Stimulants
An example of a stimulant drug is...
Ecstasy
An example of a depressant drug is...
Alcohol
Pain Killers
Benzodiazepines
Tranquilisers
Cannabis
Methadone
Heroin
GHB
An example of a hallucinogen drug is...
LSD
Magic Mushrooms (Psilocybin)
Ketamine
Ecstasy
Cannabis
Which drug can you legally take in Australia?
Medical marijuana is legal in Australia, although the official term is 'medicinal cannabis'. However, only CBD oil is available over the counter. Any other type of medicinal cannabis is only available by prescription.
1 drug that can be injected is...
Heroin (and other opioids including entanyl, hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (OxyContin), or morphine)
Cocaine
Methamphetamine
What do stimulants look like?
Stimulants can be in the form of tablets, capsules, powders, and small chunky clear crystals or a white or brownish crystal-like powder with a strong smell and bitter taste.
GHB is a depressant drug. What are some street names for GHB?
G, fantasy, grievous bodily harm or GBH, liquid ecstasy, salty water, cherry meth, blue nitro.
What is a hallucinogen?
A drug that causes hallucinations. Users see images, hear sounds and feel sensations that seem very real but do not exist.
Changes in sight, sound, touch, smell, taste, space and time
They may hear, see, taste and smell things differently.
What is polydrug use?
‘Polydrug use’ is a term for the use of more than one drug or type of drug at the same time or one after another. Polydrug use can involve both illicit drugs and legal substances, such as alcohol and medications.
What are the risks of sharing drug injecting equipment (needles, syringes, tourniquets, swabs, water and water containers, spoons, filters etc.)?
There are a number of blood-borne viruses (BBVs) that can be passed from person to person via injecting drug use, or as a result of risky behaviour from alcohol and other drug use. These include:
Ecstasy is a type of stimulant drug. What are some street names for this drug?
E, X, XTC, eccies, love drug, hug drug, beans or pills. Sometimes people name ecstasy after the colour and/or picture on the pills - e.g. Red Mitsubishi, white dove.
What are depressants?
Depressant substances reduce arousal and stimulation. They affect the central nervous system, slowing down the messages between the brain and body.1
They can affect concentration and coordination and slow down a person’s ability to respond to unexpected situations. In small doses, they can cause a person to feel more relaxed and less inhibited.
In larger doses they can cause drowsiness, vomiting, unconsciousness and death.
3 side effects of using hallucinogens include...
The effects of psychedelics can last several hours and vary a lot, depending on the type of psychedelic used.
What is tolerance?
This can occur when a person takes a drug regularly over a period of time. Their body becomes used to the drug and they need to take more of the drug to feel the same or similar effects.
Describe Addiction
Physical dependence occurs because a person’s body is so used to having the drug in their systems that they need the drug to feel normal. If they do not get the drug they feel sick and unable to cope.
Short Term (acute) effects of Stimulants...
Short Term effects of Depressants...
LSD is a type of hallucinogen drug. What are some street names for LSD?
Acid, trips, tabs, microdots, dots, Lucy, Boomers, mellow yellow, looney tunes, lucy mae, yellow sunshine
Describe Withdrawal...
Withdrawal is also known as detoxification or detox. It’s when you quit , or cut back, on using alcohol or other drugs. You may have developed a physical or psychological dependence on a drug, or both.
*When a person is dependent on a drug and they stop taking it or reduce the amount they use they may experience pain, illness, anxiety and cravings.
MDMA is both a stimulant and a hallucinogen.. why?
MDMA (also called ecstasy) is partly a stimulant as it speeds up messages to and from the brain and the body and partly a hallucinogen because it distorts a person’s perceptions of reality
Long term (chronic) effects of taking stimulants...
Long Term effects of Depressants...
Addiction
Hallucinations
Impaired sexual function
Chronic sleep problems
Respiratory depression and arrest
Unconsciousness
Death
LSD is a type of hallucinogen - what does it look like?
In its pure state, LSD is a white odourless crystalline substance. However, LSD is so potent that an effective dose of the pure drug is so small, it’s virtually invisible. As a result, it’s usually diluted with other materials.
The most common form is drops of LSD solution dried onto gelatin sheets, pieces of blotting paper or sugar cubes, which release the drug when swallowed. LSD is also sometimes sold as a liquid, in a tablet or in capsules.
There is no safe level of drug use. Use of any drug always carries some risk. It’s important to be careful when taking any type of drug.
What factors determine the effects of drugs on the body?
People, Person, Place
What is the name of the chemical that gives cannabis its depressant, and sometimes hallucinogenic effects?
THC. THC is short for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.