THE DRUGS AND THEIR EFFECTS

CANNABIS

Also known as puff, grass, skunk, ganja, dope, pot, blow, weed, draw
and hash. The most widely-used illicit substance in Britain, usually
smoked in a hand-rolled cigarette with tobacco - known as a spliff or
joint - or eaten in cakes or cookies. Can come in blocks of brown to
black resin or in a herbal mix resembling dried grass. Users feel
relaxed and giggly, but the drug can also cause mild hallucinations,
paranoia, short-term memory loss and lack of concentration. The active
ingredient is THC, or tetra hydro cannabinol.

A Class B drug: maximum penalty of five years for possession, although
a caution is more likely for first offenders; maximum sentence for
supplying: 14 years and an unlimited fine.

Cost: around pounds 20 for a quarter ounce - enough for perhaps 20 or 30
spliffs.

Medical effects

Opinion is split: some say that it is harmless and should no longer be
illegal, others that it should be available for medical use. But most
medical experts accept that it can have dangerous side effects.

John Henry, professor of accident and emergency medicine at St Mary's
Hospital, Paddington, warns that some of the cannabis used today is up
to 10 times stronger than the cannabis that was smoked in the Sixties.

Extensive research has revealed that the drug affects almost every
system in the body. It slows reaction times, blocks the brain's memory
processes and - when used heavily - can cause drowsiness, confusion,
paranoid thinking and hallucinations. It has been linked with the
development of schizophrenia, though no one has yet conclusively
proved that it can cause the illness.

The British Medical Association says that smoking cannabis can, like
cigarette smoking, cause increased risk of heart disease, bronchitis,
emphysema and probably lung cancer.

Dr David Best, lecture research co-ordinator for the National
Addiction Centre, says there is reasonably clear evidence that it can
create a dependency. "As a consequence of that, it's perfectly
reasonable to assume that young people who are regular users and then
attempt to stop will experience adverse effects - deflated mood,
agitation, irritation."

ECSTASY

Also known as E, doves and echoes. Comes in tablets with various
logos, and also in capsules. Brands include White Lightning, Silver
Dollars, Apples, Playboys and the original Doves.

Half an hour after ecstasy is swallowed, users usually feel a rush of
euphoria, strong emotional empathy with others and a surge of energy -
hence the craze for using it in dance clubs. Regular users often find
they need to increase the dose to reproduce the original effect, and
may take two or three pills while out dancing.

The drug is supposed to contain MDMA - a synthesised chemical first
developed by German pharmacists as a slimming aid - but it is
increasingly cut with heroin, amphetamine and Ketamine - an animal
anaesthetic.

A Class A drug: possession can lead to a maximum of seven years in
prison; supply can result in a life sentence.

Cost: pounds 15 per tablet or capsule.

Medical effects

Dr Henry of St Mary's Hospital, a leading expert on ecstasy, warns
that the so-called dance drug causes surges in blood pressure and can
lead to strokes from bleeding into the brain.

Most deaths, however, have been linked to over-heating - the drug both
raises the body temperature and reduces the sensation of thirst.
Combined with excess exertion provoked by the drug, this can lead to
heatstroke and collapse, fits, abnormal blood clotting and kidney failure.

Cases of collapsed lung (pneumothorax) have been linked to ecstasy
use, and users can suffer from exercise-induced asthma. The drug also
causes damage to the liver, and sometimes liver failure.

Dr David Best of the National Addiction Centre, says: "There appears
to be some proportion of potential users who can suffer acute physical
effects. But the number who die appears to be relatively low, compared
with the amount of people who are estimated to use the drug each weekend."

Weekend ecstasy takers often suffer from "midweek blues", when they
feel washed out and depressed. A number of people who have taken the
drug have also developed paranoia, panic attacks and severe depression.

It is known that ecstasy damages serotonin nerve endings in the brain,
but no one yet knows for certain whether this nerve cell damage is a
direct cause of mental problems.

LSD

Also known as acid, tabs, trips, blotters. Lysergic acid diethylamide
was first developed in the 1940s and used by doctors and psychiatrists
in the treatment of mental illness, alcoholism and some terminal illnesses.

Comes in small squares of blotting paper, impregnated with chemicals,
which are swallowed to produce dramatically heightened visual and
aural awareness, including hallucinations. LSD effects can last for up
to 12 hours.

Class A: maximum sentence for possession is seven years in prison; for
supply, life.

Cost: up to pounds 5 each for one "trip".

Medical effects

The Institute for the Study of Drug Dependency says symptoms may
include losing emotional control, disorientation, dizziness, panic
attacks, depression and a persecution complex.

Some users have resorted to acts of extreme violence, under the
impression they are being attacked. Bad "trips" can lead to anxiety
attacks and acute paranoia, and those with underlying mental problems
may experience some form of psychosis induced by flashbacks. A user
who is already seriously depressed may commit suicide. The tabs - like
most street drugs - can also be adulterated with other dangerous substances.

Thomas Gibbons, from the National Drug Helpline, stresses that LSD is
not addictive but warns that "trips" can revisit users up to seven
years afterwards.

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

Liberty cap mushrooms picked in Britain and usually dried before being
swallowed raw, cooked in food such as omelettes, or brewed as a tea.
Produce good humour, and hallucinations similar to those experienced
on LSD.

Class A: a maximum seven-year sentence for possession of prepared,
dried or stewed mushrooms; maximum of life for supplying.

Cost: - they grow wild.

