• Acid (aka LSD)
• Aerosols (aka Gases, Glues and Aerosols)
• Alcohol
• Amanita Muscaria (aka Magic Mushrooms)
• Amphetamine (aka Speed)
• Amphetamine sulphate (aka Speed)
• Amyl nitrite (aka Poppers)
• Anabolic Steroids

• Benzos (aka Tranquillisers)
• Butyl nitrite (aka Poppers)

• C (aka Cocaine)
• Cannabis
• Cocaine
• Crack
• Crystal Meth

• Diconal (similar to Methadone)
• Dihydrocodeine (DF118) (similar to Methadone)

• Ecstasy

• Gases, Glues and Aerosols
• GHB

• Heroin

• Isobutyl nitrite (aka Poppers)

• Ketamine
• Khat

• LSD

• Magic Mushrooms
• Methadone
  

• PMA
• Poppers

• Roofies (aka Tranquillisers)

• Speed

• Tobacco
• Tranquillisers

• Like most drugs, alcohol will exaggerate whatever mood you're in when you start drinking. So if you're on a bit of a downer when you hit the pub, you might just stay that way.
• Alcohol is a relaxant so in moderation it can reduce feelings of anxiety, reduce inhibitions and make you feel more sociable.
• It takes your body an hour to process one unit of alcohol. So it doesn't take a genius to work out that if you're downing them like there's no tomorrow, your body won't be able to cope. And you'll end up plastered.
• One too many can strip you of your dignity. Slurring your words, loss of balance and vomiting are just some of the effects that you may want to avoid. Especially if you're trying to impress.
• Time is the only thing that will help you process alcohol. Even a bathful of black coffee isn't going to sober you up if you've overdone it.
• Official guidelines recommend no more than 3-4 units a day for adult men, 2-3 for adult women. One unit is half a pint of beer, lager or cider. One small glass of table wine. Or a 25ml measure of spirits.

• Dependence on alcohol can creep up on you. Tolerance increases with use so if you drink on a regular basis, over time you'll need more and more alcohol to reach the same state.
• It can make you mouthy, argumentative and aggressive. So if you discover you're a nasty drunk you'd be wise to rein it. Especially if you want to keep your mates.
• Alcohol is blamed for all kinds of problems in Britain from violent crime to domestic violence and car related deaths.
• Serious overindulgence can lead to alcohol poisoning which could put you in a coma or even kill you.
• Long-term use of alcohol has been linked with illnesses like liver damage, stomach cancer and heart disease.

• Users claim the drug makes them feel more aggressive.
• Sports enthusiasts claim steroids make them able to train harder.
• If taken during a strict exercise regime, they can help build muscle mass.
• They may also help users recover from strenuous exercise faster.

• Normally calm people can become aggressive or even violent.
• If you're young, abuse of anabolic steroids can stop you growing properly.
• Injecting any drug can cause vein damage, ulcers and gangrene. Dirty or shared needles and other injecting works can help the spread of HIV and hepatitis.
• If you're male, you can get erection problems, grow breasts, become sterile and develop acne. It can also make your testicles shrink. Quite a big price to pay for impressive muscles.
• If you're female, you can get extra facial hair, a deep voice, shrinking breasts and an increased risk of menstrual problems.
• You could experience dramatic mood swings and ultimately long-term depression.
• You may find that you start getting paranoid, confused and have trouble sleeping.
• Steroids can also give you high blood pressure and increase your risk of liver failure, stroke or heart attack.

• Cannabis often gives sedative like effects that make some people feel chilled out and happy and others have one puff and feel sick.
• Others get the giggles until the muscles in their face hurt.
• Hunger pangs are common and are known as 'getting the munchies'.
• Even hardcore smokers can get anxious, panicky and suspicious.
• It affects your coordination, which is why drug driving is just as illegal as drink driving.

