Learn all about stimulants

1. Stimulants
Allison Okeley

2. History of Stimulants
According to therapistunlimited.com, “ in the
past stimulants were used to treat obesity,
respiratory problems, neurological disorder,
asthma, and various other diseases. The health
use of stimulants began to diminish as their
latent for misuse and abuse became obvious.”

3. How can stimulants be administered to the body?
Accoring to drugfreeworld.org “ When abused
they (stimulants) are swallowed, injected in
liquid form, or crushed and snorted.”

4. Street names for stimulants
● Skippy
● R-ball
● Bennies
● Speed
● Uppers

5. Classification of stimulants
Stimulants are classified into two categories:
legal and illegal.
Legal stimulants include caffeine and nicotine.
Illegal stimulants include cocaine and crack
cocaine.

6. Common chemicals in Stimulants
Stimulants contain psychoactive chemicals.
According to erowid.org, “ psychoactive
chemicals are chemicals which have mind or
emotion altering properties.”

7. Harmful effects
● Physical: Stimulants can produce extended wakefulness
and loss of appetite. As the dose gets higher, the effects
get worse. Dizziness, headache and vomiting may also
occur.
● Mental: According to getsmarteraboutdrugs.com,
“chronic, high-dose use is frequently associated with
agitation, hostility, panic, aggression, and suicidal or
homicidal tendencies.”

8. More Harmful Effects
● Social: When you do not take the drug for an
amount of time, you can “crash.” This could
happen anytime, anywhere.
● Legal: There are some illegal stimulants. To
make sure that this is avoided as much as
possible, when people buy a drug they must
sing their name, signature, address, date
and time of sale.

9. Short and Long Term Effects
● The short term effect of stimulants is often called the
down that follows the up. This is an immediate and
lasting exhaustion that causes the user to use
stimulants again.
● Over a long period of time stimulants become addictive.
High doses over a short period of time can lead to
dangerously high body temperature and irregular
heartbeat.

10. Effects on your Body Systems
Stimulants have their main effect on the central nervous
system; that is where stimulants exert their action.
Stimulants affect your circulatory system because they
cause an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.
Stimulants affect your digestive because they may cause
loss of appetite.
Stimulants affect your respiratory system because some,
such as caffeine, can alter your breath rate, which can be a
concern for people with lung disorder.

11. Medical Uses
Stimulants can be used to treat attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy.
They can also be used to treat obesity.

12. Mixing Effects
When you mix alcohol and stimulants, you
increase, you almost double the amount of
alcohol you drink. Mixing alcohol and stimulants
crosses out the alcohol in the drink so people
do not feel like they have drank a lot. This can
lead alcohol poisoning which can cause death.

13. Effects on Family and Society
Using stimulants also impacts your family.
Using stimulants in a positive way can such as
to help with ADHD can make the whole process
of the disease easier for the whole family.
When people use stimulants for medical
reasons it makes society and everyday life just
a little bit easier for them.

14. Quiz
1. Stimulants are used to treat obesity False True
2. Caffeine is a type of stimulant. True False
3. A stimulant slows down your body functions. True False
4. Mixing alcohol and stimulants can lead to alcohol
poisoning. True False
5. A street name for stimulants is “downers”. True False

15. Works Cited
"DEA - Get Smart About Drugs - A Resource for Parents from the DEA." Get Smart About Drugs. Web. 13 July
2014.
"Erowid Psychoactive Chemical Vaults." Erowid Psychoactive Chemical Vaults. Web. 13 July 2014.
"Home." Web. 13 July 2014.
"What Are Stimulants? List of Stimulant Drugs & Their Side Effects - Drug-Free World." What Are Stimulants?
List of Stimulant Drugs & Their Side Effects - Drug-Free World. Web. 13 July 2014.