STIMULANTS

1. Mr. Prall STIMULANTS

2. STIMULANTS • What are some of the stimulants we will discuss? • Crystal Meth • Nicotine • Caffeine • Cocaine • Which drug above is the most powerful (addicting?) • Nicotine!

3. NICOTINE • Every year nicotine kills more people than World War II and the Vietnam War combined! • Nicotine, which is found in tobacco, is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States. • Three drops of pure nicotine in a hand can kill a person!!!! • Cigarettes > Chewing tobacco • Higher concentration of nicotine in cigarettes.

4. Nicotine cont. • Nicotine is used in organic gardening to kill insects. • Tobacco plants produce nicotine to protect themselves against natural enemies in the food chain like grazing animals. • Can a person overdose on nicotine? • YES!

5. Nicotine (Found) • Nicotine can be found in the following: • Cigarettes • Chewing tobacco • Cigars • Snuff • Nicorette patch • Nicorette chewing gum • Snus

6. Nicotine cont. How it moves through the body… • Speed on how quickly it enters the blood and brain depends on how it is administered. • Chewing tobacco: • Quick. This effect may last longer than smoking because of how long it is in the mouth. Absorbed through mucous membranes in the mouth. • Smoking: • Very quickly. Enters blood through the lungs and then blood brings it to the brain within seconds.

7. How it moves through the body cont. • Cigars: • Where does nicotine enter the body? Mouth or Lungs? • Enters the mouth because smokers don’t usually inhale cigars. • Longer last effect because of how long it is in the mouth, but it takes a while to be absorbed by the blood.

8. Quickest effect? • Which of the following would offer a drug user the quickest high? • Smoking? • Injecting? • Inhaling? • INJECTION! • Immediately enters the bloodstream!

9. Psychological effects of Nicotine • Pattern behavior • Use of nicotine can be continuous after meals, while driving, or socializing. • Mental focus • User’s needing it in order to accomplish small tasks. • Stress reliever? • Many users believe nicotine will calm them, however it actually has a reverse effect.

10. Psychological effects cont. • Psychological dependence • Physical dependence on nicotine last 48 hours after the final use. However, psychological dependence can last for many weeks. • Everything we just mentioned can make quitting extremely difficult.

11. Physical effects of Nicotine • Increases dopamine levels in the brain. • Raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. • Lowers oxygen levels in the blood. • Adrenaline (epinephrine) levels decrease. • Leads to rapid heartbeat. • Rapid shallow breathing. • Increased blood pressure.

12. Dangers in Nicotine • Stroke • Heart Attack • Cancer • Emphysema • Tourette’s Syndrome • Alzheimer’s Disease

13. Caffeine • The world’s most popular drug! • 10 grams of caffeine is actually considered a lethal dose! • 90% of Americans consume it in some way every day. • First isolated from coffee in 1820. • Caffeine is naturally present in more than 60 plants. • The British, well known for their tea drinking, tsip 196,000,000 cups a day!

14. Caffeine (found) • Chocolate! • Coffee/tea • Soft drinks • Energy drinks • Over-the-counter stimulants • Some prescription medications

15. Caffeine in soda

16. Caffeine…How it moves through the body • Almost always taken by mouth, and absorbed by the linings of the stomach, large intestine, and small intestine (most). • Caffeine takes approximately 30-60 minutes before results are felt. • Caffeine remains in the body for a rather long time. • Half-life is 3 hours.

17. Caffeine Psychological effects • After eating = coffee • Waking up = coffee • All nighters (college students) = coffee • Gym/Workouts = Energy drinks • Can you think of anymore?

18. Caffeine Physical Effects • Constricted cerebral blood vessels. • Rapid, irregular heartbeat. • Tremors. • Sleep-disorders. • Increased blood-pressure. • Heart and breathing problems. • Insomnia. • OVERDOSE = FATAL!

19. Caffeine health benefits? • Research shows 4 cups a day lowers risk for Parkinson’s disease. (80% lower!) • 2 cups/day reduces risk for colon cancer. • 2 cups/day causes an 80% drop in cirrhosis. • 2 cups/day prevents gallstone development by 50%. • Decrease change for prostate cancer?

20. COCAINE • Cocaine is made from the leaves of the coca plant. • Babies born to mothers who use cocaine can have brain damage and be pre-mature. • When a person first uses cocaine they experience a high they will never get again. • When cocaine is processed into a crystal form its known as “crack”. (Rock) • Crack is a smokeableform of cocaine.

21. Cocaine common terms… • Coke • Blow • Candy • Crack • Jack • Nose candy • Rock

22. Cocaine…How it moves through the body • Cocaine – Cocaine is usually snorted, and sometimes in rare occasions injected after being dissolved in water. It appears in a white powder. • When the user snorts cocaine it gets absorbed through the nasal tissues of the nose. It then enters the bloodstream, and brain. The user will not receive a high as quickly as they would if it were smoked.

23. Cocaine…How it moves through the body • Crack - is a drug that is smoked. It is heated into a pipe, where vapors are released and inhaled into the lungs. • It is smoked and then enters the lungs. Once in the lungs it is easily absorbed into the bloodstream, and the user experiences an almost immediate high. The high occurs almost as quick as injection.

24. Cocaine…How it moves through the body • Not only can it be snorted, smoked, and injected; but some users are even applying it to parts of their body where the mucous membranes are thin: • Mouth • Rectum • Penis • Vagina

25. Cocaine psychological effects • Change in a person’s relationship (marital and friendship) • When psychological dependence develops the user will do almost anything to get their hands on it. • “Coke Bugs” • Extreme paranoia • Feelings of euphoria • Alertness/Edgy • Psychosis

26. Cocaine physical effects • Stroke • Heart Irregularities • Increased blood pressure • Low sex-drive • Severe Insomnia • Depression • DEATH…due to heart or lung failure.

27. Cocaine as a medicine? • Cocaine is actually used as a local anesthetic, but it rarely appears in the street in its medical solution. • It is used in surgeries dealing with eye and ear problems.

28. Methamphetamine • Methamphetamine releases high levels of dopamine, which stimulates brain cells and enhances mood and body movement. • Methamphetamine can also cause damage to brain cells that contain dopamine and serotonin. • Methamphetamines were given to soldiers during World War II, around the time they were created. • It costs $1,000 to make $20,000 worth of meth! • A high off crystal meth can last from 6-24 hours!

29. Methamphetamine common terms • Meth • Crystal • Ice • Glass • Tina • Crystal Meth

30. Methamphetamine stats…. • In 2005 6.2% of high school students reported using meth at least once. • More than 85% of the meth in the United States comes from labs in California and Mexico. • In 2004 8,000 meth labs were seized in the Unites States. Child welfare seized 3,000 children from these labs! • According to police, the price of a dose of cocaine that would give a user a 20 minute high will buy enough meth to keep a user buzzed for a day or two.

31. Methamphetamine (Used) • How is meth used? • Snorted, injected, or in its crystalline form smoked. • Smoking – Almost immediate flow to the brain, and feelings are felt almost instantly. • Smoked with a pipe.

32. Methamphetamine pyschological effects • Visual and auditory hallucinations. • Intense anger and paranoia. – Can lead to homicidal or suicidal thoughts, and actions. • Obsessive behaviors. • Paranoia • Anxiety • “Meth bugs” – The feeling or sensation of tiny bugs crawling around your body.

33. Methamphetamine physical effects • Accelerated Heart Beat • Brain Damage • Hypertension • Insomnia • Impaired immune system • Blood clots • Kidney/liver damage • Irreversible damage to blood vessels of the brain. • Cracked teeth/change in facial appearance.