The Truth About Drugs

1. The Truth About Drugs

2. Pre-Program Student Questionnaire • What is a drug? • Are Drugs Dangerous? Yes or No • If you answered “yes” to #2 explain why you think so. • When you take a drug, does it affect your health? If yes, how? • When you take a drug, does it affect your ability to learn? If yes, how? • What does “drug addiction” mean? • How does a person become addicted to a drug? • If a person becomes addicted to a drug, how does it affect his or her life? • If you knew the facts about drugs and what they do to you, how would this help you?

3. Lesson 1: Why is Drug Education Necessary? • PSA: They Said/They Lied • Discussion: Give your view and examples of lies or statements you have heard about drugs. • Documentary “The Truth About Drugs” • Your task is to try and identify at least 2 statements about drugs that you already know and 2 statements about drugs you don’t already know.

4. Why is Drug Education Necessary? Continued.. • Discussion • “Do you have to experience everything yourself in order to decide whether you want to get into something, or can you learn from other people’s experiences to make better choices/” • Activity • Think of 1 question you have about drugs and write that question on a separate piece of paper.

5. Homework Assignment • What do you think is the most important information presented in this chapter of the documentary? Why? • If you were asked to write a short description of this chapter of the documentary, what would you say? • What do you think you can learn from other people’s experiences with drugs?

6. END of LESSON 1

7. Lesson 2: Our Drug Culture **TURN IN HOMEWORK FROM LESSON 1

8. Introduction • Today’s focus: Societies drug problem • What does “culture” mean? • The beliefs and activities that are common to members of a group. Includes ideas that people have about art, religion, family, and government, their ideas about what is important or valuable, how people should act and what people like to do for fun or entertainment.

9. Intro continued… • What do you think “drug culture” means? • Refers not only to the lifestyles of people who abuse drugs and the modes of dress and behavior common to abusers of different types of drugs, but also refers to the degree to which drugs have invaded so many aspects of our society and have influenced our culture in fundamental ways. • Watch PSA’s: • “E”; “Party All Night”; “Love Lost”; “Medicine Chest”; “Focus”

10. Discussion • Based on your own experience, what are some examples of ideas or actions that are part of the drug culture?

11. VOCABULARY TO KNOW • Center for Disease Control • An agency of the U.S. Government, with headquarters and main laboratories in Atlanta, Georgia. The CDC conducts research into the origin and occurrence of diseases and develops methods for their control and prevention. • Rush • The first surge in sensation felt when smoking or injecting a drug, varying in length in length depending on the drug • Cocktail • A beverage or solution made up of various drugs.

12. Discussion • How does the problem of drug culture directly or indirectly affect you or your family or how could it affect you in the future? • Examples • People who drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol are posing a danger, not only to themselves, but many others as well. • People who steal or commit other crimes to have money to buy drugs make the community unsafe.

13. Homework • Create a cartoon-type sketch that depicts some aspect of the drug culture. • Clearly show a belief, idea or action that is part of the drug culture.

14. END OF LESSON 2

15. Lesson 3: Why Do People Take Drugs? **TURN IN HOMEWORK FROM LESSON 2

16. Introduction • Write down some reasons why you think people take drugs. • PSA’s • Watch “Popular”. • Discuss “do you think people take drugs to be cool?” • Watch “Best High”. • Discuss “do you think people take drugs to feel better?” • Watch “Tripping”. • Discuss “do you think people take drugs to forget their problems?” • Watch “One of The Guys”. • Discuss “do you think people take drugs to be accepted by their friends?”

17. Assignment • Give 2 examples of the following statement, either from your own experience or from one that you invent: “The consequences of drug use are always worse than the problem one is trying to solve with them. • For each of the 2 examples you gave in answer to question #1, describe something that the person might have done to solve the problem that he/she was trying to solve with drugs.

18. Lesson 4: How Do Drugs work & How do they affect the mind?

19. Watch PSA’s • “Just Once” • “One Hit” • “Stay Up and Study” • “Sniffing”

20. Vocabulary To know • Poison • A substance that causes illness, injury or death if taken into the body or produced within the body. • Stimulant • A drug that increases immediate energy and alertness but that is accompanied by increases in blood pressure, heart rate and breathing. • Sedative • A medicine or drug that calms or makes one sleep.

21. How Do Drugs work? • Drugs are poisons • How much you take determines the effect. • Small amount speeds you up (stimulant) • Greater amount slows you down (sedative) • Even greater amount can KILL! • Directly affect the mind • Distort perception • Actions may be odd, irrational, inappropriate, and even destructive • Block off all sensations • Wipe out alertness and muddy’s one’s thinking.

