Other Drugs

What is a Drug?

A drug is any substance (except food and water) which, when taken, changes the way our bodies function. They effect the way we think, feel and behave.

Drugs may be legal (eg alcohol, caffeine and tobacco) or illegal (eg gunja, ecstasy, speed and heroin).

Effects of Drugs

  • Take more risks
  • Cause nausea and headache
  • Get into fights or harm others
  • Your mood - you may not enjoy activities, or hanging out with friends, and you may feel embarrassed, regretful or depressed
  • Physically - you may feel tired, irritated, dizzy, and nauseous. You may also have trouble concentrating, sleeping or remembering things

Drugs affect our ability to look after ourselves and make safe choices, it also affects our ability to care for our family, community and culture. Alcohol and other drugs can tangle and weaken our spirit and mind. This can affect our emotional, social, spiritual and physical well being. This can weaken our connection to family, community, culture and country. When we use alcohol and other drugs in harmful ways our spirit becomes weaker and our thinking gets tangled. But if we stop or reduce our use, our spirit can grow strong and our thinking becomes clear again.

What is drug dependence?

It's important to remember that the level of someone's dependence can vary. People who become dependent on a drug may: 

  • Become tolerant to its effects - this means they need to use more and more of the drug to get the same effect or avoid withdrawal symptoms.
  • Feel like they need to take drugs to do certain things or feel a certain way.
  • Experience withdrawal symptoms - this means that a person may experience really unpleasant symptoms when they stop using a drug. These symptoms can include feeling sad or angry, or physical symptoms like vomiting, fits and cramps. Sometimes this can be life threatening. 
  • Behave differently or in unexpected ways - this can be very difficult for their family and community to manage.
Getting Help

13 Yarn

13 Yarn (Call 13 92 76) is a 24/7 nationally available crisis hotline, developed in collaboration with Gayaa Dhuwi (opens in new window) (Proud Spirit) Australia and run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the support of Lifeline. 

It is the first national crisis support line for mob who are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping. They offer a confidential one-on-one yarning opportunity with a Lifeline-trained Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter who can provide crisis support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 13YARN empowers our community with the opportunity to yarn without judgement and provide a culturally safe space to speak about their needs, worries or concerns.

Find out for more information (opens in new window)

Page last updated9 July 2024