Drug of the Week

Week Six: "Pharm Parties"

For this week, we decided to discuss the topic of "Pharm Parties." Having never been to one, neither one of us have much experience with what actually takes place. But, we thought we would give some advice based on what we know and note some information most people probably do not think about at these parties.

Be careful when taking random prescription medications and throwing them all in one bowl. This will most likely create side effects no one would want to experience.

For example, a drug called Flagyl (an antibiotic) can cause someone to become violently ill and vomit if taken even 3 days before drinking alcohol.

Other antibiotics, such as amoxicillin, can decrease the effectiveness of birth control. So, if a girl takes a handful of pills with any of these in there, her birth control is pretty much worthless and she should seek alternate forms of contraception.

Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan, and other related drugs with depressant effects can cause extreme sedation when mixed with alcohol.

There are a lot of medications out there, and NUMEROUS medications interact with each other and can cause very harmful side effects and even death when taken together.

Before you bring that pill to your mouth, think for a second and understand that not every drug works the same way, and before you know how that one works, do not use it!

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Week Five: Tylenol

Tylenol has a particularly narrow window of safety for an over-the-counter drug.

OTC Tylenol (acetaminophen) comes as:
325mg: regular strength
500mg: extra strenth
650mg: maximum strength (Tylenol Arthritis)

The max daily dose for Tylenol is 4 grams- or 4000 mg. Anything over that has potential to produce toxic levels and overdose symptoms (and has been reported at slightly above 4000mg).

Let's say you suffer from horrible pain one day. I know that the regular strength bottle says 1-2 tablets every 4-6 hours, so you take 2 tablets roughly every 3 hours for the entire day (it's close to four...right?). You wake up at 8am and go to sleep at 10pm. For that day, you took 325mg x 2 tablets= 650mg every three hours for 14 hours for a total of 3033 mg that day.

The next day, you're in the same boat. Since you did fine with two, you decide to take three tablets instead. You're still taking a dose every 3 hours instead of four, so for that day, you take 325mg x 3 tablets = 975mg every 3 hours for 14 hours that day...that's a total of 4,550mg...550mg over the maximum daily dose and in danger of toxicity.

Once again, let's even say the next day you do all the same things except you buy Tylenol Extra Strength and don't read the bottle instructions. Now, you're taking 500mg x 3 tablets = 1500mg every 3 hours for 14 hours for a total of 7000mg that day.

You land in the hospital 3 days after that.

Pay attention to all label instructions, and don't mix Tylenol with alcohol- it can lower the amount needed to produce an overdose. Pick something else for your morning after hangovers.

For those who are taking prescription drugs for pain, such as Vicodin, Lortab, Norco, Ultracet, and some migraine medications, keep in mind that Tylenol (acetaminophen) exists in ALL of these medications along with hydrocodone, caffeine, etc. So, if anyone is taking any of these, talk to a doctor or pharmacist before taking Tylenol with them!

Something to think about.

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Week Four: Cocaine

Even though cocaine is not an extremely popular drug in this area, we felt like we would highlight a few basic points in case anyone was to ever run across it.

Cocaine is a local anesthetic, which means it can numb certain areas of the body. If you have ever noticed police officers on television putting an unknown drug in their mouth, this is what they are trying to find. They do not actually taste the drug, they are just seeing if it will numb their tongue to decipher whether cocaine is present in the white powder or not.

Since cocaine has this effect, usually drug dealers will use other local anesthetics such as Benzocaine or Lidocaine to “cut in” with cocaine to make more money. They could also use any white powder to dilute the actual drug and spread it out further to sell it to more people. This is something drug users should think about since they could be buying a very weak version for a long time and begin to inject large amounts at once and then switch dealers to someone who makes pure cocaine and then have an overdose.

Cocaine’s effects leave the user after only 30 minutes. Therefore, the user will typically inject or snort more cocaine within the same hour to keep its effects lasting in the body. This can lead to large amounts of the drug remaining in the body at one time (potential for overdose) and can get extremely expensive. (To give you an idea, one gram of cocaine - about the size of a packet of sugar - can range from $20-$100 depending on the dealer.)

According to the material in our Drug Abuse Education course, 50% of cocaine users will become addicted. One half. That means if you and your friend start using cocaine, one of you will become addicted.

Something to think about.


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Week Three: Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine (commonly called Meth, Chalk, Crank, Glass, or Ice) has effects to the body that are very similar to cocaine.

Meth is actually MORE addictive than cocaine.

When someone uses Meth for extended periods of time, you will notice small red spots on their faces and arms (similar to pimples or bug bites). This occurs because while the user is on this drug, they become obsessed with scratching and picking at themselves.

Surprisingly enough, the infamous "Meth mouth" is not due to the drug itself as much as you would think. What causes the teeth to become so damaged and waste away is because Meth causes the user to grind their teeth uncontrollably while on the drug. It also causes the mouth to be very dry, which most drug users will compensate for the dryness by consuming soft drinks, coffee, and other foods with high sugar that lead to more damage of their teeth.

Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) is one of the active ingredients in methamphetamine that cannot be replaced. This is why Sudafed is sold behind the counter at pharmacies and a driver's license MUST be shown to be able to purchase it. Pharmacies are able to keep a list of all of these purchases and will present them to police officers when necessary.


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Week Two: Alcohol

Alcohol is one of the most accessible recreational drugs out there. It’s all over high schools, colleges, and generally socially acceptable. But just because it is legal for adults and desired by teenagers doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with negative effects. Ethanol, the chemical compound in alcoholic drinks, is a drug like any other and it causes changes in your body that can be fatal in large doses.