DRUGS & ALCOHOL

Life is Short

MARIJUANA

MARIJUANA

Marijuana is usually rolled up in a cigarette called a joint or a nail. It can also be brewed as a tea or mixed with food, or smoked through a water pipe called a bong.

Cannabis is number three of the top five substances which account for admissions to drug treatment facilities in the United States, at 16%

HEALTH RISKS OF REGULAR USE OF THIS DRUG

Memory and learning problems Decreased motivation Poor school and work performance Respiratory conditions such as bronchitis or chronic cough Increased risk for psychosis in susceptible individuals Raised heart rate Decreased life satisfaction Increased risk of heart attack Easily distracted Decreased motor coordination Decreased time with family or children because of marijuana abuse Shortened attention span Loss of mental alertness and impaired judgment Increased risk for car accidents or STD due to altered decision-

making while high

STRATEGIES FOR SAYING "NO" TO MARIJUANA IF UNDER PEER PRESSURE TO USE IT

Try to associate with people who do not use drugs, and avoid situations where drugs will be used or offered to you.

Prepare yourself for occasions when friends, peers, or even strangers offer drugs to you.

Participate in activities that are fulfilling to you. They are more fun, cheaper, safer, and healthier than abusing drugs.

Recognize your talents, skills, and accomplishments; remind yourself of them when you feel worthless.

Realize that the future is full of hope and promises, even though it might not seem that way at the time, and abusing drugs will rob you of them.

HOW TO QUIT

People must quit drugs if they are really having them now. First of all, people must decide to stop using drugs. Its really need to be decided by themselves. We should always give them pleasure to let them stop thinking about drugs.

Secondly, if they are already a heavy drug user, then they will need some professional help to stop them, and take them to a professional clinic to help them getting rid of drugs.

BINGE DRINKING

A serious problem among teens today

WHAT IS BINGE DRINKING?

Definition: A person as having five or more alcoholic

drinks within a few hours. Nearly two out of three high

school students who drink alcohol say that they binge.

SHORT-TERM SIDE EFFECTS

Fainting Nausea or vomiting Seizures Impaired breathing Alcohol poisoning Coma

LONG-TERM SIDE EFFECTS

Stomach ulcers Liver problems Neurological issues Cardiovascular disease Coma Death

Most of teens abuse alcohol and experience some of alcohol addiction side effects without being addicted to it. For example, if a teen drinks to become intoxicated once, he may be abusing alcohol and feel sick after using it, but that abuse is not yet an addiction. An addiction is when a person can no longer control whether or not he uses alcohol. Someone who is addicted to alcohol has grown so used to using it that he will continue consuming alcohol despite the negative consequences experienced. An addiction can be physical, psychological or both.

 Most of teens have become dependent on drinking. An addicted person no longer feels that he has a choice in using alcohol, and his life has begun to center around drinking or finding ways to drink.