10 Common Short Term Effects of Narcotics that are Dangerous

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The term “narcotics” refers to opioid drugs that produce a numbing and calming effect. This can include legal and illegal drugs like cannabis, benzodiazepines, cocaine, hallucinogens, and other controlled prescription drugs. Narcotics have psychoactive effects that increase their potential for abuse. With extensive availability in the United States, narcotics abuse and dependencies are widespread. Thankfully, the number of drug overdoses related to synthetic opioids other than methadone decreased by more than 35% from 2023 to 2024.

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Thousands of emergency department visits annually involve non-medical use of narcotics. Nearly 14 million Americans over 12 years old abuse prescription medications every year, and 7.6 million of those users will become addicted to the substances.

It’s wise to know the 10 common short term effects of narcotics that are dangerous. Here’s what to look out for.

1. Breathing Irregularities

Opioid narcotics like heroin, morphine, methadone, and codeine are central nervous system (CNS) depressants that slow down breathing and heart rate, sometimes to fatal extents. The most common symptoms of opioid overdose are slowed or irregular breathing that either stops or leads to vital organ damage, including hypoxia (brain damage) and damage to the heart, kidney, liver, and lungs. Impending death is most often recognizable when the person emits choking or gurgling noises commonly known as the “death rattle.”

Benzodiazepines are tranquilizers prescribed to treat anxiety or insomnia and also work by depressing the CNS. Combining these drugs with other narcotics or alcohol can be fatal. Narcotics that have a CNS stimulant effect elevate respiration and can lead to breathing difficulties as well as consequential organ damage or total respiratory failure.

2. Cardiovascular Problems

Using narcotics increases your risk of a heart attack.

The heart is the central organ that pumps blood throughout the body. Narcotics can slow down or speed up heart rate and blood pressure to dangerous levels, inducing arrhythmias or irregular heart rates, heart attack, or stroke.

Impaired cardiovascular and circulatory damage is common among intravenous narcotic abusers and can include damaged blood vessels and veins, heart tissues, and muscles. This leads to a higher risk of developing infections or diseases, beyond the risks of overdose and early death.

3. Dizziness or Lightheadedness

Dizziness or lightheadedness can be a short-term effect of narcotics that leads to falls, accidents, and other injuries. People who use narcotics should pay close attention to these effects that can be early symptoms of problematic health conditions. Pregnant women and older adults may be more vulnerable to these risks.

4. Fainting or Loss of Consciousness

Often a result of low oxygen levels in the brain when the pulmonary or cardiovascular systems begin to fail, fainting is a dangerous sign of overdose. “Nodding off” and fluctuations between arousal and unconsciousness are common effects of opioid narcotic intoxication, but when the person loses consciousness and is unable to be aroused, emergency treatment is necessary.

Are Narcotic Side Effects Potentially Fatal?

Narcotics are very serious drugs. They are easy to overdose on, and the side effects can be fatal. Each narcotic drug has its own dangers.

5. Loss of Coordination

Narcotics impair motor functioning skills, and driving or operating heavy machinery is warned against when using narcotics such as prescription opioids or benzodiazepines. This is because the CNS depressant effects of these drugs cause delayed response times and loss of coordination.

6. Speech Difficulties

Incoherent speech, mumbling, or speech difficulties can be short term effects of narcotics that are dangerous if the person is unable to communicate their needs, including possible overdose symptoms.

7. Confusion

Slowed cognition and confusion while taking narcotics are dangerous because they often place the person at an extra risk of harm from injuries, abuse, and social disparities or consequences, such as job loss. They may also be a significant sign of overdose.

8. Loss of Inhibitions, Moral Reasoning, and Judgment

Narcotics change the way the brain works by inhibiting moral reasoning and judgment in response to the pleasurable effects of the drugs. People who use narcotics often engage in unwanted, immoral, or illegal acts without worrying about the dangerous consequences while they are intoxicated.

9. Inability to Regulate Body Temperature

An inability to regulate body temperature is a result of autonomic nervous system dysregulations that can lead to organ failures and death. People who use narcotics may feel colder to the touch or appear flushed or pale. They may also suffer extreme temperature fluctuations, especially when they begin to withdraw from the drugs. CNS stimulants have a special tendency to elevate temperatures to excessive degrees, causing dehydration and other complications, leading to overdose.

10. Excessive Nausea and Vomiting

Excessive nausea and vomiting are dangerous because it often leads to dehydration, which can impair organ systems and functioning. If nausea persists, the person will likely limit fluid intake, increasing the risk of dehydration.

An often overlooked complication of vomiting when using narcotics is the possibility of aspiration on spittle or vomit. Inhaling the vomit or spittle increases the risk of pulmonary infections and diseases, and can lead to respiratory failure or death.

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For further information on clinical signs of a substance use disorder, see: 10 Signs of Drug Addiction.

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