Chapter 12
Drugs of Abuse

A physical addiction is more powerful than
a psychological addiction.

Unlike smoking tobacco, smoking
marijuana does not harm health.

People usually recover from dependency
on their own.
What Do You Think
 Class
activity
◦ Create a list of positive and
negative consequences that can
result from drug use, misuse, and
abuse. Are there more positive or
negative consequences?
Section 1: Drug Abuse Defined
 Partner
Activity:
Create a list of the reasons you
think that people abuse drugs.
Make a list of strategies to avoid
some of the reasons you just
came up with.
Section 2: Why do people abuse
drugs?
Why do people abuse drugs?
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Peer Pressure
Family Members
Role Models
Media Messages
Perceptions of
Drug behavior
 Misleading
Information
 Personality
 Euphoria
Section 2: Why do people abuse
dugs?

Peer Pressure
◦ A strong factor that motivates people to
abuse drugs is peer pressure.
◦ A strong desire to fit in socially, risktakers, drawn to dangerous behavior.
Section 2: Why do people abuse
drugs?

Values- teens who lack strong internal values,
such as the value of good grades, and high moral
standards, often abuse drugs

Boredom- some people wrongly believe that
taking drugs provides pleasure, excitement or
fun.

Escape- people don’t feel loved, have no friends
may take drugs as a substitute for what is
missing.
Section 2: Why do people abuse
drugs?

Personality- some people are naturally
curious, and may want to try drugs to
experience what they are like. It may be
because they are shy or uncomfortable in
social situations, relieve tension, or
because a person has low self-esteem or
poor self-image.
Section 2: Why do people abuse
drugs?
Homework:
 Write a 1 page essay (10 Pts)


Topic: Entertainers, movies, songs,
magazines, and books may portray drug
abuse as funny or cool. What can you do
to change this image? Write a 1 page
essay outlining how we as a society can
change the media’s outlook on drugs.
Section 2: Why do people abuse
drugs?

Drug Addiction- a physical and or
psychological need for higher and higher
doses of a drug.

Do you think anyone starts out using a
substance in the hopes of becoming
addicted?
Section 3: Addiction
Drugs & the Brain
◦ Drugs provide a sense of euphoria by
imitating the brain’s natural way of
producing pleasure.
◦ The acts of eating, being physically
active, and relaxing all release
endorphins.
◦ The lack of these chemicals produces an
unpleasant feeling known as dysphoria
Section 3: Addiction
How does addiction set in?
◦ The craving created by withdrawal, and
the need to take higher and higher
doses, creates a spiral of physical
addiction
Section 3: Addiction
Facing the problem
 The
first step in solving a drug
problem is to admit that you
have one.
 The
next is to seek help
Section 6: Kicking the Habit
Getting Help
People rarely recover from drugs on
their own
 Help comes in many forms including
hospitalization and drug-quitting
groups
 Narcotics Anonymous is a free, selfhelp program of addiction recovery
 12 step programs-promotes personal
growth and lead’s to person’s helping
others recover

Section 6: Kicking the Habit
Getting Help
 NA
offers psychological therapy
groups, individual psychotherapy,
and drug therapy
 Why
might it be important to not
talk about someone else’s problem
outside the group?
Section 6: Kicking the Habit
Problems Along the Way
 When
a person first becomes drug
free he or she has overcome a big
obstacle
 Next step is to develop a new
support system
 The best chance of staying clean is
to develop a support system of other
people who are drug free
Section 6: Kicking the Habit
Signs of Drug Abuse



The best way to find out for sure if a person
is abusing drugs is to express concern and
ask questions
Another way to show you care is to make the
effort to help
3 things you can do to help a person with a
drug problem:
1. Make sure the person knows you don’t approve of
the drug habit
2. Making available all the information you can
gather on the health effects of the drug
Section 7: Helping Someone Else
Kick the Habit
Signs of Drug Abuse (Cont.)
3. Making sure the person knows, on choosing
to seek help, where to go for it.
Drug addiction does not mean someone is
a bad person.
 Do not blame the person, it can make
them feel guilty
 If you want to help don’t judge or blame
the person

Section 7: Helping Someone Else
Kick the Habit
Signs of Drug Abuse

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Paleness/Perspiration
Dilated Pupils
Runny nose &
Nosebleeds
Jitters/Hyperactivity
Ability to go long
periods of time w/out
food or sleep
Anxiety, anger, or
unreasonable
suspiciousness

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Loss of memory
Extreme increases in
energy and talkativeness, followed by
lethargy/ depression
Not caring about
appearance
Broken appointments,
promises, lying
Bad Grades, missing
school, trouble w/law,
family, or authorities
Section 7: Helping Someone Else
Kick the Habit