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Fact: Withdrawal sickness, believing you must have drugs, and being around people who use can make stopping drug use difficult. But there are people and programs that can help.

Fact: Drugs can cause the brain to send the wrong signals to the body. This can make a person stop breathing, have a heart attack, or go into a coma. This can happen the first time a drug is used.

Fact: Addiction can happen at any age. Even unborn babies can get addicted because of their mother's drug use.

Fact: The effects of pot (marijuana) can last for up to 3 days. It decreases memory, reflexes and coordination.

Fact: Long after the effects of the drug stop being felt, the drug can still be in the body. For example, cocaine can be found in the body up to one week and marijuana up to four weeks after a single use.

Fact: Drugs can only make people forget and not care about their troubles. When the drug wears off, the problems are still there.

Myth: Sniffing glue gives an instant rush. There isn't time for it to hurt you.

Fact: Inhalants enter the blood and go through the body in seconds. Sniffing large amounts can cause a heart attack or death from suffocation because inhalants replace oxygen in the lungs.

		What Can Happen to Your Body
Drug	What is it?	At First?	Over time?
Cocaine/Crack	A chemical from the leaves of the coca plant. It speeds up the brain and body	- Heart beats faster, blood pressure rises. - Body temperature rises, breathe faster. - Can't sit still or sleep. - Become more alert.	- Permanent lung damage. - Holes and ulcers inside of your nose. - Personality changes and violent behavior. -Fear of people and things (paranoia). - See things that aren't real (hallucinate).
Depressants	Chemicals used to treat mental illness. They depress or slow down the nervous system.	- Feel calm and sleepy. - Get confused and can't concentrate. - Muscles relax. - Speech gets slurred. - Become clumsy and stagger.	- Chest infections. - See things that aren't real (hallucinate). - Deadly when used with alcohol.
Heroin	One of the group of chemicals called narcotics. They come from the opium poppy and are used as painkillers.	- Heart beats slower. - Breathe slower. - Pupils shrink and eyes water. - Skin on face, neck, and chest turns red. - Feel sick to your stomach. Vomit.	- Lung damage. - Lowers sex drive. - Disrupts menstrual periods. - Constipation.
Inhalants	Chemicals that give off fumes that act on the brain	- Feel dizzy. Get bad headaches. - Speech gets slurred. - Sneeze, cough, get bloody noses. - Feel sick to your stomach. - Urinate and defecate without control.	- Permanent brain, lung, and kidney damage. - Tired feeling. - Weak muscles. - Skin turns blue. - Deadly when used with alcohol or depressants.
LSD	A chemical so strong that a single flake can cause actions similar to mental illness.	- Heart beats faster. Blood pressure rises. - Body temperature rises. - Feel cold, shiver, get chills. - Can't see or hear well. - Get confused and panic.	- Permanent mental problems. - See things that aren't real (hallucinate). - Severe depression. - Suicide. - Flashbacks.
Marijuana	A plant called cannabis. It affects the nervous system and has been used to make rope, cloth, and paint.	- Feel calm, relaxed, sleep. - Heart beats faster. - Reaction time slows down. - Throat, mouth, and lips get dry. - Eyes get bloodshot. Eyesight blurs. - Lose sense of time.	- Lung damage and lung cancer. - Can't remember things. - Lower ability to fight off colds and the flu. - Lower sperm count and movement. - Disrupts menstrual periods and ovulation.
PCP	A chemical used as an animal tranquilizer.	- Heart beats faster. - Eyesight blurs. - See things that aren't real (hallucinate). - Speech gets slurred or stopped. - Body movements, sense of time slow down.	- Permanent brain, heart, and lung damage. - Permanent speech problems. - Fear of people and things. - Can't remember things. - Flashbacks.
Steroids	Copies of the male sex hormone testosterone.	- Get acne. Lose hair. - Mood changes quickly to violence or depression. - Increased injuries to muscles, tendons, and ligaments. - Lower sex drive.	- Heart attacks. - Liver cancer. - Stop growing taller. - Testicles shrink. Can't get erections. Become sterile. - Disrupts menstrual periods and ovulation
Stimulants	Chemicals that stimulate or speed up the brain and nervous system.	- Heart beats faster. Blood pressure rises. - Become more alert. - Feel dizzy and shaky. - Can't sit still or sleep. - Breath smells bad. Dry mouth and lips.	- Permanent brain, heart and lung damage. - See things that aren't real (hallucinate). - Mood changes quickly. - Severe depression. - Lose weight.

Rohypnol, known on the street as "Roofies," and Gamma hydroxy butryic acid, known as GHB or liquid ecstasy, are depressants that can cause dizziness, disorientation, loss of inhibition, memory blackouts, and loss of consciousness when mixed with alcohol. Both are odorless, colorless, and tasteless, so you may not even realize it is someone slips one of these substances into your drink. Because they may cause you to pass out, ingesting them may put you at risk for sexual assault.

(Reference: "A Risky Relationship: Alcohol and Sex." Facts on Tap, www.factsontap.org)