TYPES OF DRUGS

1. STIMULANTS OR AMPHETAMINES (Dexedrine, Methamphetamine or "Crystal", "Crank", and "Speed") increase alertness and physical activity. Amphetamines increase heart and breathing rates and blood pressure, dialate pupils and decrease appetite. Side-effects can include sweating, dry mouth, blurred vision, insomnia, loss of appetite, and dizziness. In addition users can feel restless, anxious and moody, become excitable and have a false sense of power and security. Using large amounts of these drugs can result in a condition known as amphetamine psychosis -- which can result in auditory, visual and tactile hallucinations, intense paranoia, irrational thoughts and beliefs, delusions, and mental confusion. Amphetamine overdose can also cause cardiac arrhythmias, headaches, convulsions, hypertension, rapid heart rate, coma and death. Amphetamines are psychologically and physically addictive. 2. MARIJUANA Pot has more than 400 different chemical compounds and contains even more cancercausing agents than are found in tobacco, according to some studies. Even low doses or pot can interfere with coordination, perception of time, reasoning and judgment, -- making driving under its influence extremely dangerous. Marijuana use causes short-term memory loss, decreases sperm and testosterone production in men, and may disrupt the menstrual cycle and cause miscarriage and stillbirth in women.

3. COCAINE OR CRACK

Types of drugs

These are all extremely addictive stimulants. Because the intense euphoria these drugs produce is very short-lived, users typically use again and again trying to recapture that initial "high." Physical effects of cocaine include increases in blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and body temperature. Snorting cocaine can severly damage nasal membranes over time.Continued use produces insomnia, hyperactivity, anxiousness, agitation and malnutrition. Overdoses can be lethal. 4. NARCOTICS Heroin, Opium, Morphine, and Codeine are used legally by the medical profession to relieve pain. But they are abused due to their mood-altering effects. All narcotics are extremely physically and psychologically addictive. Medical problems can include congested lungs, liver disease, tetanus, infection of the heart valves, skin abscesses, anemia and pneumonia. Death can occur from overdose. Downers -- Valium, Quaaludes, Librium, Xanax -- also have appropriate medical uses, but are also abused by many users. "Barbs" cause slurred speech, disorientation and "drunken" behavior. They are physically and psychologically addictive. Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, convulsions, and possible death. 5. ANABOLIC STEROIDS Steroids are artificially produced testosterone, the male sex hormone. Side effects include liver and kidney dysfunction, high blood pressure, heart disease, degeneration of the testicles, premature baldness, and acne. Abnormal aggression, mood swings and psychiatric symptoms can also be attributed to steroid use.

Types of drugs