Chapter 16 – Medicine and Illegal Drugs Lesson 1 – What are drugs? Drug – any chemical substance that causes a change in a person’s physical or psychological state. How drugs enter the Body…. Mouth – swallow Injection – hypodermic needle Transdermal patches Ear – does not go into bloodstream Smoke – nose Lesson 2 – Using drugs as Medicine Medicine – any drug that is used to cure, prevent, or treat illness or discomfort. Prescription – a written order from a doctor for a certain medicine or treatment. Prescription medicine – medicine that can be bought only with a written order from a doctor. Over-the-counter – any medicine that can be bought without a prescription. Drug interaction – an unexpected effect of a drug Side effect – any effect that is caused by a drug and that is different from the drug’s intended effect. Drug allergy – a person can have a very bad reaction to a medicine that causes little or no side effects in most people. Tolerance – the body’s ability to resist the effects of a drug. Overdose – the taking of a larger amount of a drug than a person’s body can safely process. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – a government agency that controls the safety of food and drugs in the United States. Lesson 3 – Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug addiction – the uncontrollable use of a drug. Drug abuse – the misuse of a drug on purpose or the use of any illegal drug. Dependence – needing the drug in order to function properly. Physical dependence – the body’s chemical need for a drug. Psychological dependence – a person’s emotional or mental need for a drug. Lesson 4 – Stimulants and Depressants Stimulant – any drug that increases the body’s activity. Cocaine – a powerful stimulant that is produced Crack cocaine – cocaine that has been altered into a form that can be smoked. Euphoria – a physical and mental sense of well-being. Methamphetamine – a very powerful stimulant; it is produced in a laboratory. Depressant (sedatives) – a drug that decreases activity in the body. Tranquilizers – mild depressants that are used in small doses to treat anxiety. Barbiturates – strong depressants that are used to treat sleep disorders and seizures. Hypnotics – extremely powerful depressants that can cause sleep, loss of muscle control, and loss of memory. Rohypnol – an extremely powerful hypnotic depressant. Blackout – the inability to remember anything that happened while under a drug’s effects. Lesson 5 – Marijuana Marijuana – the dried flowers and leaves of the Cannabis plant. THC – the active chemical in marijuana Lesson 6 – Opiates Opiate – any drug that is produced from the milk of the opium poppy. Opium – the white milky liquid that comes from the poppy plant to make opiates. Heroin – may be the most powerful and addictive opiate that exists and is made from morphine Morphine – one of the chemical substances in the milk of the opium poppy. Lesson 7 – Hallucinogens and Inhalants Hallucinogen – any drug that causes a person to hallucinate. Hallucinate – to see or hear things that are not actually present. Flashback – an event in which a hallucinogen’s effects happen again long after the drug was originally taken. Inhalant – any drug that is inhaled and absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs. Lesson 8 – Designer Drugs Designer drug – a drug that is produced by making a small chemical change to a drug that already exists. Ecstasy – the common name given to the chemical MDMA is a mind-altering drug that was created from the powerful stimulant methamphetamine. Seizures – short episodes in which an overload of brain activity causes violent shaking in the muscles. GHB – a drug that is made from an anesthetic that is also a common ingredient in pesticides. Ketamine – a powerful drug that is closely related to the hallucinogen PCP. Lesson 9 – Staying Drug Free Reasons for staying Drug Free 1. staying healthy 2. staying in control 3. making good decisions 4. staying out of jail 5. saving your money Lesson 10 – Getting Help Intervention – a gathering in which the people who are close to a person who is abusing drugs try to get the person to accept help by relating stories of how his/her drug problem has affected them. Treatment center – a facility with trained doctors and counselors where people who abuse drugs can get help for their problem. Detoxification – the process by which the body rids itself of harmful chemicals. Support group – a group of people who have undergone the same or very similar problems.