What are the main dangers from using drugs?
Some people think everyone who takes drugs will end up dead. Others, and especially some young people, seem to think that drug use is one big laugh and not at all dangerous. The truth is somewhere in between. Drug use can never be 100 per cent safe but it is not always as dangerous as many people think. The dangers of drug use depend on drug, set and setting factors. The drug bit is everything connected with the drug and how it is used. The set bit is everything connected with the person who is using the drugs. The setting bit is about what the person is doing at the time, where they are, the environment they live in etc. The basic principal is that drug dangers are the result of interactions between drug, set and setting. THE DRUG BIT Drugs are not all the same. Different drugs have different dangers associated with them. Some drugs (such as alcohol, heroin and tranquillisers) have a sedative effect which slow down the way the body and brain function. They can have a numbing effect th
