Q - What are illegal drugs?

Ans: Illegal drugs include marijuana, cocaine and crack, inhalants, amphetamine and methamphetamine (uppers), barbiturates (downers), heroin, and hallucinogens.

Q - What is marijuana?

Ans: Marijuana comes from a plant. When smoked, it clogs up tiny air sacs in the lungs, causing lung infections. Marijuana causes brain damage, interferes with the body's infection-fighting immune system, and disrupts the hormonal system.

Q - What is cocaine?

Ans: Cocaine is a chemical compound that causes blood vessels in the brain to burst, resulting in brain damage or death. Cocaine causes seizures, rapid, irregular heartbeat, and heart attack. Any amount of cocaine can make you stop breathing.

Q - What is crack?

Ans: Crack is a form of cocaine, and has the same effects as powdered, injected or freebase cocaine. But crack is more dangerous because the powerful addiction it produces drives you to use it frequently, exposing you to cocaine's dangerous consequences.

Q - What are inhalants?

Ans: Solvents, aerosols, refrigerants, and medical anesthetics are all abused as inhalants or substances you breathe in to get "high". Inhalants clog the lungs, cause seizures, brain damage, and death. Irregular, rapid heartbeat and heart attack are also likely.

Q - What are amphetamines?

Ans: Amphetamines are uppers, or stimulants which cause you to be over-alert. They can cause sleeplessness, sweating, bad breath, and hallucinations. Stimulants can also cause irregular, rapid heartbeat, headache, seizures and death.

Methamphetamine Information
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Q - What are barbiturates?

Ans: Barbiturates are drugs that slow you down. In higher doses, barbiturates cause confusion, moodiness, suicidal thoughts, and muscle incoordination. When taken with alcohol, barbiturates can make you stop breathing and die.

Identifying Barbiturates
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See also ... Benzodiazepines, Chloral Hydrate, Quaaludes

Ans: Heroin is a narcotic and narcotics are used in medicine as pain relievers. However, an overdose can cause convulsions, stop your breathing and kill you. Dirty needles and unclean conditions during use of heroin and other narcotics can lead to hepatitis, tetanus and AIDS.

Q - What are hallucinogens?

Ans: Hallucinogens are like LSD, peyote, PCP, MDMA and psilocybin, that cause wide mood swings, vivid hallucinations, panic attacks, and a distorted sense of reality. They may also cause chromosome damage, which may affect your unborn children.