Transcript Drugs in Contemporary Society

Chapter 2
Drugs in Contemporary Society
Prevalence of Drug Use
-Nearly every American has used a
mind-altering substance (alcohol,
cigarettes, soft drinks)
-About 2 billion prescriptions are
dispensed each year in the United
States
-American children consumer 90% of
the Ritalin produced worldwide.
-Recent Sales of prescription drugs
totaled $85 billion and sales of overthe-counter drugs totaled $13 billion
-More than 500,000 people attended an
emergency room because of use of a
prescribed drug and 200,000
attended an emergency room
because of use of an over-the-counter
painkiller in a recent year
Impact of Drug Use and Abuse
Binge drinking at American colleges has
been linked to
-deaths
-weak academic performance
-injuries
-vandalism
-property damage
-Alcohol is implicated in 30-90% of all violent
crimes, 66% of spousal abuse, 16% of child
abuse incidents.
-Nearly 500,000 American die each year from
use of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs
-Drug-related offenses in 1960 were fewer
than 30,000 and currently are over 1
million
Drugs can lead to
-violent behavior
-dependency
-mental and physical maladies
-strained family relationships
-legal problems
-financial difficulties
-accidents, injuries and death
Patterns of Drug Taking
Experimental Use: Infrequent use motivated
by curiosity
Social-Recreational Use: Taking drugs to share
pleasurable experiences among friends
Circumstantial-Situational Use: Short term use
to relieve stress
Intensified Use: Takes drug on a steady
basis to relieve a problem
Compulsive Use: Acquiring and
consuming drugs is the main focus of
life
Extent of Drug Use
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Monitoring the Future Study
National Survey on Drug Use and
Health
Random sample of U.S. households
Data reflects that drug use is high and
that the younger one was when
initiating the drug use the more likely
they were to become dependent
Monitoring the Future
Attempt to procure data regarding high
school seniors but now includes 8th
and 10th graders
Latest data (2003) showed a decline in
use of cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin
and marijuana (some variation by
grade), and tobacco. Alcohol use has
remained stable.
Drug Abuse by Older Adults
Referred to as the “invisible epidemic”
In 2002, more than 30,000 people age 55 and
older went to an emergency room as a
result of an adverse drug reaction.
Approximately 2.5 million older Americans
have a problem with alcohol
Drugs in the Workplace
Substance abuse has a profound negative
effect in the workplace resulting in lessened
productivity and increased accidents,
absenteeism and health care costs.
Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
developed to help workers deal with
personal problems including substance
abuse.
Drug Testing
Drug testing becoming more popular in
American life (work and school)
Most drugs can be detected in the urine
4-5 days after consuming the drug
The methods of drug testing include the
immunoassay (screeing) and gas
chromatography or mass
spectrometry (confirmation tests)
Consequences of Drug Use
There is an association between drug use and
family problems and deviant behavior.
Women with alcohol-dependent partners have
significantly more family and marital
problems
6% of children younger than 18 years of age
have at least one parent in need of drug
treatment
Drug use and deviant attitudes are
closely associated.
Children of parents who use drugs are
more likely to engage in delinquent
behaviors than their peers whose
parents do not use drugs
Drug Toxicity
At high doses drugs can be toxic
(poisonous)
The difference between a safe level of a
drug and a dangerous level is called a
margin of safety
Types of Toxicity
Physical toxicity: danger to the body as a
result of taking the drug.
Behavioral toxicity: drug interferes with one’s
ability to function.
Acute toxicity: danger from a single
experience with a drug.
Chronic toxicity: danger posed by repeated
exposure to the drug.
Drug Abuse Warning Network
(DAWN)
DAWN is a reporting system whereby
information is collected on the number of
times drugs are implicated in both nonlethal and lethal visits to emergency rooms.
According to DAWN, the drug responsible for
most fatalities is cocaine.
DAWN data reflect acute drug-related
problems not chronic drug use
Other Drug Impacts
Designer drug: synthetic analogs of drugs
sometimes resulting in a more powerful
and/or toxic drug. Examples are fentanyl
analogs and Ecstasy.
Look-Alike and Sound-Alike drugs: Look-alike
and sound-alike drugs usually contain
generally recognized as safe (GRAS)
chemicals in doses to yield a psychoactive
effect (e.g. high dose of caffeine).
Adolescents represent a big market for
these drugs.
The Drug Business
 The drug trade is a big business with
no imminent signs of slowing down.
 Illegal drug profits are so high that a
drug-trafficking organization could
lose 905 of its product and still make
money
 Halting the flow of drugs is difficult
Summary
 Drugs impact people throughout life
 Drug use patterns vary considerable
 The age group most likely to use
drugs is the 18-25 year olds
 As people perceive drugs to be
harmful, the rate of use tends to go
down
 To address drug use in the workplace,
many companies have developed
Employee Assistance Programs
(EAPs)
 Drug use has been linked to family
instability and deviant behavior
including violence
 One danger posed by drugs is their
toxicity
 Designer drugs present great
potential for harm
 The drug trade is big business