Here are some things you should know about what hallicinogens can do to you:

Hallucinogens affect your brain. Hallucinogens alter how the brain perceives time, reality, and the environment around you. They also affect the way you move, react to situations, think, hear and see. This may make you think that you're hearing voices, feeling things and seeing images that don't exist.

Hallucinogens affect your heart. The use of hallucinogens leads to an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Hallucinogens can put you in a coma and can cause heart and lung failure. Bummer, huh?

Hallucinogens affect your well-being. The use of hallucinogens may change the way you feel emotionally. They may cause you to feel confused, suspicious, and disoriented. Use of PCP may interfere with hormones related to growth, as well as with the learning process. In addition, the decisions you might make while under the influence of hallicinogens can be very dangerous, e.g., jumping out of a window because you believe that you can fly!

Hallucinogens affect your self-control. The impact of hallucinogens varies from time to time, so there is no way to know how much self-control you might maintain. They can cause you to mix up your speech, lose control of your muscles, make meaningless movements, and do aggressive or violent things.

How can you tell if someone is using hallucinogens? Sometimes, it's tough to tell. But there are some things to look for. If the person has one or more of the following warning signs, he or she may be using hallucinogens:

• Depression

• Weakness and lack of muscular coordination
• Anxiety or paranoia
• Trembling
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Facial flushing
• Dilated pupil

If you know that someone is under the influence of hallinogens, you can help them by making sure that they are safe! And, you can also help make them FEEL safe. Give them reassurance and friendly support. You can talk about the experience after the effects have warn off. Try to get them to talk to a trusted adult--your school's Student Assistance Program Counselor would be an excellent choice!