Transcript Unit7DrugsandAlcoholx

Preventing Drug Abuse
Facts About Drug Use
• Drug use is a part of life in the United States
▫ Doctors write countless prescriptions every day
• Medicines: legal drugs that help the body fight
injury, illness, or disease
▫ Classified as either over-the-counter and
prescriptions
Classifications of Drugs
Over-the-Counter Drugs
Prescription Drugs
• Sold legally in pharmacies and
other stores without a doctor’s
prescription
• Examples:
▫ Pain relievers
▫ Cold and cough remedies
▫ Sleep aids
• Can cause harm if the
instructions are not followed
• Can be obtained only with a
written order from a doctor
• Can be purchased only at a
pharmacy
• Require more government
control than OTC drugs
• Doctor will determine the
correct amount that the
individual patient needs
Illegal Drug Use
• An illegal drug is a chemical substance that
people of any age may not lawfully manufacture,
possess, buy, or sell
• The improper use of medicines, either
prescription or OTC, is called drug misuse
▫ Taking more than the prescribed amount
▫ Often due to misunderstandings
• When a drug is intentionally used improperly or
unsafely, it is known is drug abuse
Cough Medicine
• Proper Use: using the cough medicine per the
label instructions to treat a cough
• Misuse: mistakenly taking more than is
recommended to treat a cough
• Abuse: deliberately taking more than is
recommended or taking for purposes other than
treating a cough
Dangers of Drug Misuse and Abuse
• Side Effects:
▫ An unwanted physical or
mental effect caused by a
drug
▫ Can include nausea,
dizziness, drowsiness
• Tolerance:
▫ The need for more and
more of a drug to receive
the same effects
• Dependence:
▫ Tolerance can lead to drug
dependence
 A chemical need for the
drug and cannot function
without it
• Withdrawal
▫ Occurs when the person
stops taking the drug
▫ Nausea, vomiting,
headaches, fever, etc.
Drug Interactions
• Antagonism
▫ Occurs when each drug’s
effect is canceled out or
reduced by another
• Synergism
▫ Occurs when drugs
interact to produce
effects greater than those
that each drug would
produce alone
Other Health Risks
• Hepatitis and HIV
▫ Sharing needles can lead to the contamination of
blood from another user
▫ Viruses that cause Hepatitis B and C can lead to
serious and sometimes fatal liver disease
• Risks to the Fetus and Newborn
▫ Drugs can cross the placenta and onto the baby
▫ This can cause birth defects and drug dependency
Legal Risks and Other Costs
• Penalties for people who
produce, possess, or sell
illegal drugs include:
▫ Long-term prison
sentences
▫ Heavy fines
▫ Permanent criminal
record infractions
Other Effects of Drug Abuse
Effects on Family and Friends
Effects on Society
• Family and friend
relationships often become
strained
▫ Behavior and personality of
the user often changes
• A drug abuser may:
▫ Have unpredictable mood
swings
▫ Become violent
▫ Withdraw from
relationships and
responsibilities
• Costs of imprisoning
thousands of people for drugrelated crimes
• Medical costs for drug-related
illnesses and injuries
▫ Many cases of HIV/AIDS
• Premature deaths from drugrelated homicides and motorvehicle crashes
• Lost work productivity
because of drug dependency
Factors Affecting Drug Abuse
• Risk factors make it more or less likely that a
teen will abuse drugs
▫ They include family factors, social factors, and
personal factors
Family Factors
• Poor family relationships
▫ Strained relationships
lead to loss of guidance
▫ Teens feel more
vulnerable to influence of
peers who use drugs
• If family members abuse
drugs, teens are more
likely to as well
Social Factors
• Peer Group:
▫ Introduced to drugs by
friends and peers
▫ Curiosity, pressure
• Role Models:
▫ Celebrities who abuse
drugs act as negative role
models for teens
▫ “Glamorization” of drugs
• Competitive Pressure:
▫ A strong desire to excel at
athletics
 Painkillers to be able to
play through an injury
 Steroids to bulk up
▫ More likely to sustain
serious injuries that
could end their careers
Personal Factors
• Teens often turn to drugs
in order to avoid stressful
situations or feelings
▫ Break-ups
▫ Academic or social problems
