Drugs & Addiction
Psychoactive Drugs
• Mood altering drugs that affects brain
activity. Most abused drugs are
psychoactive.
• Many psychoactive drugs typically create
a pleasurable feeling that the user wants
to repeat.
• This can often leads to addiction
Addiction & The Brain
• Brain releases a chemical called dopamine with
normal, pleasurable activities.
• It releases extra amounts when using drugs.
This is dangerous because it makes the user
have intense cravings for the drug.
• After a while, the brain doesn’t respond to
normal levels of dopamine because it damages
the dopamine receptors and the user no longer
feels pleasure from normal activities.
• In addition abnormal levels of dopamine is
associated with diseases like schizophrenia and
Parkinson disease.
• Serotonin is another chemical in the brain
affected by drug use. Serotonin influences many
psychological and bodily functions like: mood,
appetite memory, learning, social behavior,
temperature regulation and sexual desire.
• Drugs increase serotonin levels and motivates a
person to take the drug because it’s associated
with pleasure.
• Drugs also make it difficult to process serotonin
and causes problems with the user with all the
things serotonin influences.
Factors Influencing Addiction
Risk Factors
• Family: poor family
relationships, absence of
supervision, genetics
• Social: peer pressure,
role models, competitive
pressure, exposure
• Personal: stress, low
self-esteem, poor coping
skills
Protective Factors
• Family: strong family
bonds, parental
awareness, clear and
enforced rules
• Social: drug free friends,
supportive and accepting
friends, strong bonds at
school and in community
• Personal: strong values
and beliefs, healthy self
esteem, commitment to
academic success and
extracurricular activities
Drug Classifications
(Chapter 17)
Drugs are categorized
according to their actions and
effects on the body.
Stimulants
(Includes: Amphetamines, Methamphetamines, Cocaine, and Nicotine)
Stimulants speed up the body’s activities
(page 442 443)
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Immediate Effects
Heart rate
Breathing
Blood pressure
Alertness & insomnia
Dilate pupil
Decrease appetite
Heart attack & stroke
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Long Term Effects
Anxiety & delusions
Hyperactivity &irritability
Weight loss &malnutrition
Irreversible brain damage
Aggression
Paranoia
Depression
heart irregularities and
respiratory failure
Types of Stimulants
Prescribed
Illegal
Called Amphetamines when
Prescribed
• Cocaine
• Crack Cocaine (stronger,
more concentrated
cocaine
• Methamphetamine
RX for:
• Appetite Suppressant
(diet pills)
• Narcolepsy
• ADD/ADHD
Not prescribed but legal
• Caffeine
• Nicotine
– Speed or Crystal when
swallowed or sniffed
– Crank when injected
– Ice or Glass when smoked
Methamphetamine
• Made in Meth labs using otc cold meds and
allergy pills
• Other chemicals include: fertilizer, cat litter,
battery acid, drain cleaner, and break cleaner.
• Chemical are explosive and can cause harm or
death to the lab operators and neighbors.
• Chemicals are often dumped into streams,
rivers, drains, and fields causing toxicity to the
area and community, endangering the health of
others and costing a lot of money to clean up.
Physical Effects of Meth…..
Depressants
(includes barbiturates, CNS Depressants, Opiates, and Alcohol)
Depressants slows down body functions.
Two categories:
Barbiturates
CNS Depressants
(also called sedatives)
(also called tranquilizers)
• Relax a person
• RX sleeping pills, but rare
because of high addiction rate
• Effects when abused: slow,
slurred speech, loss of motor
skills and reflexes. Withdrawal
can be fatal.
• Risk: overdose, respiratory
failure, coma, death
• Long term effects: sleepiness,
irritability, confusion
• Slows nerve activity, relax
muscle tension, lower
alertness, and can causes
drowsiness & slurred speech
• Not as strong as barbiturates
so more commonly prescribed
• RX for anxiety, sleep
disorders, muscle spasms,
seizures, and convulsions
• Long term effects: blood and
liver disease
Mixing two depressants can result in
accidental overdose and is linked to
suicide. A synergistic effect below….
Opiates
(also called narcotics)
Made from compounds in the seed pods of poppy plants
Opiates have depressant effects but also act to
dull senses, relieve pain, and induce sleep.
Illegal
Prescribed
(pain killers)
• Morphine
• Codeine
• Vicodin
• Oxycontin
** Opiates are
extremely addicting
and have severe
withdrawals.**
• Heroin
– Most powerful opiate
– Once prescribed
– Commonly injected in
vein
– Increased risk for
infections, HIV, and
hepatitis C
Hallucinogens
Overload the brain with sensory information, causing a
distorted sense of reality. Person may hear, see, believe,
and feel things that aren’t’ really there or true. May last
hours to days.
