Stimulants Addiction & Abuse

Stimulants are types of drugs that speed up the body’s activity. The use of stimulants may affect the user’s health negatively and possibly result in the development of tolerance and substance use disorder.¹ This is why it’s advisable for people who struggle with stimulant abuse to seek treatment under the supervision of qualified treatment professionals.

What Is a Stimulant?

Some types of stimulants are prescription medications, such as Adderall and Ritalin.¹ Other examples of stimulants are illicit drugs, like cocaine and methamphetamine. Stimulants have a number of street names, like uppers, coke, cat, crystal, bennies, black beauties, speed, R-ball, vitamin R, and snow. They are produced in the form of powder, pills, rocks, and liquid.¹

The 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that 17.2 million Americans aged 12 or older used stimulants (6.4 percent) in the past year. Of the 18.9 million people who misused prescription drugs, 5.3 million misused stimulants (2.0 percent).² Since stimulants have a high potential for abuse and their misuse may cause a number of adverse health effects, including overdose and addiction, people who misuse stimulants are advised to seek treatment.

What Are the Different Types of Stimulants?

This list of stimulants includes some of the most common stimulant examples:¹

• Amphetamines: They can be in the form of pills or powder, which users can swallow or inject. Many amphetamines are prescription medications used for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Some of these prescription drugs are amphetamine and dextroamphetamine (Adderall), methylphenidate (Ritalin or Ritalin SR), and dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine). There is also an increasing number of illicitly made amphetamines.
• Cocaine: Cocaine, also known as coke or snow, is a highly addictive drug that produces an intense feeling of euphoria. It usually comes in the form of a white powder, which can be snorted or injected. Crack is a base form of cocaine that looks like irregularly shaped rocks and is typically smoked. Although rarely used therapeutically in the U.S., cocaine hydrochloride solutions are approved for medical use as topical local anesthetics.
• Methamphetamine: Methamphetamine is a stimulant that comes in powder and pill form. The methamphetamine Desoxyn is a prescription drug used to treat obesity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Crystal meth is a variety of methamphetamine that is made in illicit laboratories. It looks like clear crystals which resemble ice or glass. Users swallow, snort, inject, or smoke methamphetamine.
• Khat: The leaves and twigs of the khat shrub are the source of this drug. Users most often chew it, but they can also use it as tea, smoke it, or sprinkle it over food. Khat contains the chemical cathinone, which is classified as having a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical uses in the U.S.

How Do Stimulants Affect the Nervous System?

Generally, when abused, stimulants may produce these effects:¹

• Euphoria
• Self-esteem boost
• Enhanced physical and mental functioning
• Decreased appetite
• Raised activity levels
• Staying awake for a long period of time

These effects come from a surge of the chemical dopamine in the parts of the brain that control the feelings of pleasure.¹ Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a messenger that carries signals from one brain cell to another. Stimulants cause an abnormal accumulation of dopamine in the brain, enhancing its impact on brain cells and causing the feeling of euphoria.³

As for the specific types of stimulants:

• The use of khat is associated with manic behavior, including grandiose delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, nightmares, euphoria, raised alertness, hyperactivity, and insomnia.4
• Cocaine produces intense euphoric sensations as well as heightened alertness and agitation. The speed and severity of its impact vary based on the dosage and method of use. If the user smokes or injects it, it affects their brain in a matter of seconds, producing a powerful effect. If the user snorts it, the impact is weaker and delayed.⁵
• In general, the impact of amphetamines and methamphetamine is similar to that of cocaine, but with a slower onset and prolonged duration. Smoking or injecting methamphetamine causes a short and intense rush while swallowing or snorting it leads to a long-term high, which can go on for up to half a day. ¹

Since patients with ADHD have trouble staying focused and amphetamines enhance alertness, medical professionals may prescribe certain amphetamine medications to help with this condition.6 As well as illicit stimulants, prescription stimulants can lead to the development of a substance use disorder if used in ways and amounts other than prescribed.⁶

What Do Stimulants Do to the Body?

These are some examples of the physical effects of stimulant drugs:¹

• Elevated blood pressure
• Increased pulse rate
• Sleeplessness
• Lowered appetite
• Exhaustion

Taking larger doses of stimulants may greatly amplify these effects and lead to stimulant overdose.¹

What Are the Side Effects of Stimulants?

These are some of the short-term side effects of stimulants:¹

• Dizziness
• Shakiness
• Flushing
• Headaches
• Heart palpitations
• Profuse sweating
• Stomach pain
• Nausea and vomiting

The effects of cocaine, for example, set in almost instantly and go away after up to one hour.³ They include dilated pupils, higher body temperature, increased pulse and blood pressure, and constricted blood vessels. Users may also feel restless, anxious, and irritable. Cocaine may also cause severe health consequences, such as:³

• Heart rhythm irregularities
• Heart attack
• Seizure
• Stroke
• Coma
• Death, caused by cardiac arrest or a seizure

Some long-term stimulant effects include:

• Prolonged use of high doses of stimulant drugs may lead to aggression and suicidal or homicidal behavior.¹
• Users may experience paranoia and hallucinations.¹Binging large doses of cocaine may even cause psychosis, where the person experiences disordered thinking and loses touch with reality.³
• The development of movement disorders, like Parkinson’s disease, may happen after years of using cocaine.³
• Stimulant use can cause the impairment of a number of cognitive functions, like attention and memory.³
• Cocaine use during pregnancy may cause high blood pressure, spontaneous miscarriage, preterm labor, and complications during labor.³
• Users who inject the substance are at a higher risk of contracting HIV. There is also evidence that cocaine use speeds up the progression of HIV infection.³

What Are the Effects of Mixing Stimulants With Other Drugs?

Cocaine users often also drink alcohol. Mixing these substances can be very harmful as they react and produce the chemical called cocaethylene. This chemical can exacerbate the drugs’ toxicity to the heart.³

People also often use cocaine with heroin, which is called “speedballing”. Since cocaine, a stimulant, has the opposite effect to heroin, an opioid, users mix them to counteract the side effects of both drugs. However, this practice is very dangerous and potentially fatal. The user may accidentally take a higher dose of heroin. Since the effects of cocaine disappear before those of heroin, this can lead to heroin overdose and death.³

What Are Stimulant Addiction Treatment Programs?

Stimulant users can achieve recovery by entering treatment for stimulant abuse under the care of trained medical professionals. Although there currently aren’t any FDA-approved medications that could be used in stimulant treatment, there are treatment options to consider.⁷ Behavioral therapies, like cognitive-behavioral therapy, The Matrix Model, and 12-step programs, are used to guide people who abuse stimulants to recovery.⁷Additionally, there is ongoing research that may determine pharmacological options for cocaine addiction treatment.³ Also, the development of a cocaine vaccine, which should decrease the risk of relapse, is underway.³

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