Drugs & Vices

Drugs & the Consequences

You’ve heard it a million times and you will hear it a million times more but drugs are bad news. It’s not just your health that is at risk (and your life) but you could also find yourself chucked out of university, given a criminal record and locked-up in prison. Below is a brief guide to how the different types of drugs are classed and where you could end up if you are caught with them:

Class A

These include Ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, crack, magic mushrooms and amphetamines (if prepared for injection) If you are caught with these drugs on your possession then you could go to prison for up to seven years and get an unlimited fine (unlimited – that’s a lot!) However, if you are caught dealing Class A drugs you could face up to life in prison and get an unlimited fine.

Class B

Amongst these drugs are amphetamines, methylphenidate (Ritalin) and pholcodine. If you are caught with these drugs in your possession then you could face up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. Being caught dealing these drugs can land you up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.

Class C

This is the lowest class of drugs and these include cannabis, tranquilisers, Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and Ketamine. If you are found to have these drugs on your possession then you can get up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. If however you are caught dealing class C drugs then you can face up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.

If things go wrong

Unfortunately it’s a fact of life – people take drugs. Even if you don’t take drugs yourself, you will probably know someone who does and may experience your friends taking drugs on a regular basis. If you’re not a user but your friends are, it can sometimes be scary if you see things get out of control. Sometimes it’s hard to know what is normal and what’s not – especially if you’ve never experienced drugs yourself. Below are a few tips on what to do if things start to go wrong:

When your friend becomes anxious and begins to panic

• The first thing you should do is to take them away from where they are to a quiet safe place, away from any fast lighting, people dancing and loud noise.

• Reassure your friend that they will be ok and what they are experiencing is simply a side effect of the drug and they have nothing to worry about.

• Get as much information out of them as possible regarding what they have taken and how much. If things get worse then this information may be vital. Be sure to speak to your friend in a calm manner as if they sense that you are worried, their anxiety will worsen.

If your friend becomes dehydrated

• Dehydration is where the body runs low on fluids. We need a certain amount of water and fluids in our bodies to function properly and without these fluids we can become very ill and even die if the fluids are not replaced.

• If your friend is dehydrated then they may become nauseous, will stop sweating and will find it hard to urinate.

• If your friend is still drinking alcohol then take it from them immediately – this will only dehydrate them further. Ask them to drink some water slowly.

• If you are in a nightclub then you should take your friend away from the dance floor and try and find a cool place for them to sit. Dancing and disco lighting can only add to someone’s dehydration.

If your friend becomes unconscious

• Get help! Don’t think about getting into trouble, the most important thing is to get your friend some medical attention. Stay with your friend and ask someone nearby to call for an ambulance.

• Make sure your friend’s airways are clear and place them into the recovery position. To find out how to do this, click here.

• Ensure that your friend’s breathing is not being restricted by their clothing. Loosen any tight clothing, such as ties, shirts, belts etc. If you have to, rip their clothing – the most important thing is that they can breath properly.

If your friend is overdosing

• An overdose is where the body simply cannot handle the amount of substance in the system and reacts to it.

• The symptoms of a drug overdose vary depending on the drug taken. For information on different types of drugs and the symptoms of overdose visit Health A to Z.

• If you think your friend is overdosing then the first thing to do is phone 999 straight away!

• Try and get your friend into the recovery position and stay with them.

One too many

University is renowned for its student union bars offering drinks 24/7 to students who have just spent a hard day drinking somewhere else. Hangovers tend to be the norm in halls of residence and many students forget what it feels like not to have a hangover! There’s a reason that students are famous for drinking and that’s because they like to have fun – nothing wrong with that, right? Yes true but sometimes it can get out of hand. Problems begin to occur when people become dependent on alcohol – this can be a slippery slope that results in your place at university, you friendships and relationships and your health all being compromised.

Alcohol related deaths are increasing year by year. Since 1991 to 2005 alcohol related deaths have more than doubled from 4,144 to 8,386. If you think you may be alcohol dependent, then it is important that you seek the right help. It is said that if you experience three or more of the following in the space of one year, then you may be alcohol dependent:

• The urge to drink that takes precedence over other activities.

• You find it difficult to control your drinking – you don’t know your limits.

• You drink on a regular basis.

• When trying to reduce your alcohol intake you experience physical withdrawal symptoms (shaking, sweating, nausea etc).

• Drinking again provided relief of your withdrawal symptoms.

• It takes more and more alcohol to get you drunk.

• You continue to drink although you are aware it is harming you.

