Transcript Healthy Living 1200 - Mr. Philpott's Courses

Healthy Living 1200
Unit 3: Controlling Substances
What is a drug?
• Drug- A drug is any substance (other than
food) which changes the way the body or
mind functions.
• Prescription Drug – drugs prescribed by a
medical doctor that can heal illness and
injury or take away pain.
• Drugs can come from plants or can be
made in labs. Both have the potential to
cause harm if not taken appropriately.
What is a Controlled Substance ?
• Controlled substance - a drug which has
been declared by federal or provincial law
to be illegal for sale or use, but may be
dispensed under a physician's
prescription.
• The basis for control and regulation is the
danger of addiction, abuse, physical and
mental harm (including death), the
trafficking by illegal means, and the
dangers from actions of those who have
used the substances .
Appropriate Uses of Substances
• 1. To get better if you are sick.
• 2. To reduce pain from illness or injury
under the guidance of an MD.
• 3. To manage mental illness
(i.e. depression, anxiety )
Ways in which substances
are abused
• Taking too much of a drug/alcohol at one time
(bingeing) or taking smaller doses more often.
• Taking a prescribed drug after it is no longer
needed.
• Taking a drug that has been prescribed to
someone else.
• Taking a drug to cope with everyday stress.
• Combining drugs
The Different Stages of Drug and
Alcohol Use
• Nobody wakes up one day and discovers
he or she is addicted to drugs.
• Drugs often become a part of our lives
through a slow process.
• Each time you move from one stage of
drug use to another is a result of a choice.
• The different stages are: Non-user,
Experimental Use, Regular Use, Binge
Use and Addiction
Non-Users
• They are people who don’t use any drugs,
including alcohol and tobacco. Their
reasons include
• Health Reasons
• Religious beliefs
• Athletic Ability
• Negative Past experience with drugs
• Lack of interest
Experimental Use
• Trying drugs for the first time is almost
always with other people. ( party,friends)
• This stage is very brief and is characterized
by:
– Curiosity about drugs
– A belief that doing drugs won’t lead to harm.
– A social atmosphere.
• After experimenting with a drug, a person
decides whether or not to use them again.
Regular Use
• When drugs or alcohol start to show up
more and more often.
• When you notice you are thinking about
drugs and alcohol and talking about them
a lot.
• When you realize that most of your friends
are using.
Regular Use (cont’d)
• Other qualities of regular use include:
– Using automatically without thinking about it.
– Finding it difficult to enjoy social situations
without using drugs or alcohol.
– Some areas of life are becoming affected (e.g.
school, family, money)
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Binge Use
• Binge Use – refers to heavy and excessive
drinking or drugging on a sporadic basis,
with little or no use in between.
• Binge use is unpredictable and scary for
both the user and friends and family
members
Binge Use (cont’d)
• Problems associated with binge use
include:
– Higher levels of agression
– Fighting and violence
– Getting into serious trouble while on binge
(fighting, assault, domestic violence)
– Alcohol poisoning or drug overdose, leading
to medical treatments
– Increased risk of accidents (e.g impaired
driving)
Addiction
• This is the most frightening stage of drug
and alcohol use.
• The user experiences an utter sense of
desperation to continue using, depsite
repeated attempts to cut back and despite
negative consequences
• A person’s emotional and physical health
is greatly affected: mood swings and
serious health problems often emerge.
Reasons why people keep using
drugs
• Drug use provides an instant group of “friends”
• As people grow more and more dependent, reality
becomes harder to deal with; drugs offer an “escape”.
• Drugs often give us an excuse to avoid
responsibilities.
• Some people use it to numb themselves from painful
events.
• Powerful craving that only subside with drug use.
