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Employee Fact Sheet #4

Why All the Fuss About Drugs?

When you think about it, alcohol and other drugs can rob you of everything you have worked so hard for: your health, family, and friends. Illegal drug use can result in being arrested and having to pay fines. Sometimes alcohol and other drug use can cost you your job.

Not everyone who uses alcohol or other drugs becomes addicted. However, no one can predict who will and who won’t become addicted. What if it’s you?

You may think that an alcoholic or drug addict is a person on the street who drinks out of a brown paper bag or who uses "hard" drugs. Not true. Alcohol and other drugs can affect any one of us -- in all walks of life, at any age, and in all types of jobs.

How Can You Spot Abuse or Addiction?

Sometimes it’s not easy. There are different patterns of abuse and addiction. Some people are "binge" users: they get into trouble by drinking alcohol or using other drugs off and on -- only on the weekends or maybe only once a week -- as an escape. Others are "maintenance" users: they use alcohol or other drugs regularly -- often every day -- to feel "normal." Although people use and abuse drugs in different ways, one thing is certain: if you become addicted, the disease will progress . . . and troubles will increase.

Think About It . . . Alcohol and Other Drugs Cost Money

The cost of alcohol and other drug abuse can be high. For example, cocaine is very expensive; you may know people who have sold their personal belongings to buy it. But the cost of the drug is only the beginning . . . soon to follow are:

• Lots of doctor bills -- you get sick more often
• Legal bills and fines due to DWIs, accidents, marital problems
• Higher insurance bills
• Lost pay -- you could lose your job
• Debts -- you borrow money to support your habit
• You may even begin stealing to buy your drug of choice

What About Your Friends and Family?

Drug use can tear relationships apart:

Friends and family start to question you about your drug use -- they begin to distrust you.

The people you love start to avoid you.

You begin to feel alone -- especially because you need to hide your habit.

Fear sets in.

You start having more and more fights with people at home and on the job.

You think about getting and using the drug all the time -- it becomes more important than your family or friends.

"I used to stop at the bar for a few beers on my way home from work every day. By the time I finally got home, I was usually pretty lit. My wife would get really angry, and we would end up in a big fight -- the children would be crying, and she and I would be yelling at each other. She would always threaten to leave because of my drinking, but I didn’t think she’d ever do it. Then one day when I came home, she and the children were gone." Alan, age 42 computer technician

"I have a 3-year-old daughter who goes to day care. Every day I pick her up on my way home from work, but twice in the past month I was 2 hours late because I stopped to buy cocaine on my way home. When I got to the dealer’s house, I started using the coke I’d bought. Before I knew it, a couple of hours had passed. When I finally got to day care to pick my daughter up, she was crying and scared I wasn’t ever going to come for her. Ever since then, she’s been waking up in the middle of the night with bad dreams." Tia, age 24 secretary

What About Your Health?

Using alcohol and other drugs can hurt your health. Addiction to any drug, including nicotine, can make you lose control over when and where you use drugs and how often you use them.

Nicotine

Smoking cigarettes or chewing tobacco gives you bad breath, yellow teeth, lung disease, heart disease, and many types of cancer (especially throat, mouth, and lung). Most adults who smoke cigarettes wish they didn’t. If you started smoking when you were young, you may have thought you could quit when you got older. But as the addiction progresses, it becomes harder to stop -- much harder than you ever thought it would be. More people die from the results of smoking than from any other addiction.

You may have even stopped before but then started again. Most people who quit smoking have withdrawal for a while: headaches, nicotine cravings, anxiety, upset stomach, and/or mood swings. You may think you can’t bear these feelings, so you start smoking again. Returning to your old pattern is called a relapse. If you don’t think cigarettes are addicting, talk to ex-smokers and ask them how they quit and what was the hardest part. Then get some help so you can stop smoking too.

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 may not be reversible. It can tear your family apart. Also, a pregnant women 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; it’s 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 change his or her mood (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.

What About Drugs and AIDS?

A person who injects (shoots) drugs and shares needles is at greater risk for being exposed to the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Alcohol and other drugs affect your judgment; many people who use alcohol and other drugs choose unsafe sexual behaviors either while high or to help pay for their drugs. This behavior puts you at great risk for getting AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Where to Find Help

National Hotlines

If you or someone you know has a problem with alcohol or other drugs, call these hotlines for free, confidential help.

The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment’s (CSAT) Drug Information, Treatment, and Referral Hotline:

Publications

The following list of readings can be ordered for free by calling the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686:

Ask for the telephone number of your State clearinghouse -- the RADAR Network -- from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information.

More information about alcohol and other drug abuse can be ordered for a fee from these publishers:

Also check your local library or bookstore.

Local Resources

Look in your local telephone book for these numbers:

Alcoholics Anonymous Alateen (for children of the user) Al-Anon (for family members and friends) Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOAs) Narcotics Anonymous Nar-Anon (for family members and friends)

Drug Treatment Center Cancer Society Lung Association County or State Addiction or Mental Health Agency County/Victim/Mental Health Hotline Other