CHAPTER 22 ILLEGAL DRUGS

1. CHAPTER 22ILLEGAL DRUGS

2. Lesson 1 • Health Risks of Drug Use

3. Vocabulary • Substance Abuse: any unnecessary or improper use of chemical substance for non-medical purposes • Illegal Drugs: chemical substances that people of any age may not lawfully manufacture, possess, buy, or sell • Illicit Drug Use: the use or sale of any substance that is illegal or otherwise not permitted • Overdose: a strong, sometimes fatal reaction to taking a large amount of a drug • Addiction: a physiological or psychological dependence on a drug

4. Substance Abuse • Includes overuse, or multiple use of a drug, use of an illegal drug, or use of a drug with alcohol • Using illegal drugs is a crime called illicit drug use • Includes the sale of prescription drugs to those for whom the drugs are not intended

5. Abuse of Prescription Drugs • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports 6.4 million people age 12 or older had used prescription medicines for nonmedical purposes • Medicines include pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives • 60 % said they got the drug from a friend or relative • OxyContin was the only prescription drug whose use increased among 8th- 12th graders • Vicodin was the second most prevalent illicit drug

6. Factors That Influence Teens • Peer Pressure • Family Members • Role Models • Media Messages • Perceptions of Drug Behavior • Misleading Information

7. How Drugs Affect Your Health • Drug abuse affects your physical, mental/emotional, and social health • Physical: a serious danger of drug abuse is the risk of an overdose that can lead to death. The use of a needle increases the risk of contracting diseases such as hepatitis B and HIV. • Mental: drug abuse impairs though process, brain function, and structure. This causes loss of ability to reason and think properly. • Social: Loss of relationships, family members support, and legal consequences. Substance abuse is a leading cause of crime, suicide, and unintentional injuries.

8. Other Effects of Drug Use • Tolerance: a condition in which the body becomes accustomed to the drug and causes the user to experience a need for more of the drug to achieve the desired effect. • Psychological dependence: a condition that develops over time and causes a person to believe that a drug is needed in order to feel good or to function normally. • Physiological dependence: a user develops a chemical need for a drug. Symptoms of withdrawl occur when the effects of the drug wear off. Symptoms can include nervousness, insomnia, headaches, vomiting, chills, and cramps. In some cases, withdrawl symptoms are severe and can result in death.

9. Addiction: physiological or psychological dependence on a drug. An addict is someone who requires persistent, compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful. People who are addicted to a substance have great difficulty in stopping its use on their own. Professional intervention to stop using illegal drugs is often necessary.

10. Drugs Take a Heavy Toll • Consequences for the individual: • Stop pursing interests and goals • Drugs lower inhibitions, which lead to bad behavior or harm physical health • Teen depression • Suicide • Arrest or unlawful behavior

11. Consequences for Friends and Family: • Loss of interests in healthy activities • Stop spending time with family and friends • Family members feel the burden and emotional/financial costs

12. Consequences for Others: • If a pregnant female takes drugs, those drugs are passed to the fetus • Fetus may be born with birth defects, behavioral problems, or a drug addiciton

13. Consequences for Society • Illegal drug use can result in a rise in drug-related crime and violence • DWI or DUI can result in collisions that cause injuries and deaths. • Research by the Office of National Drug Control Policy shows that drug abuse costs the U.S. economy $180 billion per year. • Costs result from: • Lost work hours and productivity due to drug-related illnesses, jail time, accidents, and deaths • Health care costs and legal fees • Law enforcement costs and insurance costs due to drug-related damages, injuries, and deaths

14. Lesson 2 • Marijuana, Inhalants, and Steroids

15. Vocabulary • Marijuana: a plant whose leaves, buds, and flowers are usually smoked for their intoxicating effects • Paranoia: irrational suspiciousness or distrust of others • Inhalants: substances whose fumes are sniffed or inhaled to give effect • Anabolic-androgenic steriods: synthetic substances similar to male sex hormones. Anabolic refers to muscle building and androgenic refers to increased male characteristics

16. Marijuana • A drug that has serious physical, mental, social, and legal consequences • Other names include grass, weed, or pot • Hash is a stronger form of marijuana • One of the most widely used illegal drugs • Considered a gateway drug, or a drug that may lead the user to try another more dangerous drug • A teen who uses marijuana is 15 times more likely to use cocaine • All forms of marijuana are mind-altering and can damage the user’s health

