DRUG INFORMATION

Alcohol is a legal, controlled substance that lowers anxiety and inhibitions. With habitual use, a person builds up tolerance to alcohol and meaning that each time they use alcohol they must consume more to achieve the effects.

Ambien was initially promoted as a safer alternative to benzodiazepines, with less risk for addiction or tolerance, but studies show that this has been underestimated.1 There are also serious health risks associated with long-term use of Ambien, including a potentially increased likelihood of respiratory issues, reflux, and infections

Ativan is a member of the benzodiazepine class of drugs and is also classified as a Schedule IV drug by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, indicating that it has a moderate potential for abuse and for the development of physical dependence. It is the potential for physical dependence that makes it a drug that will inevitably produce a withdrawal syndrome in chronic users and abusers who attempt to stop using it.

Benzodiazepines, or “benzos” as they are sometimes referred to, are a class of drugs that effectively treat anxiety, panic disorder, and certain types of seizure disorders. While benzodiazepines were originally developed in order to help people with real mental health or physical health concerns, people who abuse these drugs aren’t doing so in order to make their lives better. Instead, they’re driven to use these drugs because of chemical changes deep inside the brain.

Clonazepam, with a trade name of Klonopin, is an anxiolytic drug prescribed to treat seizure disorders and also panic disorders by slowing down some of the bodily and brain functions related to anxiety and stress. Clonazepam and other benzodiazepines are often abused and even taken with other drugs and/or alcohol, which may increase the withdrawal side effects

Cocaine is a stimulant derived from leaves of the coca plant. It’s usually sold in a white powder or synthesized into crystals or rocks as “crack.” Snorting, smoking or injecting the drug elicits a brief euphoric, energizing, and exhilarating feeling that lasts a few minutes to an hour, followed by an unpleasant comedown.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients, applied in a patch on the skin. Because of its powerful opioid properties, Fentanyl is also diverted for abuse. Fentanyl is added to heroin to increase its potency, or be disguised as highly potent heroin. Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually don’t know that they are purchasing fentanyl – which often results in overdose deaths. Clandestinely-produced fentanyl is primarily manufactured in Mexico.

Club drugs tend to be used by young adults and teenagers at nightclubs, bars, parties, and concerts and include GHB, LSD, ketamine, MDMA, methamphetamine, and Rohypnol.

Heroin is an opioid derived from the opium poppy flower. Due to it's chemical structure, it is rapidly absorbed into the brain, which makes it highly addictive. Depending on how it is processed, it ranges from a thick sticky "black tar" to a brown, tan, or white powder. Users can inject, inhale or smoke heroin.

Ketamine is defined as a dissociative anesthetic. In addition to sedating the user, it produces a kind of out-of-body experience wherein the user feels detached from the self and the surrounding environment. It distorts perceptions of sight and sound and can make it difficult to move. At high doses, the user often feels as though a near-death experience is happening. However, people also report experiencing a state of utter bliss and happiness at this level, making it a very appealing drug to many.

LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is a hallucinogen similar to drugs like psilocybin, mescaline, and PCP. LSD use produces very vivid visual hallucinations, alterations of mood, and may produce a sense of wellbeing or euphoria. In some users, it may also produce anxiety and hopelessness. Hallucinogens are a diverse group of drugs that alter a person’s awareness of their surroundings as well as their own thoughts and feelings.

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine), better known to some individuals as ecstasy, is a synthetic drug that alters perception and mood. It is classified as a hallucinogen, although it has the combined properties of stimulant drugs and hallucinogens.