Transcript Sedative Hypnotics

Lesson 57
Illegal Drug Use
Stimulants
• Group of drugs that speeds up the
activities of the central nervous system
• Uppers
• Feel alert, awake, and active
• Increase
– Blood pressure
– Heart rate
– Breathing rate
Stimulants continued
• Use of stimulants is always followed by
a “crash”
– Down period- feelings of weakness,
fatigue, sleepiness, sadness and
depression
• Can develop psychological and
physical dependence
Stimulants
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Amphetamines
Cocaine
Ephedrine
Caffeine
Amphetamines
• Chemically manufactured stimulants
that are highly addictive
• First used in the 1930’s to treat
narcolepsy
• Conditions for uses multiplied
• Sold without prescriptions in inhalers
and powders
Amphetamines
• Abuse and bizarre violent behavior
among teens and prisoners led to
recognition of harmful effects and
• Research of very limited therapeutic
effects led to
• Medical profession reduces use
Amphetamines
Uses now
• Narcolepsy
• Certain types of obesity
Methamphetamine
Stimulant in amphetamine family
Effects- short term
• Euphoria
• Increased alertness
• Perception of
improved self esteem
and self confidence
• Increased body
temperature
• Rapid breathing and
heart rate
• Impulsiveness
Addiction is very likely to occur after 1 use
Meth
• Effects are similar to cocaine
• Major difference is the half-life
– the time required for the activity of a
substance taken into the body to lose one
half its initial effectiveness
• The half-life for cocaine is less than 45
minutes
• The half-life for meth is 3-6 hours
Meth Effects- long-term
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Nervousness
Irritability
Restlessness
Insomnia
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Drastic weight loss
Paranoia
Desperation
Permanent
neurological changes
Meth
• Death is possible from overdosing
• Even after your brain dies your body
can suffer
– Elevated body temperature
– Cardiovascular shock
– Convulsions
– Tremors
– Death
Ice
• Purest methamphetamine
• A.k.a. Crank
• Compared to crack, the half-life of ice is
60 times longer
Cocaine
Stimulant in amphetamine family
• Highly addictive drug obtained from the
leaves of the coca bush
• It can be snorted, smoked or injected
• A.k.a.
– Coke
– Snow
– Blow
Cocaine
• Leaves are soaked in kerosene and
sulfuric acid until they begin to break
down to form a paste consisting of 2085% of cocaine sulfate is produced
• Hydrochloric acid is then used to
convert the paste to flakes or rocks of
nearly pure cocaine
• Colorless or white, odorless powder
How Cocaine is
Administered
• Can be absorbed through a mucous
membrane
– Circulated in the blood to heart lungs and
other organs
– Reaches the brain in about 5 minutes
Cocaine Administration
• Inhaled
– Reaches the brain and nervous system in 3
minutes
– Effects peak in 15-20 minutes and disappear
in 60-90 minutes
Cocaine Administration
• Injected into a vein
– Reaches brain in 15 seconds
– 100% absorption of drug
– “High” crests in 3-5 minutes and lasts 3040 minutes
• Smoked
– Reaches brain in 7 seconds
Freebase
• Freebase is the purified base form of
cocaine processed from the paste
using volatile (evaporating rapidly; passing off
readily in the form of vapor) chemicals
• The wisps of smoke produced are
inhaled a.k.a. ‘chasing the dragon’ as
when used with heroin
Initial Effects of Cocaine
• Effects are similar to amphetamine
• Studies couldn’t distinguish between
the effects of the 2 in small doses
except that amphetamine’s actions are
longer lasting
Initial Effects of Cocaine
• Cocaine is a
vasoconstrictor
– Narrows the blood
vessels
• Appetite is
deadened
• Cannot sleep
• Temperature may
rise or fall
• Heart rate, blood
pressure and
breathing speed up
• Metabolism is sped
up
Long-term Effects
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Confusion
Anxiety
Depression
Short-tempered
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Lose interest in food
Aggressive
Thinking impaired
Difficulty
concentrating and
remembering
Long term Effects
• Cocaine psychosis
– Have delusions and become paranoid
– Visual, auditory or tactile hallucinations
– Most common is formication- the
sensation of bugs crawling under the skin
– Can last days, weeks, even months
Long-term Effects
Those who sniff cocaine regularly experience
• Runny nose
• Burns and sores on
the nasal membranes
• Perforation of the
septum between the
nostrils
• Sore throats
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Hoarseness
Shortness of breath
Cold sweats
Tremors
Damage to liver
Other
Risk
• Intravenous users risk:
– Hepatitis
– HIV
– Other blood borne diseases
• Freebase smokers
– Lung damage
• Mucous membranes
• Cilia
• Elasticity
Crack
• Named for the sound it makes when it
is smoked
• Almost pure cocaine
• Most accessible and powerful form of
cocaine
• Works faster than other forms
– Takes about 7 seconds to reach the brain
Crack
• Acts as stimulant and local anestthetgic
– Hyper-aroused state in which the user
experiences
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a decrease in appetite
Rapid breathing
Tingling in the fingers
Sense of well-being
Lowered anxiety
Crack
• Euphoric state is shorter on crack than
cocaine
• Cocaine high lasts 1 ½ hours
• Crack high 20 to 30 minutes
Crack
• After coming down, user experiences
– Restlessness
– Irritability
– Depression
– Headaches
– Convulsions
– Insatiable craving for more
Ephedrine
• Stimulant that is found naturally in the
ephedra plant
• Common in decongestants
• May be used to cook meth
• FDA banned over the counter sales of
products containing ephedrine
Sedative Hypnotics
• Group of drugs that depress the
nervous system
Sedative Hypnotics
• Group of drugs that depress the
activities of the central nervous system
• Sedative- drug that has a calming
effect
• Hypnotic- drug that produces sleep
• Sleeping pills and tranquilizers
Sedative Hypnotics
Two major types
• Barbiturates
• Benzodiazepines
Barbiturates
• Type of sedative hypnotic that used to
be prescribed to help people sleep and
to relieve tension
• Rarely prescribed because of addictive
tendancies
Barbiturates
• About 2500 variations for the barbituric
acid have been made
• Only about 15 remain in mediucal use
• Small doses calm nervous conditons
• Large doses cause sleep about 20 to
60 minutes after taking
Barbiturates
• The effects may progress through
successive stages
– Sedation
– Sleep
– Coma
– Death
*The last of course from misuse or abuse
Benzodiazepines
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Often prescribed for anxiety
Commonly known as tranquilizers
Muscle relaxers
Anticonvulsants
Benzodiazepines
• Flunitrazepam
– Date rape drug
• A.k.a Roofies