17. Physical Consequences of Marijuana Use • Marijuana is often smoked, so users face the same health risks as tobacco smokers • Marijuana smoke contains more cancer-causing chemicals than tobacco smoke • Marijuana users often inhale the unfiltered smoke, which can cause damage to the respiratory system • Smoking marijuana also damages the immune system, making the user more susceptible to infections

18. Marijuana also poses risks to the reproductive system. • In males, it interferes with sperm production and lowers levels of the male hormone testosterone • In females, marijuana raises testosterone levels which may lead to infertility, or the inability to bear children

19. Marijuana contains 421 different chemicals • The main phychoactive ingredient THC (delta-0-tetrahydrocannabinol) is stored in body fat, and traces of it can be present in the blood for as long as a month

20. Mental and Emotional Consequences • Marijuana raises levels of a brain chemical called dopamine, which produces a pleasurable feeling • In some users, marijuana triggers the release of so much dopamine that the user reaches a feeling of intense well-being or elation called a “high” • When the drug wears off, the pleasure sensation stops and causes a letdown called a “crash”

21. Marijuana users can experience slow mental reflexes and may suffer from sudden feelings of anxiety and paranoia. • The user could feel dizzy, have trouble walking, and have memory loss. • Users also experience distorted perception, loss of coordination, and trouble with thinking and problem solving

22. Driving and Marijuana Use • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 10 to 22 % of drivers involved in car crashes were on drugs. • Driving under the influence of marijuana is dangerous because the drug interferes with depth perception, increases reaction time, causes sleepiness, impairs judgment, and slows reflexes.

23. The penalties and legal consequences of DUI include suspension of a driver’s license, fines, loss of eligibility for federal college loans, and possibly a jail term. • If injury or death of another person results, the driver may face serious legal prosecution as well as devastating emotional consequences.

24. Inhalants • Substances whose fumes are sniffed or inhaled to give effect • Some inhalants are prescribed by doctors to treat allergies, asthma, and other medical conditions. • Some substances are inhaled to achieve a high such as solvents, aerosols, glues, paints, varnishes, and gasoline • Most inhalants depress the central nervous system and cause brain damage

25. Immediate effects include a glassy stare, slurred speech, impaired judgment, nausea, coughing, nosebleeds, fatigue, and lack of coordination. • All inhalants are extremely dangerous, and many are labeled as poisons • They can be accidentally inhaled when doing household chores, so it’s important to wear masks and work in well-ventilated rooms

26. Consequences of Steroid Use • Steroid use can result in unnatural muscle growth • When combined with physical conditioning, steroids can increase muscle strength, but the tendons and ligaments do not get stronger which can lead to injury. • Side effects include weight gain, acne, high blood pressure, and liver and kidney tumors. • Steroid users who inject the drug may contract HIV or hepatitis B.

27. Steroids may also cause violent behavior, extreme mood swings, depression, and paranoia. • The effects on males include shrinking testicles, reduced sperm count, baldness, development of breasts, and an increased risk for prostate cancer. • The effects on females include facial hair, baldness, menstrual cycle changes, and a deepened voice. • Any nonmedical use of steroids is illegal.

28. Lesson 3 • Psychoactive Drugs

29. Vocabulary • Psychoactive Drugs: chemicals that affect the central nervous system and alter activity in the brain • Designer Drugs: synthetic drugs that are made to imitate the effects of other drugs • Hallucinogens: drugs that alter moods, thoughts, and sense perceptions, including vision, hearing, smell, and touch • Euphoria: a feeling of intense well-being or elation

30. Depressants: drugs that tend to slow the central nervous system • Stimulants: drugs that speed up the central nervous system • Opiates: drugs such as those derived from the opium plant that are obtainable only by prescription and are used to relieve pain

31. Effects of Psychoactive Drugs • Four main groups of psychoactive drugs are stimulants, depressants, opiates, and hallucinogens • When psychoactive drugs are misused or abused, a person’s health and the functioning of all the body systems are seriously affected • Psychoactive drugs change the functioning of the central nervous system • Psychoactive drug use can result in health problems and addiction

