Looking at Drugs and
Behavior
Chapter 1
Drugs and Our Society
The Definition of Drugs
1. To understand the impact drugs have
on society, we must understand the
terminology
2. Many factors affect how the words
used in the study of drugs are
defined
- drugs / drug abuse / drug misuse /
drug dependence
3. A substance is defined as a drug
according to:
behavioral affects /
The way we are brought up
may alter our perception
of drugs
1. We watch family members drink,
smoke, or take drugs
2. Religious groups and religious
rituals play a crucial role in how
drug use is defined
- Native American Church
- communion wine
- beer, liquor, wine commercials
Any drug definition is
limited
1. It is influenced by one’s back- ground
and experiences
2. Definitions of drug use/misuse are
arbitrary
- left to one’s judgment/choice
3. Some believe anyone who drinks is
abusing drugs
4. Others, getting drunk every friday
night is acceptable
Drug Definitions
1. Many definitions for the word
‘drug’ abound
- but no legal definition
- handout
2. The common word found in all
of the definitions is “alters”
the body function
3. Alter means to change or
become different
A substance can be
classified as a drug when:
1. It affects one’s ability to get along
with others
- to work / to cope / or to think
rationally
- it can be classified as a drug
2. Based on this definition, many
substances could then be designated
as drugs
3. Drugs encompass - illegal
There is one definition of a
drug that is universal:
1. Psychoactive drugs
- “Substances that act to alter
mood, thought processes,
perception or behavior, or that
are used to manage
neuropsychological illness.”
2. Psychoactive drugs are those that
influence the functioning of the
brain and thus, our behavior
Psychoactive drugs,
cont.
1. Illicit psychoactive drugs:
- the manufacture, sale, or
possession are illegal
- heroin, cocaine, marijuana, LSD
2. Licit psychoactive drugs:
- the manufacture, sale, or
possession are legal
- alcohol, tobacco, prescription,
caffeine
Other drug terms:
drug misuse
1. Unintentional or inappropriate
use of prescribed or over-thecounter drugs
2. The misuse arises from not
understanding a drug’s effect
3. It may arise from deluding
one’s self about the purpose
for using drugs
Other drug terms:
drug abuse
1. Intentional and inappropriate
use of a drug resulting in:
- physical / emotional / social /
financial / or intellectual
consequences
2. Any substance, if used by the
wrong person, in the wrong
dosage, or at the wrong time
or place, can be abuse
Two factors association
with drug abuse:
addiction and dependency
1. Addiction –
“A chronic, and for many people,
reoccurring disease characterized
by compulsive drug seeking and use
in spite of negative consequences
that result from the prolonged
effects of drugs on the brain.”
Dependency
1. “A condition in which an individual
feels a compulsive need to continue
taking a drug. In the process, the
drug assumes an increasingly
central role in the individual’s life.”
2. There are three levels of drug
dependence:
- behavioral
- physiological
- social
Patterns of drug taking:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Instrumental use
Experimental use
Social-Recreational use
Circumstantial-Situational use
Intensified use
Chronic use
Compulsive use
History of Drug Use:
Alcohol
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Fermented early as 10,000 BC
Significant role in early U.S. history
Temperance movement, 1826
National Prohibition Party, 1874
Prohibition, 1919
Repealed, 1933