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Drug Guide

A comprehensive and up-to-date source of substance-specific information.

Vaping & e-Cigarettes

It’s one of the fastest-growing trends among today’s teens, but vaping is far from safe. Parents: learn more to keep your family informed and healthy.

Fentanyl & Other Synthetic Opioids

Fentanyl and similar compounds like carfentanil are powerful synthetic opioids 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

Ecstasy (MDMA)

MDMA or Ecstasy (3-4-methylenedioxymethampheta-mine), is a synthetic, psychoactive drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties.

Prescription Stimulants

Speed, Uppers, Addies — Stimulants were used historically to treat a variety of ailments, before their potential for abuse and addiction became apparent.

Opium

Opium is a narcotic made from the white liquid in the poppy plant. It shares many of the same characteristics and risks as other opioids like heroin.

Hallucinogenic Mushrooms

Caps, Magic Mushrooms, Shrooms -- Psilocybin and psilocyn are the hallucinogenic compounds contained in certain mushrooms.

Methcathinone

Methcathinone is a stimulant that is a structural analogue of methamphetamine. It is illegally manufactured from readily available chemicals.

Methamphetamine (Meth)

In its illicit form, meth is a crystal-like powdered substance that sometimes comes in large rock-like chunks -- inspiring many of its slang terms.

Kratom

Kratom is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia, with leaves that contain psychoactive (mind-altering) opioid compounds.

Khat

Khat is a stimulant made up of fresh leaves of the Catha edulis shrub found in East Africa and southern Arabia. It contains a variety of chemicals.

Heroin

Heroin is a highly addictive drug derived from morphine, which is obtained from opium poppy plants — otherwise known as an opioid.

Cocaine

Cocaine is a drug extracted from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a potent brain stimulant and one of the most powerfully addictive drugs.

2C-B / 2C-T-7

These “club drugs” are psychoactive or hallucinogenic compounds similar to mescaline.

Marijuana

Find everything you need to know about marijuana and addressing its use with your teen or young adult.

LSD

LSD (D-lysergic acid diethylamide) is the most common hallucinogen, a group of drugs that alter awareness of perception, thoughts and feelings.

Ketamine

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic (causes a person to feel detached from reality) used in human anesthesia and veterinary medicine.

K2 or Spice (synthetic marijuana)

K2 is a mixture of herbs, spices or shredded plant material that is sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids chemically similar to THC.

Inhalants

Inhalants are ordinary household products that are inhaled or sniffed to get high. Hundreds of products can be misused as inhalants.

Herbal Ecstasy

Herbal Ecstasy is a term used to describe a combination of herbs that are legal, inexpensive, and marketed as a “natural high.”

Hashish

Hashish is made from the resin (a secreted gum) of the cannabis plant. It is rich in THC, the main mind-altering substance found in the cannabis plant.

GHB

GHB (Gamma hydroxybutyrate) is predominantly a central nervous system depressant often manufactured recipes and kits found and purchased on the Internet.

Flakka (Alpha-PVP)

Flakka is the street name for a synthetic cathinone that is chemically similar to other synthetic drugs known as “Bath Salts.”

Dextromethorphan (DXM)

Dextromethorphan (DXM) is a cough-suppressing ingredient found in a variety of over-the-counter cold and cough medications which are susceptible to misuse.

DOM / DOB / MDA

These so-called “designer drugs” are stimulants similar to MDMA or Ecstasy. They are produced illegally and the dosage and quality varies considerably.

DMT

Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a hallucinogenic tryptamine. It is found in a variety of plants and seeds, and can also be produced synthetically.
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