Transcript Drug Use

Drug Use
Substance Abuse
• -any unnecessary or improper use of
chemical substance for non medical
purposes.
– Overuse
– Multiple use of a drug
– Use of illegal drug
– Use of a drug in combination with alcohol or
other drug
Illegal drug
• “street drug”
• -any chemical substance that people of
any age may not lawfully manufacture,
posses, buy or sell.
• Crime is called “illicit drug use”
– http://www.sussedaboutdrugs.net/students/la
w.php
Factors that influence decisions
about drugs
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Peer Pressure
Family Members
Role Models
Media Messages
Perceptions
Health Consequences of Drug Use
• Can range from minor to deadly
– Unlike medicines these substances are not
monitored for quality, purity or strength.
– Effects all sides of Health
Physical Consequences
• Can harm user’s
– Brain
– Heart
– lungs
– vital organs
• Overdose- a strong sometimes fatal
reaction to taking a large amount of a drug
• Injections can lead to HIV and Hep B.
Mental Consequences
• Cloud reasoning and thinking and users
lose control of their behavior
• Ecstasy, a stimulant drug that speeds up
the nervous system, affect the part of the
brain controlling thinking, mood, memory
and perception.
Social Consequences
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Do and say things they later regret.
Negative effect on relationships.
Expelled from school
Legal consequence
Major factor in many crimes, suicides and
unintentional injuries.
• Can lead to exposure to STD’s
Understanding the Addiction Cycle
• Tolerance
• Psychological dependence- condition in
which a person believes that a drug is
needed in order to feel good.
• Physiological dependence-chemical need
for the drug (experiences withdrawal)
• Addiction- causes persistent, compulsive
use of a substance known by the user to
be harmful.
Consequences for Babies and
Children
• Drugs pass thru placenta to unborn child.
– May be spontaneously aborted or born with
birth defects, behavioral problems, or
addiction.
– May be born with HIV
– Nursing mother can pass drugs through
breast milk
• Children are often neglected and abused
Cost to Society
• Rise in drug related crimes and violence
• Office of National Drug Control Policyillegal drugs cost the American economy
160 billion per year.
– Lost work hours and productivity
• Drug related illnesses, jail time, accidents, and
deaths.
• Prevalence
• Percent of persons 12 years of age and over
with any illicit drug use in the past month: 7.9
(2004)
• Percent of persons 12 years of age and over
with marijuana use in the past month: 6.1 (2004)
• Percent of persons 12 years of age and over
with any nonmedical use of a psychotherapeutic
drug in the past month: 2.5 (2004)
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http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus06.pdf#067