Do alcohol or other drugs hurt your body if you only use them a couple of times?

Absolutely. Using alcohol or illegal drugs can hurt your body immediately, and using prescription drugs that aren’t for you or using prescription drugs in ways they aren’t intended to be used can do serious damage to your body.

Some drugs, like heroin and cocaine, are very addictive. That means that they tell your brain that you want to use them more and more. That can happen very quickly and the damage from using those and other drugs can happen quickly too.

 Using someone else’s prescription drugs can cause reactions in your body that you don’t expect. Abusing (using more than you’re supposed to) a prescription that’s meant for you can also have unexpected effects because it’s more than your body needs.

The damage gets worse, of course, the longer someone uses any kind of drug. Get the facts on long-term use.