• Cannabis, like tobacco, has chemical 'nasties' which can cause lung disease and cancer with long term or heavy use. Cannabis can make asthma worse.
• And it increases blood pressure so it is a bad idea for anyone with heart problems.
• There is also increasing evidence of a link between cannabis and mental health problems such as schizophrenia. If you have a history of mental health problems or are experiencing paranoia or depression you definitely want to steer clear of cannabis.
• It's estimated that about 10% of users are hooked on cannabis.
• If you smoke it with tobacco you can get hooked on the tobacco.
• Frequent use of cannabis can cut a man's sperm count and suppress ovulation in women. If you are pregnant, smoking cannabis may harm the baby.
• Regular, heavy use makes it harder to learn and concentrate and some people begin to feel tired all the time and can't seem to get motivated.
• Most people will know of a 'dope head' who has dropped out of the real world.

• To reduce the risk of overdoing it, try to space out the days between using cannabis.
• Don't buy more than you need thinking you will save some for tomorrow - you probably won't.
• The more you break up the pattern of use the easier it is to control cannabis and reduce the risks.
• If you are trying to cut down, avoid things that remind you of cannabis. Certain places, people, events or times might make you think of cannabis and want to take it.
• Try to identify all the things you associate with using cannabis and make an effort to avoid them until you feel OK about not smoking. Plan to do something else at the time of day you usually have a joint.

It is not actually possible to tell whether a particular sample of 'skunk' will be any higher potency than an equal amount of 'imported herbal cannabis' - because the potencies overlap substantially. The potency anyway decreases over time in storage and is affected by what parts of the plant have been included in the product - so a user has little guarantee about the strength. The strength of the skunk smell appears to be no guide to actual potency either.

• Clearly a stronger 'joint' may have more powerful effects, but you may inhale less and use less to moderate this.
• Some users may want to buy stronger herbal cannabis to get a stronger effect but unpleasant reactions may also be more powerful when you use stronger strains.

• Taking coke makes users feel on top of the world. It's a bit like speed (amphetamines) but it's stronger and doesn't last as long. People taking it feel wide awake, confident and on top of their game.
• Coke's a stimulant it raises body temperature, makes the heart beat faster and staves off feelings of hunger.

There is a flip side.

• After a big night on coke it's not unusual for people to feel like they've got the flu.
• Some people act like they're the greatest... dancer.. lover.. comedian on the planet. Usually they're not.
• The hit from coke doesn't last long (20-30 minutes).
• When the effects start to wear off there's a strong temptation to take more.

• Crack and cocaine users have died from overdose. High doses can raise the body's temperature, cause convulsions and respiratory arrest. Risk of overdosing increases if crack is mixed with heroin, barbiturates or alcohol.
• Cocaine is bad news for anybody with high blood pressure or a heart condition. Perfectly fit, young people can have a fit or heart attack after taking too much coke.
• Those who get into coke often find they begin to crave it more and more.
• Using it a lot makes people feel depressed and run down.
• Too much sniffing coke and you're sneezing lumps out of your nose into a hanky.
• People who use crack or coke regularly often develop serious problems with anxiety and paranoia. It's a known cause of panic attacks.
• Because the effects wear off so quickly, cocaine and crack are expensive drugs. A cocaine habit can seriously damage your wallet.
• Very large doses can cause death from heart or respiratory problems. You may not know you have a pre-existing heart condition.
• Large or frequent use of coke tends to knock sexual desire on the head.
• If there have been previous mental health problems coke could bring those problems to the surface again. If a close relative has had mental health problems there might also be an increased risk in some users.
• Injecting any drug can cause vein damage, ulcers and gangrene. Dirty or shared needles and other injecting works can help the spread of HIV and hepatitis.
• It's easier to overdose injecting. Cocaine is a local anaesthetic and it deadens pain at the injection site. This makes it harder for injectors to notice the damage they may be doing.
• Using alcohol and cocaine together can be deadly.
• Injecting a mixture of cocaine and heroin, known as a 'Speedball' is one of the most dangerous cocktails you can put in a human body. It is also potentially deadly.
• Taking coke when you're pregnant can damage your baby. Coke causes miscarriage, premature labour and smaller babies and may cause congenital abnormalities. Babies born to mothers who keep using throughout their pregnancy show withdrawal syndrome.

