The Roadshow Quiz - How did you do?
1. It is possible to drink so much alcohol that you can overdose and die? TRUE. Also some people have died choking on their own vomit when asleep.
2. Amphetamine (speed) is usually injected? FALSE. The powder form is usually snorted up the nose or swallowed usually referred to as ‘bombing it’. Tablet form speed is usually taken orally. However, it is probably the most commonly injected drug after heroin.
3. Over 7 million people in the UK have smoked cannabis? TRUE and the numbers are increasing. In many areas possibly the majority of 16-25 year olds have used cannabis.
3. Some forms of cannabis are a lot stronger that others ? TRUE. Some forms, especially herbal forms, have been grown to increase the THC concentrate and can be very strong. (THC is the chemical in cannabis that produces the “stoned” effect) Some users get too stoned and find the experience frightening and disturbing.
5. Cocaine usually comes in tablet form. FALSE. Cocaine usually comes as white crystalline powder.
6. You can get hooked on heroin the first time you try it? FALSE. Many first time users feel sick and do not like the effect (this often happens the first time people try other drugs). Regular use leads to dependency. The exact time it takes depends on the amount taken, how often it is taken and the individual person.
7. Once you are hooked on heroin you are hooked for life? FALSE. Many people who become dependent on heroin find it difficult to stop but some eventually do give up even if it takes more than one try. The withdrawal effects of giving up regular use vary from person to person but are often experienced as a severe dose of flu, vomiting, cramps and a craving for the drug. Injecting can lead to other problems such as blood borne viruses (HIV Hepatitis). Staying off heroin can be more difficult than stopping in most cases.
8. Taking LSD or magic mushrooms can make people have hallucinations-they see and hear things differently? TRUE. They tend to result in colours and sounds being intensified and sight and sound being altered. Some people report that they see and hear things, which are not actually there.
9. Each year over 60 young people in the UK die each year using solvents? TRUE. There have been about 60 recorded deaths a year in the UK
10. Rohypnol tranquillisers and GHB are used to spike people’s drinks? TRUE. In some unfortunate cases people’s drinks can be spiked which is known as ‘date rape’. When a person’s drink has been spiked the person can be unaware of what is happening to them, as they will be intoxicated. The main date rape drug is in fact ALCOHOL.
11. An LSD trip lasts for 1-2 hours. FALSE. 6-12 hours is a more common length for a trip. Once it starts you can not stop it happening although you can be calmed down if frightened, especially when with people you can trust.
12. Ecstasy is a completely new drug that was invented in 1985? FALSE. A chemical company first made MDMA, the chemical name for ecstasy, in Germany in early 1900. They invented to use it as a slimming tablet but it never really caught on.
13. Alcohol is a stimulant-it wakes you up and gives you energy and go. FALSE. It is a depressant. It slows down the brain and reactions. In the early stages of getting drunk inhibitions are depressed-this may make you more talkative and relaxed. As you become more drunk you slow down rapidly and loose co-ordination.
14. When Coca-Cola was first sold in America it contained cocaine? TRUE. Until 1904 coca-cola was sold as an energy giving medicine.