunk, Smacked, Spice, Yucatan, Zohai

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Increased heart rate; vomiting; agitation; confusion; hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia; increased blood pressure.

Long-term:

Unknown.

Dependence Potential

Unknown

Other Names

Bath Blow, Bloom, Blue Silk, Bubbles, Cloud Nine, Cosmic Blast, Flakka, Ivory Wave, Lunar Wave, Salting, Scarface, Vanilla Sky, White Lightning, Wicked X

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Increased heart rate and blood pressure; euphoria; increased sociability and sex drive; paranoia, agitation, and hallucinations; violent behavior; sweating; nausea, vomiting; insomnia; irritability; dizziness; depression; panic attacks; reduced motor control; cloudy thinking.

Long-term:

Death

Other Health Issues:

Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles.

Dependence Potential

Addictive

Possible Effects

Short-term:

Increased blood pressure, breathing, and heart rate. Exposes lungs to a variety of chemicals. Vaping also exposes lung s to metallic vapors created by heating the coils in the device.

Long-term:

Greatly increased risk of cancer, especially lung cancer when smoked and oral cancers when chewed; chronic bronchitis; emphysema; heart disease; leukemia; cataracts; pneumonia.

Other Health Issues:

Tobacco – use while pregnant can lead to miscarriage, low birth weight, stillbirth, learning and behavior problems.

Vaping products - some are mixed with the filler Vitamin E acetate and other chemicals, leading to serious lung illnesses and deaths.

Dependence Potential

Highly addictive