Crime Prevention : Safety Tips

Fact1 | Uppers | Downers | Hallucinogens | Fact 2 | Fact 3 | Fact 4

Drug Awareness

• FACT 1: DIFFERENT DRUGS CAUSE DIFFERENT FEELINGS AND PHYSICAL RESPONSES
  • Drugs such as dagga, heroin, Ecstasy, Mandrax, tik and cocaine are illegal.
  • Further, you could experience a very pleasant response to one drug, yet another drug could have a very frightening reaction B it could even kill you.
  • Like any business, the illicit drug industry is profit-driven. Therefore, drug dealers use a variety of substances to cut drugs.
  • Some of these substances may be more harmful than the drug itself.
  • The drug you are offered tomorrow may look the same as the drug you were offered yesterday, but you can never be certain of what it contains.
  • The only way to be sure that you do not ingest it is to avoid taking drugs in the first place!
  • Drugs can be swallowed (pills), smoked, inhaled or injected.
  • You can never anticipate the effect that drugs will have on you.
  • It is a mistake to think that experience increases your tolerance levels or that nothing will happen to you if you take a drug that you have used before.
  • It is a well-known fact that seasoned drug addicts often die of an overdose.
  • Drug addiction seduces you into wanting more and different and stronger drugs, against your will and the natural tolerance of your body.
  • No matter how good you may feel when using drugs, your body suffers. Drugs are dangerous.
  • If you take drugs, you are at great risk of becoming addicted.

  UPPERS
  (Cocaine, Ecstasy, Speed, Crack-Cocaine, Tik)

  • Uppers are designed to make you feel great. They make you feel alive, dynamic, and energized.
  • Depending on your personal response to the drug, you could, however, also feel anxious, nervous and paranoid. You could even die.
  • Uppers put a terrible strain on the heart. Long-term use destroys your nerves, takes away your appetite and causes sleeplessness.
  • You will end up taking a downer as your body suffers withdrawal symptoms when the drug wears off.
  • You will feel depressed and, sometimes, suicidal.

DOWNERS (Dagga, Heroin, Mandrax)

• Downers make you feel relaxed or laid back.
  • Unfortunately, you cannot control just how relaxed you will be.
  • Long-term use of downers causes lethargy and makes it harder for you to do the things you need to do as a functional member of society.
  • Schoolchildren and students who use these drugs find it hard to study or complete assignments, and relationships inevitably suffer.
  • Too much of a powerful downer like heroin, causes the systems of the body to shut down, eventually leading to death.\

HALLUCINOGENS (LSD, mescaline)

• These drugs cause powerful hallucinations or dreams in which your reality is changed.
• You cannot predict whether the dream will be enjoyable or be a hideous nightmare.
• A Abad trip@ can haunt you for the rest of your life, with flashbacks occurring at any time.

• FACT 2: DIFFERENT PEOPLE RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO THE SAME DRUGS
  • Drugs cause different reactions in different people.
  • Never take a drug based on someone else=s reported experience of using that drug.
  • Never persuade someone else to take a drug based on your own experience of using it.
     
• FACT 3: THE MORE DRUGS YOU TAKE, THE MORE YOU NEED.

• The first time you take a drug, you will probably experience an exhilarating high.
• As your body becomes used to the drug, you will need more and more of it to experience the same intense reaction.
• This increasing tolerance to a drug is actually a growing addiction.
• Addiction comes with a big price tag.
• The more drugs you want, the more money you need to Afeed the habit@.
• Drugs are expensive and their effect on you makes it unlikely that you will be able to earn enough money to afford them.
• Some drug addicts turn to crime and other high-risk behaviour.
• Many are arrested and go to prison.
• Others turn to prostitution and live tragic and tainted lives, and almost inevitably die young.
• Some people take drugs for a while and then manage to escape before they become addicts or before irreparable harm is done.
• It is not weak people who become drug addicts, its drug addicts who become weak people.
• No addict takes that first drug believing that he or she will become addicted.
• All addicts start out believing that they could give up drugs any time they wanted to.
• Every addict is sad proof of how wrong that belief is.