Alcohol
• Some of the signs of problem alcohol use:
– Craving
– Impaired Control (inability to limit drinking)
– Physical Dependence (withdrawal symptoms such
as nausea, sweating, shakiness, anxiety)
– Tolerance (need for increasing amounts to feel
effects)
Alcohol
• Physical Effects:
– Co-ordination is impaired
– High blood pressure & heart damage
– Liver damage
– If pregnant – Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
– Life threatening when mixed with other drugs
Alcohol
• Mental & Emotional Effects:
– Disinhibition (out of the ordinary behaviour)
– Increase in aggressive and violent behaviour
– Depression
– Problems with school & learning (lower grades)
Nicotine
• Effects on the body, brain & behaviour
– Extremely hard to quit
– Adolescent smokers are twice as likely as nonsmoking adolescents to suffer from major
depression
– Causes lung cancer & chronic lung diseases
(emphysema)
Nicotine
– Increases risk of heart disease
– Effects circulation (skin becomes thinner and more
wrinkled)
– Development of unborn fetuses is delayed
– Withdrawal symptoms include
– Cravings
– Irritability
– Preoccupation (can’t stop thinking about it)
Marijuana
• Most common of all “illicit” drugs
• THC is main chemical (potency has increased);
400 additional chemicals
• Smoked by wide range of people of different
ages, backgrounds, and professions
• Often smoked as a social group activity
• Can negatively impact all areas of life
– School, work, sports, motivation
Marijuana
• Short Term Effects:
– Increase in heart rate (may lead to anxiety and
paranoia)
– Distorted concept of time and space
– Decrease in concentration skills, short-term
memory capacity
– Feeling tired after the high wears off
– Increase in appetite, weight gain
Long Term Effects
• Contains many of same chemicals in tobacco
smoke
• Breathing problems
• Risk of lung cancer is significantly higher than
'regular' smokers
• THC can damage cells and tissues that protect
against disease
• Lack of motivation
• Difficulty processing new info
Cocaine & Crack
• Cocaine is a white powder from the leaves of
the coca plant
• Can be snorted, smoked, injected
• Stimulant with very short high (5-20 min)
• Crack is smokable form (highly addictive after
only a few uses)
• Physically and pyschologically addictive
Cocaine & Crack
• Use/abuse can cause:
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Increased blood pressure and heart rate
Rapid breathing
Constriction of blood vessels
Decreased appetite
Sweating
Restlessness, insomnia
Paranoia, anxiety
Dilated pupils
Cocaine & Crack
• Over time and/or larger doses:
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Aggressive, hostile, erratic behaviour
Hallucinations
Rapid and irregular heartbeat
Increased paranoia
Impotence
Depression
Cocaine & Crack
• Psychological Effects:
• Paranoia and confusion
• Cocaine psychosis: losing touch with reality, loss
of interest in friends/family, self-harm
• Crashing: after “coming down” people “crash” &
become very depressed and tired
Inhalants
• Common household items (paint thinners,
cleaning fluids, gasoline, glue, white-out)
• Aerosols (spray paint, deodorant)
• Gases (nitrous oxide, butane lighters,
propane tanks)
• Nitrites (they relax the muscles & are sold on
the street as “poppers” or “snappers”)
Inhalants
• Attract younger children (under 12) or adults
who cannot afford drugs/alcohol
• Can be a gateway drug
• Breathed in through nose or mouth:
• Sniffing or snorting fumes
• Spraying directly into nose/mouth
• Huffing from inhalant-soaked bag
Inhalants
• Within minutes of inhalation, user feels
effects similar to those from alcohol:
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Lack of coordination
Dizziness
Euphoria
Difficulty speaking
Inhalants
• Intoxication is short-lasting (minutes)
• Prolonged inhalation can lead to
unconsciousness and death
• Can cause
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Inattentiveness
Irritability
Depression
Brain / organ damage
MDMA (Ecstasy)
• “love drug”
• Dangerous if combined with alcohol or
antidepressants
• Physical Effects:
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Increased heart rate, hyperactivity, excess energy
Dehydration
Nausea and loss of appetite
Clenching of jaw muscles
Overdose – hypertension, kidney failure
MDMA (Ecstasy)
• Mental Effects:
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Mild distortions of perception
Psychological dependence
Withdrawal causes fatigue & depression
Increases brains’ levels of serotonin, causing
“mood boost”
