Crank, yaba, bud, black tar, ace, mellow yellow, mud, junk, horse and hubbas. Sound familier?

These are just a few of the strange nicknames used to identify common street drugs. These drugs are marketed to young adults, usually high school and college students, by drug dealers looking to hook young users for huge profits. With so many students entering college under the legal drinking age, these street drugs are making quite an impact on young people looking to have fun on a Friday night. No fake ID required and no flask to hide. Unfortunately, these drugs have serious side affects, high risks of addiction and can do irreversible damage to your body.

Top five street drugs on the market

Pharmaceuticals/Prescription Medications:
A 2008 study showed that teens identified prescription drugs as the second most accessible drug after marijuana. Since most of these drugs are FDA approved, many people consider them to be “safe drugs”. The risk for addiction to prescription drugs are the same as for illegal drugs and the consequences can be just as severe.

What drugs are being used?
- Medications used to treat severe physical pain (such as Percocet or Vicodin) are used for their euphoric, sedating and numbing effects.
- Medications used to treat depression (such as Vallium or Xanax) are used for their sedating effects.
- Medications used as stimulants (such as Ritalin or Meridia) are used for their energizing and euphoric effects.

Using pharmaceuticals puts you at risk for severe addiction, withdrawal symptoms, paranoia, cardiovascular failure and seizures.

Inhalants
Inhalants are everywhere in your home. Users have found a way to sniff or “huff” everything from lighter fluid to nail polish remover. Their easy accessibility and low cost have made using inhalants very popular amongst underage partiers and students with low income. Studies show that for many kids, using inhalants is their first experience with substance abuse.

Inhalants create an immediate head rush or high and can be used by sniffing an open container or holding a chemical soaked rag to your face. Common products include: aerosols, plastic cement, hair spray, insecticides and cleaning products.

Entry into the brain is so fast that the effects of inhalation can equal the intensity of intravenous injections.

Using inhalants, even just once, can put your life at risk. You can experience sudden death from cardiac arrest, suffocation if you use a bag while inhaling or asphyxia if the chemicals used significantly decreases your oxygen supply. Other affects include hallucinations, loss of muscle control, liver, lung and kidney impairment.

MDMA (Ecstasy)
At one time, Ecstasy use was confined to large metropolitan areas, but has now expanded to smaller communities. In 1997, US customs seized 400,000 Ecstasy tablets. In 2001, just four years later, they seized 7.2 million.

These party drugs are taken orally, usually as a pill or a capsule, and are often stamped with icons and logos to appeal to teenagers and young adults. It's marketed as a feel good drug, nicknamed the “hug drug” for its effects, which include the elimination of anxiety, profound positive feelings and extreme relaxation. These effects can last for four-to-six hours.

Ecstasy can suppress the need or desire to eat, drink or sleep, enabling kids to endure all night parties or raves. Ecstasy increases your heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. It can cause blurred vision, confusion and paranoia. Large doses or long-term use can cause kidney failure, cardiovascular system failure, liver damage, brain damage and paralysis.

Methamphetamine (Meth)
Methamphetamine is a powerful chemical that stimulates certain systems of the brain. Though it has some medical uses, mostly in the treatment of obesity, it is widely used as a very addictive, very dangerous recreational drug.

Meth is sold in ice, powder and tablet form. A meth tablet is most commonly used in clubs and raves. The tablets can be made in various flavours (grape, orange and vanilla) and assorted colours. These “candy” drugs are marketed to young adults, particularly at all-age parties and events where under-age drinking is strictly prohibited.

Methamphetamine use can create increased wakefulness, decreased appetite, euphoria, insomnia, confusion, paranoia, convulsions and even death.

Marijuana
Although our laws in Canada are more lenient than in other countries, like the United States, Marijuana is still the most widely used illegal substance in the world.

A 2008 poll found that just over half of Canadians support the legalization of pot, however, it is still illegal to sell or buy marijuana in this country, unless you are authorized under medicinal laws.

The majority of marijuana is smoked in the form of a joint or through the use of a pipe or a bong. Joints can be laced with a number of other substances such as PCP, cocaine and even embalming fluid.

Marijuana use can cause impaired memory, coordination and judgment, increased heart rate, paranoia and anxiety.