Name _________________________________ PD __________ EVEN/ODD
Drugs
Facts About Drugs/Medicine – Lesson 1 and 2
1. medicine – a drug that people use to cure or treat certain health problems
2. side effects – unwanted and unneeded effects a medicine may have
3. prescription – a special order given by a physician or another qualified doctor
for a certain medicine
4. OTC medicines – medicines that can be bought “over the counter,” without a
prescription
5. dosage – the correct amount of a medicine to be taken at one time
6. drugs – any substance that changes how the mind or body works
A. Drugs that can help people get well
1. Medicine forms – pills, syrups, powders, liquids, creams, sprays
2. Can be swallowed, inhaled, or injected
3. Ways they help
a. Cure disease
b. Make changes – aspirin for fever, allergy injections, cough syrups
c. Side effects – unwanted and unneeded effects
4. 2 kinds of medicine
a. Prescription – doctors decide how much and how long a medicine
should be taken, prepared by pharmacist
b. OTC medicine – medicines that can be bought over the counter,
no prescription needed, used for minor problems
5. Using medicines safely
a. Only use if a parent, guardian, or doctor tell you to do so
b. Take the medicine exactly as directed – no medicine abuse
c. Ask yourself questions about OTC medicines – What symptoms
does it relieve? What is the dosage? How often should it be taken?
What are the side effects?
d. If you are experiencing side effects, stop taking the medicine and
contact doctor
e. Only take the medicine/prescription if it is intended for YOU!!
f. Read the label – how much, how often, date of expiration, side
effects, patient’s name, doctors name
g. Never mix drugs unless told to do so
h. Drugs don’t solve all problems – water, sleep, eat right, exercise
B. Drugs are unpredictable
1. Body weight – low body weight usually needs less of a drug than a
larger person to feel the same effects
a. Young people usually weigh less, 1 reason why some drugs are
legal only for adults
2. amount of a drug taken
a. taking a larger amount at one time causes a strong reaction, small
amounts cause a weaker reaction
b. follow the instructions
3. mood – drugs can intensify your mood
4. food – having food in the stomach can decrease the strength of some
drugs
5. Allergies – some people have allergies to certain drugs, causing
unexpected and dangerous reactions to the drug
Review
1. What factors affect a person’s reaction to drugs?
2. What is the difference between OTC and prescription drugs?
3. What are 3 things you can do to make sure you use medicine safely?
4. What is the difference between medicine and drugs?
Illegal Drugs - Lesson 3
1. stimulants – drugs that speed up the circulatory and nervous systems
2. depressants – drugs that slow down the body’s systems
3. narcotics – strong drugs that slow down the heart, the brain, and the nervous
system; they also stop the brain from sensing pain
4. hallucinogens – drugs that change the way a person senses the world
5. flashback – effects of a hallucinogen that come back long after the person has
stopped taking the drug
6. inhalants – chemicals that have a drug-like effect when they are breathed
7. fumes – gases
8. gateway drug – is a drugs that introduces people to drug use, increasing the risk
that they will try stronger drugs
Drugs that are abused
A. Stimulants
1. Drugs that speed up the circulatory and nervous systems (heart beats
faster, blood pressure goes up)
2. Feel awake and active
3. cause heart attacks, strokes, death
4. Examples
a. caffeine, nicotine
b. Amphetamines
1. very strong, legally prescribed
2. Illegal amphetamines are made with dangerous chemicals
3. signs of abuse – enlarged pupils, trembling, nervousness,
and loss of appetite, violence, dangerously high heart rate
c. Cocaine
1. one of the most dangerous illegal stimulants
2. causes a pattern of very strong feelings “high” followed by a
very depressed “down” – physical and emotional dependence
3. To escape the low – more cocaine is taken – tolerance and
dependence
4. Overdose is common, especially from “crack”
5. Death is due to heart muscle damage
B. Depressants
1. Drugs that slow down the body’s systems
2. slow down brain and nervous system, slow down the heart and relax
muscles, it becomes hard for the body to pump blood or get enough oxygen
3. Are available only by prescription for people who are upset or need to fall
asleep
4. Examples - alcohol, tranquilizers, and barbiturates
5. Physical and emotional dependence
a. tolerance builds quickly and so it is easy to overdose
b. withdrawal from depressants are dangerous and may cause death,
should be guided by a physician
C. Narcotics/Opiates
1. slow down the heart, the brain, and the nervous system – stop the brain from
sensing pain
2. Prescription narcotics examples
a. Codeine – relieve pain or hard to control coughs
b. Morphine – pain relief after surgery, one of the strongest narcotics
3. Illegal narcotics
a. Heroin – most dangerous and life threatening
1. no medical use
2. never know the actual strength - often has other
drugs/chemicals added
3. AIDS is commonly spread by people who inject the drug
4. strong physical and emotional dependence and high tolerance
D. Hallucinogens
1. change the way a person senses the world and how messages are carried by
the nerves to the brain
2. Examples
a. PCP and LSD - illegal
