Drugs & Their Effects

Drugs & Their EffectsDrugs & Their Effects

Ms MarkowskiMs Markowski

2 Types of Drug Effects

1.Therapeutic: Intended effects = GOOD

2.Non-therapeutic: Unintended effects = BAD

• Drug Delivery Methods (fast to slow):

1. Smoke/Inhale 4. Orally/Ingest2. Intravenous 3. Snorted 5.Transdermal

*It MATTERS how you put the drug in your body**

Any drug/medicine can be toxic at a certain dose

FYI: Scheduling of Drugs

Remember your Liver• our “detox” organ• Processes all drugs &

alcohol consumed• It does get damaged

over time

6 Classes of Drugs

1. Stimulants

2. Depressants

3. Hallucinogens

4. Narcotics/Opiates/Prescription Pain drugs

5. “Club Drugs”

6. Inhalants

1. Stimulants

• INCREASE Central Nervous system (CNS)– Heart rate &Breathing– Blood pressure & sweating– Anxiety & movement– “feel energetic and awake”

• Cocaine/crack• Amphetamines

(Adderal/Ritalin/Vyvanse)• Methamphetamines• Nicotine • Caffeine (coffee, soda, tea,

chocolate)

More about CocaineSchedule II: Highly addictive, very abused, restricted medical useMedical Use: Used medically as a numbing agent

Effects: Short high(15-30 minutes)• increased heart rate/blood pressure - constricts blood

vessels• increased energy/very alert high - wakefulness • decreased appetite• THEN HUGE CRASH!

Concerns:

• Stimulating effect: dangerous to heart• Changes experience of “pleasure”• Expensive and VERY physically addictiveLacing Issues

More about Methamphetamines

• Produced in labs, often in homes• Made of household chemicals and poisons

Effects/Problems: More intense high than cocaine- Dental problems - weight loss - violent behavior - psychosis- Paranoia - delusions - meth “bugs”

Extremely addictive, very toxic to body due to ingredientsSerious withdrawals up to 7 days after last use (meth bugs)

More about Amphetamines: “Speed”

- Adderall - Ritalin - Vyvanse

• Medical Uses: Narcolepsy, AD/HD

• Recreational Uses: stay awake longer, “concentrate”

• Concerns/Effects:• Sudden Heart attack, weight loss, sleeplessness, • depression, suicidal thoughts, addiction• Cause a “down/depressed” feeling after use: WANT MORE

• AMPHETAMINE PSYCHOSIS

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?index=18&feature=PlayList&v=1XIdSvv6eEA&list=PLED44D7A51F65D394

Bath Salts (MDVP) methylenedioxygpyrovalerone What is it? man made powerful Stimulants with hallucinogenic effects, cheaper and stronger than cocaine and “speed”.

Concerns: 10x more powerful than cocaine or speed and can last for days 10x more powerful than cocaine or speed and can last for days sometimes hospitalization neededsometimes hospitalization needed

– Panic Attacks / Fits / DelusionsPanic Attacks / Fits / Delusions -suicidal and homicidal -suicidal and homicidal – Sweating Sweating - Seizures - Nosebleeds- Seizures - Nosebleeds– Severe Paranoia / Psychosis Severe Paranoia / Psychosis

More on Bath Salts

• Marketed as a salt for “taking a bath”• Sold as a powder in small foil packages or jars

“If you take the worst parts of meth, cocaine, PCP, LSD, and ecstacy, you get an effect similar to bath salts.

• Legal Status: • has put 24 of the main chemicals used• to make bath salts on the Schedule I list, but…there’s over 100

different bath salt chemicals in circulation

2. Depressants

• SLOW DOWN CNS:– Heart rate & Breathing– Blood pressure & body temp– Feel relaxed & sleepy

• Examples:– Alcohol– GHB/Rohypnol– Rx Anxiety drugs

• Valium, Xanax, Klonipin, Ativan– Sedatives

• Haldol and sleeping pills

More on Rohypnol and GHB

• Colorless, odorless, tasteless....just like water!

• Medical Uses: Sleeping Medicine in foreign countries, NOT U.S.