• Crack has the same short-lived effects as cocaine but they're much, much stronger.
• The effects are immediate, peak for about two minutes and last about 10 minutes.
• Crack makes users feel alive, exhilarated, confident and wide awake. It kills all feelings of pain, tiredness and hunger.

• After the 20 minute high comes a long, low crash which can be associated with massive cravings to take more.
• The high can come with hallucinations, huge mood swings and massive paranoia.
• Some people get aggressive or violent.
• The crash makes people feel sick, tired and depressed.
• Regular users look excited but nervous. Heavy users have trouble sleeping and feel sick quite a lot.
• Heavy crack users may take heroin to try to dull the cravings, which can increase the risks.

• Crack users have died from overdose. High doses can raise the body's temperature, cause convulsions and respiratory arrest. Risk of overdosing increases if crack is mixed with heroin, barbiturates or alcohol.
• Cocaine in any form can be bad news for anybody with high blood pressure or a heart condition.
• Too much smoking crack can cause breathing problems and pains in the chest. Smoking anything damages the lungs.
• Using a lot can bring on a seizure or a fit.
• People who use crack and coke regularly often develop serious problems with anxiety and paranoia. It's also a known cause of panic attacks.
• Because the effects wear off so quickly, cocaine and crack are expensive drugs. Falling under the spell of crack could leave the richest person bankrupt.
• Because of the addictive nature of crack there is a strong link to crime as users seek to fund their habit.
• Very large doses can cause death from heart or respiratory problems but it's rare.
• Large or frequent use of crack tends to knock sexual desire on the head.
• If there have been previous mental health problems crack could bring those problems to the surface again. If a close relative has had mental health problems there might also be an increased risk in some users.
• Injecting any drug can cause vein damage, ulcers and gangrene. Dirty or shared needles and other injecting works can help the spread of HIV and hepatitis.
• It's easier to overdose injecting.
• Injecting a mixture of cocaine and heroin, known as a 'speedball' is one of the most dangerous cocktails you can put in a human body.
• Taking crack when you're pregnant can damage your baby. Coke causes miscarriage, premature labour and smaller babies and may cause congenital abnormalities. Babies born to mothers who keep using throughout their pregnancy show withdrawal syndrome.

Methylamphetamine can bring on a feeling of exhilaration and produces increased arousal and activity levels. It also reduces tiredness and suppresses appetite. It causes a rapid heart rate and a rise in blood pressure, and the higher the dose the greater these effects.

Other acute effects reported include agitation, paranoia, confusion and violence.

In cases of overdose, stroke, pulmonary, renal and gastrointestinal disorders are also seen, and coma and death can occur.

Methylamphetamine use can be associated with injecting drug use and sharing of paraphernalia.

Using the drug may also increase libido and risky sexual behaviour and thereby increasing the risk of blood born virus transmission in some.

Between £3 and £8 depending on the type of pill you buy and where you live.

• E gives people an energy buzz that makes them feel alert and alive. Clubbers love it because it means they can dance for hours without feeling tired.
• Ecstasy can take anything between 20 and 60 minutes to kick in.
• E makes people feel in tune with their surroundings. Sounds and colours feel more intense. A certain track of music can suddenly take on a spiritual significance.
• E makes emotions feel more intense. Users often feel great love for the people they're with and the strangers around them. E taken on its own is not a drug that makes people violent.
• Lots of people feel chatty on E. (These chats don't always make sense to people who aren't on E).
• E dilates the pupils, produces a tingling feeling, tightens the jaw muscles, raises the body temperature and makes the heart beat faster.

• People who aren't on E aren't always best pleased at being hugged by someone who's really sweaty. Or having their girlfriend/boyfriend chatted up by a random stranger.
• Short-term effects can include anxiety, panic attacks, confused episodes, first-time epileptic fits and paranoia. Current evidence suggests that long term use can cause depression, personality change and memory loss.
• No one knows what an E's got in it until they've swallowed it. There may be negative side effects from other ingredients in the tablet.
• E can makes users feel a bit down afterwards. Ecstasy Blues is the term given to the bad mood many clubbers feel on Mondays and Tuesdays after a big weekend.

