Cocaine is a powerful stimulant which is derived from coca leaves grown in Bolivia, Peru and Colombia . The most common method of use is snorting the cocaine powder (Cocaine Hcl). Its crack form is smoked (freebased).

Cocaine is usually distributed as white powder, often diluted ("cut") with a variety of substances, the most common being sugars and local anesthetics. This is done to stretch the amount of the product and increase profits for dealers.

Effects

Increased alertness, excitation, euphoria (sometimes followed by a dysphoric "crash"), increased pulse rate and blood pressure, insomnia and loss of appetite.

Overdose Effects

Agitation, increased body temperature, hallucinations, convulsions, possible death.

Street Names

Coke, Flake, Snow, Crack, Coca, Blanca, Perico, Nieve, SodaCot

(Excerpts taken from justthinktwice.com)

Crack is sold in small, inexpensive doses that are smoked. Its effects are felt immediately and are very intense and short-lived.

The intensity of the psychological effects of cocaine depends on the dose and rate of entry to the brain. Cocaine reaches the brain through the snorting method in three to five minutes. Intravenous injection of cocaine produces a rush in 15-30 seconds, and smoking produces an almost immediate intense experience. These intense effects can be followed by a "crash."

Effectss

Increased alertness, excitation, euphoria (sometimes followed by a dysphoric "crash"), increased pulse rate and blood pressure, insomnia and loss of appetite.

Overdose Effects

Agitation, increased body temperature, hallucinations, convulsions, possible death.

(Excerpts from justthinktwice.com) 

Historically, people of almost every culture have used chemical agents to induce sleep, relieve stress, and allay anxiety. While alcohol is one of the oldest and most universal agents used for these purposes, hundreds of substances have been developed that produce central nervous system depression. These drugs have been referred to as downers, sedatives, hypnotics, minor tranquilizers, anxiolytics, and anti-anxiety medications. Unlike most other classes of drugs of abuse, depressants are rarely produced in clandestine laboratories. Generally, legitimate pharmaceutical products are diverted to the illicit market.

(Excerpts taken from dea.gov)

Ecstasy (MDMA): Ecstasy is a synthetic drug that produces both stimulation and hallucinatory effects and is associated with increased energy, sensual arousal and enhanced tactile sensations. The majority of MDMA is produced in laboratories in Europe and then smuggled into the United States. It produces nerve cell damage that can result in psychiatric disturbances and long-term cognitive impairments.

The user will often experience muscle tension, tremors, blurred vision, and increased body temperature which can result in organ failure and death. MDMA is usually distributed in tablet form and many of these tablets are imprinted with designs or commercial logos. The effects of MDMA are felt within 30-45 minutes, peaking at 60-90 minutes, and last 4-6 hours.

Effects

Heightened senses, teeth grinding and dehydration.

Increased body temperature, electrolyte imbalance, cardiac arrest, possible death.

Ecstasy, XTC, Adam; MDA Love Drug; MDEA (Eve); MBDB, hug, beans

(Excerpts from justthinktwice.com) 

Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB): There are three kinds of GHB abusers: those who take the drug to get high, those who use it in bodybuilding, and those who commit sexual assault after drugging their victims. GHB is also frequently used in combination with Ecstasy to counter over-stimulation. It is frequently taken with alcohol and is often found at bars, parties, nightclubs, raves and gyms.

GHB is often called the "date-rape" drug. Because of its effect on memory, GHB causes users to forget many details surrounding a sexual assault. GHB is quickly eliminated from a user's system, and it is sometimes hard to confirm its presence during rape investigations.

Effects 

Slurred speech, disorientation, drunken behavior without the odor of alcohol, impaired memory of events, interacts with alcohol.

Shallow respiration, clammy skin, dilated pupils, weak and rapid pulse, coma and possible death.

Street Names 

GHB, Georgia Home Boy, Grievous Bodily Harm, Liquid Ecstasy, Liquid X, Sodium Oxybate, Xyrem™

(Excerpts taken from justthinktwice.com)

Heroin is a narcotic which can be injected, smoked or snorted. It comes from the opium poppy grown in Southeast Asia (Thailand , Laos and Myanmar (Burma); Southwest Asia (Afghanistan and Pakistan) and Mexico and Colombia . It comes in several forms, the main ones being "black tar" from Mexico (found primarily in the western United States) and white heroin from Colombia (primarily sold on the East Coast).

In the past, heroin was mainly injected; because of the high purity of the Colomban heroin, many users snort or smoke heroin. All of the methods of use can lead to addiction, and the use of intravenous needles can results in the transmission of HIV.

Effects 

Euphoria, drowsiness, respiratory depression, constricted pupils, nausea.

Slow and shallow breathing, clammy skin, convulsions, coma, possible death.

Street names

Diamorphine, Horse, Smack, Black Tar, Chiva, Negra (black tar)

(Excerpts from justthinktwice.com)

Inhalants: Inhalants are a diverse group of substances that are sniffed, snorted, huffed, or placed in bags and inhaled to produce intoxication. Common household products such as glue, lighter fluid, cleaning fluids, and paint are the most abused inhalants. Inhalant users experience headache, nausea, slurred speech and loss of motor coordination.

About one in five kids report having used inhalants by the eighth grade. They sniff or "huff" ordinary household products like nail polish remover, cleaning fluid, gasoline, and spray paint.

