Common drugs & their signs & symptoms of overdose
Name |
Examples |
Signs and Symptoms |
Alcohol |
Beers; Wines; Spirits |
Changes of mood; lack of coordination; slurred speech; sweating; rapid pulse; vomiting; drowsiness; and unconsciousness |
Amphetamine Type Stimulants
ADHD Medication |
Amphetamines eg Speed; Goee, Wizz Methamphetamine eg Ice, Base, Crystal MDMA (ecstasy) – eg Es, Ekkies Ritalin ; Dexamphetamine |
Excitement; dilated pupils; talkativeness; insomnia; tremors; exaggerated reflexes; bad breath; vomiting; diarrhoea; fever; irregular, rapid heart rate; hallucinations; delirium; convulsions; and unconsciousness |
Anti-anxiety and Hypnosedatives |
Serepax; Valium; Mogadon; Normison; Rohypnol |
Central nervous system (CNS) depression (drowsiness to coma), lethargy, mental confusion, respiratory depression |
Anticonvulsants/ Mood Stabilisers |
Epilim, Rivotril, Tegretol |
Impairment of respiration, severe central nervous system (CNS) depression; vomiting, disorientation, agitation, aggression, hallucinations, coma, blurred vision, retention of urine |
Antidepressants |
(1) Serotonergic Agents- Aropax, Prozac, Zoloft, Cypramil, Avanza |
(1) Nausea, vomiting, tremor, dilated pupils, dry mouth, irritability |
Antihistamines |
Tripelennamine; Diphenhydramine; Chlorpheniramine, Promethazine |
Excitement or depression, drowsiness, headache, irregular heart rate; disorientation; lack of coordination; fever; hallucinations; dilated pupils; delirium; convulsions, coma |
Antipsychotic |
Zyprexa; Fluanxol; Largactil; Melleril; Resperidone; Haloperidol |
Sedation, extreme agitation, confusion, excitement, convulsions, drowsiness, coma, restlessness, confusion, excitement, muscle spasms, sudden apnea dry mouth, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, disorientation, hyperkinesias |
Barbiturates |
Amytal; Nembutal; Seconal; Phenobarbital |
Drowsiness; headache; confusion; lack of coordination; slurred speech; lack of reflexes; slow breathing rate; and coma |
Caffeine |
Coffee; Tea; No-Doze; APC |
Restlessness; excitement; frequent urination; rapid pulse; nausea; vomiting; fever; tremors; delirium; convulsions; and coma |
Cannabis |
Hashish; Marijuana |
Overdose usually causes only sleepiness |
Cocaine |
Cocaine; Crack |
Stimulation followed by depression; nausea; vomiting; anxiety; hallucinations; sweating; difficulty breathing; convulsions; cardiovascular collapse; severe hypertension |
Contraceptive Pill |
Overdose may cause nausea and vomiting. It does not usually require emergency medical aid, but it is advisable to consult a physician |
|
Hallucinogens |
LSD; Psilocybin; Mescaline; Phencyclidine (PCP) |
The symptoms of an overdose not always readily distinguishable from normal effects of these drugs. The effects include hallucinations; nausea; confusion; and lack of coordination. There can be paranoia; delusions; extreme anxiety; aggressive, violent behaviour; depression; seizures; coma; cerebral haemorrhage; and even death |
Opioids |
Opium; Heroin; Morphine; Codeine; MS Contin |
Severe respiratory depression; pinpoint pupils; drowsiness; shallow breathing; muscular relaxation; coma; circulatory failure; slow pulse and respiratory arrest |
Substitute and other related drugs |
Buprenorphine (Temgesic); Naltrexone; Methadone; Naloxone (Narcan) [used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose] |
Respiratory depression, sedation Little overdose potential (not to be taken if the person is, or has been, using opioids) |
Salicylates |
Aspirin and many aspirin-containing painkillers |
Abdominal pain; nausea; vomiting; restlessness; noises in the ears; deafness; deep, rapid breathing; fever; sweating; irritability; confusion; delirium; convulsions; and coma |
Note about polysubstance use 
Often young people use more than one substance at the same or different times. This is known as "polysubstance use". This type of use obviously complicates the task of attempting to work out, from their appearance and behaviour, what substance(s) the person is using. It also makes the task of assisting in any detoxification or withdrawal, more difficult.
