Myths and Facts around drug and alcohol use

The following article was written by our Drug and Alcohol Nurse Practitioner Calum Ross to dispel the many myths associated with drug and alcohol use.

Myth: You can stop using drugs or alcohol anytime.?

Fact: Withdrawal problems, believing you?must?have drugs or alcohol, and being around people who continue to use drugs or alcohol can make stopping difficult. However, it is not impossible to cease drug or alcohol use.?

To cease drug or alcohol use you must be?motivated?to change your behaviour and your lifestyle and see the relevant expert help and support to get through this process.?

Myth: You must use drugs or alcohol for a long time before they really hurt you.?

Fact: If someone is naive to drug or alcohol use and do not have any tolerance then even using alcohol or drugs for the first time can be catastrophic. Drugs and alcohol can cause the brain to send the wrong signals to the body making a person stop breathing, have a heart attack, or go into a coma. Intoxication can make individuals behave in a way that increases their risk such as drink driving.?

As people use drug or alcohol for longer periods then there are a range of longer-term risks which people can experience. Longer term risks can be but not limited to loss of relationships, jobs, family networks, housing, increased debt, involvement in criminal activity and physical problems such as hepatitis C, liver problems, injecting site injuries, cardiac problems associated with stimulant, use memory problems and ultimately death.?

Myth: If you only buy drugs from friends, you'll get the pure stuff.?

Fact: Because drugs are illegal and not manufactured under quality control standards, no one can really know the purity and content of the drugs they are buying. Some drugs are laced with other substances which you may be unaware of.

Myth: Teenagers are too young to get addicted.?

Fact: Addiction can happen at any age. Even unborn children can get addicted because of their mother's drug use – heroin dependence, Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Myth: If you're pregnant and use drugs or alcohol, your body protects the baby.

Fact: Drugs and alcohol can affect an unborn child as much or more than the mother. Drugs and alcohol go into the baby as mother and baby share the same blood system.

Drug and alcohol use during pregnancy can cause the baby to be born too early, fail to thrive at the normal rate, or even to die. It can damage the baby's mind and body development.??

Myth: If you smoked pot/weed/cannabis on the weekend, you'd be fine by Monday.?

Fact: The effects of pot (marijuana) can last for up to 3 days and is dependent on the amount you smoke. It can impair memory, reflexes, and coordination. Drug impairment is tested and identified by the police via oral fluid or saliva testing.?

Myth: As soon as a person feels normal, all the drug is out of the body.?

Fact: Long after the effects of the drug stop being felt, the drug can still be in the body. For example, cocaine can be found in the body up to one week, and marijuana up to 3 months after use.

Myth: If you get drunk, coffee will sober you up.?

Fact: Once alcohol is in the bloodstream, only time will make a person sober. People metabolise alcohol roughly one standard drink per hour so if someone drinks 8 standard drinks, they will sober up roughly 8 hours later. Eating food, exercise, cold showers, fresh air, or making yourself sick does not increase your rate of getting alcohol out of your system. Coffee acts as a stimulant drug and may make you feel more awake, but your body still has to process alcohol.

Myth: Drugs are only addictive if you inject them.?

Fact: Drugs can be quickly addictive any way it is used: smoking, snorting, or injecting. People can also become dependent on prescription medications and medications they may buy illicitly.

Myth: Sniffing glue or using nangs (Nitrous Oxide) gives an instant rush. There isn't time for it to hurt you.?

Fact: Inhalants enter the blood and go through the body in seconds. Sniffing larger amounts or more often can cause a heart attack or death from suffocation because inhalants replace oxygen in the lungs. Inhaling drugs can also cause issues in your mouth, throat, voice box and anaemia.?

Myth: Pot isn't as bad for you as cigarettes.?

Fact: Marijuana smoke has more cancer-causing chemicals than tobacco. People often mix tobacco with cannabis when smoking, compounding the dangers associated.?

Myth: Drugs and alcohol relieve stress. They help deal with problems.?

Fact: Many people believe that alcohol or drugs makes them feel better, intoxication makes people forget about their problems and not care about their troubles. When the drugs or alcohol wears off, the problem is still there. Alcohol is a depressant drug and as such has a negative impact on your mental health. When people have been drinking for long periods the biggest improvement to their mental health happens when they stop drinking alcohol, concentration improves, thinking becomes clearer, sleep improves, and you can rebuild relationships with family.?

Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol (2020, National Health and Medical Research Council)

1.?To reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, healthy men and women should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day. The less you drink, the lower your risk of harm from alcohol.

2. To reduce the risk of injury and other harms to health, children, and people under 18?years of age should not drink alcohol.

3. To prevent harm from alcohol to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a?pregnancy should not drink alcohol. For women who are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for their baby.

If you, or someone you know, wants to work on their relationship with drug or alcohol use consider reaching out to our team to book an appointment with Calum. You can book via email on [email protected] , or call our friendly admin team on 0478 613 329.