STIMULANTS
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What Are Stimulants?
Stimulants are drugs.
Usually, they are amphetamines. They increase alertness, reduce hunger and yield a feeling of self-confidence and well- being. They give the user a sensation of swelling physical and mental power.
They have approved medical uses, including: to curb appetite; to combat fatigue, sleepiness or mild depression. Paradoxically, they calm hyperactive, noisy, aggressive children. They provide the "brats" with a normal behavior.
Unhappily, they tend to be abused. When this happens, stimulation is followed by a letdown feeling or depressing, hangover. They can damage the body and mind, even kill in lethal overdose.
They have also been shown, when abused, to have a profound adverse effect on reasoning, judgment and reaction time. When abused, they can be more personally harmful and socially damaging than heroin.
What Are the Kinds of Stimulants?
Many stimulants are known, including: cocaine, ampheta- mine, methamphetamine, dextroamphetamine, benzphetamine, phenmetrazine, mephentermine and methyiphenidate.
Caffeine, too, is a stimulant. But caffeine, which is found in coffee, tea, cola and other beverages, is a mild stimulant, is socially acceptable and is not an abuse problem.
Stimulants are also known as "pep pills," "jolly beans," "Ups," "Uppers," "eye-openers," "wake-ups," "wake-uppers," and "speed."
How Are Stimulants Taken?
A common abuse of stimulants is by the occasional user.
He takes the drug to push and sustain himself beyond his physical and mental limits. He may want to stay awake to drive or cram for an examination. Or he may want to get an extra burst of energy to excel in an athletic contest.
This type of "Up" drug abuse rarely leads to difficulties, but it can. Deaths in athletic meets have been traced to am- phetamine use, like: 18-year-old footballer Jean-Louis Quadri who dribbled toward the opponent team's goal in Grenoble, France, collapsed and was DOA (dead on arrival) in the hospital. He was, an autopsy revealed, heavily "Up" drugged.
A second type of "pep pill" abuse is taking 75-100 mg. per day (average medical dose: 15-30 mg) for long periods of time. These abusers are "Up" drug-dependent. They are addicts.
A new type of "Upper" abuse involves "mainlining," a ta heroin and morphine, once or a dozen times a day. This produces the same "hyper-speed" effects given by cocaine, as well as the extreme dangers of cocaine abuse. These abusers are known as "speed freaks."
Signs and Symptoms of Abuse
- Restlessness
- Nervousness
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Talkativeness
- Malnutrition
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