1. Unit 5: Tobacco, Alcohol, & other drug prevention
Lesson 2: Drug misuse, abuse, & addiction

2. Healthy Behavior Outcomes
Avoid experimentation with alcohol and other drugs. Avoid the use of alcohol.

3. Bell Ringer
In your journal (p.5), write a few sentences about what behaviors would make you suspect another person was using drugs.
What does it mean to be addicted to something? (TV SHOW, FOOD, ACTIVITY)
Is drug addiction different?

4. Drug Misuse and abuse
Any drug – legal or illegal – can be dangerous if it’s misused or abused.
With the person sitting text to you at your table:
Write the definition for misuse and abuse when they are associated with drugs. How are they different from each other.

5. Drug Misuse and abuse
Drug misuse: the use of legally prescribed or over-the-counter drugs
In greater amounts than, more often than, in different ways from, or for purposes other than what’s prescribed or recommended.
Drug abuse: the use of illegal drugs or the inappropriate use of legal drugs
To produce pleasure, alleviate stress, avoid reality or alter perceptions
That’s done deliberately and repeatedly to achieve these effects
That causes problems for the user

6. Drug misuse and abuse
With the person sitting next to you at your table…
What would be an example of drug misuse?
What would be an example of drug abuse?

7. Misuse
Taking more doses of cough syrup than recommended during the day to treat your cough
Taking a double dose of your allergy medicine when your symptoms are bad
Using someone else’s prescription medicine to treat a similar condition
Stopping use of antibiotics before the prescribed amount has been taken
Taking leftover antibiotics for an infection for why they haven’t been described

8. Abuse Taking large doses of cough syrup in order to get high
Using an allergy medicine to keep you awake while studying for a test
Taking someone else’s prescription medicine to experience the side effects
Drinking enough alcohol to make you sick
Drinking any alcohol if your under the age of 21
Using any kind of illegal drug

9. Misuse and abuse
Thin line between misuse and abuse
For example: If someone misuses an over-the- counter drug, it becomes drug abuse.
Another example: If someone misused a legal drug one time causing physical, emotional, or social problems for the user… you could argue they abused the drug.
How to determine the difference – if the drug use causes a problem for the user
Most serious negative outcome = ADDICTION

10. What is drug addiction?
Addiction - A chronic relapsing brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.
It is a brain disease because drugs change both the structures of the brain and how it works. These brain changes can lead to harmful or self-destructive behaviors.
It’s chronic because these brain changes can be ongoing and long lasting.
It’s relapsing because someone who’s addicted finds it extremely hard to stop using a drug. The person may be able to stop for a while, but often relapses or goes back to using the drug.

11. What is drug addiction? Addiction Continued
Drug seeking and use can become compulsive because the drive to get and use the drug is very strong for an addicted person.
Harmful consequences of drug addiction can include:
- physical health problems
- emotional problems
- social problems
- troubles with family, friends, school work, money, or the law.

12. To enhance understanding
Groups of 4
Understanding Addiction (Pg 4-7 of Workbook)
Decide who is going to read which sections and highlight or underline what you want to report back to the rest of your group. You can also take notes on the side of the passages.
Then complete the case studies on page 7 together.

13. Review How do drugs change the brain?
What are some of the risk factors that can contribute to addiction?
What are the stages of addiction?
What are some of the negative consequences of addiction?

14. Exit Ticket
Describe the difference between drug misuse and drug abuse, and give a specific example of each.

15. Closure
What's one thing that you learned today that will help you avoid becoming addicted to drugs?