DRUGS AND ALCOHOL: FACTS, MYTHS, EFFECTS

AND INFLUENCES PPL1Ob

Mr. Hamilton

GROUP ACTIVITY

• With a partner, make a list of the different types of

drugs or alcohol that you know of.

• If a drug had more than 1 name that you know of,

write it down too.

HONOURING GOD

• Do you now know that your bodies are temples of

the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have

received from God? You are not your own; you

were bought at a price. Therefore, honour God

with your bodies.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

SOME DRUG STATS

• 47,000 Canadian deaths are linked to substance

abuse annually.

• 23% of Ontario students reported that they were

offered, sold, or given a drug at a school in the last

year. That’s about 219,000 students!

• 42% of Ontario students surveyed have used an illicit

substance in the past year.

• Substance abuse has cost our health care system

$8 billion.

MYTHS AND FACTS

IS MARIJUANA ADDICTIVE?

• Yes

• About 1 in 11 people who use marijuana become

addictive - FACT

• Code names: Cannabis, grass, pot, Mary Jane, and

many more

FACT

• Most people who start smoking in their teens

become regular smokers before they’re 18.

FACT

• More than 4 in 10 people who begin drinking before

age 15 eventually become alcoholics.

FACT

• When you can’t think straight because you’re drunk

or high, you have a greater chance of getting

raped, STD’s, or even pregnant.

MYTH

• Smokeless tobacco does not cause cancer.

• FACT: Smokeless tobacco (such as chewing

tobacco and snuff) increases the risk of cancer,

especially oral cancers.

MYTH

• Prescription drugs are not harmful.

• The FACTS:

• You need to ask who, how and why:

• Who were they prescribed for? You or someone else?

• How are you taking them? As prescribed or not?

• Why are you taking them? To get well or to get high?

• FACT: Prescription drug abuse is still drug abuse.

FACT

• Since 2003, prescription pain medications like

Vicodin and OxyContin have been involved in more

overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine

combined.

DID YOU KNOW?

A 2008 study found:

• 1 in 3 songs said something about drug, alcohol or tobacco use.

• 3 in 4 rap songs said something about drug, alcohol or tobacco use.

• 7 in 10 movies showed

characters smoking.

• 1 in 3 movies showed people

getting drunk.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Mixing pills with other drugs or with alcohol really

increases your risk of death from accidental

overdose.

• Abuse of prescription stimulants like Ritalin and

Adderall can cause serious health problems,

including panic attacks, seizures, and heart attacks.

DO DRUGS ACTUALLY HARM YOUR BRAIN?

• Though drugs all do different things, they ALL affect

the brain – that’s why drugs make you feel high,

low, speeded up, slowed down, or see things that

aren’t there.

• FACT: Drugs mess with your brain’s wiring and

signals.

DID YOU KNOW?

Repeated drug use can reset the brain’s pleasure

meter, so that without the drug, you feel hopeless

and sad. Eventually, everyday fun stuff like spending

time with friends or playing with your dog doesn’t

make you happy anymore.

WHY DO PEOPLE SMOKE WHEN THEY KNOW IT IS SO BAD FOR THEM?

• They may start for different reasons…

• To look edgy and rebellious

• Because of product placement (the tobacco industry trying to get into your head and your pocket)

• but can’t stop because…

• They are addicted

PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Consider this:

When you watch

TV or movies, are

you analysing the

messages that

advertisers are

sending you?

HONOURING GOD

• Do you now know that your bodies are temples of

the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have

received from God? You are not your own; you

were bought at a price. Therefore, honour God

with your bodies.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

SOURCES

"Drugs: Shatter the Myths." National Institute on Drug Abuse, July 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2014. <http://drugfactsweek.drugabuse.gov/files/teenbrochure_508.pdf>. "Canadian Drug Crisis." Canadian Drug Crisis. Teen Challenge, 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. <http://www.teenchallenge.ca/get-help/canadian-drug-crisis>. "Bible Gateway Passage: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - New International Version."Bible Gateway. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+6:19-20>.

"Mouth Cancer Pictures." TheQuitorg. N.p., 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www.thequit.org/tools-resources/motivation-pictures-stories/cancer-pictures/>.