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Alcohol and Drug Facts

Alcohol 

According to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in both animal and human studies, alcohol more than any other drug, has been linked with a high incidence of violence and aggression.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that alcohol is a key factor in up to 68 percent of manslaughters, 62 percent of assaults, 54 percent of murders/attempted murders, 48 percent of robberies and 44 percent of burglaries.

Tobacco 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report indicates that in 1996, more than 1.851 million Americans became daily smokers, of which an estimated 1.226 million (66.2 percent) were under the age of 18 years. The study estimated that more than 6,000 persons under the age of 18 years try their first cigarette each day.

Marijuana

Marijuana contains many of the same carcinogens as tobacco, but in higher concentrations.

Marijuana also contains Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive chemical that affects people physically and psychologically, increasing the heart rate, elevating blood pressure, distorting perception, impairing vision and hearing and causing feelings of depression, anxiety and paranoia.

Cocaine

In 1997, an estimated 1.5 million Americans aged 12 and older were chronic cocaine users, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) notes that adults 18 to 25 years old have a higher rate of current cocaine use than those in any other group.  Overall, men have a higher rate of cocaine use than do women.

Use of cocaine in a binge, during which the drug is taken repeatedly and at increasingly high doses, leads to a state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This may result in a full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the individual loses touch with reality and experiences auditory hallucinations.

There are enormous medical complications associated with cocaine use. Some of the most frequent complications are cardiovascular effects, including disturbances in heart rhythm and heart attacks; such respiratory effects as chest pain and respiratory failure; neurological effects, including strokes, seizure, and headaches; and gastrointestinal complications, including abdominal pain and nausea.