How to stop

So, you’ve recognised that you drink too much and you may have a problem, but now what? Stopping anything that you are used to doing (and perhaps like doing) is always going to be difficult. It is important to understand your own reasons for wanting to stop drinking. Try writing down the pros and cons for stopping drinking. Think carefully about what it is you are trying to achieve by stopping and how you think it will improve your life and the lives of those around you. Once you have done this you will then have a clear goal in your head that you can focus on in the hard times.

Try identifying what it is that brings on your cravings for alcohol, i.e. to alleviate withdrawal symptoms, to gain confidence in a social atmosphere etc. Once you have identified what it is that gives you the urge to drink, write up a plan on how you are going to control your urges. Once you can get your urges under control, you will feel more confident with tackling your problem and you will be on the road to recovery.

Smoking

Smoking claims a life every eight seconds and if you are someone who depends on the smooth, thin cancer sticks there is a chance you will be joining those statistics. Lighting-up your cigarett0e and smoking it will probably take you around five minutes. By the time you are about 1/5th of the way down, around 10 million cigarettes would have been sold worldwide. Imagine filling London's Wembley stadium with children. All of those children would roughly represent the quantity of children that start smoking each day.

So, smoking is big business and if you are a smoker then you are certainly not alone. It’s clear that the government is attempting to curb people’s smoking habits as they have stopped the advertising of cigarettes and more recently have made it illegal to smoke inside public places. So why are they doing this? What’s wrong with smoking? Well, cigarettes contain more than 4000 different chemicals and every time you smoke one, these chemicals are going into your body – now that can’t be good can it!? Smoking does not just affect your lungs and in fact can be the cause of many different health problems. Firstly, smoke can leave your hair smelling foul, if that is, you have any left as smoking can also cause hair loss. Smokers are at risk of getting cancer of the mouth, gum disease, bad breath and rotting teeth. Smoking also affects the brain in a big way. Inhaling smoke reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches the brain and therefore increases the chances of headaches and in some cases, a stroke. To find out how much you spend on smoking, try out this nifty smoking calculator.

How to Stop

If you are addicted to smoking then stopping is not going to be easy. It’s great that you have decided to stop – that’s a huge first step. Now, you have to stick to your convictions and give up those filthy things! There is plenty of help out there and a wealth of products to help you kick the habit rather than kick the bucket. Depending on your level of dependency of cigarettes, what controls your urges and when and why you smoke there is something out there to help you stop. You can buy nicotine gum, inhalers, sticks and patches, all of which can help ease you off smoking slowly but surely.

Gambling

Have you ever heard the saying ‘the house always wins”? Well, I’m afraid it is true! Gambling can be fun and exciting but if it gets out of control it can be devastating to your bank balance, your self-esteem and your family and friends.

As a student the flashing lights of fruit machines in the pub might seem very enticing – especially with possible jackpots of hundreds of pounds. The problem is, you will probably spend hundreds of pounds before you get anywhere near a jackpot.

Gambling isn’t a problem in itself if the person gambling can control what they are doing. However, many people today gamble when they cannot afford it, meaning that a problem exists. Like with any addiction, it can begin to take over your life and can become extremely destructive.

Gambling Methods

There are so many ways in which we can gamble in today’s society and half the time we don’t even have to leave the comfort of our university halls. Below are a few examples of how we can gamble:

• The lottery (and internet lottery)

• Poker (and internet poker)

• Scratch cards

• Greyhound racing

• Horse racing

• Fruit machines

• Bingo

• Casinos

If you think you need help with your gambling then you should talk to someone. Remember, if you have identified that you have a problem, then that is the first step to recovery and you have probably jumped one of the hardest hurdles. Try talking to someone you trust about your gambling addiction so that you have support for when you feel things aren’t going so well. Try giving Gamblers Anonymous a call and talking to one of their councillors – talking about it will help!

Useful Links

Samaritans - Samaritans provides confidential non-judgemental emotional support, 24 hours a day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which could lead to suicide.

Alcoholics Anonymous – Help, advice and support if you feel you are becoming alcohol dependent.

Alcohol Concerns - Alcohol Concern is the national agency on alcohol misuse.

Quit - QUIT is the independent charity whose aim is to save lives by helping smokers to stop.

ASH - Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is a campaigning public health charity that works to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco.

FRANK – If you are worried about someone who is taking drugs, you can call their free hotline number for advice.

Narcotics Anonymous – Help and advice for those who feel they may have a drugs problem.