▫ Illness or death in the family
• Drug abuse often adds
stress and problems
rather than taking them
away
Protective Factors
• Protective Factor:
▫ A factor that reduces a
person’s potential for
harmful behavior
• Having strong
protective factors will
help an individual stay
drug free
• Family factors:
▫ Strong and positive family
bonds, parental awareness,
clear rules
• Social factors:
▫ Bonds with school and
community institutions,
associating with peers who are
drug free
• Personal factors:
▫ Commitment to success,
understanding that drug abuse
is dangerous
Commonly Abused Drugs
Unit 7 – Ch. 19-22
Depressants
• A depressant is a psychoactive drug that slows
brain and body reactions
▫ Most commonly abused depressants
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Barbiturates
CNS depressants
Opiates
Alcohol
• Depressants slow body functions by decreasing
heart and breathing rates and lowering blood
pressure
Commonly Abused Depressants
Barbiturates
• Also known as sedative-hypnotics
because:
▫ In small doses, they relax
▫ In large doses, they induce
sleep
• Abusers quickly develop
tolerance and dependence
• Abusers walk slowly, slur their
words, and react more slowly to
their environment
• Withdrawal can be fatal
CNS Depressants
• A sedative that slows the
activity of the central nervous
system (CNS)
• Used to be called tranquilizers
• Slow nerve activity, relax
muscle tension, lower alertness,
and cause drowsiness
• Doctors may prescribe these
for:
▫ Anxiety
▫ Sleep disorders
▫ Muscle spasms
Opiates
• A opiate is any drug made from psychoactive
compounds contained in the seed pods of poppy
▫ Can also be produced in a lab
• In small doses, they act to dull the senses, relieve
pain, and induce sleep
▫ Examples include morphine and codeine
• Heroin is a widely abused and highly addictive
opiate made from morphine in a laboratory
▫ Heroin abusers appear dazed and disoriented
Stimulants
• A stimulant is a drug that speeds up the
activities of the CNS
▫ They increase heart rate, blood pressure,
breathing rate, and alertness
• Doctors prescribe stimulants for sleep and
behavior disorders such as ADHD
• Commonly abused stimulants include:
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Amphetamines
Methamphetamines
Cocaine
Nicotine/Tobacco smoke
Amphetamines
• Prescription drugs that are
sometimes sold illegally as
“speed” or “uppers”
• Produces feelings of wellbeing and high energy
▫ Effects wear off quickly
and causes depression
• The “down” often leads to
taking more and more doses
Methamphetamines
• A more powerful form of
amphetamines
• Sometimes called “crank”,
“crystal”, or “ice”
• Made from inexpensive
OTC ingredients in meth
labs
• After the “high”, the user
may become confused,
shaky, anxious, or violent
Cocaine
• A powerful but shortacting stimulant
• Can be sniffed through
the nose, smoked into the
lungs, or injected directly
into the blood
• Highly addictive,
resulting in a fast
development of tolerance
and dependence
Cocaine
• An overdose, caused by even small amounts, can
be may result in seizures, heart failure,
respiratory failure, and death
• Cocaine is turned into crack through a process
of “free-basing”
▫ Crack is the strongest form of cocaine and is
smoked; effects begin after only 8 seconds
Hallucinogens
• A drug that distorts perception,
thought, and mood
▫ They overload the brain with
sensory information, causing a
disoriented sense of reality
• Can produce frightening and
unpredictable mood swings
•
▫ Abusers cannot tell what is real
and what is not
• Users may experience memory loss
and personality changes
LSD
Psilocybin
PCP
• Strongest hallucinogen that creates unpredictable effects
• Can either stimulate or depress the CNS
• Flashbacks, bad trips
• Known as shrooms; a chemical found in a certain type of mushroom
• Much like the effects of LSD but not as strong
• Similar looking but deadly mushroom is often mistaken for psilocybin
• One of the most dangerous of all drugs; used as an anesthetic or
painkiller for large animals
• Unintentional injuries, deaths, schizophrenia, mental illness are all
common with PCP users
• Effects remain long after drug use ends