Prescription Drugs And Other Substances Can Be Abused
BY MIRANDA STOKES
Staff Writer
(Editor’s note: This is the second in a three-part series explaining commonly used drugs, their side effects, and dangers.)
While prescription and over-the-counter drugs, as well as under the counter substances, may be used legally and correctly, when they are abused they become problematic. Unfortunately many people may not know what kinds of substances drug abusers may be seeking or how they may react to wrongful use. Following is a list of commonly abused drugs, their forms, names, dangers, and indications.
Tranquilizers are multi-colored tablets and capsules; some can be in liquid form. Street names are Ludes and 714’s. This group also includes a wide variety of prescription medications such as Valium, Librium, Thorazine, and Quaaludes.
Medically, barbiturates are prescribed for acute anxiety, tension, and sleep disorders. Benzodiazepines are prescribed for anxiety, acute stress reactions, and panic attacks. When abused, they are swallowed or injected.
Prescription sedatives and tranquilizers can cause euphoria. They also slow normal brain function, which may result in slurred speech, shallow breathing, sluggishness, fatigue, disorientation, and lack of coordination or dilated pupils.
During the first few days of taking a prescribed sedative or tranquilizer, a person usually feels sleepy and uncoordinated, but as the body becomes accustomed to the effects of the drug, these feelings begin to disappear. Higher doses cause impairment of memory, judgment and coordination, irritability, as well as paranoid and suicidal ideation. Some people experience a paradoxical reaction to these drugs and can become agitated or aggressive.
Using prescription sedatives and tranquilizers with other substances-particularly alcohol-can slow breathing, or slow both the heart and respiration, possibly leading to death.
Prescription sedatives and tranquilizers can cause euphoria. They also slow normal brain function, which may result in slurred speech, shallow breathing, sluggishness, fatigue, disorientation and lack of coordination, or dilated pupils. During the first few days of taking a prescribed sedative or tranquilizer, a person usually feels sleepy and uncoordinated, but as the body becomes accustomed to the effects of the drug, these feelings begin to disappear. Higher doses cause impairment of memory, judgment, and coordination; irritability; and paranoid and suicidal ideation. Some people experience a paradoxical reaction to these drugs and can become agitated or aggressive.
Using prescription sedatives and tranquilizers with other substances-particularly alcohol-can slow breathing, or slow both the heart and respiration, and possibly lead to death.
Continued use can lead to physical dependence and-when use is reduced or stopped abruptly-withdrawal symptoms may occur. Because all prescription sedatives and tranquilizers work by slowing the brain’s activity, when an individual stops taking them, there can be a rebound effect, possibly leading to seizures and other harmful consequences.
Tolerance to the drug’s effects can also occur, meaning larger doses are needed to achieve similar effects as those experienced initially. This may lead users to take higher doses and risk the occurrence of an overdose. Addiction can also occur, meaning that users continue to take these drugs despite their harmful consequences.
Inhalants are breathable chemical vapors that users intentionally inhale because of the chemicals’ mind-altering effects.
The substances inhaled are often common household products that contain volatile solvents, aerosols, or gases. Popular inhalants are glue, gold paint, gasoline, and aerosols. Street names are whippets, poppers, and snappers.
Most inhalants produce a rapid high that resembles alcohol intoxication. If sufficient amounts are inhaled, nearly all solvents and gases produce a loss of sensation, even unconsciousness. Irreversible effects can be hearing loss, limb spasms, central nervous system or brain damage, or bone marrow damage. Sniffing high concentrations of inhalants may result in death from heart failure or suffocation (inhalants displace oxygen in the lungs).
Prescription drug abuse means taking a prescription medication that is not prescribed for you, or taking it for reasons or in dosages other than as prescribed. Abuse of prescription drugs can produce serious health effects, including addiction. Commonly abused classes of prescription medications include opioids (for pain), central nervous system depressants (for anxiety and sleep disorders), and stimulants (for ADHD and narcolepsy). Opioids include hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (OxyContin), propoxyphene (Darvon), hydromorphone (Dilaud-id), meperidine (Demer-ol), and diphenoxylate (Lomotil). Central nervous system depressants include barbiturates such as pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal), and benzodiazepines such as diazepam (Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax). Stimulants include dextroamphetamine (Dexed-rine), methylphenidate (Ritalin and Concerta), and amphetamines (Adderall).
Long-term use of opioids or central nervous system depressants can lead to physical dependence and addiction. Opioids can produce drowsiness, constipation, and, depending on amount taken, can depress breathing. Central nervous system depressants slow down brain function; if combined with other medications that cause drowsiness or with alcohol, heart rate and respiration can slow down dangerously. Taken repeatedly or in high doses, stimulants can cause anxiety, paranoia, dangerously high body temperatures, irregular heartbeat, or seizures.
For more information on drug abuse of this kind, visit www.nida.nih.gov/ index.html or talk to a health care professional. There are also drug abuse hotlines available: National Drug Abuse Hotline , 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357); National Institute on Drug Abuse & Alcoholism, 1-888-644-6432; Drug Help National Helplines, 1-800-378-4435; or National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, 1-800-269-4327.
The next meeting of the Citizens Against Prescription Drug Abuse will be held Jan. 11, 6 p.m., in the New Martinsville City Building’s council chambers. All interested people are invited to attend.