Drugs: An A-Z of the ten big ones

Amphetamine/Speed
Amphetamine is a prescription CNS stimulant commonly used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults and children. It’s also used to treat symptoms of traumatic brain injury, as well as the daytime drowsiness symptoms of narcolepsy and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Initially, it was recreationally used to diminish the appetite and to control weight. But its fundamental purpose is to keep the user alert and awake: hence the drug’s popularity among clubbers, punks and soul boys seeking to pogo all night long, as well as container drivers on the all-night run from John O’Groats to Lands’ End (or wherever).
Despite the drug’s medium-to-soft reputation, the negative effects are manifold. Insomnia, irregular heartbeat, stomach discomfort, erectile dysfunction, headaches, difficulty in concentration, tremors, palpitation, panic attacks, chest pains and chronic nose bleeds have all been reported as consequences of prolonged and heavy use.

Cannabis
Comes in two main forms. Marijuana usually refers to the dried flowers (‘heads’ or buds) and leaves of the cannabis plant. Hashish (hash) is the compressed resin or sap. The main active ingredient that makes people feel ‘stoned’ is THC or delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol. Its reputation as a ‘soft’ drug has bestowed a general social acceptability on cannabis that has yet to extend to any other drug. Though the effects vary from one user to the next, most report a feeling of relaxation, of contentment, possibly greater introspection, and an enhanced enjoyment of music, film, literature, art and even sport. Its negative effects are comparatively mild. The most widely-reported adverse effect among frequent users is a chronic laziness and depletion of energy, although links to a risk of cancer have been widely mooted. A habitual user might wake up in the morning feeling too tired to leave the bed, defer planned activities on the ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ principle, then repeat the cycle for days, weeks or months. Thus getting ‘stoned’ every day is likely to significantly impede one’s career advancement or creative output. Others contend that their creativity is unimpaired, or even heightened. It varies from user to user. When dope-smoking is abruptly discontinued after long-term use, the recovering 'stoner' is likely to experience a huge boost of energy and a marked increase in mental alertness, physical energy and overall performance.

Cocaine
Cocaine comes from the leaves of the South American coca plant. A stimulant drug, it speeds up the brain and nervous system. Its effects may last for 20 minutes or for several hours, depending on dosage and purity. The initial signs are hyperactivity, restlessness, euphoria, and an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Sexual interest and pleasure are likely to be amplified. Side effects of long term use may include twitching, paranoia and impotence. Ireland is currently awash with ‘cocaine’ of generally low purity, which has been cut with glucose, washing powder and all manner of powders not designed for human consumption. The toxicity rate has gone through the roof, with Dublin City Coroner reporting 54 deaths last year associated with ‘cocaine’ use. It’s questionable whether cocaine itself caused the fatalities.

Ecstasy
MDMA is a semi-synthetic empathogen-entactogen of the phenethylamine family. The pills sold in Ireland as ‘ecstasy’ are very unlikely to be pure MDMA itself, and may not even contain any – though it’s usually present to some extent. It attained enormous popularity in the early ‘90s, and is now (along with cannabis, cocaine and heroin) one of the four most widely-used street drugs. The desired effects include increased awareness of the senses, feelings of openness, empathy, ‘chattiness’, euphoria, love, happiness, heightened self-awareness, increased mental clarity and a greater appreciation of music and movement. Tactile sensations are enhanced, making physical contact with others more pleasurable. Direct, meaningful and rewarding emotional communication (sometimes with strangers, or semi-acquaintances) is a noted phenomenon.
Adverse effects tend to be a result of the adulterants used to contaminate the drug: deaths from heat exhaustion (and from drinking too much water) have occurred. Heavy users have reported depression, probably from serotonin depletion (the ‘happiness’ has in reality been borrowed from a finite supply). It’s thought that mixing E with alcohol may be unwise, though many users elect to overlook this.

Freebase and crack cocaine
Freebase preparation involves the use of dangerous solvents, while crack is easier to prepare – as a result crack is the most common smokeable form. Crack cocaine, which get its name because when it is heated it makes a crackling sound, is usually sold as slivers or crystalline rocks which range in weight from one tenth to half a gram. Crack releases large amounts of dopamine into the brain, a chemical associated with feeling of intense euphoria. It wears off after approximately 15 minutes, leaving the user intensely depressed and low. The only way to offset the depression is to take more crack, thus rendering it very addictive – and depleting the brain’s store of natural feelgood endorphins still further. The neural pathways are permanently altered, and there are also complications for the heart, lungs and liver.

