“When you say yes to others, make sure you are not saying no to yourself.”
No one tries doing illegal drugs with the aim of getting addicted. You could be depressed, and just need something to cheer you up. You could be exhausted, and just want to bring your energy back. You can even be merely curious.
The moment you say yes to an illegal substance, it delivers its promises right away. But have you ever paused to consider what you are saying no to?
Click or tap on the image for a printable PDF copy of this poster.Drugs, when taken in small amounts, act as a stimulant. They speed you up, and with all the energy inside you, you will think you can take on anything the world throws at you. Take it in a greater amount, and the drug will act as a sedative. It will slow you down, and this immediate feeling of peace will make you think that nothing will go wrong ever again.
But the reason you are having this feeling of being stimulated or pain-free, is because the drug is directly affecting your brain. It gives you a feeling of happiness, that brings you to an even lower ground when the drug wears off. It blocks off sensations while muddying your thinking.
It’s just a one-time use, you say. And with that one time use, you have denied your brain the opportunity to function as it should.
Click or tap on the image for a printable PDF copy of this poster.Recreational drugs disrupt the communication system in the brain, either by interfering with the natural way chemical messengers in the brain fine-tune the communication between brain cells, or by hijacking it so that dopamine, the chemical messenger associated with the brain's pleasure and reward system, is released in huge amounts, creating a feeling of euphoria. The brain remembers this feeling and wants it repeated, hence the onset of addiction.
Long-term use of illegal substances cause prolonged disruption on brain functions, causing impaired memory, anxiety, hallucinations, and ultimately, long-lasting or even permanent damage to the brain. They also have negative effects on the rest of the body: addiction to marijuana is linked to lung diseases; heroin can cause scarring on veins and bacterial infections on blood vessels and heart valves; cocaine is associated with increased risk of stroke and deterioration of the ability of the heart to contract.
Whatever "good" illegal drugs seem to offer is actually its negative effects in disguise. Choosing a roll, a tablet, a pill, or a shot means turning your back on your health.
Click or tap on the image for a printable PDF copy of this poster.The thing about doing illegal drugs is that it manifests in everything you do, and affects everyone around you.
Its effects on the brain shows in how you perform even the smallest tasks in your job. Loss of coordination after taking marijuana puts you and your fellow Engine crew at risk. How will you do the night watch if you are having hallucinations because you were curious about LSD? And let us not get started on what will happen to your career if you get caught in possession or under the influence of drugs on board. Your anxiety will probably be worse than the anxiety caused by taking heroin.
And, like addiction, the effects of illegal drugs ripple to all aspects of your life. What will your family feel if they learn you chose an intoxicating substance over them, or because of them? How will your lover take it if he or she learns that you tried doing marijuana because you were simply curious? Like some of the long-lasting damages recreational drugs does on the brain, there are also some actions that can leave a permanent scar on the people we care about.
Click or tap on the image for a printable PDF copy of this poster.
Before deciding to take that step towards taking illegal substances, think about what you could potentially lose. Don’t start the chain.
Stay clean. Stay safe. Take care.
