“WE CARE – SAFETY PRESENTATION” - PowerPoint Presentation

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“WE CARE – SAFETY PRESENTATION”

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Your Questions

 

Xanax- What is it? Effects, how to spot fake pills, pill testing?

 What drugs don’t mix?

 Fentanyl- Overdose signs and what to do?

How do you stop smoking and doing drugs

Questions about treatment

How to stop others from doing them

Why isn’t there more help for people who use?

How can you help someone who doesn’t want help?

How can you help someone who’s afraid of going to rehab?

Does rehab help you get on your feet afterwards?

How much do you have to pay to go to rehab?

 Vaping- what are the health risks is it really risk free?

 Can you only get addicted if you are in a bad place?

 What can you do when your friend is losing himself to drugs

(pushing me and others away, never hear from him, only does drugs, rude attitude etc.)?

Slide3

Xanax - What is it?

- Prescription medicine

- Anxiety/Panic attacks

- Short term (2-4 weeks) or occasional use

- Benzodiazepine (tranquilizer)

-

Alprazolam

is the most prescribed and the most misused

benzodiazepine

- Quickly habit forming

- Slang terms vary

-

Xannies

,

Zans

, benzos, downers, bars, ladders,

Xanbars

, Z-bars, footballs, planks, poles, blues, or blue footballs

 

Just because it’s a “prescription drug” doesn't mean it's safe.

 

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What does it do?

- “Shuts off” or “Numbs” the Central Nervous System

- Fast acting (relief from feelings is quick but they come back quick and hard)

- High potential for abuse/addiction- most potent, shortest half life, tolerance develops quickly

- Typical medical dose .25mg -1.0mg

- Street dose 2-4 mg +++++++++

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Effects:

 

- Low doses – feelings of relaxation, free from worry, tired/sleepy, “stupid”,

kinda

like being drunk (such as not giving a damn, saying whatever is on your mind).

- Higher doses - users can be extremely sleepy/pass out, aggressive, experience black outs

- Unable to remember what they did while they were on the drug.

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“You'll wake up the next day after 2mg of Xanax and wonder what the f#%! happened the night before”.

 

“My benzo nights usually involve me getting into a fight, stealing shit and not remembering anything the next morning, Not my idea of a good time”.

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Benzodiazepines:

Numbs your emotions so that you don't feel much of anything including pleasure.

Doesn't produce euphoria or give you a buzz. There isn't a "high.”

Causes sedation and relaxes your mind and body.

Reduces inhibitions which means you do things you might not normally do.

Negative consequences can include unwanted pregnancy, STDs, violent acts, memory loss, and/or hallucinations.

Can trigger depression, manic episodes, and suicidal thinking.

Slide8

 

“People often don’t even connect the fact that they were suicidal on Tuesday with the fact that they took Xanax on a Sunday night”.

 

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What increases the risk of addiction?

 

- Using without a prescription.

Using more than prescribed.

Using with stimulants or depressants.

- Using to experience a feeling of RELIEF!!!!

- Anxiety or other mental or emotional challenges.

- A decrease in negative feelings and an increase in positive feelings increases the desire to use again!

- Addiction rates are different and depend on substance using habits, personal brain chemistry, frequency and quantity of use, and environmental factors

 

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Why is Xanax suddenly so popular????

NOT a new drug, just a new use

Benzos are one of the oldest psychiatric drugs

Rap culture, makes drug use seem cool, Rappers appear successful!

Little

Zan

…

Lil Peep died of an overdose of Xanax and Fentanyl…

“I need help but not when I have my pills but that’s temporary one day maybe I won’t die young and I’ll be happy?”

Subgenre of rap music with constant references to depression and prescription painkillers (

xan

rap, pill rap,

soundcloud

rap)

Marketing = MONEY

Future raps about Xanax but says that its just an “image”

Over prescribing - some doctors prescribe Xanax for everything from lack of sleep, nerves from flying or dentist visits

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“Brand names keep popping up in our singalongs, particularly in rap music, where Xanax, Percocet and other pharmaceuticals have long been praised for their abilities to numb the agony of existence”.

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Overdose risks:

 

Most deadly when combined with

ALCOHOL or OPIATES

(Oxy, Percocet, Codeine)

Stops the signals from the brain that tell your lungs to breathe

Practically all benzodiazepine-related deaths include alcohol.

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Dangerous Combinations:

Ibuprofen, and Nyquil are also CNS depressants

Caffeine and Xanax can be dangerous- the combination increases the toxicity of the drug and can lead to cellular destruction in the brain

Caffeine can increase anxiety so the user takes more Xanax which can lead to overdose

Many common antidepressants like

Celexa

, Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft

Oral birth control

Anti seizure medications

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Withdrawal

Symptoms of Xanax withdrawal include:

Increased Anxiety

Depression

Agitation

Aggressive behavior

Hallucinations

Suicidal thoughts

Dream like states

Dizziness

Hyperactivity

Seizures

Trouble sleeping

Tremors

Mania

Heart palpitations

Weight loss

Blurred vision

Tingling in hands and feet

Diarrhea

Dry mouth

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Benzo and alcohol

withdrawals

are the only two that

can kill

.

 

Withdrawing from Xanax addiction should be done under the supervision of a licensed medical professional and in a secure environment.

