Hi there...... Your teen is at a party..... Someone is jumping all around and having a ball full of energy...... Someone walks up to your teen and says here try these they can make you feel like that......Pointing to the person who is dancing away with unlimited energy.... What are these
pills and what can they do to your teen.......
I am 33 nearly 34 and in my teen years the talked about drug was speed...... Alot of my friends used it.
My Mum is 59 nearly 60 and her era had marijuana...... Alot of her friends used it....
The drug of this era seems to be these party pills........ It is commonly known around teens in our area as pilling....... They love doing it it makes them feel great an enourmaous burst of energy a wonderful feeling of elation.......
Teenagers will try things as they grow and start to learn about life. We all did it as our parents slowly let the aapron strings a little longer bit by bit.... Some of us tried tobacco some alcohol some marijuana and some of us went on to experiement further with drugs....
We can try to hide these street drugs from our kids but alas we can not do it. If we stop them from going to parties and dances they will stay at a friends house and take them there. Not all teens will do these or even think of trying them but I thought if I wrote something on them and the side effects then you could maybe see the signs of if your teens could be using them.
Okay to start with I will talk about
cannabis
- Marijuana is the most common illegal drug used these days and has been for a long time.
- Marijuana is the chopped up form of cannabis and is smoked in a pipe(bong) or a rolled cigarette form.
- Hashish is dried cannibis resin and usually comes in blocks. People usually do baking with this hence hash cookies but can also be smoked
- Some of the street names for this drug are "Grass", "pot", "hash", "weed", "reefer", "dope", "herb", "mull", "buddha", "ganja", "joint", "stick", "buckets", "cones", "skunk", "hydro", "yarndi", "smoke", "hooch"
This drug is a depressant and has all over effects. The usual tell tale signs of marijuana use is glassy eyes and slow movement and speech along with laughing and paranoia about everything. It has a sweet sickly smell to it. This drug can also give relaxation but with that also a loss of inhaitions and make you very hungry commonly known as the "munchies"
This is a part from The drug info clearing house I have cut and pasted to show you the big concern of this drug.
- It is believed that cannabis use—especially if heavy and regular—may be linked to a condition known as a drug-induced psychosis, or "cannabis psychosis". This can last up to a few days. The episodes are often characterised by hallucinations, delusions, memory loss and confusion.
- There is some evidence that regular cannabis use increases the likelihood of psychotic symptoms occurring in an individual who is vulnerable due to a personal or family history of mental illness. Cannabis also appears to make psychotic symptoms worse for those with schizophrenia and lowers the chances of recovery from a psychotic episode.
If you think your child may be doing this drug ask.... and give them the full details of this drug there are many good sites on the net for this along with many great pamphlets at you local mental health clinic..
Next drug to talk about are commonly know as a party drug it is
Ecstasy
- This drug was commonly used in nightclubs and rave parties but has slowly spread its wings and is commonly used not only by teens but also research shows professional people into their forties.
- Ecstasy is (MDMA, methylenedioxymethamphetamine) it comes in alot of forms of tablets these tablets are in different colours and have different nick names some of these are shreks, euros, ying yangs, pac man, sheck2, asto boys, and tweetys to name a few.
- Some of the street names for this drug are E, XTC and eccy.
This drug is a stimulant and hallucinogen. It has an energising effect. It can give feelings of emotional warmth, empathy toward others, a general sense of well being and decreased anxiety.
BUT as with most drugs it also wears off. Leaving feelings of paranoia and crying and dryness in the mouth.
I have cut and pasted this piece below for you to read as I felt it was really important
Levels of harm
Ecstasy is often made by “backyard chemists”, and tablets sold as ecstasy can contain a variety of amphetamine-related substances that can further increase the risks of taking this drug.
The negative psychological effects of ecstasy include: anxiety, depression, depersonalisation, confusion, hallucinations, flashbacks, aggression, impulsivity, lack of motivation, panic attacks and paranoia.
The physical effects of ecstasy include raised blood pressure, a rise in body temperature, faster heartbeat, skin tingles, sudden sweating and dilated pupils. Some people may also experience unsteadiness, nausea and possibly vomiting, jaw clenching, teeth grinding, muscle aches, stiffness, impairment of motor control, blurred vision, insomnia and fatigue.
The toxic effects of ecstasy that can be fatal are:
- high body temperature leading to multiple organ failure
- blood clotting
- kidney failure.
High body temperature and excessive dancing can cause dehydration so it is important for users to be aware of water consumption. However, excessive water intake can lead to abnormally low body temperature and swelling of the brain.
The long-term risks of taking ecstasy are still not known. Animal studies have shown that ecstasy is a “neurotoxin”, which means it damages brain cells. This may lead to long-term brain damage.
If you suspect you child is taking these talk to them or listen to their friends and them talk you might hear one of the names of these drugs in their convo. The below link is a fantastic link please have a look. I am thinking of writing a few more things like this in the advice section about other drugs and outside influences for our teenagers at a later date but I am just not too sure when. Let me know if this has helped you at all by voting and leaving any helpful comments. Thank you
I have heard many a teenager tell me that these tablets are just fun. Well NO they aren't they are dangerous and a very scarey thing for just about any parent who thinks their child might be using. Keep the lines of communication open with your teen talk to them often about this and other formally taboo subjects. The more they know the less likely they are to try these pills. I can not stress this enough.......
Cheers
Angie
(January 2007) (
and not all of it is drug related.