It needs to be noted that young people, and others, often use almost anything they believe will give them a desired effect. Some of the substances used can be very dangerous. It is important to have good local knowledge of any trends in substance use and check with local health authorities about the possible effects of what is being used.
The above information does not cover all substances. New substances come on the market all the time, and older substances re-emerge. It is important to find reliable local sources of information on substances and trends in drug use to keep up to date. Services such as ADIS (1800 422 599) and NUAA (02 9557 1476) are helpful in this regard.
Also, it is important to note that changes in price and availability, fashion and youth culture all affect what substances are used by young people. It also affects how a substance might be used, for example, moving from injection of heroin to smoking ('chasing the dragon'). Thus, it is important for us to now look at what young people are using and at what levels the young people are using the different substances.
What substances are young people using?
We have just looked at the different types of substances and types of use. Let's now turn our attention to what we know of young people's current levels of use. The information can be gauged from surveys like the 2004 Household Survey.
Table 1: 2004 Household Survey recent use (14-19 year olds)
| Substance | 2001 (%) | 2004 (%) |
| Alcohol | 28.3 # | 25.0 # |
| Tobacco | 12.3 # | 16.0 # |
| Cannabis | 24.6 | 17.9 |
| Amphetamines | 6.25 | 4.45* |
| Ecstasy | 6.25 | 4.3 |
| Cocaine | 1.5 | 1.0 |
| Inhalants | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Heroin | 0.4 | 0.25 |
| injecting drug use | 0.6 | 0.55 |
# = at least weekly use
*=significant difference between previous survey
When you look at this table, is there anything that is particularly noticeable?
Two points that might be important to note:
- Alcohol and tobacco are by far the most used substances by 14-19 year olds.
- Use has increased for some substances and decreased for others.
Table 2: 2004 Household Survey by Gender (14 -19 year olds)
| Substance | Male | Female | ||
| Ever (%) | Recent (%) | Ever (%) | Recent (%) | |
| Alcohol | 72.3 | 27.3 | 75.0 | 22.6 |
| Tobacco | 16.4 | 11.4 | 17.3 | 13.2 |
| Cannabis | 24.9 | 18.4 | 26.2 | 17.4 |
| Methamphetamines | 6.6 | 4.0 | 6.5 | 4.9 |
| Heroin | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.4 |
| Ecstasy | 5.7 | 3.9 | 6.8 | 4.7 |
| Inhalants | 1.8 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 1.3 |
| injecting drug use | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
What explanation can you give for this?
Does this match with what you are seeing in your work?
What does this (or will this) mean for you in your role?
What about young people in treatment?
From the years 2001-2004, 703 clients entering an adolescent residential treatment agency with five sites across NSW and ACT were asked to report their drug of greatest concern. Table 3 represents their responses.
Table 3: 2001 - 2004 Drug of greatest concern
A number of points could be noted from the above table:
1) Cannabis, often wrongly described as a "soft drug". It is easily the drug of greatest concern for these young people, whilst comparatively unproblematic for the majority who have tried/use it.
2) The increase in production of the more potent form of ATS, known as methamphetamine, has lead to an increase in the popularity of ATS amongst this client group. This has also been a result of the decreased availability of heroin.
Table 4 reports the same data as Table 3 but this time presented by the area in which Ted Noffs Foundation PALM residential treatment units are located. In this table we can see that choice of drug possibly be influenced by geography, availability and 'fashion'/peer group use. This is in accord with Zinberg's model of drug dependence that describes drug use as not just a function of the individual but also of the drug itself and the setting in which the individual exists.
Table 4: 2001 - 2004 Drug of greatest concern by area
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Working with Young People with Alcohol or Other Drug Issues: A self-paced learning package Published: 2006 Funded by NSW Drug & Alcohol Workforce Development Council. Written & compiled by Kristy Delaney, YAPA, and Matt Stubbs & John Howard, Ted Noffs Institute. Additional material by Nick Manning, YAPA, & by Shopfront Youth Legal Centre. Opinions are the author's.
Be careful! YAPA and the authors took reasonable care to ensure that this information was correct at the time of publishing. However health information, and government regulations, laws and standards are complex and changing. The authors may not have health, safety, or legal qualifications, and information provided is general - it is not specific health, legal or professional advice. Do not rely on it - check with other publications and authorities and if necessary get qualified, medical, legal or professional advice for your situation.
