Chapter 26 Illegal Drugs

Drug Use – A High Risk Behavior Health Terms Substance Abuse Illegal Drugs Synthetic Drugs Illicit Drug Use Gateway Drugs Overdose

Drug Use – A High Risk Behavior Health Concepts Substance abuse is a high-risk behavior that includes misusing legal drugs or using illegal drugs or other chemicals. People abuse drugs for a variety of reasons, none of them are healthful. Substance abuse has far-reaching consequences for the abuser, for others in the abuser’s life, and for society at large.

Substance Abuse/Illegal Drugs Medicine misuse: using a medicine in a way other than the one intended. Giving it someone else; taking too much or too little; taking someone else’s medicine; discontinuing without Dr.’s approval; taking longer than prescribed; mixing medications. Substance abuse is any unnecessary or improper use of chemical substances for nonmedical purposes. Could include medicine, alcohol, or illegal drugs. Illegal drugs (street drugs) are substances that are against the law for people of any age to manufacture, possess, buy, or sell. Their potential for harm is great.

Illegal Drugs/Illicit Drugs Regardless of its origin or how they are taken, the effects of illegal drugs can be deadly. Some drugs occur naturally, taking the form of extracts from plants, animals, or minerals. Synthetic drugs are chemical substances produced artificially in a lab. People who use illegal drugs are guilty of a crime called illicit drug use. This is the use or sale of any substances that are illegal. Includes selling prescription drugs.

Gateway Drugs Drugs that often lead to other serious and dangerous drug use. Alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine are widely considered gateway drugs. 99.9% of cocaine users began by first using alcohol, marijuana, or nicotine.

Trends in Teen Drug Use Teens in the U.S. are now using drugs at younger ages than ever before. 8 year old caught smoking marijuana at elementary school More teens are trying heroin than ever before, and more teen heroin users are showing up in hospital emergency rooms. 2014 - 44% of children 12 and up admitted to having used marijuana. 2014 - 10% of children 12 and up admitted to using illicit drugs in the past month.

Why People Begin Using Drugs If people know the dangers, why do they use? For many teens it is for one or more of the following reasons: See friends, parents, or older siblings using Feel pressured to use drugs and don’t know how to say no They want to fit in, relax, or seem mature They see drugs glamorized on TV, in videos, in the movies, or in song lyrics They seek a solution to boredom or are searching for new thrills They are trying to escape from their problems

Dangers of Substance Abuse Side effects (minor to deadly) Synergistic effect (mixing) Safety (no controls on quality, purity, strength) Overdose (strong or even fatal reaction to taking a large amount of a drug) Often accidental Often occur when alcohol and other drugs are combined HIV/Hepatitis (dirty needles) STI’s/Unwanted pregnancies (lose control) Crimes, suicides, accidental/intentional deaths (major factor)

Tolerance The body of the substance abuser begins to develop tolerance to the drug, needing more and more of it to get the same effects, and eventually needing it just to function.

Physiological Dependence The body develops a chemical need for a drug. A person who has developed tolerance and experiences severe effects when the drug is taken away is said to be physiologically dependent on that drug.

Withdrawal Withdrawal occurs when a person stops using a drug on which he or she is physiologically dependent. They symptoms of this process can include nervousness, insomnia, sever nausea, headaches, vomiting, chills, cramps, and in some instances even death.

Psychological Dependence With psychological dependence, a persons believes the drug is needed in order to feel good or to function normally. He or she has a continual desire to take the drug for its effect.

Addiction Addiction involves physiological and psychological dependence on a drug. Brain disease. No cure but there are treatments. Drugs or alcohol hijack the pleasure/reward circuits (dopamine) in your brain and hook you into wanting more and more. Genetic. Teens are especially vulnerable because their brains are not yet fully developed – particularly the frontal regions that help with impulse control and assessing risk.

Costs of Substance Abuse Negatively affect work, school, sports, and relationships with peers or family. Affects emotional, social and physical health. Experimenting only once can prove troublesome with the law or even ruin his/her life. Educational goals may be interrupted and substance abuse can slow progress toward becoming a responsible, mature adult.

Costs to Others Substance abuse does not just affect the user but others in his/her life Family, friends, work, strangers… Illegal drugs burden American society with an estimated $215 billion in health, social, and criminal costs every single year.

Drugs & Pregnancy Substance abuse can cause serious harm to developing fetuses and babies who may ingest the substance through breast milk. It is estimated that 5% of women who gave birth in the last year had used illicit drugs at some point during their pregnancy. Drug dependency, birth defects, behavior issues, premature birth, low birth weight, and retardation are all possible. Currently Tennessee is the only state which can prosecute mothers who use illicit drugs during their pregnancy.

Questions 1. What is substance abuse? Illegal drugs? Gateway drugs? 2. What are three trends in teen drug use? 3. 3 Reasons why a teen may start using drugs? 4. 3 costs of drug use in society and how each of these may affect YOU?