“ Drugs of Abuse ” notes

2. “Drugs of Abuse” notes Essential question: How do “drugs of abuse” affect the human body and friends/family?

3. Drug categories: • Inhalants • Club (Designer) drugs • Anabolic Steroids • Stimulants (“uppers”) • Depressants (“downers”) • Opiates • Hallucinogens (“all arounders”) • Prescription drugs • Over-the-counter (OTC) meds

4. Inhalants: • Inhalants: Group of chemicals or compounds that when inhaled into the lungs can cause intoxication • Most commonly used by teens: • Easy to get, inexpensive and legal

5. Inhalants • Side Effects: • Mild: hyperactivity, loss of inhibitions, dizzy • Severe: loss of coordination, fear, anxious, depression, vomiting, loss of consciousness • Dangers: • Damage blood vessels and many organs • Lack of oxygen to the brain • Disruption of heart function • Suppression of respiration • Can cause Sudden Sniffing Death (SSD)

6. Club (Designer) Drugs: • Man-made drugs = strength and quality are unpredictable and unknown • Examples: • Ecstasy • GHB • Ketamine • Rohypnol

7. Date Rape drugs • Alcohol, Ecstasy, GHB, Ketamine, & Rohypnol • GHB, Ketamine, & Rohypnol: • Tasteless, odorless, colorless • Makes victim immobile or unconscious (no defense) • Partial or nomemory of the trauma

8. Date Rape Drug Prevention: • GET YOUR OWN DRINK! • NEVER LEAVE YOUR DRINK ALONE! • Bring it with you • Dump it • If something doesn’t seem right do NOT shower or touch room, go straight to hospital

9. Ecstasy(Methylendioxy-Methamphetamine) • “Thizz, E, X, Adam, Eve, XTC, MDMA” • Classified as a stimulant & hallucinogen • Basically = METH

10. Desired effects: “the hype” • Temporary Euphoria (Love everyone) • Feelings of empathy, openness, caring, • Increased awareness/senses, hallucinations, increased energy

11. Unpleasant effects: (no bueno) • Involuntary teeth clenching and grinding (use pacifiers = prevent tooth destruction) • Impaired learning and memory, nausea, chills, rapid or irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, heart attack, brain damage and even death

12. Can’t regulate bodytemp. = overheated • Long term: • Damages thought & memory (brain) • Burn synapses that allow Serotonin to the brain  chronic depression(can’t be naturally happy)

13. Anabolic Steroids • Anabolic steroids: synthetic versions of the male hormone testosterone • Prescribed: treat muscle wasting in AIDS patients, assist with wound healing in elderly, treat low levels of testosterone in males • Common use: build muscles illegally without guidance of a doctor

14. Males: Stunted growth Aggression Develop more breast tissue Liver cancer Increased cholesterol Heart disease Severe acne Baldness Testes shrink Reduced sperm count Infertility Females: Severe acne Increased cholesterol Increased facial hair Baldness Deeper voice Disrupted menstrual cycle Enlarged clitoris Rapid weight gain Liver cancer Infertility Anabolic Steroid effects…

15. Stimulants (“Uppers”): • Stimulant: temporarily increases a person’s energy and alertness • Caffeine • Nicotine • Ritalin • Amphetamines/Methamphetamine (Meth) • Cocaine/Crack Cocaine

16. Methamphetamine • Nicknames: “meth, crystal, or ice” • Extremelyaddictive (tolerance builds rapidly) • Side effects: • Euphoria, loss of appetite, increased alertness, hyperactivity

17. After repeated use… • Severe damage to body (permanent brain, kidney, or liver damage) • Psychotic behavior: • Intense paranoia & confusion • Visual and auditory hallucinations (“meth bugs”) • Out of control rages (violent episodes) • Chronic depression: damage nerve cells

18. Crash & Run Cycle:(for an addict) • USE - inject, smoke, or snort meth • RUN – 3-8 days of using (awake) • Hallucinations – may take depressants to sleep • CRASH – stops due to exhaustion • SLEEP – 18-48 hours • AWAKEN – depressed, hungry & VIOLENT! • Repeat…

19. “Meth mouth”

21. Cocaine: • Extremely addictive (tolerance builds quick) • Similar effects as Meth: (stimulant effects) • “Crash”: extreme sleepiness, depression, craving for the drug • Overdose  heart attack, stroke, seizure, respiratory failure or death Crack Cocaine: • Pure rock (crystallized) form of cocaine • Feel effects faster but don’t last as long

23. Depressants (“Downers”): • Depressant: cause relaxation and sleepiness • Slowdown a person’s breathing and reduce brain activity • Overdose  stop breathing, brain damage, coma, or death • Examples: • Rohypnol (hypnotic) • DXM (cough suppressant) • Barbiturates • Alcohol

24. Opiates: • Opiate: from flowering opium poppy plant • Medically: reduce pain, relieve diarrhea, suppress coughing, and induce relaxation • Examples: • Heroin • Morphine • Opium • Codeine • Demerol • OxyContin • Percodan • Vicodin