Effects 

Flushing, hypotension, headache

Overdose effects can include damage to the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, and brain; death can occur from a single use or after prolonged use

Street Names

poppers, rush, snappers, whippets, kick, bang and amys

(Excerpts from justthinktwice.com)

Ketamine: Ketamine is a fast acting anesthetic and can be used on both humans and animals. As a drug of abuse it can be taken orally, snorted, or injected, and can be sprinkled on marijuana or tobacco and smoked. If used intravenously, effects can be felt immediately and if snorted or taken orally, effects are evident in 10-15 minutes.

Ketamine can act as a depressant or a psychedelic and low doses can produce vertigo, slurred speech, slow reaction time and euphoria. In higher doses, Ketamine produces amnesia and coma.

Effects

Illusions and hallucinations, altered perceptions of space and time

Unable to direct movement, feel pain, or remember

Special K

(Excerpts from justthinktwice.com)

LSD: Produced in laboratories in the United States, this is the most potent hallucinogen known to science and is generally sold in the form of impregnated paper typically imprinted with colorful graphic designs. It has also been found in tablets (microdots), thin squares of gelatin (window panes), in sugar cubes, and rarely in liquid form. During the first hour after ingestion, users may experience visual changes with extreme changes in mood.

While hallucinating, the user may suffer impaired depth and time perception accompanied by distorted perception of the shape and size of objects, movements, colors, sound, touch and the user's own body image. The ability to make sound judgments and see common dangers is impaired, making the user susceptible to personal injury. It is possible for users to suffer acute anxiety and depression after an LSD "trip"and flashbacks have been reported days, and even months, after taking the last dose. DEA enforcement operations have made a dramatic difference in reducing the supply of LSD throughout the United States.

Effects

Illusions and hallucinations, altered perception of time and distance, impaired judgment leading to possible personal injury.

Longer, more intense "trip" episodes.

Acid, Microdol, Sunshine, Boomers

(Excerpts from justthinktwice.com) 

Marijuana and other cannabis products are grown in the United States , Mexico , Canada , South America and Asia , and in other parts of the world. It can be cultivated outdoors and in indoor settings. Marijuana is usually smoked and the effects are felt within minutes. Depending on the dosage and other variables, users can feel relaxed, and have altered senses of smell, sight, taste and hearing, distorted senses of time, shifting sensory imagery, rapidly fluctuating emotions, fragmentary thoughts, impaired memory and dulling of attention.

In 1974, the average THC content of illicit marijuana was less than one percent. Today most commercial grade marijuana from Mexico/Columbia and domestic outdoor cultivated marijuana has an average THC content of about 4 to 6 percent., although some samples have tested as high as 25 percent THC.

High doses of marijuana can result in hallucinations. Marijuana smokers experience the same health problems as tobacco smokers such as bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchial asthma. Extended use is associated with anti-motivational syndrome, lung damage, and risk to reproductive systems.

Effects

Euphoria, relaxed inhibitions, increased appetite, disorientation, impaired motor skills and concentration, hunger

Oversdose Effects

Fatigue, paranoia, possible psychosis

Street Names

Pot, grass, sinsemilla, blunts, mota, yerba, grifa ,Aunt Mary, Boom, Chronic (marijuana alone or marijuana with crack), Dope ganja, Gangster, Hash, Herb, Kif, Mary Jane, Pot, Reefer, Sinsemilla, Skunk, Weed

(Excerpts from justthinktwice.com) 

Methamphetamine is a stimulant which is generally produced in large laboratories in Mexico , the United States and Asia, or in small "toxic labs" in the United States . It can be injected or smoked. "Ice" is the crystallized form of methamphetamine and it is generally smoked. In all its forms, methamphetamine is highly addictive and toxic.

The onset of meth effects is about the same as cocaine, but they last longer. Meth remains in the central nervous system longer than cocaine, and chronic abuse produces a psychosis that resembles schizophrenia, and is characterized by paranoia, picking at the skin, preoccupation with one's thoughts and auditory and visual hallucinations. These effects can last for months and even years after using methamphetamine and violent and erratic behavior is often seen among chronic users.

Effects 

Increased alertness, excitation, euphoria, increased pulse rate and blood pressure, insomnia and loss of appetite.

Agitation, increased body temperature, hallucinations, convulsions, possible death.

Crank, Ice, Crystal, Krystal Meth, Speed

(Excerpts from justthinktwice.com) 

Nicotine is the drug in tobacco leaves. Whether someone smokes, chews, or sniffs tobacco, he or she is delivering nicotine to the brain. Each cigarette contains about 10 milligrams of nicotine. Nicotine is what keeps people smoking despite its harmful effects. Because the smoker inhales only some of the smoke from a cigarette and not all of each puff is absorbed in the lungs, a smoker gets about 1 to 2 milligrams of the drug from each cigarette. A drop of pure nicotine would kill a person-in fact, nicotine can be used as a pesticide on crops.

(Excerpts taken teens.drugabuse.gov)

Hallucinogens cause people to experience - you guessed it - hallucinations, imagined experiences that seem real. The word "hallucinate" comes from Latin words meaning, "to wander in the mind."

No wonder some people refer to hallucinating as tripping.

The "trips" caused by hallucinogens can last for hours. Parts of these trips can feel really good, and other parts can feel really terrible.

Hallucinogens powerfully affect the brain, distorting the way our five senses work and changing our impressions of time and space. People who use these drugs a lot may have a hard time concentrating, communicating, or telling the difference between reality and illusion.