Drug use, especially illicit drug use, can never be completely safe.
Any time a person takes a drug they face some level of risk. These risks are determined by many different factors, and vary depending on the individual and the drug. It is difficult to know exactly how a particular drug will effect a persons life.
This section discusses the potential risks of using drugs, and where possible, offers methods of limiting these risks. Keep in mind that, as with any risky activity, avoiding the activity is the only way to avoid the harms altogether. Being curious about drugs is pretty natural, but choosing to do drugs at a young age can result in problems during the years when your body and your mind are developing the most. Even choosing to avoid drugs until you are older and more able to deal with the responsibilities can be considered a sensible choice when it comes to drug use. However, if you do choose to use drugs now, please choose to use drugs sensibly. Using drugs is never totally safe, but you can take steps to make it safer. Knowing the risks associated with drug use can help you and your friends and family make smarter choices about drugs.
In this section you will find out about:
- Levels of Risk
- Legal Risks
- Social Risks
- Drugs and Travel
- Tolerance, Physical Dependence, Withdrawal
- Physical Risks
- Choose to use? Choose to know.
For a more detailed look at the risks associated with specific drugs, and for tips on how to control those risks, see the Drug Facts section.
There are many variables which can affect the level of risk when using drugs, which include:
- The drug itself
- The quantity taken
- The potency of the drug
- Any other drugs taken (legal or illegal)
- A person's health
- A person's body
- A person's mental state
- A person's expectation of the drug
- Where/how the drugs were obtained
- How the drugs were taken (snorted, smoked, inhaled, injected, ingested)
These variables mean that even if a person has used a drug many times before, it is difficult to know for sure what the effects will be the next time they use the drug. Similarly, you and a friend could take the same amount of the same drug with very different effects. If you choose to use drugs, it is important to educate yourself about the drug or drugs you are taking, and to know your body and its limits.
Most drugs are either illegal or strictly regulated (usually with age restrictions, such as with alcohol and tobacco) in Canada. Using, possessing or selling these drugs can result in heavy legal consequences, ranging from fines to imprisonment and a criminal record that can haunt you for the rest of your life. Even if you don't believe a drug should be illegal, while the current laws exist, it is your responsibility to be aware of them and to make sensible decisions about them. Using any drug illegally (this includes drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco while you are underage, or providing them to someone who is underage) CAN result in legal problems that you should be aware of.
Think the laws don't apply to you? Young people under the age of 18 who commit offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act can be arrested and charged, and could get a criminal record, under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The best way to avoid the legal troubles associated with illicit substances is to not buy them at all.
The use of drugs can often lower a person's inhibitions, sometimes leading them to make choices they otherwise wouldn't have made, such as engaging in unsafe sex, driving under the influence, being a passenger in a car with a driver under the influence, getting in fights and taking other drugs or larger quantities of drugs than they normally would have.
To avoid making bad decisions, you should know your personal limits when it comes to drug use and try to stay within them. It is also a good idea to prepare yourself by going through steps you could take to avoid bad situations, or to deal with bad situations if you have already encountered them.
Some people who use drugs can experience personal problems as a result of their drug use, such as withdrawing from friends and family, neglecting school work/extracurricular activities/sports etc. and experiencing depression or other mental health problems. Sometimes drugs can take over a person's life, especially when they stop paying attention to their drug use behaviours. If you choose to use drugs, it is important to maintain control of your drug use and to take steps to avoid the negative social behaviours often associated with drug use.
Each country has its own drug laws; some are more lenient than Canadian laws, but most are harsher. Being Canadian doesn't exempt you from local laws. If you break the law in another country, you are subject to that country's judicial system. It is your responsibility to know the laws in the country you are travelling. If you choose to break the law, you will likely have to face the consequences, which can be a lot scarier in some countries than in others. In some countries, you can be charged for being with a person suspected of a crime. When travelling, use common sense.
Choose your travelling companions wisely. Do not pick up hitchhikers, and never cross an international border with someone you don't know and trust. Although you may not be carrying anything illegal, you could be implicated by association if your companions are. And as the driver of a vehicle, you could be held responsible for your passengers' misdeeds, even if you knew nothing about them.
Tolerance, Physical Dependence and Withdrawal
There are many drugs which, with regular use can cause physical changes in your body, causing a physical dependence. When a person experiences a physical dependence, their body reacts physically (headache, shivers, vomiting) when the drug is not present. These are withdrawal symptoms. The body has become used to the presence of the drug and is set off when the dose of that drug is decreased or stopped. The nature and severity of the withdrawal symptoms varies depending on the drug, the dose of the drug, how often the drug is used and how long the drug has been used for.
Another physical effect of regular drug use is an increase in a person’s tolerance to that drug. Tolerance occurs when more of a drug is needed to produce the same desired effect. This effect is also due to physical changes in the brain.
An increased tolerance is dangerous because the person is using more of the drug and therefore exposing themselves to more of the health and safety harms associated with that drug. It is also expensive, with the person needing to buy more of the drug to satisfy their desire.
- Overdose - An overdose is an excessive or toxic dose of a drug. If it is left untreated, it may lead to death. Different batches and strains of the same drug can have different toxicity levels, so while a certain amount of one batch might provide the effects you are seeking, the same amount of another batch could prove deadly. Because illicit drugs are unregulated, you can’t know exactly what is in them, so the risks of overdose go up.
- Psychological Dependence - Psychological dependence is characterized by a strong craving for the effects of a drug and a compulsion to use it, and is a possible effect of drug use, especially if a drug is used regularly. People with a psychological dependence on drugs often find that the drug gains more and more importance, while other things in their life, such as family, school, sports, extracurricular activities and friends, become less important to them.
If you have decided to to buy or use drugs, here are some guidelines to reduce your personal harm.
- Educate Yourself! Before buying or using any drug, do everything you can to learn about it. Use websites like this one to your advantage, talk to someone you trust, call a hotline. Do whatever you can to make sure that the choice to use drugs is an educated one, and that your experience with drugs is as safe as possible. (To remind you one more time: The safest way to do drugs is not to do them at all!)
- Don’t buy from strangers. Without some kind of background info, you could be dealing with an undercover cop or a rip-off artist with a pocket full of harmful chemicals.
- Talk to your drug dealer and ask them about the drug you are buying. You can’t guarantee the same experience, but it can give you a better idea of the likely effects. Keep in mind that some drug dealers might still say anything to guarantee a sale (especially if they are unreliable or don’t know you).
- Do not buy for friends.
- Moderate your dose. Do not take the drugs all at once. You probably don’t know exactly what’s in it. Try a small quantity first and give it some time, to help you get an idea of the effect it has on you.
- Consider getting a 'drug-testing kit' which can be used to test certain drugs to give you a more accurate reading of its contents.
- Look for websites that provide lab test results for certain street drugs. It may have a more detailed description of the specific drug(s) you are planning to take.
- Moderate your consumption and check your drug-taking behaviour often to control or limit the social, legal, physical and psychological risks associated with drug use.
- Avoid combining drugs. Combining different substances (especially mixing with alcohol) can lead to great harm. When some drugs combine, they form completely new and more toxic drugs inside your body (like alcohol and cocaine). Combining drugs can also lead to a ‘cancelling out’ effect, where the person doesn’t feel the full effects of either substance, which causes them to consume more in compensation. Even legal drugs can have negative complications with illegal drugs. Especially if you are on strong medications, ask your doctor before you take other substances.
- Check out the many resources in the Get Help section!