Why is it used as a Date Rape Drug?: • - Muscle relaxation - Decreased heart rate and blood pressure• - Drowsy - Unconscious state• - Amnesia - Disoriented

• Onset and Duration of Effects: 20 minutes ------24 hours- Initial side effects similar to ALCOHOL!

• Prevention Tactics -----------------------– Watch your drink / never leave it on a table– Don’t drink something another person gives you!

Video What Would You Do

Check out Alcohol ppt

3 reasons that alcohol is dangerous to teen brain:

1. Brain is still growing in general – alcohol will stunt that growth

2.Amygdala is swollen– Alcohol feels better and is more addictive to

teens

3.Prefrontal cortex (PFC) is still developing– Alcohol interferes directly with the PFC, leading

to poorer decision making and risky behaviors

3. Hallucinogens• Make you SEE, HEAR, FEEL things

that are not real;– also can cause paranoia / anxiety– “Flashbacks” years later

• Examples:– Marijuana– LSD &PCP– Hashish / salvia– Mushrooms (‘shrooms)– Mescaline (peyote cactus)

All About Marijuana• Cannabis sativa plant• THC (tetra-hydracannabinol) Within 15-30 minutes of smoking marijuana… - rapid heart rate & increased breathing rate- low blood pressure- red eyes & dry mouth (blood expansion due to low b.p.)- increased appetite, "munchies“- slowed reaction time/decrease in coordination- distorted sense of time, vision, taste (the hallucination!!)- Euphoria or Paranoia- short-term memory loss- Some people experience panic attacks and loss of control- Stays in body for ~30 days as it is stored in fatty tissues

Overtime, smoking marijuana can lead to…

- Increasing short-term Memory loss- Learning disabilities/Poor academic achievement- Distraction and loss of attention span- Anxiety and panic attacks- Lowered immune function- Respiratory problems/Lung infections/Cancers

- Damage to testes and ovaries (cancer)- Decreased sperm count and quality- Lower sex drive- Impotence- Menstrual cycle changes

- AND NOW....it CAN LEAD TO ADDICTION, too (thanks genetic engineering!)

Medical Marijuana3 general benefits- Decrease nausea/vomiting- Increase appetite- Can lessen perception of pain- All states laws are different

Diseases:- Cancer- AIDS-Glaucoma-Multiple Sclerosis-Severe anorexia

Marijuana 101Schizophrenia vs. Drug Induced Psychosis StudyIQ declines

•Is it addictive? Read about it here: Notre Dame

~17% of teens who try it become addicted• ~40% of daily users become addicted• - 17% of all rehab admissions

•Withdrawal Symptoms:1-3 weeks after last use• Irritability - sleeplessness - aggression-Anxiety - depression - cravings

Marijuana 101Effects on heart and cardiovascular system?-Significant increase in hr/low bp-4-8x more likely to have a heart attack -More dangerous if you have a pre-existing condition

Effects on the lungs and respiratory system?• Some studies: 60% more cancer-causing than tobacco•No filter: irritating to airway/smoke is held in•-Increased incidence of emphysema/cough/infections•article

History• 1919-1933: Alcohol Prohibition/Marijuana Menace• 1937: Marijuana Tax Act• 1944-60’s: Reports reveal change in effects• 1970: Controlled Substances Act• 1996: First Medical Approval• 1996-2012: More states legalize for medicinal

purposes• 2005: Federal law trumps state law upheld• June 2011: Schedule I Debated/Decriminalization• Nov 2012: Colorado and Washington first to legalize

Federal Law: Schedule I (Completely ILLEGAL)

State Law: Legal in 18 States and D.C.

State Laws Are ALL Different in regard to access:

Dispensaries --- “Pot Shops”

Home Cultivation

Buying from Dealer

K2/Spice: Synthetic Marijuana

Marketed as Herbal Incense: Hallucinogen•More dangerous than marijuana

• “couch lock” one effect – an inability to move despite being conscious. 

• loss of consciousness, paranoia, and occasionally, psychotic episodes,”

• Synthetic cannabis is a psychoactive designer drug derived of natural herbs sprayed with synthetic chemicals

• 5 of the common chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana became schedule I in march of 2011 but they come up with new drugs (like bath salts) to use

Maine has banned many of the chemicals, but not all of them

4. