1. Most likely, we have all been drug users at some point in our lives.
TRUE OR FALSE?
Most likely, we have all been drug users at some point in our lives.

2. Stimulant Drugs

3. Stimulant Drugs: speed up the body
WHILE 'HIGH':
elevate mood
increase feelings of well-being
increase energy and alertness
Includes:
nicotine
caffeine
cocaine
amphetamines
methamphetamine
bath salts
MDMA (ecstasy)

4. How do they work? Stimulants cause a buildup of dopamine in the brain
With repeated use, stimulants can disrupt the functioning of the brain’s dopamine system
dampening users’ ability to feel any pleasure at all
People may try to compensate by taking more and more of the drug to experience the same pleasure

5. Stimulants: General Short Term Effects
Stimulants can also cause the body’s
blood vessels to narrow
The heart may work so hard that it temporarily loses its natural rhythm
called "fibrillation"

6. Stimulants: General Long Term Effects
paranoia
aggressiveness
extreme anorexia
thinking problems
visual and auditory hallucinations
delusions

7. Forms of use: Stimulants
Injected, using a needle and syringe, to release the drug directly into a vein.
Heated in crystal form and smoked (inhaled into the lungs).
Swallowed in pill form
Snorted in powder form through the nostrils, where the drug is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues.
creates FAST &
SHORT high
creates SLOWER but LONGER high

8. Types of Stimulant Drugs
Legal
Caffeine
Nicotine
Weight Loss pills
Energy drinks
Prescription Amphetamines used to treat ADD or ADHD (Adderall)
Illegal
Cocaine
Crack Cocaine
Methamphetaines
Crystal Meth
Ecstasy

9. Caffeine Most popular and widely used drug in the world
takes about 5-30 min to enter bloodstream
varied effect on each person
Crash?

10. Cocaine
A drug made from the leaves of the coca plant which grows mainly in South America.

11. Cocaine: “coke,” “C,“ “snow,” “flake,“ “blow,” “bump,“ “candy,“ “Charlie,” “rock,” and “toot.” “Crack,”
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug that affects the brain.
The most potent stimulant of natural origin –
It makes you feel euphoric and alert
BUT……
It can also cause SEVERE DAMAGE TO YOUR HEART .

12. "Crack": Smokable form of cocaine
Comes in 2 forms:
Powder Cocaine
mixed with hydrochloric salt, made from the leaf of the coca plant
"Crack": Smokable form of cocaine
processed with chemicals and heated to remove hydrochloride

13. Cocaine: Methods Street dealers generally dilute cocaine with:
Powder cocaine is usually snorted
Street dealers generally dilute cocaine with:
other substances
such as cornstarch, talcum powder, or sugar
active drugs
such as procaine, a chemical that produces local anesthesia
other stimulants
such as amphetamines
"Crack" Cocaine is often smoked in a glass pipe

14. Cocaine: Specific Effects of Use
Repeated use of cocaine can lead to tolerance of its euphoric effects
Such use can lead to bizarre, erratic behavior
panic attacks or episodes of full-blown
paranoid psychosis
individual loses touch with reality and hears sounds that aren’t there (auditory hallucinations)
**Most people who die from cocaine use, die the first time they use the substance**

15. Amphetamines: “speed,” “bennies,” “black beauties,” “crosses,” “hearts,” “LA turnaround,” “truck drivers,” and “uppers.”
Adderall, etc.
Come in pill form
swallowed
May be prescribed by a doctor
especially for ADHD
High risk for it's abuser if not prescribed

16. Methamphetamine: “speed,” “meth,” “chalk,” and “tina
Methamphetamine: “speed,” “meth,” “chalk,” and “tina.” In its smokeable form, it’s often called “ice,” “crystal,” “crank,” “glass,” “fire,” and “go fast.”
Powerful stimulant
Derived from amphetamine
Clear crystals or powder,easily dissolved in water or alcohol
Very dangerous risk of toxic fumes and explosions

17. Methamphetamine: Methods
swallowed, snorted, injected, or smoked
"Ice" : Smokeable form
large, clear crystals with high purity that are smoked, like crack, in a glass pipe

18. Methamphetamines: Specific Effects
violent behavior
mood disturbance and psychosis including:
paranoia
can result in homicidal and suicidal thoughts
auditory hallucinations
delusions
the sensation of insects creeping on the skin,called “formication”
risky behaviors & the transmission of infectious diseases,
such as HIV

19. The face of Meth...

21. NO DRUG-LIKE PROPERTIES
Synthetic Cathinones [Bath Salts]: new family of drugs containing one or more man-made chemicals related to cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant
typically swallowed, inhaled, or injected
Street Names: Bath salts are usually white or brown crystalline powder and are sold in small plastic or foil packages labeled “not for human consumption.”
Sometimes labeled as “plant food”—or, more recently, as various 'cleaners'.
DO NOT confuse 'bath salts' with 'Epsom salts' which are sold to enhance the bathing experience, and have
NO DRUG-LIKE PROPERTIES

22. Bath Salts: Specific Effects
euphoria
increased sociability
paranoia
agitation
hallucinations
loss of contact with reality
act violently
Deaths have been reported in several cases

23. Bath Salts: More Specific Effects
Many ER visits for
Cardiac Problems
racing heart
high blood pressure
chest pains
Dehydration
Breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue
Kidney Failure
Ultimately, Death
HIGH addiction potential

24. Bath Salts: The Unknown
shown to have 10x stronger effects on dopamine in the brain than cocaine
shown to have hallucinations similar to Ecstasy (MDMA) or LSD

25. Ecstasy (MDMA): 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine “E,” “XTC,” “X,” “Adam,” “hug,” “beans,” “clarity,”
“lover's speed,” “love drug,” and "molly."
swallowed in the form of pill, tablet or capsule
sometimes people take more than one
called 'bumping'
MDMA is man-made—it doesn't come from a plant
like marijuana or tobacco do.
Other chemicals or substances—such as caffeine, dextromethorphan (found in some cough syrups), amphetamines, PCP, or cocaine—
are sometimes added to, or substituted for, MDMA in Ecstasy tablets. Makers of MDMA can add anything they want to the drug, so
its purity is always in question.

26. Ecstasy (MDMA): What Happens?
A “hit” of MDMA lasts for 3 to 6 hours
Once the pill is swallowed, it takes only about 15 minutes for MDMA to enter the bloodstream and reach the brain
About 45 minutes later, the person experiences MDMA's “high.” That’s when the drug is at its peak level
feeling very alert, or “hyper”
loss of a sense of time
changes in perception, such as an enhanced sense of touch
sweating or chills

27. Ecstasy (MDMA) Effects Continued
nausea
muscle tension
increased heart rate and blood pressure
forceful teeth clenching
Even if a person only takes 1 pill, they may feel it's effects for a week or longer
anxiety, sadness, loss of memory, and depression

28. Ecstasy (MDMA) Dangers
People who use MDMA can become dehydrated through vigorous activity in a hot environment.
It may not seem like a big deal, but when MDMA interferes with the body's ability to regulate its temperature,
it can cause dangerous overheating, called hyperthermia.
This, in turn, can lead to serious heart and kidney problems—or, rarely, death.

29. Exit Ticket
Journal: What do you feel is the most dangerous stimulant drug and why?