Alcohol

Alcohol travels to every cell in the body, every tissue, and every organ. Over time, using too much alcohol can damage your heart, raise your blood pressure, and cause cancer, liver disease, and brain damage; it can give you ulcers, weaken your muscles, and can even lead to death.

Problems with alcohol usually develop over time. Some people become sick quickly; others drink for years without knowing that their body is being damaged. Many people suffer withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop: headaches, anxiety, or the shakes. At work, the withdrawal can make it hard for you to concentrate, and you may become short-tempered.

As the addiction gets worse, so do the withdrawal symptoms – you become more and more anxious and have stronger cravings. In the late stages of the disease, some people in withdrawal see and hear things that aren’t really there. Continuing to use alcohol once an addiction has developed can result in liver and brain damage that my not be reversible. It can tear your family apart. Also, a pregnant woman who drinks alcohol may have a baby born with fetal alcohol effects (FAE) or fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), which are characterized by mental and physical problems.

Amphetamines (Speed) and Cocaine

As the addiction to these drugs gets worse, you become obsessed with getting the drug. You cannot stay focused on tasks. You lose your appetite. Your behavior becomes extreme; you are always either really excited or really depressed.

It’s not that hard to overdose on speed or cocaine because once you start using, you want more and more of the drug to keep the high going. So that’s what you do: get high again and again, usually until the money runs out. When the drug starts to wear off, you feel depressed and tired, so you keep using the drug. Before you know it, you’re hooked.

Marijuana

Regular use of marijuana causes a loss of interest and motivation. You become lazy and don’t care about making life better. You begin to feel depressed. It can also damage your lungs. It affects the brain and may cause you to become fearful as well as forgetful. Focusing on tasks is difficult. You become more interested in getting high than in spending time with friends; you may lose "straight" friends. You lose the energy and drive to be involved in fun activities that don’t include using pot.

PCP, LSD, Designer Drugs

These drugs bring to mind hallucinations - seeing and hearing things that are not really there. When this happens to you at work, you could do foolish or dangerous things. These drugs make you think you are stronger and more powerful than you really are. Accidents are more likely to happen due to poor judgment, and concentrating becomes really hard. Sometimes people who are high on these drugs become anxious and violent, and this can lead to fights and other negative behaviors on the job.

Prescription Drugs

Sometimes drugs prescribed by a doctor for anxiety or pain can lead to abuse or addiction. Many people become hooked on these drugs without realizing it. Using prescription drugs that change your mood can affect your job performance and could contribute to accidents or costly mistakes at work. It is important that you talk to your doctor to be sure you understand the effects of any drug you might take. If you want to know about the risks, ask your doctor to explain them to you or ask any pharmacist. It’s better to be careful than to risk becoming addicted.

Heroin and Other Opiates

An opiate is a drug that makes you sleepy and lessens pain at the same time. There are legal uses for some opiates: A doctor might give an opiate to ease pain, stop diarrhea, or calm a cough. Heroin is an opiate; its effects on the body are similar to the other opiates given by doctors. However, heroin often contains a lot of impurities that add to its harmful effects.

Sometimes opiates are taken as pills; other times they are injected. Whether a person starts using opiates given by a doctor or uses them to get high, long-term use can result in these problems: abuse or addiction; tolerance (when it takes more of the drug to get the same effect); and dependence (when pain occurs if the drug use is stopped). Being hooked on any type of opiate can disrupt your life, family, and job.

From Making Your Workplace Drug Free, A Kit for Employers, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.