Slide16

How to Spot Fake Pills

 

If you didn’t get them from the pharmacy yourself assume they are fake!!

Prescription Xanax is hard to get in Canada

Most dealers are pressing pills here using

Alprazolam

or cheaper benzo powder imported from Asia.

"Anyone can press a pill these days. It's not very expensive or difficult... Even if you look it up and it matches something you saw online, it could still literally be anything."

Fake Xanax tends to be a bit thicker and crumblier than the real pills.

 

 

 

 

 

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So what if it’s fake?

Increased risk of overdose

Increased risk of adulteration with a more dangerous substance

A "2 mg Xanax bar" from the pharmacy contains exactly 2 mg of alprazolam and nothing else.

A "2 mg Xanax bar" pressed in somebody's basement contains “bulk Alprazolam” only if your lucky….

Bulk is cheap - Often bars contain much more Alprazolam Average 3-4 mg) per “2mg bar”

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“Unfortunately, the conditions under which bars are pressed guarantee occasional screw-ups. One white powder looks very much like another when you're

benzoed

out of your brain and so you end up with anything from sugar pills to fentanyl bars of death”.

 

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What are Research Chemicals?

Why are they in everything????

Experimental chemicals

that produce effects that mimic other (illegal) drugs

Sometimes called Designer Drugs or Legal Highs.

Sold and marketed on the internet

Technically legal or not yet illegal - gray zone

Similar in molecular structure and produce an experience similar to illegal drugs

UNRESEARCHED

Easy to import, often stronger, and cheaper!

This = MORE MONEY FOR THE DEALER

 

 

 

 

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Whats

the deal with

Fentynal

??? Are drug dealers trying to kill people?

No drug dealers aren’t trying to kill their customers.

Dealers “buff” or cut drugs

To make more money or support their own drug habit.

Baking soda, powdered Novocain, sugar, caffeine pills, powdered methadone

Fentanyl is

cheaper

than heroin and lasts longer.

You only need a tiny bit to get you high.

Dealers mix Fentanyl with heroin or OxyContin to make more/stronger drugs.

More drugs = more money.

 

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Drug dealers aren’t chemists!

Mixing drugs is like “making cookies”. Some cookies have more chocolate chips than others.

When a drug dealer is mixing a drug and Fentanyl together, some doses will have more Fentanyl than others. That’s how people overdose and accidently die.

Some pills have way more Fentanyl than what they are supposed to.

In Canada, Oxy

Contin

, Percocet, and Xanax have all been found as counterfeit pills containing Fentanyl.

Fentanyl is also known to be found in Molly (MDMA), Cocaine and

Methamphetamine

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Signs of opioid overdose

 

Severe sleepiness

Slow heartbeat

Trouble breathing – blue lips/nails

Slow, shallow breathing or snoring

Cold, clammy skin

Trouble walking or talking

 

If you think someone is overdosing, call 9-1-1 right away.

 

Administor

Naloxone if trained

 

Do CPR only if trained and with shield/barrier

Recovery Position

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Safer Using / Harm Reduction

 

The Safest Use is No Use

 

Don't Use Alone

 

- If you're alone, no one can save you.

- Even if you don't want to tell people that you're using drugs, don't do it by yourself in your room

- Use in a public place where you would be discovered if there’s a problem

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The Safest Use is No Use

Get a Naloxone Kit

- Free or low cost from Community Service Agencies (Encompass/the Hub)

- Get trained

- Carry it with you at all times

 

Know Your Source

 

- If you choose to do drugs, know who you're getting them from

- have others vouch for

waht

you are taking.

- no random strangers, try to at least grab from a friend of a friend.

 

”It's definitely a bad time to not have “connections”, and even if you do have “connections”, the risks are really high."

 

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The Safest Use is No Use

Start with a small amount

 

- Use a small amount, wait 45-60 min. before using more, or before another person takes the same drug

- After that, take a second small amount

- Especially with Fentanyl, you may get lucky with your first sample, and then the second may kill you

- When sharing a bag of powder or splitting a pill, it's possible for one person to die and the others to be fine

- A

few flecks

in a bag can kill

 

-

Don't Mix Substances ( Even Alcohol)

 

- When you're drinking, you're more likely to take drugs.

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Testing Kits????

 

- You can buy kits online.

- Range in price and types of substances they test for.

- $100 +

-

Test for presence of but not purity

- Different tests for different drugs

- Trace amounts of fentanyl and other opioids, sometimes

won't show a positive test

, but could still hurt you.

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Resources (

911

):

***Any adult you connect with at School - Your parent or another trusted adult

DETOX (

Text 211

)

Creek Side Detox (604) 587-3755 (intake press 1)

PLEA Detox (604) 708-2616

D-TALK LINE (Detox Info) 1-866-658-1221

 

SUBSTANCE USE SUPPORTS (

Text 211

)

Langley Community Services (604) 534-7921 local 1106

Pacific Community Services (604) 531-5866

HUB: Tues & Thurs 4-8pm

CRISIS SUPPORT

911

24 Hr Crisis Line (604) 951-8855

National Support Line 1-800-668-6868 

BC Nurse Line 811

WEBSITES

www.YouthInBC.com

- has online chat with support people 

www.TeensHealth.org

- info about physical, mental, sexual, emotional health

 

SUICIDE PREVENTION AND MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

SPEAC (604) 584-5811  

START (604) 585-5561