Commonly Abused Drugs

Addiction- Behavior or Disease?

Support for Behavior Support for Disease

• A chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him or her. (NIDA)

• Even though the first time a person takes a drug, it is often by choice—to achieve a pleasurable sensation or desired emotional state—we now know from a large body of research that this ability to choose can be affected by drugs. And when addiction takes hold in the brain, it disrupts a person’s ability to exert control over behavior— reflecting the compulsive nature of this disease.

• It is a choice and you have control the first time you try a drug.

• A disease involves physiological malfunction, the “proof” of brain changes shows no malfunction of the brain.

So, does experimenting with drugs lead to addiction?

How many of you want to be a drug addict?

What is Marijuana?• Plant: Cannabis Sativa• Mixture of dried leaves, stems, seeds, flowers• Hash/Hashish- most potent forms

• Psychoactive Drug• Alters the mind

• Active Chemical is THC • delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol

• Most used illegal [illicit] substance on the globe and in the U.S.

What does it do in your body?

• Generally smoked• THC passes from the lungs to the

bloodstream where it is pumped throughout the body by the heart• In the brain:• Connects with receptors/nerve endings• These particular receptors control:

coordination, thought, memory, concentration, sensory and time perception, and pleasure

• This interaction is what causes the “high”

• Then it is absorbed in fatty tissue

Short Term Effects• Difficulty in thinking and problem solving• Problems with memory and learning

• Loss of coordination• Distorted perception• Impaired driving

Long Term Effects

• Alters the brain permanently• Affects areas of the brain that control stress,

motivation and reward• Can lead to fertility problems

• Affects ovulation & sperm production• Increased respiratory problems• Decreased blood pressure

• Body’s ability to fight off infection is weakened• Emotional problems such as depression and

anxiety• Amotivational Syndrome???

Dangerous…?• Physical implications to your health

• Impaired decision making• Career/Athletic aspirations

• Drug testing• Legal repercussions• ‘Gateway’ drug

Marijuana Legalization Status

Information above is accurate as of January 20, 2015Forest Green= Medical Marijuana LegalizedLime Green= Marijuana legalized for medical/recreational useGrey= No laws legalizing Marijuana

Connection to Other Drugs• 99.9% of cocaine users first abused drug was

marijuana

• Teenagers (12-17) that have abused marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine than those that don’t

• A federal report released concludes the younger children are when they first use marijuana, the more likely they are to use cocaine and heroin and become dependent on drugs as adults.

Synthetic Marijuana (Spice, K2, etc.)• Refers to a wide variety of herbal mixtures that

produce experiences similar to marijuana (cannabis) and that are marketed as "safe," legal alternatives to that drug.

• Contains dried, shredded plant material and chemical additives that are responsible for their psychoactive (mind-altering) effects.

• Users report experiences similar to those produced by marijuana—elevated mood, relaxation, and altered perception—and in some cases the effects are even stronger than those of marijuana. Some users report psychotic effects like extreme anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations.

How is it used?

• Some Spice products are sold as “incense,” but they more closely resemble potpourri. Like marijuana, Spice is abused mainly by smoking. Sometimes Spice is mixed with marijuana or is prepared as an herbal infusion for drinking.

Overdoses

• Spice abusers who have been taken to Poison Control Centers report symptoms that include rapid heart rate, vomiting, agitation, confusion, and hallucinations. Spice can also raise blood pressure and cause reduced blood supply to the heart (myocardial ischemia), and in a few cases it has been associated with heart attacks. Regular users may experience withdrawal and addiction symptoms.

• August 14, 2014-• http://

www.today.com/health/synthetic-pot-warning-spice-users-dont-how-deadly-drug-can-1D80058128

Cocaine• Dangerous stimulant made from dried leaves of

the coca plant• Inhaled, snorted, smoked [crack]• Affects the CNS• Intense power, energy [the high]

• Extremely addictive• After one use, a person can become painfully addicted

• Very short effects in body [5-10 minutes]• “Coke crash”- leaves user wanting more

Ecstasy

• Synthetic ‘Club’ drug•Powder, capsules or tablets

• Combination of hallucinogen & stimulant•Extreme emotions [+/-]

• Dry mouth, cramps, blurred vision, chills, sweating, nausea, generally causes jaw to clench

• Effects serotonin levels in the brain• Dehydration overheats the body, raised

heart rate permanent damage or death

Heroin• Dried milk of opium poppy [narcotic]•Ranges from lightdark & powdertar-like substance

• Depressant; ‘downer’• Burst of a euphoric high followed by warm

feeling, drowsiness, nausea, stomach cramps and drowsiness

• ‘On the Nod’- alternate awake & drowsy state

• Extremely addictive•Severe withdrawal

• Extremely likely to OD

Locally- May 2014• Chief of Prosecution Matthew Weintraub said heroin is a

major problem in Bucks County with rising number of casualties emerging in the recent years, mostly among young people.

Weintraub said the number of deadly overdoses rose from 19 in 2011 to 38 in 2012, and another 38 in 2013. So far in 2014 there has been six overdoses reported, two of which were fatal, he said.

• According to the Intelligencer in August 2014, there were 858 people addicted to heroin who tried to get help in 2013-2014. In the previous year, 742 people had sought help.

January 5, 2015- The IntelligencerThe article discussed drug addiction and found of the drug addicts in Bucks County, Heroin was of the drug of choice.

Anthony’s Eulogy (read by his father)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cskq_zGVSZs

LSD [Acid]

• Man-made hallucinogen• Distorts the senses

[usually within 30-90 mins.]• Hallucinations, seeing colors/objects/people that are not

actually present, melting walls, loss of sense of time

• A ‘trip’ can last 12 hours or more• Effects are unpredictable• Bad trips can cause frightening/scary delusions

• Flashbacks up to a year later [1-time user]• NOT considered addictive

Methamphetamine• Highly addictive stimulant• Crystal powder, ‘rock’ form• Initial euphoric ‘rush’ or ‘flash’, • After that user has delusions, violent/aggressive

behaviors, paranoia, drowsiness, imagined insects crawling under skin

• Tolerance for the drug builds quickly

Conclusion• Make healthy & SMART decisions• You NEVER know exactly what you are putting into

your body or how you will react• Don’t be a statistic• Think of the repercussions, think of those ‘worst-

case-scenarios’, how would your loved ones react if you were gone tomorrow?