All hallucinogenic drugs are illegal
and have no medical use
Types of hallucinogens
• LSD (also called acid): can either stimulate or depress
CNS system, associated with unexpected
flashbacks/bad trip
• Psilocybin “Shrooms”- chemical found in certain
mushrooms
• PCP “Angel Dust” (once used to as a
painkiller for large animals), most dangerous,
• Peyote “Cactus”
• Salvia, bath salts, and spice are newer drugs that
haven’t been studied long term but can extremely
dangerous and even deadly.
Effects on the Body
(effects are unpredictable)
Immediate Effects
• Hallucinations
• Psychotic reactions
• Decreased sensitivity to touch or pain
• Coma, heart/lung failure
• Self inflicted death
Long Term Effects
• Irreversible brain damage
• Schizophrenia
• Flashbacks (bad trip) sudden hallucinations
Inhalants
Inhalants are chemicals whose
fumes are sniffed or inhaled to
give an hallucinogenic high.
This is the drug most
commonly used (drug of
choice) for middle school kids.
Types of Inhalants
Include:
• Aerosols
• Glues
• Spray paints
• Gasoline
• Other common
household products
Effects of Inhalants
• Fumes go directly to the brain causing mental
confusion, dizziness, lack of coordination, and
hallucinations. May only last a couple of
minutes.
• Incredibly dangerous because the chemicals
replace oxygen in the brain and kill brain cells.
• Can result in immediate death
• Death can also be a result of passing out and
choking on vomit or by cardiac arrest.
• 33% inhalant deaths are first time users
More Effects of Inhalants
(these effects are long lasting and often
permanent)
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Short term use
Palpitations
Headaches
Breathing difficulties
Addiction
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Long term use
Liver and kidney
damage
Loss of bladder
control
Loss of smell
Brain cell death
Dangerous chemical
imbalances
Club Drugs
(first gained popularity at dance clubs and raves)
Club Drugs Include
• Ecstasy (X): Formally MDMA (a drug used for
depression and as an appetite suppressor) declared a
class 1 drug so illegal now. It’s often combined with other
chemicals. Has stimulant and hallucinogenic affects.
Taken orally as a pill.
• GHB (Gammahydroybutyrate): CNS depressant,
colorless, tasteless, odorless, liquid associated with date
rape
• Ketamine (K or Special K): used by veterinarians as
animal tranquilizers. It’s an anesthetic so blackouts can
occur along with a numbing of the body. Comes in
powder form and snorted or smoked for hallucinogenic
effects
Effects of Club Drugs vary. Long term effects are still
not completely known for some of these drugs.
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Immediate Effects
Increased sensitivity
to touch
Hallucinations
Tingling of skin
Increased energy
Dehydration
Numbness to pain,
results in injury
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Long Term & Severe
Effects
Seizures
Coma
Memory loss
Brain damage
Heart/lung failure
Death
Marijuana
(comes from the leaves of the cannabis plant)
Effects of Marijuana
The effects of marijuana depends on several factors:
• The user’s previous experience with the drug
• How strong it is (how much THC)
• What the user expects to happen
• Where and how the drug is taken
• Whether alcohol or other drugs are used with it
Some users feel nothing. Others may feel high or relaxed
or feel hungry and/or thirsty.
Some users may suffer bad reactions and experience
feelings of extreme anxiety and paranoia.
Short Term Effects
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Problems with memory and learning
Distorted perceptions (sights, sounds, touch, time)
Problems with thinking, problem solving, and judgment
Loss of motor control and coordination
Increased heart rate
Athletes can find their performance off due to timing,
coordination, and movement being affected
• Harmful to lungs – 1 joint = 5-10 cigarettes in terms of
carcinogens because of extended time holding in lungs
which is needed to feel the effects.
Long Term Effects
• Lungs and airway problems – increases infections,
pneumonia, and coughing and wheezing
• Lower immune system – impairs T Cell functions
• Impaired mental function on memory, learning, and
attention. Studies also show that it can cause changes in
the brain similar to alcohol, cocaine, and heroin.
• Mental addiction – used to medicate their feelings.
Marijuana and alcohol are the 2 most common drugs
teens are in rehab.
• Physical addiction because attacks dopamine center
• Increase risk for depression, chronic anxiety, and
psychosis