• However, repeated use of e leads to possible
serotonin loss (leading to chronic depression,
panic attacks, paranoia)
Hallucinogens
• Drastically alter one’s thought processes,
mood, & perceptions
• High doses – hallucinations (imagined events)
• Low doses – milder distortion in perception
Hallucinogens
• Types:
• LSD (Acid) – very common, longest-lasting
(remains active in body for up to 12 hours)
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Physical effects include trembling, numbness, muscle
weakness, nausea, high state of anxiety (“bad trip”)
Hallucinogens
• Psilocybin (‘Magic Mushrooms’)
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Very similar yet slightly milder effects as those of LSD
Intense feelings of anxiety & depression
• Phencyclidine (PCP, ‘Angel Dust’) & Ketamine
(‘Special K’)
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Cause euphoria and stimulation
Drunken-like state (poor coordination, slurred
speech, drowsiness)
Higher doses – “blank stare”
Heroin
• Depressant – slows down mind and body
processes
• Smoked or injected; extremely addictive
• Withdrawal effects are painful (very bad flu,
lasts a week)
• Addicts continue to avoid sickness
• Overdose – slows (then stops) breathing,
causing death
Heroin
• Physical Effects:
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Slower breathing
Flushed skin
Pinpoint pupils
Nausea/vomiting
Constipation
Nodding of the head
Decreased ability to feel pain
Increased risk of Hep A & C, HIV (needles)
Heroin
• Mental / Emotional Effects:
• Dreamy, pleasant state
• Psychological Addiction – obsessed with getting
more
Methamphetamines
• Stimulants – widely used by teens (70% of
street youth), highly addictive
• ‘Club drugs’ - Speed, meth, crank, crystal
meth
• White, odourless, bitter-tasting crystalline
powder (pill form, snorted, injected, smoked)
• Highs last from 2-14 hours (depending on
drug)
Methamphetamines
• Signs of Use
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Excessive activity and movement
Talking a lot, often argumentatively
Irritability and paranoia
Nervousness
Noticeable weight loss, sleeplessness
Euphoria
Methamphetamines
• Effects on brain, body, behaviour:
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Severe, long-lasting
Depression & paranoia
Delusional thoughts & psychosis
Mood swings
Rage & violence
Long-term damage to brain cells
Methamphetamines
• Extreme difficulty resisting use
• Addictive potential is higher than other drugs
• Withdrawal symptoms:
• Stomach pain, hunger, headaches, exhaustion,
depression
• Overdose
• Seizures, high body temp, heart attack, stroke,
death (risk is highest when injected)
Oxycontin
• Prescription painkiller similar to morphine
• May be chewed, snorted, injected for an
instant and intense “high”
• Frequent use leads to tolerance, which leads
to larger doses, then addiction
• Eventually, Oxy causes users to find more
pleasure in the drug than in normal life
Oxycontin
• Side Effects & Danger Signs:
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Slow breathing
Small, pinpoint pupils
Confusion
Tiredness or passing out
Dizziness
Weakness
Apathy (I don’t care)
Nausea, vomiting
Seizures
Oxycontin
• CANNOT be treated effectively at home –
requires close supervision by a trained
medical professional to ease withdrawal
symptoms and make detox more comfortable
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
(FASD)
• Also referred to as Fetal Alcohol Disorder (FAS)
• Problems with physical development, learning
and behavior caused by alcohol consumption
during pregnancy
• A permanent condition – no cure
• 100% preventable – NO SAFE amount/type of
alcohol to drink during pregnancy
Personal Factors that Increase Risk of
Drug Use
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Family history of drug use
Depression
Age (teens more likely)
Low self-esteem
ADD or ADHD
Learning disabilities
Personality style (impulsive, risk-taking, etc.)
FASD
• Birth defects include:
– Abnormal facial features
– Central nervous system problems
– Problems with memory, learning, and attention
span
– Problems with communicating, expressing oneself
– Vision/hearing problems
– Social issues
Environmental Factors that Increase
Risk of Drug Use
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Unstable family environment
Highly controlling family environment
Drug / alcohol use by family members
Lack of strong attachment to adult figures
High stress
Having friends who use drugs
Trouble in school
Social problems (‘fitting in’ with peers)