How to Tell if Someone is High on Drugs

If you suspect a loved one or family member is secretly using drugs, it can be challenging to determine what kind they might be using or whether a different health issue is involved. Recognizing the signs that someone is under the influence is essential, especially since different drugs can produce varying effects depending on their class and dosage.

In this blog, you’ll learn how to identify these signs and understand which drugs are more likely to cause certain reactions. This can help determine if your loved one has engaged in substance abuse (or alcohol abuse) or if they are struggling with a drug addiction.

What is the Definition of Being High?

Being high or stoned is an altered physical and mental state caused by using psychoactive substances like methamphetamine or marijuana.[1] While being high is most often linked to illegal street drugs, some prescription medications can also make a person feel high or under the influence.

Examples of common drug categories that are associated with getting high include:[2]

• Opioids: Drugs in this category, including oxycodone and morphine, bind to opioid receptors in the brain, which increase dopamine and block pain.
• Cannabis: These substances contain the active ingredient THC, which stimulates cannabinoid receptors in the brain. This includes edible.
• Stimulants: Substances in this category, including Adderall and cocaine, increase feel-good hormones, including dopamine and norepinephrine.
• Hallucinogens: Drugs in this category, also known as psychedelics, interfere with serotonin activity in the brain, specifically in areas related to perception. This includes ketamine and phencyclidine (PCP).
• Inhalants:[3] Products in this category are not made for human consumption. This includes aerosol sprays, paint, thinners, and nitrous oxide. These substances affect the central nervous system by starving the brain of oxygen.
• Disassociatives: Drugs like dextromethorphan and ketamine block specific receptors in the brain, which can lead to dissociation.
• Depressants: These drugs, also known as sedatives or tranquilizers, include alcohol and benzodiazepines. They enhance the brain’s calming chemical GABA.

Certain highs are unavoidable, especially if they are listed side effects of an FDA-approved medication. However, mixing drugs (polysubstance use) can raise the risk of feeling intoxicated or experiencing an overdose.[4] Even though some medicines in these categories are legally prescribed, they should not be misused to achieve a illicit high.

Why Do People Get High?

People get high for psychological, social, physiological, and emotional reasons, which include:[5]

• Psychological: People may ‘get high’ to change the way they feel about themselves. They may use drugs out of curiosity, or to cope with low self-esteem or an identity crisis. Others may have a thrill-seeking personality and choose to get high as a way to experience another ‘thrill’.
• Physiological: People who get high for physiological reasons often do so because of dependence, withdrawal avoidance, or tolerance after abusing a drug for a long time.
• Emotional: Many people get high to counter or regulate negative feelings like depression, anxiety, stress, or grief. They use substances that make them feel euphoric, carefree, or emotionally numb.
• Social: Peer pressure, social anxiety, influence, and cultural or community norms can prompt a person to get high because ‘everyone else is’.

As you can see, not everyone who gets high chooses to do so happily. Some people are persuaded into it or pressured by loved ones. Others may get high to avoid painful and sometimes dangerous withdrawal symptoms.

What are the Physical Signs of Being High?

If you suspect someone around you is using drugs recreationally or getting high, they may not be honest about it when asked. They might feel embarrassed or unable to explain why they are getting high.

However, several obvious physical signs can reveal if someone is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The physical signs of being high include:[6]

• Worsening appearance
• Poor hygiene
• Weight, loss or gain
• Dilated pupils
• Bloodshot eyes
• Thinning hair
• Hair loss
• Skin sores
• Poor oral hygiene
• Dull skin tone
• Jerky body movements

Some people seem tired or drowsy when they are high. This is more likely to happen to individuals using depressants.[7]

What are the Psychological Signs of Being High?

People who misuse drugs show various cognitive symptoms associated with feeling high. Cognition involves processes like thinking, attention, language, and memory.[8] These functions are regulated by the prefrontal cortex.[9]

Drug abuse interferes with these signals, leading to cognitive delays and the following psychological signs someone is high on drugs:[10]

• Delayed motor skills
• Difficulty holding objects
• Lightheadedness
• Slowed reaction time
• Impaired thinking
• Dizziness
• Lightheadedness
• Altered perception
• Slurred speech
• Difficulty balancing
• Decrease coordination
• Problems remembering things
• Height and senses
• Difficulty focusing
• Blurred vision

Although these signs are temporary and will wear off when drug use is discontinued, some can last for several months or even years after cessation.[11]

What are the Behavioral Signs of Being High?

