Benefits with Sycamore Community Schools

Effects of Drugs on Health

Drug use can hurt the body and the brain, sometimes forever. Drug use can also lead to an addiction. An addiction is a long-lasting brain disorder. People with an addiction can't stop taking drugs on their own. They continue to use drugs even when they know that bad things can happen.

Drug Use and Your Health

• Drug use can hurt all parts of your body and cause health problems that don't go away. Drug use, including smoking, can cause diseases that can kill you, like
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke ("brain attack")
  • Cancer
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Hepatitis (a liver disease)
  • Lung disease
• A person misusing drugs is more likely to have accidents while driving, at work, at home, at parties—anywhere.
• Drug misuse can make people angry and violent. People misusing drugs can hurt themselves and other people.
• Drug misuse can make people with depression feel worse. It might feel so bad that they want to end their own lives.
• Drug overdoses can kill people.

Other Effects on the Body

Most of these problems can cause you to be very sick or die.

Heart Problems

Many drugs that are misused (like cocaine) can cause problems like heart attacks and high blood pressure.

Lung and Breathing Problems

Some drugs can hurt your lungs:

• Smoking cigarettes can cause diseases such as cancer and emphysema, a painful lung disease.
• Smoking cigarettes and marijuana can cause lung infections and coughing.
• Heroin and pain medicines can make you stop breathing.
• Inhalants can hurt your lungs and airways AND stop your breathing.

Stomach Problems

Many drugs like cocaine, heroin, and pain medicines can make your stomach hurt and make you throw up.

Kidney Problems

Drugs like cocaine and heroin can hurt your kidneys. If your kidneys stop working, you can die.

Liver Problems

Alcohol and inhalant misuse can cause liver disease.

HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis

• Injecting (shooting up) drugs with a needle can hurt your veins.
• Using dirty needles can give you HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Hepatitis is a serious liver disease.

The Link Between Drug Use and HIV

HIV is the virus that causes the disease AIDS. AIDS is a disease that makes your body unable to fight off certain illnesses. There are medicines that can treat HIV and AIDS, but there is no cure yet.

Drug use can put you in danger of getting HIV in two ways:

• Unsafe Sex—When people are misusing drugs, they might not think clearly. They might do risky things. They might have sex without using a condom to protect against HIV, other infections, and pregnancy.
• Sharing Needles—When people inject (shoot up) drugs like heroin, cocaine, or meth, they can get HIV by sharing a needle with someone who has the virus.

Doctors have learned that helping people to get off drugs also helps them avoid getting HIV. Visit the HIV.gov webpage to learn more about HIV and AIDS: Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.hiv.gov/.

Drug use hurts brains.

All drugs affect the brain. That's why they can make you feel high, low, fast, or slow. They also might make you see things that aren't there.

Some drugs can hurt your brain and affect how you act and how your body feels. These problems might last just a little while, or they may last for the rest of your life.

Some drugs can make your mood change quickly. You might get sad, angry, or scared for no reason. You might overreact to little problems. You might get violent or think that someone wants to hurt you.

Some drugs can make it hard to pay attention, remember things, or think clearly. That's why people often make bad decisions when they're on drugs.

Drug use can also hurt your ability to enjoy things. When you're addicted, things that used to make you feel good no longer make you happy. You might not enjoy seeing your friends or watching your favorite movie because all you can think about is getting more drugs. Usually, you can start enjoying things again once you stop using drugs, but it may take time.