• There have been over 200 ecstasy related deaths in the UK since 1996. Some are linked to the way ecstasy controls the body's temperature control mechanism. E can cause the body's temperature to rise to dangerously high levels. Add to that a sweaty dancefloor and dehydration and there's the potential for 'double heat-stroke'. Some deaths have been linked to other drugs like PMA which have been sold as ecstasy.
• Using E has also been linked to liver, kidney and heart problems. Anyone using too much can get paranoid and depressed as well.
• Ecstasy affects the body's temperature control. Dancing for long periods in a hot atmosphere increases the chances of overheating and dehydration. Make sure you take regular breaks from the dance floor to cool down, especially if it's rammed. Watch out for your mates. People can get so out of their faces they don't realise they're in danger of overheating or getting dehydrated. Reduce the risks by sipping no more than a pint of water or non-alcoholic fluid every hour.
• Be careful - drinking too much can be dangerous or even fatal. The drug can cause the body to release a hormone which prevents the production of urine. This means that if you drink a few pints of liquid too quickly, it interferes with your body's salt balance which can be as deadly as not drinking enough water.
• Some long-term users report getting colds, flu and sore throats more often. But then staying awake for 24 hours is always going to give your immune system a battering.
• There is speculation that the exhaustion and dehydration associated with E can activate urine infections like cystitis in women.
• E's can contain toxic other chemicals like MPTP, a drug known to cause irreversible Parkinson's disease. It's highly unlikely that many E's have MPTP in them. But the point is that taking E is a gamble.
• Anyone with a heart condition, blood pressure problems, epilepsy or asthma can have a very dangerous reaction to the drug.

• Users say it's like being drunk with dizziness, dreaminess and fits of the giggles. It can be difficult to think straight.
• The hit is quite short so users tend to keep repeating the dose to keep the feeling going.
• Depending on what's being inhaled, some users can hallucinate. This can last for up to 45 minutes.
• It can give users a 'hangover' afterwards, giving them the mother of all headaches and making them sleepy.
• Depending on the substance, it can give users a red rash around their mouths

• At best, you risk nausea, vomiting and blackouts.
• At worst, you risk fatal heart problems which have been known to kill users the very first time they sniff.
• Squirting gas products down the throat is a particularly dangerous way of taking the drug. It can make your throat swell so you can't breathe and make your heart slow to a dangerously low level.
• You risk suffocation if you inhale from a plastic bag over your head.
• Sniffing can seriously affect your judgement and when you're high, there's a very real danger you'll try something reckless.
• Long-term abuse of solvents has been shown to damage the brain, liver and kidneys.
• It can be hard to get the amount right. Just enough will give the desired high, just a little too much can result in coma.
• Solvent abuse killed 64 people in 2000. A quarter of these were people under 18.
• Using solvents in combination with alcohol can lead to an increased risk of death.

A 30ml plastic container is about £15.

• A small capful has a euphoric effect that makes users feel happy, sensual and uninhibited. As more and more is taken it acts like a sedative or downer and makes people sleepy.
• Too much and users feel disoriented and sick. Muscles can go numb or start to spasm.
• Excessive use can cause a fit or seizure.

• It is very dangerous and can be fatal when mixed with alcohol or other drugs.
• Users can lose consciousness, as it's hard to know what strength the dose is.
• Too many hits could cause sickness, stiff muscles, fits and collapse.
• No one knows what GHB could do to you 20 years down the line.
• Because GHB can really knock you out it's been linked to drug assisted sexual assault. And because it's almost tasteless it's easily slipped in a drink. In a Home Office report in June 2000, 123 victims of drug-assisted assaults were questioned and 70% of the rapists were known to the victim. One in five could not remember the assault but 70% felt physically unable to resist. *
• * source: Metropolitan Police June 2000

Feeding a heroin habit can cost up to £100 a day. Finding the money to fund a habit is tough and some users turn to crime to get the money they need.