In addition to the psychological signs of being high, some people also display behavioral changes.

These include:[12]

• Increase the need for money
• Increase drug tolerance
• Difficulty staying in relationships
• Engaging in secretive, sneaky behaviors
• Frequently appearing under the influence
• Neglecting responsibilities to get high
• Drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms
• Angry outbursts or extreme mood swings
• Loss of control over substance use
• Depressive mood swings
• Abandoning once-enjoyed activities
• Dissociation and schizophrenia
• Psychosis

People who are under the influence of stimulant drugs may take more risks than usual, which can result in accidents and disagreements with loved ones.

What Drugs Lead to Feeling High?

Both legal and illegal drugs can lead to a euphoric high.

These include:[13]

• Anabolic steroids: Synthetic substances that manipulate hormone levels in the body.
• Speed: Drugs that contain methamphetamine, including Adderall and Ritalin.
• Synthetic cathinone: A family of drugs, also called bath salts, which contain a synthetic version of the chemical cathinone.
• Dextromethorphan: A cough suppressant that contains psychoactive properties.
• Methamphetamine: A drug that produces a stimulant effect.
• Ketamine: A drug that causes dissociation and hallucinations.
• Cocaine: An illegal drug extracted from the cocoa plant that causes hyperactivity and paranoia.
• Ayahuasca: A hallucinogenic plant in liquid form that people drink to experience a DMT high.
• Cannabis: Marijuana and other cannabinoids that contain THC, which, for some, produces a calming effect; and for others, triggers anxiety.
• Alcohol: A central nervous system depressant that contains ethanol or ethyl alcohol.
• Fentanyl: A synthetic opioid that induces an intense high and can be lethal even in small doses.
• Heroine: An opioid that is a byproduct of morphine, which causes users to feel a surge, or rush of euphoria.
• Kratom: A substance with psychotropic effects extracted from the leaves of a deciduous tree native to Southeast Asia.
• MDMA: A Schedule I Controlled Substance with psychoactive, hallucinogenic, and amphetamine properties. On the streets, it is known as Molly or ecstasy.
• Mescaline: Also known as peyote, this substance has hallucinogenic properties.
• Oxycodone: This pain reliever causes effects similar to heroin.
• Loperamide: This antidiarrheal medication, when taken in high doses, elicits euphoria.
• PCP: Also known as angel dust, is a dissociative drug that is often sought out for its hallucinogenic effects.
• Salvia: People who consume this psychoactive plant experience a feeling of detachment from reality.

Tobacco and nicotine-containing products, though not associated with feeling high, are considered addictive and can alter the way a person thinks and feels.

How Long Does a High Last?

A high can last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, and in some cases, an entire day.

Here’s a breakdown of how long a high will last based on the most common substances:

• Alcohol: 4 to 5 hours [14]
• Cannabis: 2 hours [15]
• Methamphetamine:10 hours [16]
• MDMA/ecstasy: 8 to 9 hours [17]
• Oxycodone: 3 hours [18]
• Phencyclidine (PCP): 21 hours [19]

Escaping the Cycle of Getting High

In the beginning, you may experiment with drugs as a way to escape physical or emotional pain. Over time, continual use can blur the line between choosing to use and needing to use. When someone abuses drugs, they run the risk of developing a tolerance to their effects.[20] This means you will need more of the drug to experience the original high.

At this point, you may want to stop, but feel unable to do so due to intense cravings or painful withdrawal symptoms. This is the start of a substance use disorder. Without treatment, a substance use disorder can transition into a full-fledged addiction. This is a chronic relapsing disease that not only makes it even harder to stop using, but significantly increases your chances of suffering an overdose.

To understand why you get high, it is important to work with your health care team or a mental health professional who can help identify the root causes of your drug use and the triggers that lead you to seek the feeling of being high. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an effective program that can be part of this process. When combined with evidence-based addiction treatments such as detox, your chances of relapsing are significantly reduced.

Are you ready to take the first step toward lasting sobriety?

Contact Southeast Addiction GA and learn about our catalog of comprehensive treatment programs designed to help you escape the clutches of addiction and enjoy your life once again.