Drugs
Terms
• Drug use- taking or using a drug
• Drug misuse-using for wrong reasons
• Drug abuse-drug misuse is interfering with
job, school, family, etc.
• Addiction-can not stop using without
withdrawal
• Withdrawal-physical or psychological
symptoms a person has when stopping a drug
• Physical dependence-drug causes physical
addiction when stopped. Shaking, seizures,
vomiting.
• Psychological dependence-strong craving for
drug-obsession with drug. Depression, strong
craving for drug and other strong thinking
about drug.
Stimulants
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Increases heart rate, blood pressure, breathing
Keep people awake or alert
Jittery, excited
Used to treat ADHD-Ritalin
Caffeine
Cocaine
Nicotine
Amphetamines
Amphetamines
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Prescribed
Used to treat ADD and ADHD
Highly addictive
Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety,
insomnia, skin crawling sensations
Caffeine
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Found in chocolate
Coffee
Tea
Energy drinks
Soda drinks
Keeps people awake, can cause headaches,
crabby during withdrawal-addictive
Cocaine/Crack
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Comes from the Coca plant of South America
Has medical use on nose/eye surgery
Highly addictive
Causes heart attacks, seizures, strokes
Crack babies born addicted to drug and go
through withdrawal
Nicotine
• Found in cigarettes, cigars, chew, snuff, and ecigarettes
• Highly addictive
• Used as an insecticide in farming
• Changes brain chemistry to trick brain into
wanting nicotine
• Increase heart rate, blood pressure
• Cause of heart disease and cancer in smokers
Depressants
• Slows down heart rate, blood pressure,
breathing
• Highly addictive
• Prescribed to treat high blood pressure,
anxiety, sleep issues
• Can cause coma, brain damage, death
Barbiturates
• Treats high blood pressure, seizures,
• Prescribed
• Highly addictive
• Hypnotics
• Make people sleep
• Causes blackout/date rape drug-Rohypnol
Tranquilizers
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Prescribed
Help people sleep-used before surgery
Deal with anxiety
Addictive
Alcohol
• Beer, wine, hard liquor
• Slows down reaction time, causes tunnel vision,
slurred speech, poor coordination
• Legal if 21
• No level can be in blood if you are under 21 and
driving.
• .08% is DUI in IL
• One drink/hour is typically how long it takes to
break down.
• Can cause alcoholism
Hallucinogens
• No medical use
• Causes a trip or experience that is not based on
reality. Causes people to see or hear things that
are not real.
• Causes mental illness-psychosis, depression
• LSD
• PCP-angel dust
• Mushrooms
• Peyote Cactus
• Marijuana
PCP
• Strong hallucinogen
• Used as an animal tranquilizer
• Causes people to not feel pain and have super
human strength
• Causes violent behavior
• Often called angel dust and is added to other
drugs such as marijuana
LSD
• Popular in 60’s
• Causes flashbacks which is a recurrence of
what happened while on the drug even
though you stop using. Anything can trigger a
flashback years later.
• Danger is you do things dangerous-think you
can fly, drive off cliffs, jump off buildings.
Inhalants
• Household chemicals that are inhaled or
absorbed into bloodstream through lungs.
• Glue, gasoline, markers, spray paint, bleach,
aerosol cans
• Very dangerous-can cause immediate coma
and death. Blocks oxygen in brain and causes
brain death.
• Nitrous oxide is used by dentists to do dental
work. Called laughing gas.
Inhalants
Opiates
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Strong pain killers
Come from the opium poppy
Grown in Asia, China, Afghanistan
Heroin, morphine, codeine come from the
poppy
• Morphine and codeine are prescribed pain
killers. Heroin has no medical use.
• Addiction can occur from a prescription
Heroin
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Most addictive drug.
Is smoked or injected or inhaled
First time use causes addiction
Bad withdrawal symptoms and the most
difficult drug to quit
Morphine and Codeine
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Used for surgeries/post surgery
Used in childbirth
Used for broken bones, stitches, etc-Tylenol II
Can cause addiction
Also causes constipation
Codeine is used for severe coughs-bronchitis
so patient can sleep
Designer Drugs
• Drug that is produced by changing another
drug that already exists.
• Ex: Crystal Methamphetamine-stimulant and
highly addictive.
• Ecstasy: Made from Methamphetaminehallucinogen-used in rave clubs
• GHB-colorless, odorless
• Ketamine-Hallucinogen
Steroids
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Male hormone
Used by sport’s players
Football, baseball, lifting, cycling
Illegal and tested for in sports.
Causes women to develop male traits-deep voice,
muscles
• Causes men to develop female traits-interferes
with testosterone
• Causes roid rage, depression, mood swings.
Marijuana
• THC-comes from a plant
• Can help people with medical problemscancer, M.S., glaucoma
• Smoked, eaten
• Stays in body fat for up to a month
• Depressant, hallucinogen, stimulant
• Causes depression and burn out syndrome
• Do not care about work, school, family
Intervention
• Family members, clergy, counselors get
together and help person get treatment
• Detoxification-getting the drugs out of your
system. Can be in a hospital, rehab center. Go
through withdrawal. Painful and difficult.