1. The Truth about Drugs

2. What are they?
Drug = any chemical other than food intended to affect the structure and function of the body.
“Good” vs “Bad” –
is there such a thing?
Legal vs Illegal –
Why are some legal and others not?
We are in a drug oriented society!
- Have a problem? We’ve got a pill for that!

3. Types of Drug Use
All drugs have desired effects and undesired side effects… think of any of the medication commercials!
Asprin
Main effects
Pain relief  Fever reduction
Control of swelling  Reduce inflammation
Reduce risk of heart attack and stroke
SIDE effects
ulcers in stomach
Blood thinnner – blood doesn’t clot as well after surgery or injury
Cymbalta Commercial

4. Drug Use Categories Use Misuse Abuse
Taking a drug correctly for a legitimate medical reason
Misuse
Taking a legal drug inappropriately
Abuse
Taking a legal or illegal drug in a way that damages some aspect of the user’s life (mental, physical, social, occupational, etc)

5. Responsible vs Irresponsible Use
When teens drink, what typically is their purpose?
When adults drink, what typically is their purpose?
When does responsible use become irresponsible use?

6. Drug Abuse = Recurrent drug use in the following situations
Resulting in failure to fulfill major responsibilities at work, school, or home.
You become physically hazardous, such as driving a car.
Drug related legal problems
Continued use despite persistent social or interpersonal problems caused by the use of the drug.

7. Drug Addiction
Addictive behavior = habits that have gotten out of control, resulting in a negative impact on a person’s health.
Characteristics of addiction:
Reinforcement
Compulsion or craving
Loss of control
Escalation
Negative consequences
John Seymour Hoffman Questions

8. Marijuana

9. What is marijuana? Aren't there different kinds?
Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant.
There are several hundred different kinds of marijuana and not all produce the same effects
Stronger Forms of Marijuana
Sinsemilla (sin-seh-me-yah)
hashish (“hash” for short)
“Wax” – mixes THC and butane
hash oil

10. How is marijuana used?
Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette (called a joint or a nail) or in a pipe or a bong.
In cigar wrappers called blunts,
In this form it is often combined with another drug, like crack cocaine.
Ingested by baking into food items or brewing into drinks.

11. Blunt
Joint
Bowl

12. How long does marijuana stay in the user's body?
THC is the chemical in marijuanna that makes you “high”
Generally, traces of THC can be detected by urine testing methods several days after a smoking session.
After smoking one joint, 10-20% of the THC is still present in body fat cells after 30 days.
Traces of THC can be found up to 4 months after stopping use of marijuana

13. What happens if you smoke marijuana?
The way the drug affects each person depends on many factors, including:
user's previous experience with the drug;;
how strong the marijuana is (how much THC it has);
what the user expects to happen;
where the drug is used;
how it is taken; and
whether the user is drinking alcohol or using other drugs.

14. What happens if you smoke marijuana? (cont)
Some people
feel nothing at all
feel relaxed or high.
feel thirsty and very hungry called "the munchies.“
sudden feelings of anxiety
have paranoid thoughts.

15. Short Term Effects of Marijuana
problems with memory and learning
distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch)
trouble with thinking and problem solving
loss of motor coordination
increased heart rate.

16. Long Term Effects
Findings so far show that regular use of marijuana or THC may play a role in some kinds of cancer and decreased respiratory function and decreased immune systems.
1 joint = 5 cigarettes of carbon monoxide intake
1 joint = 4 cigarettes of about of tar intake
1 joint = 10 cigarettes of damage to cells in lining in airways
THC is found in the blood of more than 30% of fatally injured drivers

17. Since cigarettes are legal, should marijuana be legal?
Question
Since cigarettes are legal, should marijuana be legal?

18. Legalization
Extensive research shows that the negative health impact of marijuana far outweighs any possible benefits.
It can impair the immune system (already impaired immune systems)
Just because it makes you feel better doesn’t make it a medicine (so does tobacco, heroin)
20 states have passed a form of marijuana legalization

19. Legalization
Studies show that pure THC helps with nausea and vomiting. It is pharmaceutically manufactured in capsule form called Marinol.
Marinol is pure and doesn’t require a patient to ingest the other 400 chemicals when smoking marijuana

20. Ecstasy

21. What is it?
Ecstasy is a stimulant that increases your heart rate and blood pressure and can lead to heart or kidney failure.
Ecstasy is a combination of MDMA and generally is laced with other ingredients, such as caffeine or methamphetamine to change the “high”
“Molly” is pure MDMA

22. Signs of X Use Problems remembering things they recently said or did
Loss of coordination, dizziness, fainting
Depression
Confusion
Sleep problems
Anxiety
Paranoia
These effects have been reported to occur even weeks after the drug is taken.

23. The Risks
Know the risks.
Mixing ecstasy with other drugs or with alcohol is extremely dangerous. The effects of one drug can magnify the effects and risks of another.
You never know what actually is in Ecstasy.
Ecstasy can kill you. Higher doses of ecstasy can cause severe breathing problems, coma, or even death.

24. I heard that you can die from drinking too much water. Is that true?
Often times, when taking E, people are in hot clubs and get dehydrated.
Therefore they start drinking lots of water
So much in fact that the body doesn’t have enough salt to balance it out
Cells collapse
Organs die
Essentially drown your brain

25. Prescription Drug Abuse

26. Prescription Drug Abuse
Why Do Some People Abuse Prescription Drugs?
they think they will help them:
have more fun, lose weight,
fit in study more effectively.
Some people think that prescription drugs are safer and less addictive than street drugs.
After all, these are drugs that moms, dads, and even kid brothers and sisters use
They tend be easier to get than street drugs:
Family members - Friends
Sold on the street like other illegal drugs

27. Prescription Drug Abuse
But prescription drugs are only safe for the individuals who actually have prescriptions for them. Through their physician they:
know that they won't have a bad reaction to the drugs.
told exactly how the medication should be taken
told things to avoid while taking the drug
aware of potentially dangerous side effects

28. DRUG ADDICTION IS A COMPLEX ILLNESS

29. Addiction In the brain:
continued use of a psychoactive drug, or repeating a behavior
even though there are severe negative results/ consequences,
In the brain:
changes the brain chemistry so that the brain requires the drug to function “normally”

30. Most Addictive Drugs Heroin Cocaine Tobacco Barbiturates Alcohol
Mean
Pleasure
Psych
Depend.
Physical
Heroin
3.00
3.0
Cocaine
2.39
2.8
1.3
Tobacco
2.21
2.3
2.6
1.8
Barbiturates
2.01
2.0
2.2
Alcohol
1.93
1.9
1.6
Benzodiazepines
1.83
1.7
2.1
Amphetamine
1.67
1.1
Cannabis
1.51
0.8
Ecstasy
1.13
1.5
1.2
0.7

36. control
on cocaine