• Image: Kevin Irby

  • Getting high on drugs

    Not everyone who uses drugs becomes addicted. But, for many what starts as casual use leads to drug addiction. Drug addiction is a dependence on a street drug or a medication.. Youths become addicted to drugs through self-medication and experimentation.

    Drug addiction can cause serious, long-term consequences including problems with physical and mental health, relationships, employment and the law. Once hooked on drugs, it is difficult to quit. Most people need professional help to kick their drug habit.

    here are three main types of drugs that are frequently abused, and lead to addiction – prescription and non-prescription drugs, also known as street drugs. Currently, the most popular substance of choice is inhalants.

    Inhalants

    Inhalants include a range of products - many of which are familiar household items - which, when vaporized and inhaled, may cause the user to feel intoxicated or “high”. They are considered to be "gateway" drugs because children often progress from inhalants to illegal drug and alcohol abuse

    Types of inhalant are solvents such as contact cement, glue, nail polish, aerosols such as hairsprays, spray paints, insecticides, muscle sprays), and anesthetics which are frequently used in dentistry for sedative effects. Inhalants are abused through the following ways:

    Sniffing - inhaling vapors directly into the nose from an open container.

    Huffing - inhaling vapors directly into the nose from a cloth soaked with the solvent which is held against the face.

    Bagging - holding a paper or plastic bag filled with the solvent which is then held over the face.

    Consequences of inhalant abuse can be fatal such as suffocation and accidents relating to inhalant intoxication and unintentional suicide.

    Warning signs to look out for inhalant abuse:

    • Finding unusual amounts of glues, solvents or aerosol containers in your friend’s bag
    • Chemical smells or stains on clothes or breath
    • Unexpected and rapid “drunken” behaviour; look drowsy
    • Looking pale or in a dazed state
    • Constant sniffles or nose irritations
    • Mood swings - feeling depressed or easily irritable
    • Truancy; poor conduct in class; isolation
    • Slurred or incoherent speech
    • Nausea or loss of appetite