Unfortunately, there’s a long list of drugs that many often abuse. From notorious street drugs to prescription medication in your local pharmacy, no matter what it is, there is a person out there who is battling substance abuse.
With that said, it pays to be aware of the different types of drugs and the adverse effects they have on a person’s physical, mental, and emotional health.
In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into the most dangerous drugs and learn more about their side effects. However, if you know someone dealing with addiction issues, it’s best to browse through a treatment finder and provide assistance to help them recover.
The Ultimate List of the Most Dangerous Drugs
1. Alcohol
Sadly, alcohol is one of the worst drugs on the list, and unfortunately, one of the easiest ones to get a hold of. Because of this, it has slipped under the radar because of the total normalization of its consumption. According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), there is an estimate that nine in every ten adult Americans consume alcohol at one point in their lives.
When it comes to side effects, the long- and short-term side effects include mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, increased risk of cancer, learning problems, physical health problems, like high blood, stroke, heart disease, pregnancy-related issues, and more.
2. Tobacco
Not too far from the consumption rate of alcohol is tobacco—the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death. It is said that 40 million adult Americans smoke and have killed 500,000 people annually. It slashes the life expectancy of a person to 10 years. Besides that, treatment for smoking side effects reaches $170 billion in healthcare, leading 16 million people to deal with tobacco-related serious illnesses.
Just looking at the figures above can already tell you that tobacco is considered one of the worst drugs in the country. Despite tobacco being legal to consume in the country, it is a highly addictive substance responsible for health problems.
Sadly, people who don’t smoke can also get affected by secondhand smoking and are at risk of getting health problems like lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, and coronary heart disease.
3. Methamphetamines (Meth)
Classified as a synthetic stimulant and taken orally, injected, smoked, or snorted, meth is one of the most sought-after drugs due to its euphoric effects of energy and heightened alertness. As for the number of people requiring medical attention due to the drug, meth ranks as one of the highest.
Some of the short-term effects of meth include irritability, agitation, faster breathing, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, and increased body temperature. As for long-term effects include dental issues, skin sores, insomnia, mood changes, brain damage, kidney/liver/lung damage, and even death.
4. Fentanyl
Fentanyl was originally made to help treat patients experiencing pain as it alters how the body responds and perceives pain. That’s why this is often prescribed to patients experiencing chronic pain when other pain reliever alternatives fail. But because of this, it has also become one of the most popular recreational drugs.
Fentanyl, according to the CDC, is responsible for the ongoing opioid epidemic in America. With that said, Fentanyl overdose is highly likely and could lead to life-threatening symptoms, such as slow and no breathing.
5. Heroin
Known for its highly addictive nature and rapidly acting properties, Heroin produces a wave of euphoria when smoked, snorted, or injected.
When you abuse Heroin, you experience symptoms such as respiratory depression, drowsiness, constricted pupils, dry mouth, and nausea. When a user experiences an overdose, they may experience shallow breathing, blue lips and fingernails, coma, clammy skin, and even death.
6. Oxycodone
Oxycodon goes by several street names, including Oxy, Perc, Ox, Hillbilly Heroin, or Kicker. Usually, this drug is abused orally or intravenously by users because of its relaxation and euphoric effects.
This drug leads to various side effects, such as respiratory depression, papillary constriction, pain relief, sedation, slow heart rate, confusion, clammy skin, liver damage, and more.
7. Cocaine
Cocaine is one of the most easily accessed drugs in the US and has used some ingredients from the early versions of Coca-Cola. Because of its popularity, it has garnered several street names, such as crack, blow, flake, coke, and more.
When you abuse cocaine for too long, a person may experience long-term side effects like organ failure, depression, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, and more. And since it’s highly addictive, it also provides a higher risk of overdose, which often leads to death.
8. Morphine
One in every four patients uses Morphine for pain management, but because many misuses and abuse this drug, it is easily one of the worst drugs on the list. Although licensed and qualified doctors prescribe morphine to treat chronic pain, they need to follow some guidelines to help minimize the risk of developing a dependency.
Morphine was often used to treat pain, but when abused, the long-term effects include immune issues, sexual dysfunction, increased blood sugar, weight loss, chronic constipation, poor appetite, and other withdrawal symptoms.
9. Benzodiazepines
Many people abuse benzodiazepines or anti-anxiety medication; these people are often at risk of tremendous side effects, including slowed heart rate, difficulty breathing, body weakness, shakiness, drowsiness, slurred speech, coma, and more. With that said, one may also experience severe side effects when combined with other substances, such as alcohol, narcotics, and more.
10. Xanax
To top off the list of America’s most dangerous drugs, Xanax is right up there. Xanax or alprazolam is made to help ease anxiety. When you have anxiety, you have trouble getting into a more relaxed state. With that, 20 percent of people who struggle with anxiety also deal with a substance disorder.
Today, there have been 4,237-related deaths in 2014, and this number had significantly risen to 6,209 in 2016. With that, some deaths have been noted to have a mixture of substances, such as Heroin, Fentanyl, and Oxycodone.
As for side effects, Xanax users will experience confusion, decreased heart rate, and even coma.
The Bottom Line: It Pays to Know the Most Dangerous Drugs in America
Sadly, there has been a constant rise in drug abuse in America, and with that, many of those who are addicted to a substance often misuse those that are included in this list. With that said, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the various drugs available and the different side effects one may experience due to misuse and abuse.
If you know anyone dealing with substance abuse and requires medical assistance, it’s best to browse through a treatment finder and find the best option to help them recover. There’s no doubt that the road to recovery is difficult, but providing support through this turbulent time is often all they need to get through and reach sobriety.
Source: https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/commonly-used-drugs-charts