National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

[cruelaegol]

Drug Aware is a program that targets young people with messages about illicit drug use that focus on the prevention of use and associated harm. The 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey reported that in Western Australia alcohol and tobacco were more commonly used than any illicit drug in the last 12 months.

Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, absorption via a patch on the skin, suppository, or dissolution under the tongue. A drug is any substance (with the exception of food and water) which, when taken into the body, alters the body’s function either physically and/or psychologically. Drugs may be legal (e.g. alcohol, caffeine and tobacco) or illegal (e.g. cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin). Psychoactive drugs affect the central nervous system and alter a person's mood, thinking and behaviour. Psychoactive drugs may be divided into four categories: depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens and 'other'. The effects of drugs will vary from person to person depending on the persons characteristics (such as physical size, gender, mood, diet, fitness, age, expectations and health), the drug itself (such as the amount used and its purity), and how it is taken and the environment a person is in when using the drug. Some people become depressed, angry, aggressive, sleepy, unmotivated, paranoid, anxious or talkative. Drug use can also lead to social and emotional problems and negative effects on relationships with family and friends. There is a common misconception that Ice is the more pure form; this stems from the principal that more pure chemicals form larger crystals. This doesn’t match with what Perth Laboratories see coming through the lab. In terms of the percentages, in recent Perth laboratory testing, the average purity of methamphetamine that is analysed is approximately 65%. Whether it is in crystal form or powder form is more dependent on how the drug is manufactured rather than its purity. Therefore, the appearance of the drug has very little correlation with the purity.


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