Though the era of “Just say no” is past it?s prime, drug use among college students is still high. Whether it be alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, marijuana, or some powdered or pill form of pleasure, there remains the trap of endless and mindless addictions. Hiding behind the empty assumption that many drugs college students indulge in, such as diet pills, are legal, keeps students blind to the fact that they are, indeed, drug abusers.

Ever try coke? Not the kind you drink, of course, but the kind that causes cardiovascular complications, including disturbances in heart rhythm and heart attacks?

Cocaine stimulates the central nervous system, heightening alertness, inhibiting appetite and the need for sleep, while providing intense feelings of pleasure. Cocaine, a.k.a. nose candy, or devil?s dandruff, can also cause physical symptoms such as chest pain, nausea, blurred vision, fevers, muscle spasms, convulsions and coma. Snorting that stuff up your nose isn?t good, especially for your body.

But pot?s okay, right? Nope. The fact about marijuana use is that with everyday usage, build-up of THC forms a fatty lipid around the brain cells. This makes it harder to process new information, affects short-term memory, and stunts the brains ability to grow.

Smoking marijuana can also cause red eyes and an appetite that Richard Simmons would give up on. Smokers, remember to buy some Visine, wear your sunglasses, bring some money for munchies, show your smile and be happy ? if you can remember all that.

Campus police Investigator John Hamrick said that there hasn?t been a drug-related case on campus in five years. That?s because he can?t bust all the caffeine, ephedrine, and diet pill-heads on campus. Maybe you?re taking them to stay up late to study, or to finish a term paper, or to shed 15 pounds. But looking good in a swimsuit isn?t a healthy reason to take pills that curb the appetite.

It?s obvious who the pill poppers are, with dark circles under their eyeballs and cheeks sucked in like the heroin chic models of the past. The pills aren?t safe just because they?re sold at GNC or at local drug stores. Many popular diet pills such as Hydroxycut, a dietary supplement used by weightlifters to tone muscles faster, thin the blood, speed up the heart rate, and can cause sleeping disorders. So, besides looking rail thin, getting zits, and mirroring zombies, users are also neurotic from lack of sleep. Not attractive in the least.

If you?re going to do drugs, like ecstasy, for instance and you don?t know the short and long term effects and don?t know what the drug is actually made out of, then you don?t know what you getting yourself into. When you?re at the crossroads of choosing to do the drug or not, it?s ultimately up to you. Know what you?re getting into.

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