b. cause a person to see or hear things that aren’t there
c. People who use have killed themselves – doing things they normally
wouldn’t
d. flashbacks - effects may last long after the person is done taking the
drug, uncontrollable and frightening
E. Cannabis - one of the most common drugs
1. made from the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa), nicknames – pot, grass, bud,
weed
2. marijuana (crushed or chopped dried leaves and flowers) and hashish (made
from the sticky juice that comes from the plant’s flower)
3. can work like stimulants and then depressants or hallucinogens – effects are
never certain
4. usually smoked like a cigarette and harms the lungs, joint
5. THC – the most harmful drug in cannabis
6. Hashish is more powerful and dangerous that marijuana
7. Will greatly harm the developing brain and reproductive cells of young
people
8. make people nervous and raise their heart rate, increase risk of infections,
hard time paying attention
a. short term – difficulty judging time and distance, memory loss
b. long term – damage the lungs, similar to tobacco, 5 joints = 7 packs of
cigarettes
9. Gateway drug – increases the risk of trying stronger drugs
F. Inhalants
1. chemicals with strong fumes that people breathe
2. can cause forgetfulness, dizziness, headaches, nosebleeds, nausea
3. Damage the lungs, heart, brain, and liver – may never recover and can
cause death
4. Permanent organ damage is faster than most other abused substances and
produce dependence sooner
5. Use of inhalants can cause death because people stop breathing within a few
minutes or have heart attacks
6. Produce gases or fumes from liquid solvents, replacing the air in the lungs
7. Fumes pass from the person’s lungs into their blood
G. Anabolic steroids
1. drugs that are abused to build muscles
2. can be used legally when they are prescribed by a doctor
3. Cause fast weight gain and muscle growth, increase risk of stroke or heart
attack, high blood pressure, tumors, acne, aggressive behavior, stunted growth
4. cause enlarged breast in men and genital shrinking
5. cause facial hair and deeper voice in women
Review
1. What are the dangers of sniffing inhalants?
2. Why is marijuana especially harmful to young people?
Drug Abuse/Addiction - Lesson 4 and 5
1. drug abuse – the repeated use of any drug for the wrong reasons
2. drug dependence – a harmful condition in which a person has a physical or an
emotional need to take a drug (or drugs).
3. withdrawal – stopping the supply of a drug on which a person is physically
dependent; usually causes painful physical symptoms
4. tolerance - the body’s ability to get used to amounts of certain drugs
5. overdose – a drug dose large enough to cause serious harm to the body
7. medicine abuse – taking a medicine without following the directions and safety
guidelines
8. misuse – is the accidental incorrect use of a drug
A. Effects of drug abuse
1. Drug abuse – is the repeated use of any drug for the wrong reasons
2. Misuse – accidental incorrect use of a drug
3. Drug dependency – physical or emotional need to take drugs
4. Physical dependence
a. the person’s body needs the drug to feel normal
b. each time the effects wear off, the person feels pain or becomes ill
c. symptoms are caused by withdrawal of the drug
d. change the way the mind works and people become unable to
make healthy decisions
5. Emotional dependence
a. a person thinks he or she needs the drug
b. taking the drug gives the person a false sense of well-being
c. cannot stop thinking about the drug
6. Tolerance – get used to certain drugs and need larger and larger amounts
to feel the original effects of the drug
7. Withdrawal – the body’s reaction to not having a drug that is usually
present in the body
a. Signs include headaches, chills, nausea, difficulty paying attention
8. Drugs addiction – is the failure to control one’s use of a drug
a. Best way to avoid drug addiction is to never start
9. Recovery – can be painful and dangerous due to change in body
chemistry
a. Often requires medical assistance
10.Overdose – cause serious harm to the body; pain, loss of coordination,
and death
a. Effects of an overdose depend on the drug and on the person’s
tolerance for that drug
b. The same amount of a drug used by one person may be an
overdose for another person
c. Even for the same person, a certain amount of a drug can cause
mild effects at one time and deadly effects at another time
B. Why do some people abuse drugs?
1. Many different reasons
a. abuse on purpose, get rid of symptoms, take without following
directions, take too much too often, take without talking to a
doctor
b. some know they are harming themselves, others don’t know
c. Some are pressured by their peers to take drugs – harmless, fun,
exciting, admired for doing so
d. Short term – won’t happen to them
C. Affects on people not taking the drugs
1. Family and friends
2. Some young people who are having trouble getting along at home or
school may think they can take drugs to get away from their problems,
but it only makes them worse
3. Borrow or steal from family and friends - $100 a day for drugs
Review
1. What is the difference between misusing and abusing a drug?
2. How can abusing drugs affect a person’s friendships/relationships with family
and friends?
3. How does a person build tolerance to a drug?
4. How can trying a harmful drug, even once, lead to drug abuse?