Medical effects

Magic mushrooms can cause stomach pains, sickness and diarrhoea. If a
user already has mental health problems, the hallucinogenic effects
can intensify these. The greatest danger, however, comes from picking
similar-looking poisonous mushrooms - in some cases, with fatal
consequences.

AMPHETAMINES

Also known as speed, billy, whizz, sulphate. Most commonly found in
powder form, which is usually dabbed on the tongue - like sherbet -
but sometimes snorted, smoked or injected. Can also come in tablets.

Users feel alert, awake, energetic, talkative, confident and generally
invincible. If amphetamines are smoked or injected, the rush happens
within five to 10 seconds; snorted, three to five minutes; and
swallowed, 15-20 minutes.

Class B drug, unless prepared for injection when it becomes Class A:
maximum sentence for possession is five years; for supplying, life.

Cost: between pounds 5 and pounds 10 per half gram.

Medical effects

According to the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependency, anxiety
and paranoia are the most common mental effects. Users can feel edgy
and anxious and become extremely talkative. Heavy long-term use may
increase the risk of heart problems. Can lead to mental illness.
Amphetamines can also inhibit growth and development in young children.

AMYL NITRATE

Also known as poppers. Product names include Ram, Thrust, Rock Hard,
Kix. Comes in bottles or small glass vials which are "popped" open and
sniffed. Causes a sudden rush of blood to the brain, speeding the
heart and giving users a feeling of exhilaration. Popular among gay
men, the drug is also used by some clubbers with ecstasy. Sold in
clubs, joke and sex shops.

Possession is not illegal but supply can be an offence, with a maximum
five-year prison sentence.

Cost: pounds 4 a bottle.

Medical effects

The Health Education Authority warns that using poppers can cause
headaches, sickness and skin problems. The dangers increase for those
suffering from anaemia, glaucoma and breathing or heart problems.

COCAINE

Also known as Charlie, coke, C, snow, marching powder. A white powder
usually snorted in lines, using a rolled-up bank note or piece of paper.

Inspires overwhelming confidence and a feeling of wellbeing. Effects
are strong and fade quite quickly. Can be cut with caffeine or glucose
powder.

Class A: maximum sentence for possession is seven years; for
supplying, life.

Cost: between pounds 50 and pounds 70 a gram for up to 10 lines.

CRACK

Cocaine in rock form, which has been "cooked" with baking powder.
Smoked through a pipe to give an intense, but very short-lived,
feeling of omnipotence. Terrifyingly addictive and very expensive.

Class A: same penalties as for cocaine (see above).

Cost: around pounds 25 per rock. Addicts have been known to "pipe"
thousands of pounds-worth a day.

Medical effects (cocaine and crack)

Too much snorting can damage the inner lining of the nose. Regular use
also increases tolerance, so the user begins to take increasing
amounts to achieve the hit. Mood swings and depression can persist for
days after use.

Users have been known to suffer from asthma and collapsed lungs,
according to Professor John Henry. The drugs can also cause
disturbances in the rhythm of the heart, high blood pressure,
collapse, dehydration and a dramatically increased risk of heart
attacks - recent research suggests a user is 26 times more likely to
suffer an attack after taking cocaine.

Not all experts agree that cocaine is highly addictive, but crack is
generally thought to create a high dependency.

HEROIN

Gear, harry, horse, skag, smack, H, now remarketed as brown. Powder
derived from opium poppy, commonly smoked, inhaled or injected.
Produces feelings of bliss, warmth and comfort as users withdraw into
catatonic state. Withdrawal symptoms, which can last for up to two
weeks, are severe: extreme flu-like symptoms, violent vomiting, the
sweats, constipation followed by diarrhoea and deep pain in the limbs.

Class A: maximum sentence for possession, seven years in prison; for
supplying, life.

Cost: about pounds 100 per gram - addicts might use a quarter per day.

Medical effects

All the experts agree that heroin is a highly addictive drug. Users
who form a habit end up taking the drug just to feel normal and often
keep raising the dose. Excessive amounts can result in overdose and,
in some cases, death. Injection is the most dangerous way of taking
heroin: shared needles can result in the rapid spread of HIV,
Hepatitis B and C and other viruses among users. Some 60-80 per cent
of injecting heroin users have hepatitis C.

The drug attacks the intestines, causing diarrhoea, and the lining of
the lungs. It also rots teeth. Constipation is another effect, as a
result of dehydration.

Regular users lose their ability to live beyond the next "hit". Life
revolves around taking the drug and looking for money to buy supplies.

SOLVENTS (gases, glues and aerosols)

Found in gas lighter refills, fuel canisters, hairsprays, deodorants,
tins or tubes of glue, some paints and other products. Effects are
quick and fast, but short-lived. Users feel light-headed and dizzy.
Some say they become dreamy and have visions, others feel sick and
drowsy. Once the feeling wears off, the effect is much like that of an
alcohol hangover.

It is not illegal to use solvents, though it is illegal to sell them
to anyone under 18 if the shopkeeper suspects they are intended for
abuse. Legislation announced yesterday will make it an offence for
retailers to sell lighter refills - for whatever reason - to under-18s.

Medical effects

More than one person every week dies from solvent abuse. The peak age
for fatalities is 14 to 17, according to Stuart Smith, from Resolve -
a charity that deals with volatile substance abuse.

Known as "sudden sniffing death", a fatality is caused either by the
effects of the toxic substance, suffocation from the use of a plastic
bag used for sniffing, or choking on vomit.

Most people sniff solvents a few times and then give up. But for those
who go on to become regular users, the long-term effects can include
brain and liver damage.