22. Is medicine considered a drug? • Intended to speed up, slow down, or change something about how your body is working to try and make it work better. • They are still drugs • Act as sedatives or stimulants • Too much can kill you! • If used incorrectly they can be as dangerous as illegal drugs.

23. Drugs Affect the mind • Blur memory, causing blank spots • Brain becomes a cloudy mess. • Drugs make people feel slow and stupid causing failures in life. • The more you fail, the tougher life becomes, and the more drugs you want. • Drugs destroy creativity. • Give a false sense of feeling • With each episode the plunge is lower and lower, eventually destroying all creativity.

24. Assignment • Which of the PSA’s viewed today best shows the effects of drugs you have been learning about? • Write a short explanation of why you believe so. • Grade will not be determined by which PSA you choose, but by whether your explanation shows you have understood the effects of the drugs you learned about in this lesson.

25. END LESSON 4

26. Lesson 5: The Truth about marijuana • PSA “Gateway” • What did you learn from watching the PSA? • Documentary: The Truth About Marijuana • Do you think marijuana use can lead to harder drugs?

27. Vocabulary to know (do not copy) • Bronchitis • An inflammation (irritation, swelling, painful condition) of the bronchi, the two branches of the windpipe that carry the air into the lungs. • Gateway Drug • A drug which when used may lead to the use of more addictive substances. • High • Having a temporary false feeling of happiness, with reduced physical and mental control, by use of alcohol or a drug. • Immune System • Consists of all the organs and processes in the body that protect a person from illness and infection. • Laced • Added a small amount of a drug or alcohol to something.

28. Vocabulary continued…. • Menstrual Cycle • In a nonpregnant woman, the discharge of blood and other material from the lining of the uterus about once a month. • Panic attack • A sudden overpowering feeling of fear or anxiety that prevents somebody from functioning, often triggered by a past or present source of anxiety. • Potency • The strength of something such as a drug or alcoholic beverage. • Prenatal • Existing or happening during pregnancy but before childbirth.

29. And more vocabulary…. • Resin • A semisolid substance that comes from the sap of some plants and trees. It is used in varnishes, paints, adhesives, inks and medicines • Respiratory tract • The passage formed by the mouth, nose, throat and lungs, through which air passes during breathing. • Tolerance • The natural or developed ability to resist the effects of the continued or increasing use of a drug. When someone uses a drug or other substance over an extended period, they are said to build up a tolerance for the effects of the drug.

30. What is marijuana? • Dried flowers, seeds, and leaves of the Indian hemp plant. • Street names • Mary Jane, astro turf, bhang, dagga, dope, ghanja, grass, hemp, home grown, J, pot, reefer, weed, roach, and Texas Tea. • Hashish • Made from resins of the Indian hemp plant. • On average 6 times stronger than marijuana. • Cannabis • Refers to any drug that comes from the Indian hemp plant.

31. What is Marijuana Continued…. • Hallucinogen • Substance which distorts how the mind perceives the world you live in. • THC • Chemical that causes the distortion • Amount in each batch varies, percentage has increased drastically in recent years.

32. How is it used? • Smoked as a cigarette (joint) • Mixed with food and eaten • Replace tobacco in cigars with marijuana (blunt) • When smoking a joint, person feels effects within minutes. • increased heart rate, lessened coordination and balance. • “dreamy” unreal state of mind that peaks within the first 30 minutes of taking. • Short term effects wear off in 2-3 hours.

33. Effects & consequences • Severe impact on the smoker’s lungs • 1 joint gives as much exposure to cancer producing chemicals as 5 cigarettes. • Poorer memory and mental aptitude than non-users. • Animals given marijuana by researchers have shown signs of structural damage to the brain.

34. EffectsShort Term & Long Term • Sensory distortion • Panic • Anxiety • Poor coordination of movement • Lowered reaction time • Increased heart rate and risk of heart attack • Reduced resistance to common illnesses. • Growth disorders • Increase of abnormally structured cells in the body. • Reduction of male sex hormone • Reduced sexual capacity • Lack of motivation • Personality and mood changes • Inability to understand things clearly

35. Assignment • Answer the following questions • Marijuana comes from a plant. True of False? • Can the use of marijuana lead to harder drugs? • What are some of the short-term effects of marijuana? • What are some of the long-term effects of marijuana? • What was the most important thing you learned from this lesson and how do you plan to use what you have learned?

