Drugs and the Human Body

1. Drugs and the Human Body

2. Drugs and the human Body: Sections • Drug basics • Major Drug Classifications • The Most Commonly Abused Drugs • Deadly Drug Interactions • The Effects of Addiction and Long Term Abuse

3. Drug Basics: What is a drug? • A “Drug” is any substance that alters normal bodily function. • Pharmacological drugs are used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or illness. • Recreational Drugs typically affect the CNS, and are used to alter perception, consciousness, and/or social behavior.

4. Drug Basics: History • Drugs have played an integral role in human history dating back thousands of years. • Drugs are (any will always be) a key source of human kind’s best and worst attributes.

5. Drug Basics: Administration • Orally, as a liquid or solid, that is swallowed and absorbed through the stomach and/or small intestine. • Sublingually, diffusing into the bloodstream through capillaries under the tongue. • Inhaled, breathed into the lungs • Injected, into muscle, adipose tissue, or blood vessel • Rectally via a suppository, absorbed into the colon. • Vaginally, via a suppository, treatment of vaginal infections • Insufflation, snorted into the nose

6. Major Drug Classifications • Pharmacological drugs have an extremely wide range of targets and effects (including all organ systems and corresponding tissues.) • Recreational Drugs can be classified according to their effects on the central nervous system. these classifications include: -Narcotics -Stimulants -Depressants -Hallucinogens

7. Major Drug Classifications: Narcotics • Narcotics include drugs used medicinally to relieve pain. Recreational narcotics are have no medical use. In both cases they have a high potential for abuse • These drugs cause relaxation with an immediate “rush“ of euphoria. • Side effects include: restlessness, nausea, shallow breathing, clammy skin, convulsions, watery eyes, runny nose, cramps, loss of appetite, irritability, tremors, panic, chills, sweating

8. The Most Commonly Abused Narcotics (cont.) • Narcotics used to treat pain control are often abused. These include: vicoden, morphine, oxycodone, and many others. • The 2 most common illegal narcotics include heroin, and methamphetamine. • Common names for these drugs include: -Heroin: Scag, black tar, smack, horse -Methamphetamine: Meth, crystal, crank, ice

9. Challenge Question! • Why is Methamphetamine use so rampant in the United States? What are states such as California and Oregon doing to prevent the spread of Meth Addiction?

10. Major Drug Classifications: Stimulants • Stimulants are drugs used to increase alertness, relieve fatigue, users feel stronger and more decisive. • Stimulants almost always increase heart and respiratory rates, elevate blood pressure, dilate pupils and decrease appetite. • Side effects include: Excessive activity, talkativeness, irritability, paranoia, agitation, elevated body temperature, hallucinations, convulsions, possible death.

11. The Most Commonly Abused Stimulants(cont.) • The most commonly abused stimulants include: aderall, ritalin, caffeine, and crack/cocaine. • Common names for crack/cocaine include: • Aunt Nora  • Heaven dust  • eagle • Nose powder  • Pearl  • Peruvian flake  • White dragon • sugar • Cocoa puff • rock • white • Rock star • Toot • Wild cat • Booger sugar • Devil’s dandruff

12. Major Drug Classifications: Depressants • Medicinally, these drugs are prescribed to relieve anxiety, irritability, and/or tension. They include alcohol, the most abused of all drugs. • Immediate effects include Sensory alteration, anxiety reduction, calmness, muscle relaxation, sleep, and sometimes euphoria. • Larger doses causeslurred speech, impaired judgment,loss of motor coordination, respiratory depression, coma, withdrawal symptoms, behavioral problems, birth defects • Some Side effects include: Shallow respiration, clammy skin, dilated pupilsWeak and rapid pulse, coma, death

13. The Most Commonly Abused Depressants • Some of the most commonly abused depressants include: Alcohol, Xanax, valium, Ambien, and Nembutal

14. Major Drug Classifications: Hallucinogens • These drugs have no medicinal purpose and cause multiple and dramatic behavioral changes persisting over long periods of time. • Effects Include: a trance-like state, rapidly changing feelings, violent behavior, anxiety, distorted perception of time, hallucinations, illusions, dizziness, confusion, suspicion, anxiety, loss of control, delusion, mood swings • Some Side effects include: convulsions, chills, irregular breathing, sweating, trembling, changes in sense of light, hearing, touch, smell, increase in blood pressure, coma, heart/lung failure, ruptured blood vessels in the brain, death.

15. The Most Commonly Abused Hallucinogens • Some of the most commonly abused hallucinogens include: ecstasy, marijuana, mushrooms, LSD, and PCP. • Some common names for these drugs include: dots, electric kool aid, fantasy, loony toons, ying yang, acid, angel dust, X. • Common names for Marijuana include: mary jane, boom, chronic, dope, ganja, gangster, grass, hash, herb, kif, pot, reefer, skunk, and weed.

16. Did You Know? • Some mushrooms, if ingested, will cause permanent kidney failure within hours! The Death Cap Mushroom

18. Deadly Drug Interactions • Mixing drugs can “confuse” your body, sending conflicting messages to your brain and heart. • Likewise, abusing different drugs within the same classification can compound the effects and cause major damage, even death.

19. Deadly Drug InteractionsExample #1 • Marilyn Monroe and Heath Ledger died after taking sleeping pills combined with miscellaneous other prescription medication.

20. Deadly Drug InteractionsExample #2 • River Phoenix died outside the Viper night club in Hollywood after mixing Vicodin with Cocaine.

21. Deadly Drug InteractionsExample #3 • DJ AM had cocaine, Oxycontin, Hydrocodone, Xanax, and 6 other prescription drugs in his system when he died.

22. Addiction and Long-term Abuse • Both prescription and illegal drugs can be equally harmful and habit forming. • Different drugs have different long-term effects depending on the level of abuse and classification of the drug(s) being abused.

23. 2 Years of Crystal Meth 1990 1992

24. 3 Years of Crystal meth 1997 2000

25. 4 Years of Crystal meth

26. 5 Years of Crystal Meth 1998 2003

27. Addiction and Long-term Abuse: Cancer • With few exceptions, drugs are particularly hard on the liver and kidneys, while abusing others can cause long-term brain and heart damage. • Moreover, drug use has been clearly linked to various types of cancer in organs and tissues throughout the body.

29. Addiction and Long-term Abuse:Alcohol • Alcohol is not particularly harmful in moderation, however alcohol abuse over long periods of time can ruin the liver and severely tax one’s kidneys.

30. Addiction and Long-term Abuse:Affecting Friends and Family • Addiction and self-destructive behavior can lead to a downward spiral which envelops all involved parties. • An Intervention followed by rehabilitation are often needed in cases where excessive drug use is killing the abuser.

31. QUIZ! • Recreational drugs are classified as to how they affect this body system. • Name 4 ways in which drugs can be administered into the body. • These drugs are often prescribed as pain relievers and abused for their side effects. • Aderall and cocaine fall into this drug classification. • Slurred speech, impaired vision, and a loss of coordination are primary symptoms linked to these types of drugs. • This extremely addictive illegal drug is pervasive in the U.S.A., as it can be manufactured in home laboratories. • Alcohol abuse over an extended period of time damages these 2 organs most severely. • Briefly describe one of the deadly drug interactions from the presentation. • Which drug classification contains drugs that are virtually all legal. • Which drug classification contains drugs that are virtually all illegal.

32. “That’s All Folks!” More to come…