Download Our work in prevention

Session 3
Effects of ATS Use
Preventing Amphetamine-Type-Stimulant
(ATS) Use Among Young People
A UNODC Training Workshop
Challenges in researching
the effects of ATS
 ATS often contain other substances.
 ATS users use other substances
concurrently.
 The lifestyle associated with use may
contribute to some of the effects, not
just the drug alone.
Preventing ATS use among youth
A UNODC Training Workshop
Immediate and short term
effects of meth/amphetamine
 Sought after effects are similar to that of cocaine,
but cheaper and longer lasting.
 Methamphetamine is more quickly and fully
absorbed by the brain than amphetamine, therefore
the effects are stronger.
 Short term negative effects:
 State of agitation that can lead to violence;
 Inability to sleep, hallucinations;
 Weight loss (women might see it as a desirable
effect);
 Paranoia and aggression.
 Overdose can happen but is rare.
Preventing ATS use among youth
A UNODC Training Workshop
Effects of longer term
meth/amphetamine use (1)
 High potential for addiction and
dependence, especially methamphetamine.
 Amphetamine psychosis:
 Violent tendencies usually linked to psychotic
episodes; Violence, accidental or otherwise, is
the leading cause of amphetamine related
deaths;
 Usually ends on stopping use.
 Malnourishment.
Preventing ATS use among youth
A UNODC Training Workshop
Effects of longer term
meth/amphetamine use (2)
 Depression, cognitive and memory problems:
 Abstract thought, verbal competency, ability to learn
and retain new information.
 Sexual dysfunction:
 Rough sex > risk of bleeding and STIs;
 Inability to achieve or maintain erection.
 High rates of HIV among injecting users:
 Because of needle sharing, increased no. of partners,
increased no. of unprotected sex.
 Physical damage:
 Dental erosion, skin lesions
 Damage to heart, lungs and brain.
Preventing ATS use among youth
A UNODC Training Workshop
Short term effects of ecstasy use
 Sought after effects reported by users are positive
changes in feelings, enhanced communication,
empathy, pleasure in touching.
 However, especially in higher doses, use can
produce distortion in perception, thinking and
memory.
 Serotonine syndrome can result in extreme rise in
body temperature, as serotonin regulates
temperature.
 Some individual appear to have particular
vulnerability to toxic effects of ecstasy.
Preventing ATS use among youth
A UNODC Training Workshop
Effects of longer term ecstasy use
 Hangover characterised by depression,
fatigue, dehydration and difficulties in
concentrating.
 Weight loss, kidney & liver damage.
 Impairment in short term memory:
 Not clear if it reverses stopping use or not.
 Depression, panic attacks, paranoia.
 Dependence:
 A proportion of heavy ecstasy users show
evidence of dependence according to diagnostic
criteria.
Preventing ATS use among youth
A UNODC Training Workshop
Effects of methyphenidate use
 Higher doses and chronic use result in
effects similar to those of
meth/amphetamine
Preventing ATS use among youth
A UNODC Training Workshop
The drug, the person and the
context
 The effects and the level of risk that a person is
taking depends on three aspects of the situation
that will vary with each occasion:
 The substance
 What is it? In which dose is it taken? How? Are other
substances being taken concurrently?
 The person
 The physical and mental condition of the person
taking the substance, his/her expectations and past
experiences.
 The context
 Physical and social setting in which the substance is
taken, including interpersonal atmosphere and group
expectations.
Preventing ATS use among youth
A UNODC Training Workshop