36. END LESSON 5

37. Lesson 6: The Truth about alcohol

38. Vocabulary • Blackout • A temporary loss of consciousness, sight or memory. • Delirium Tremens • A psychotic condition typical of withdrawal in chronic alcoholics, involving tremors, hallucinations, anxiety, and disorientation. • Dependence • Having a physical or mental “need” to use a drug or other substance regularly, despite the fact that it is likely to have a damaging effect. • High Blood pressure • The heart must work harder to pump blood through the arteries. If condition persists, damage to the heart and blood vessels is likely.

39. Vocabulary Continued… • Motor skills • Dexterity and ease of coordination in the execution of body motions. • Nerve cells • Cells that are part of the nervous system and send messages to and from the brain. • Toxicity • The state of being poisonous to somebody or something.

40. Videos • PSA “One of The Guys” • Documentary: The Truth About Alcohol

41. A brief history of alcohol • There is evidence of an early alcoholic drink in China around 7000 B.C. • In India, an alcoholic beverage called sura, distilled from rice, was in use between 3000 and 2000 B.C. • In the 16th Century alcohol (called “spirits”) was used largely for medicinal purposes. • In 1920 the United States passed a law prohibiting the manufacture, sale, import, and export of intoxicating liquors. The illegal alcohol trade boomed and by 1933, the prohibition of alcohol was cancelled. • Today an estimated 15 million Americans suffer from alcoholism and 40% of all car accident deaths in the U.S. involve alcohol.

42. What Is Alcohol and what does it do? • It is a drug • Classified as a depressant (slows down vital functions-resulting in slurred speech, unsteady movement, and inability to react quickly). • Affects the mind • Reduces a person’s ability to think rationally and distorts his/her judgment. • A beer or glass of wine creates a stimulant effect • “Loosens” you up. • Consume more than body can handle, experience the depressant effect. • Start to feel “stupid” or lose coordination and control.

43. Alcohol and its effects • Overdose • Toxicity where body vomits the poison • Unconsciousness • Coma or death from severe toxic overdose. • Kinds of Alcohol • Ethyl (ethanol) • the only alcohol used in beverages, is produced by fermentation (chemical process where yeast acts upon ingredients in the food, creating alcohol) of grains and fruits. • Fermented drinks such as beer and wine contain from 2% to 20% alcohol. • Distilled drinks or liquor, contain 40% to 50% or more alcohol.

44. Alcohol content • Beer 2-6% alcohol • Cider 4-8% alcohol • Wine 8-20% alcohol • Tequila 40% alcohol • Rum 40% or more • Brandy 40% or more • Gin 40-47% • Whiskey 40-50% • Vodka 40-50% • Liqueurs 15-60%

45. Affecting the body • Absorbed into the blood stream via small blood vessels in walls of stomach and small intestine. • Within minutes, travels from stomach to the brain, where it quickly produces its effects, slowing the action of nerve cells. • 20% is absorbed through the stomach, 80% is absorbed through the small intestine. • The liver eliminates the alcohol from the blood through a process called metabolizing • Liver can only metabolize a certain amount at a time, thus the intensity of the effect on the body relates to amount of alcohol consumed.

46. Teens and alcohol • Cannot cope with alcohol the same way an adult can. • More harmful to teens because the brain is still developing. • Drinking during this time can lead to lifelong damage in brain function (memory, motor skills, and coordination). • Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are 4 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21.

47. What is binge drinking? • The practice of consuming large quantities of alcohol in a single session. • Defined as 5 or more drinks at one time for a man, or 4 or more drinks at one time for a woman. • 90% of alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the United States is in the form of binge drinking.

48. Alcoholism (alcohol dependence) • Consists of 4 symptoms: • Craving • a strong need , or compulsion to drink. • Loss of Control • inability to limit one’s drinking on any given occasion. • Physical Dependence • withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety, occur when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking. • Tolerance • The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to get high. • Alcoholism is not a destination, but a progression, a long road of deterioration in which life continuously worsens.

49. Key statistics • Alcohol kills more teenagers than all other drugs combined. It is a factor in the 3 leading causes of death among 15-24 year olds: accidents, homicides and suicides. • Youth who drink are 7.5 times more likely to use other illegal drugs and 50 times more likely to use cocaine than young people who never drink. • As many as 40% of violent crimes occur under the influence of alcohol.

50. Effects Short Term • Slurred speech • Drowsiness • Vomiting • Diarrhea • Upset stomach • Headaches • Unconsciousness • coma Long Term • Unintentional injuries • Family problems • Alcohol poisoning • High blood pressure, stroke, and other heart related diseases. • Liver disease • Sexual problems • Ulcers • Cancer of the mouth and throat