32. Club Drugs, Stimulants, and Depressants • The term club drug describes drugs found at concerts, dance clubs, and drug parties. • These drugs are sometimes disguised in foods, or slipped into drinks and taken without a person’s knowledge • Many club drugs are designer drugs

33. Ecstasy (MDMA) • Both stimulant and hallucinogenic effects • Ecstasy may cause short-term euphoria • May cause confusion, depression, paranoia, and muscle breakdown

34. Rohypnol • “Roofies” are depressants, or sedatives that are colorless, odorless, and tasteless • Called the “date-rape” drug • Unwanted physical contact, unplanned pregnancies, and exposure to HIV and STDs can result

35. GHB • Gamma hydroxybutyric acid • CNS depressant • Clear liquid or white powder • Comes in a variety of tablets and capsules • Can also be used as a “date-rape” drug

36. Ketamine • Anesthetic used to treat animals • Causes hallucinations • May result in respiratory failure, kidney failure, memory loss, and impaired motor function

37. Meth • Stimulant (speeds up CNS) • White, odorless powder that easily dissolves in alcohol or water • May provide a short-term feeling of euphoria, but often causes depression, paranoia, and delusions • Can also cause memory loss, heart and nerve damage, and possibly death

38. LSD (Acid) • Lysergic acid diethylamide • Causes hallucinations and severely distorted perceptions of sound and color • Can cause flashbacks, delusions, illusions, hallucinations, numbness, and tremors • These behaviors can lead to serious injury or death

39. Cocaine • Rapidly acting, powerful and highly addictive stimulant • White powder extracted from the leaves of the coca plant • Users experience a extreme high followed by an emotional letdown • Regular use can lead to depression, fatigue, paranoia, and physiological dependence • When injected, users risk contracting HIV or hepatitis B • Overdosing can result in death

40. Crack • More dangerous form of cocaine • Also called rock or freebase rock • Crack reaches the brain seconds after being smoked or injected • Once in the blood, it causes the heart rate and blood pressure to soar to dangerous levels • Death could result from cardiac or respiratory failure

41. Amphetamines • Highly addictive • Most people use to stay alert, improve athletic performance, or to lose weight • Regular use can cause an irregular heartbeat, paranoia, aggressive behavior, and heart failure

42. Barbiturates • Type of sedative • Causes mood changes, excessive sleepiness, and comas • Users may feel intoxicated

43. Tranquilizers • Depressants that relieve anxiety, muscle spasms, sleeplessness, and nervousness • When overused they can lead to physiological and psychological dependence, coma, and death

44. Hallucinogens • Hallucinogens overload the sensory controls in the brain, causing confusion, intensified sensations, and hallucinations • They cause serious mental/emotional and physical consequences for users • Cause increase in heart and respiratory rates, which leads to heart and respiratory failure • Altered mental states caused by hallucinogens can last for several hours or several days

45. Users of hallucinogens also experience flashbacks, or states in which they feel emotional effects of a drug long after its actual use. • Sometimes the users harm themselves physically, or behave violently and harm others.

46. PCP • “Angel Dust” is one of the most dangerous of all drugs, and its effects vary greatly from user to user • Drug creates a distorted sense of time, increased muscle strength, increased feelings of violence, and the inability to feel pain. • Overdoses can cause death, but most PCP-related deaths are caused by destructive behavior or disorientation.

47. DXM • “Tussin” is a cough suppressant sold as an over-the-counter medicine • When used in the correct dosage DXM is not dangerous • When misused, it causes hallucinations, paranoia, panic attacks, nausea, increased heart rate and blood pressure, seizures, and addicition

48. Mushrooms and Peyote • Psilocybin (mushrooms) and mescaline (peyote cactus) • Hallucinogens found in nature as a fungus and a plant • When eaten they cause nausea, flashbacks, and toxic poisoning

49. Opiates • Drugs derived from the opium plant that are used to relieve pain • Abusing opiates dulls the senses, causes drowsiness, constipation, slow and shallow breathing, convulsions, coma, and death

50. Codeine • Highly addictive ingredient in some prescription cough medicines • Causes dizziness, labored breathing, low blood pressure, seizures, and respiratory arrest • Should not be used before driving • The CDC has issued a warning against giving any medications containing codeine to infants or small children