• Heroin slows down body functioning and stops physical and psychological pain.
• Most users get a rush or buzz a few minutes after taking it.
• A small dose of heroin gives the user a feeling of warmth and well-being.
• Bigger doses can make the user sleepy and very relaxed.
• The first dose of heroin can bring about dizziness and vomiting.

• Deaths from overdose occur. But the risk increases after a period off the drug because the body's tolerance for the drug goes down.
• Excessive doses can lead to coma and even death from respiratory failure.
• If heroin is taken with other drugs, including alcohol, overdose is much more likely.
• Other downers such as benzodiazepine tranquillisers are also associated with heroin overdose deaths.
• There's a risk of death due to inhaling vomit as heroin stops the body's cough reflex working properly.
• Injecting heroin can do nasty damage to your veins and has been known to lead to gangrene.
• The risks of sharing needles and other works to inject are well-known, putting you in danger of infections like hepatitis B or C and of course HIV/AIDS.

• Ketamine can cause perceptual changes like LSD, in addition to its effects on reducing bodily sensation. Users can trip for up to an hour and may feel after-effects for some hours.
• It can give the user an 'out of body' experience.
• Some users say it feels like their mind and body have been separated.
• In some cases, users may be physically incapable of moving while under the influence.

• Because you don't feel any pain when you're on ketamine, you're in danger of injuring yourself badly and having no idea you've done it.
• High doses, especially with other depressant drugs like alcohol, can dangerously suppress breathing and heart function.
• Ketamine is very dangerous when it is mixed with other drugs or even alcohol, for example it can lead to unconsciousness with depressant drugs or alcohol. It can also cause high blood pressure, which can be particularly dangerous with drugs like Ecstasy or amphetamines.
• It can cause panic attacks, depression and in large doses can exaggerate pre-existing mental health problems such as schizophrenia.
• If high enough doses are taken, the anaesthetic effect can result in death from inhaling vomit.

A 'hit' which is a small bunch of leaves costs around £4.

• Khat is a stimulant and chewing it can make people feel more alert and talkative.
• It can also suppress the appetite.
• Although it's a stimulant, many users report a feeling of calm if it's chewed over a few hours. Some describe it as being 'blissed out'.

• If you use it a lot, you may develop insomnia, heart problems and sexual problems like impotence
• It can give you feelings of anxiety and aggression.
• Some people find it makes them irritable, in some cases very angry and even violent.
• It can make pre-existing mental health problems worse.
• Those with other problems such as unemployment may be more prone to excessive use.

• Both mushrooms can distort colour, sound and objects.
• Both mushrooms can speed up and slow down time and movement.
• Both mushrooms can make you feel more emotionally sensitive. Some people feel more creative and enlightened.
• Amanita's can give you the sort of out of body experience that makes you feel like you're dreaming when you're awake.
• Amanita's can give you synesthesia which allows you to smell words and taste colours.
• Bad trips are seriously frightening and unsettling. And you can't tell whether you're going to have a bad trip or a good trip (although there are things you can do to try and avoid a bad trip).
• You're not in complete control of what you're doing. Your perception of your body and the world around you can be distorted.
• Both mushrooms can make you feel sick, tired and disoriented.
• Amanita's can make you nervous, twitchy and cold.
• Amanita's can make make you feel so withdrawn inside your own head that you can't hold a sensible conversation.

• Eating the wrong kind of mushroom can make you seriously ill, and even kill you.
• Magic Mushrooms can complicate any mental health issues you may have. Anyone with a history of schizophrenia should stay away from Magic Mushrooms.

The street cost of methadone is £1 per 10ml.

• Opiates are sedative drugs that depress the nervous system. They slow down body functioning and stop physical and psychological pain. The effect is usually to give a feeling of warmth, relaxation and detachment.
• Methadone stops people feeling anxious.
• See also the effects of heroin.

• They make the pupils in the eye go like pinheads and make users constipated.
• Some people are sick the first time they take drugs like Methadone and if you are a woman they can stop you having regular periods (but you can still conceive).