• FACT 4: LIFE IS TOUGH ENOUGH B DRUGS ONLY MAKE IT TOUGHER
  • When you feel that you cannot cope with life=s challenges, you may feel tempted to take a drug to make you feel vibrant and confident, or to change your sense of reality B even if only for a short while.
  • Instant gratification, a sense of peace, a wonderful trip, or a feeling of power B all these things you are promised by those who offer you drugs.
  • Such persons often describe the effects of drugs in glowing terms. But they do not tell you that you cannot control your response to a drug.
  • When you feel that you cannot cope with life=s challenges, you may feel tempted to take a drug to make you feel vibrant and confident, or to change your sense of reality B even if only for a short while.
  • Instant gratification, a sense of peace, a wonderful trip, or a feeling of power B all these things you are promised by those who offer you drugs.
  • Such persons often describe the effects of drugs in glowing terms. But they do not tell you that you cannot control your response to a drug.
  • The more you like a drug, the more you will want it and eventually you will become addicted.
  • When the drug wears off, reality will still be there with all the problems from which you were trying to escape.
  • Uppers make you need downers and a combination of the two can kill you.
  • Drugs let you lose control, which, in turn, makes you;
    • lose the ability to do certain things (for instance, to drive your car); and
      more vulnerable to sexual or physical assault.
  • However tempting it may be, using drugs to take a break from reality will not make your problems disappear or make life better.
  • If you feel that things are spiraling out of control and you are overwhelmed by problems, seek real help from someone who cares.
  • People who try to sell you drugs are not interested in your well-being.
  • You may already have used drugs and you may be scared of becoming addicted.
  • But remember: No matter how much trouble you think you will be in if you ask for help, you will be in worse trouble if you do not.
    
    SANCA is an organisation that has caring professionals who deal with drug abuse daily.
    
    
    Sniffing substances
    
    How is it made ?
    • Anhydrous nitrate
    • Ephedrine
    • Red Phosphorous
    • Lithium
    • Antifreeze
    • Lantern fuel

    Stages of a tik use:

    • Rush (20 to 40 minutes)
    • High (3 days)
    • Binge
    • Crash

    Short term effects:

    • Anxiousness and nervousness,
    • Incessant talking,
    • Extreme moodiness and irritability,
    • Purposeless, repetitious behavior, such as picking at skin or pulling out hair,
    • Sleep disturbances,
    • False sense of confidence and power;
    • aggressive or violent behavior.
    • Dilated pupil - stimulant intoxication.

    Longer term signs of abuse:

    • Disinterest in previously enjoyed activities; and severe depression.
    • Dry mouth, sores in and around the mouth.
    • Weight loss.
    • Irritability.
    • Temper outbursts,
    • Aggression.

    What are the medical complications ?

    • Rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat,
    • Increased blood pressure,
    • Convulsions,
    • Damaged blood vessels and skin abscesses,
    • Acute lead poisoning and
    • 50 % of the dopamine producing cells in the brain can be damaged.
    • Tik psychosis
    • Intense paranoia,
    • Confusion, anxiety,
    • Visual and auditory hallucinations,
    • Out-of-control rages and
    • Delusions

    Realities to prepare for if youre dealing with tik in your home:

    • Tik cravings are long lasting and repetitive,
    • Small valuables start disappearing,
    • As addiction progresses, aggression will set in and
    • Use of downers may follow.

    SANCA 24-HOUR HELPLINE 082 264 7000
    If you need help or if you know of someone else who does, you can phone the following help lines:

    • SANCA Aurora Alcohol & Drug Centre 051 447 7271
    • SANCA Durban Alcohol & Drug Centre 031 303 2202
    • SANCA Horizon Alcohol & Drug Centre 011 917 5015
    • SANCA Pretoria Alcohol & Drug Centre 012 542 1121
    • SANCA Sanpark Community Support Centre 018 462 4568
    • SANCA West Rand Alcohol & Drug Centre 011 472 7707

    THE DIVISIONAL COMMISSIONER
    VISIBLE POLICING
    PRIVATE BAG X 241
    PRETORIA
    0001
    
    Telephone number: 012 421 8000
    Fax number: 012 421 8110
     

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