Drugs

Use, Misuse, and Abuse

Why do Drugs Work?

• They resemble the chemicals produced naturally within the body.
• Drugs possess electrical charges and structures similar to the chemicals that occur naturally in our bodies.

Types of Drugs

• Prescription
• can only be obtained with a �prescription from a Doctor.
• Over-the-counter (OTC)
• can be purchased at stores
• Recreational
• Drugs that contain chemicals used to help people relax or socialize
• Alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, and chocolate

Types of Drugs

• Herbal Preparations
• Herbal teas and other products of plants that are believed to have medicinal properties
• Illicit (illegal)
• Generally recognized as harmful
• All of them are psychoactive
• Commercial Preparations
• Commonly used chemical substances, including cosmetics, household cleaning products and industrial by-products.

Taking Drugs

• Oral
• most common but slowest route
• Produces effects within 20 minutes to 1 hour
• Injection
• Intramuscular – into muscle tissue
• Subcutaneous – into fat directly beneath skin
• Intravenous - into vein
• Produces effects within 3 minutes

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Taking Drugs

• Inhalation
• Through the nostrils
• Only small amounts can be �absorbed and metabolized in the lungs
• Effects are often frequent, but do not last long
• Patch
• Through the skin
• Suppositories
• Drugs mixed with a waxy medium to melt at body temperature
• Inserted into the anus or vagina

Misusing and Abusing Drugs

• Drug Misuse
• The use of a drug for a purpose for which it was not intended.
• Drug Abuse
• The excessive use of any drug

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Addiction

• The continued use of a drug �or activity despite ongoing �negative consequences.
• Signs of addiction
• Compulsion and obsession
• Loss of control
• Negative consequences
• Physical damage, legal trouble, financial problems, academic failure, or family issues
• Denial

Alcohol

• Alcohol may be the world's oldest known drug.
• Fermented grain, fruit juice and honey have been used to make alcohol (ethyl alcohol or ethanol) for thousands of years.
• Central Nervous System Depressant

Alcohol and Teen Brain

Cocaine “coke”

• A white powder from the leaves in S. American coca shrub (not related to the coca plants).
• Methods of use
• Snorted, smoking (freebasing), �and intravenous injections
• It is both an anesthetic and a �central nervous system stimulant

Amphetamines

Methamphetamine – type of amphetamine

• It can be smoked, injected, or snorted.�It is known as ice, speed, crystal and crank.�
• It causes massive release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain.�
• It may cause long-lasting brain damage.

Before Meth

After – Less than a year after

Marijuana

• Chopped leaves and flowers of the Cannabis plant
• A psychoactive depressant/hallucinogenic drug
• that intensifies reactions to environmental stimuli

Marijuana in the Brain

• THC acts on "cannabinoid" receptors which are found on neurons in many places in the brain.
• These brain areas are involved in memory (the hippocampus), concentration (cerebral cortex), perception (sensory portions of the cerebral cortex) and movement (the cerebellum, substantia nigra, globus pallidus).
• When THC activates cannabinoid receptors, it interfers with the normal functioning of these brain areas.

In Low Doses

• relaxation
• reduced coordination
• reduced blood pressure
• sleepiness
• disruption in attention
• an altered sense of time and space...a good reason not to drive or operate machinery while under the influence.

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In high doses, marijuana can cause:

• hallucinations
• delusions
• impaired memory
• disorientation.

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Similar to cigarettes contains tar and other chemicals that can lead to lung problems.

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Opiates / Narcotics

• Derived from the drug opium made from the juice of the opium poppy
• Include morphine, codeine, and heroin
• Causes drowsiness, relieves pain and induces euphoria

Hallucinogens

• Alters feelings, perceptions, and thoughts in the user
• Users may recall events forgotten or become less inhibited
• LSD, Mescaline, Psilocybin, and Psilocin

Dissociative drugs

• Distorts perceptions of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment (from the environment and self)
• PCP (Phencyclidine) also known as angel dust, peace pill, and horse tranquilizer

Designer Drugs �(Club Drugs)

• A man made drug that produces similar effects of an existing illegal drugs
• Ecstasy – also known as XTC or MDMA
• Creates feelings of openness and warmth, combined with the mind-altering characteristics of hallucinogens.
• Chronic use damages the brain’s ability to think and regulate emotion, memory, sleep and pain.

Inhalants

• Chemicals that produce vapors that, when inhaled, can cause hallucinations and create intoxicating �and euphoric effects.
• Rubber cement, model glue, paint thinner, lighter fluid, varnish, ax, spot removers, and gasoline
• Amyl Nitrite (poppers, rush) and Nitrous Oxide �(laughing gas)

Steroids

• Artificial forms of the male hormone testosterone that promotes muscle growth and strength.
• Used to increase strength, power, bulk (weight), speed and athletic performance