Heroin
Heroin is made from the sap of the opium poppy. Heroin is usually mixed or ‘cut’ with other substances – such as glucose, talc or bleach – and generally takes the form of granules or powder, ranging in colour from white to brown. First-time heroin users tend to smoke it. They don’t become instant addicts: the tabloid myth of ‘one hit and you’re hooked’ is a fiction. Nonetheless, the ensuing sensation – intense physical exhilaration and psychological euphoria, combined with a feeling that the self and the external world are both overwhelmingly beautiful – is sufficiently seductive to entice users to repeat the experience. The drug has its own momentum leading towards addiction: ability to resist depends on a range of factors. These include luck, the company that is kept, the socio-economic environment, and the user’s own innate strength of character. Some users manage to dabble in occasional non-threatening use for years. Others fall into a horrendous half-life driven by the constant need to score; all issues in the addict's life beyond that of obtaining the next 'fix' seem entirely peripheral. Added complications include the risk of HIV, hepatitis or death by overdose. The novice user will experience hours of bliss with no distress in the aftermath. The hardened junkie will never get high at all, but will use (usually by needle) five or six times a day to put the pain at safe distance. Anyone contemplating an engagement with heroin is advised to exercise extreme caution.

Ketamine
Ketamine was first developed in the early in 1960s as a dissociative anesthetic for use in veterinary medicine. Recreational ketamine use produces a dissociative state, a feeling of detachment from one’s physical body and the external world. The effects include changes in the perception of distances, as well as a slowing of the visual system’s ability to update what the eye is seeing. There are reports of users seeing their surroundings in two different images, as if the brain is unable to merge the images each eye is sending. Speech sounds unintelligible, and auditory hallucinations may occur. At high doses, users may enter what is known as the ‘K-hole’, a state thought to mimic schizophrenia. Users may not remember their own names, or even know that they are human, or what that means. Movement is difficult, and the user may not be aware that he or she has a body at all. Not many users care to mess with the stuff more than once.

LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide was first synthesised by a Swiss chemist, Dr. Albert Hofmann. After unwittingly ingesting some of the compound, the Doctor felt dizzy and restless. Lying down on his bed, he sank into a dreamlike state: he could see uninterrupted streams of “fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colours.” Understandably curious, Dr. Hofmann ingested a much larger dose the following day. He soon found himself unable to speak intelligibly or cycle properly. This created a paranoia which rapidly fed on itself, and before long, the Doctor was convinced that his body had been possessed by a demon, his next-door neighbour was a witch and his furniture was threatening him. Gradually, he ‘got a grip’ on it, and began to enjoy the experience, watching “fantastic images surging past me, alternating and opening and closing themselves into circles and spirals and finally exploding into coloured fountains and then rearraging themselves...”
Dr. Hofmann eventually fell asleep and awoke the next morning feeling refreshed, with a sensation of renewed life and well-being, noting that his breakfast tasted unusually delicious. He had just created the most powerful psychoactive hallucinogen known to man, and millions of people have consumed the substance since for non-medicinal purposes. A huge number have enjoyed it – but it is a powerful drug and many users have reported severe negative mental repercussions, often lasting for years.

Magic Mushrooms
Psilocybin mushrooms are fungi that contain an active psychedelic ingredient. They have no physical effects, but the sensory implications are profound, including visual and auditory hallucinations, an increased ability to concentrate on memories, the feeling that time is speeding up or slowing down, and deep philosophical introspection.
Following anecdotal reports of benefits, there has been an increase in the number of professionals recommending the use of the drug as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder and clinical depression. The initial ‘rush’ may be panicky and highly unpleasant, though it generally subsides.

Poppers
Poppers (the street term for amyl nitrate) are inhaled predominantly (though not exclusively) to enhance sexual pleasure among gay men. They cause a short-term drop in blood pressure and an increase in heart rate, the cumulative effect of which is an increase in sexual arousal and excitement. Meanwhile, the sphincter muscles of the anus relax, apparently making penetration easier. Orgasm is enhanced and prolonged. Negative side-effects have been reported, including headaches. The drug may cause serious risk of stroke or heart attack when used in conjunction with Viagra.