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UK: Before you get too stoned...

John Naish

The Times

Saturday 02 Oct 2004

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...read the world's fastest guide to the highs and lows of drugs. John
Naish dishes the dope

Your brain can overdose on student drugs advice. Just do it, just say no,
be careful, go crazy. You'll probably ignore it all. I felt motivated to
look up the effects and perils of a drug only after I'd taken it. I have
the same approach to flat-pack assembly leaflets.

But if you missed the bombardment of advice for freshers, here's the
world's fastest drugs guide: dope makes you dopey; speed makes you speedy;
Ecstasy makes you dance; acid reveals startling insights that make no sense
the next day; and cocaine makes you feel thrilled and fascinating - which
bores the pants off everyone else. They can all prove entertaining or screw
you for life, or both, depending on how your ball spins on the
recreationals roulette wheel. And then there's alcohol.

So how do you avoid leaving college with increased debt and diminished grey
matter to pay it off?


ECSTASY

Save it for special. A study by researchers from five English universities
has shown that people who do E weekly are 23 per cent more likely to report
problems with long-term memory. And Ecstasy-takers who also smoke cannabis
(ie, all of them) face "myriad memory afflictions" that could represent "a
timebomb" of memory trouble, says the study in the Journal of
Psycho-pharmacology .

CANNABIS

Give strong skunk a swerve. Research by Heather Ashton, a professor of
pharmacology at Newcastle University, shows that one university student in
five says that they use cannabis at least once a week - but the dope they
smoke is more than 15 times as strong as it was in the 1960s, when a
typical joint contained only 10mg of the active drug, THC. Highly
cultivated superweeds now contain more than 150mg and doctors are warning
of a wave of psychosis among regular tokers, as well as increasing memory
damage. How off your tits do you need to get?


LSD, MAGIC MUSHROOMS

The dangers are certainly more psychological than physical. If you are the
anxious type, it's wise not to bother. First-time trippers are best off
trying it in comfortable, familiar surroundings in the company of firmly
trusted friends. Nightclubs are not the place to discover suddenly that
everything has turned into two dimensions and there's a voice in your head
saying:

"You want to be someone else."


AND FINALLY

There are things that you can do to keep your brain happy regardless of
drug taking. Drinking water is not just smart when necking alcohol or E. It
has also been found to improve learning, memory and attention span. Studies
on cod liver oil capsules have yielded similar results, if you take them
daily.

And get some regular exercise. The last thing a dopeaddled head wants to do
in the morning is to get up and run, but that burst of energy-burning not
only floods your brain with oxygen but also fills it with endorphins,
nature's feelgood drug. And it won't get you arrested.




P.S.

Want a caution without it going on your record? Merseyside Police have
posted a friendly-uncle warning on
www.merseyside.police.uk/campaigns/student_safety/student_safety.html

 

 

 

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