25. Heroin • Most commonly abused opiate (cheap) • Highly addictive (tolerance builds rapidly) • Initial “rush” followed by dreamlike state • Lethargic (non-violent), yet victims of many crimes because of stealing • Withdrawals start as soon as drug affect wears off (4-6 hours) • Repeatedly injecting heroin: • Skin infections, open wounds, scarring • Sharing needles  risk spreading disease

27. Hallucinogens(“all arounders”): • Hallucinogens: distort perception and cause the user to experience things that aren’t real • Experiences are unpredictable: • “Good trip” or “bad trip” • Can last for minutes to hours • Examples: • LSD, Mushrooms, PCP, Marijuana, Ecstasy

28. OxyContin: • “Hillbilly Heroin” or “Oxy” • Highly abused prescription pain killer • Time released form of Oxycodone • EXTREMELY ADDICTIVE!!!

29. LSD • Effects are unpredictable (good/bad trips) • Good trip:hallucinations, distortion of time, space and identity • Bad trip: Feelings of terror, going insane or dying; Often violent or psychotic, puts themselves in life-threatening situations

30. Long term use of LSD… • Flashbacks • Post-hallucinogen Perceptual Disorder (PHPD): • visual disturbances of the drug experience that emerge after the drug is out of the body (years later) • Druginducedpsychoses – like schizophrenia, severe depression, permanent insanity

31. Psilocybin Mushrooms “Shrooms” • Psychological effects mirror those of LSD • Altered perception of sight, sound, taste, smell, touch • Confusion, anxiety, paranoid and panic • Flashbacks can occur • Hard to distinguish from more-toxic mushrooms  can cause death

32. Phencyclidine “PCP” • Initially used as a general anesthetic • Less sensitive to pain = like superhuman strength (really just numbing of body) • Feel side effects similar to multiple drug categories! • “drunk” – poor coordination, slurred speech, drowsiness • “stimulant” – increased blood pressure and body temp • “hallucinogen” – euphoria and stimulation

33. PCP continued… • Often act violently to others or themselves • Effects last about 4-6 hrs, can linger for up to 2 days! • Suicide, accidental suicide, seizures, and coma are risks • Mental disturbances can last from hours to weeks

34. Marijuana: • Active chemical is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) • THC percentage has increased since 60s

35. Marijuana… • Medical Marijuana “Marinol” • Pill form • For CANCER & AIDS PATIENTS!!! • Smoking over a long period of time can cause some of the same health effects as smoking cigarettes • Contains carcinogens • Can lead to chronic bronchitis, damaged lung tissue, and increased risk of lung cancer

36. No matter how it’s used,Marijuana does 3 things to your brain: • Reward center“THIS FEELS GOOD!” • Cerebellum – slows you down • Feels like you can concentrate • Hippocampus – affects short-term memory • THC changes the way information gets into the brain (negative effect on learning) • Long-term use difficulties remembering, processing, using info and maintaining attention

37. Marijuana addiction??? • Using regularly  increase tolerance • Can lead to dependence • Withdrawals… • Anxiety, paranoia, depression, insomnia • Detox/treatment = exercise and rehab

38. So what’s the big deal?! • The younger a person is when they try Marijuana, the more likely they are to experiment with other drugs (gateway drug) • Marijuana and driving: • Difficult to pay attention • Difficult to judge time and distance (everything is slowed) • Lack of coordination like drunk drivers • Danger is increased when using marijuana and alcohol

39. Pregnant women who are addicted to drugs… Premature birth or low birth weight Developmental problems Physically dependent on the drug – baby goes through withdrawals Infant may be neglected, abused, or abandoned http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=14491332

40. Treatment for Drug Addiction: • Because drugs affect the brain, addiction is a difficult and long-lasting problem • Recovery is the process of learning to live without drugs • Intervention involves confronting a drug user about his/her problem to stop them from using drugs • Relapse is a return to using drugs while trying to recover from drug addiction

41. Saying “NO” to drugs: • Best way: stay away from people and places where drugs are used • Say NO firmly • Give good reasons why you choose not to do drugs • State the consequences that could result if you do use drugs • Walk away

43. GHB(Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate) • “Liquid ecstasy, Liquid X, or Liquid G” • Mild doses euphoria, relaxation, dizziness, drowsiness, and loss of inhibitions • Higher doses seizures, coma, and death • Combined with depressants (ex. alcohol)  death is more likely • When mixed with Ecstasy risk for seizures, and stop breathing • Highly addictive • Used in many sexual assaults (victim incapable of resisting)

44. Ketamine • “Special K, Kit Kat, or Vitamin K” • Veterinary anesthesia • Effects: • Hallucination • Numbness • Inability to move • Loss of memory • Disassociation

45. Rohypnol: • “Roofies” or the “forget pill” • Prescription sleeping aid and anti-anxiety tranquilizer • When mixed in alcohol, bitter taste is not noticed • Effects: • Loses inhibitions • Becomes disoriented • Not able to remember what happened while on the drug