Stimulants
Background: Stimulants, also called “uppers”, include common drugs like caffine and nicotine. Also included, however, are substances like cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine, and prescription medicines like Adderall and Ritalin. Users prefer stimulants because they increase alertness, provide energy, elevate mood and create an enhanced a sense of well-being. Unfortunately, their abuse is highly addictive and comes with devastating consequences.
Teens use them as appetite suppressants, study aides (they can increase mental acuity), and party drugs. Their main addictive property comes from the way in which they react with our brain. Though each one acts differently, all stimulants trigger a release of dopamine, our body’s most powerful ‘reward and reinforcement’ neurotransmitter. The dopamine produces a pleasurable feeling. After the drug has lost it’s effect, dopamine levels crash well below normal level. This creates depression, lethargy and cravings in the user. More drugs are needed, just to restore a sense of normalcy.
Symptoms: Stimulants generally produce an increase in body temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure. They cause dilated pupils, and are sometimes accompanied by nausea, blurred vision, muscle spasms, muscle rigidity, and confusion. Stimulants also cause the body’s blood vessels to narrow, constricting the flow of blood, which forces the heart to work harder in an effort to pump blood through the body. Fibrillation can occur, sometimes resulting in sudden death.
How They Are Used: Powdered stimulants can be eaten, snorted, smoked or injected. Click here for more information of the methods of use. There is a variety of paraphernalia associated with stimulant use. Click here to learn more.
The following list of drugs are listed in the Stimulant Category. Click on a drug to visit it’s fact sheet:
