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Common recreational drugs

Ice

  • Ice is methamphetamine, also called meth, crystal or chalk. It is an extremely addictive stimulant drug in the form of white, odourless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder.
  • It produces an immediate and intense euphoria. Since the pleasure also vanishes quickly, users often take repeated doses, in a "binge and crash" pattern.
  • Its effects include difficulty to sleep, depression and psychosis. Its long-term use has many negative consequences for health, including extreme weight loss, severe dental problems ("meth mouth"), and skin sores caused by scratching.
  • Its use raises the risk of contracting HIV, hepatitis B and C, and worsens the progression of HIV/AIDS for infected people.

    • Special reminder: Long-term use may cause significant brain damage, causing paranoia, persecutory delusions, auditory or tactile hallucination (e.g. "meth bugs"); these symptoms can last for months even after stopping the drug.


Poppers

  • Poppers are amyl / butyl / isobutyl nitrite usually packaged in a small glass bottle and release vapors when opened.
  • It works by dilating blood vessels and relaxing muscles around the anus, thus enhancing sexual pleasure. The pleasurable effect lasts for a few minutes only and hence a desire for repeated and more frequent use by some users.
  • Side effects include horrible headaches, nausea, dizziness, and can cause impotence and impair immunity in the long term.
  • It’s highly inflammable so it’s better to keep it away from cigarettes and candles.
  • Amyl nitrite is classified as poison on the Poisons List Regulations (CAP 138B).

    • Special reminder: Don't mix Poppers and Viagra together! It could cause a sudden drop in blood pressure that could lead to fainting, heart attack, stroke, coma or even death.


Viagra

  • Viagra or Sildenafil was originally developed for treating heart disease but is now commonly used for impotence.
  • It works by dilating blood vessels so that more blood can flow into the penis.
  • Side effects include headaches, nausea and psychological dependence.

    • Special reminder: Don't mix Poppers and Viagra together! It could cause a sudden drop in blood pressure that could lead to fainting, heart attack, stroke, coma or even death.


Marijuana

  • Marijuana, also called pot, grass, hash or joint, is a hallucinogen usually smoked in hand-rolled cigarettes (joints) or in pipes or water pipes (bongs).
  • Its effects include altered perceptions and mood, disorientation, impaired judgement and coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and disrupted learning and memory.
  • Marijuana smoke is an irritant to the lungs, and frequent marijuana smokers can have many of the same respiratory problems experienced by tobacco smokers, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, and a heightened risk of lung infections.

Ketamine

  • Ketamine is a commercially produced anaesthetic used mainly for sedation in veterinary practice. It is a clear colourless liquid which through evaporation can be converted to a white crystalline powder similar to cocaine hydrochloride. In Hong Kong, Ketamine mainly appears in powder form and the most common packaging method is by wrapping in a small piece of paper or a banknote.
  • It is described as “dissociative” because it can lead to a disruption of normal integration of a person’s conscious and psychological functioning. The person might feel the external environment being “unreal” and far away from him. He might experience hallucination, feeling weightless, or “his soul leaving his body”.
  • Its users may suffer from delirium, slurred speech, impaired memory, impaired motor function and coordination, respiratory or heart problems, and dependence after long-term consumption.

    • Special reminder: With long-term use, it can cause urinary frequency, urgency and even incontinence.


Ecstasy

  • Ecstasy or MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine) is a synthetic, psychoactive drug that has similarities to both the stimulant amphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. It is taken orally, usually as a capsule or a tablet.
  • It produces feelings of increased energy, euphoria, emotional warmth and empathy toward others, and distortions in sensory and time perception.
  • The closeness-promoting effects of MDMA and its use in sexually charged contexts may encourage unsafe sex, which is a risk factor for contracting or spreading HIV and hepatitis.
  • It causes negative after-effects including confusion, depression, exhaustion, sleep problems, drug craving, and anxiety, that may occur soon after taking the drug or during the days or even weeks thereafter.

Cocaine

  • Cocaine, or known as coke, crack, flake, snow, stardust, is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug made from the leaves of the coca plant native to South America.
  • Its powdered form is either inhaled through the nose (snorted) or dissolved in water and injected into the bloodstream. The intensity and duration of cocaine's pleasurable effects depend on the way it is taken. It produces short-term euphoria, energy, and talkativeness.
  • It can cause agitation, feeling of persecution, extra sensibility especially to noise, mood swings, impotence, affected memory and sensation; and loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, hoarseness in the long run.
  • Injecting cocaine can bring about severe allergic reactions and increased risk for contracting HIV, hepatitis C, and other blood-borne diseases.

GHB

  • GHB is Gamma-hydroxybutyrate acid. It is colourless, slightly salty taste and water-soluble.
  • It is a central nervous system (CNS) suppressant. Some users may use GHB to arouse sexual excitement or boost the effects of other chems, however, this can lower ones' inhibitions, making unsafe sex more likely.
  • Abuse of GHB may cause vomiting, muscle weakness, tremor, epilepsy, aggression and impaired judgement. Regular users often build up a tolerance to GHB, and tend to intake higher doses. However, higher doses may cause sleepiness, coma or even death. Chronic usage may lead to addiction. Sudden withdrawal may cause insomnia, sweating, increase heart rate and blood pressure, and even develop psychotic thoughts.
  • GHB was sometimes reported to be used as a date rape drug by surreptitiously slipping into drinks to facilitate sexual assaults.
  • GHB was classified as a dangerous drug under Schedule I of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (CAP 134).

    • Special reminder: Don't mix GHB with alcohol or ketamine! This will cause problems with breathing and greatly increase depressant effects, which ultimately lead to death.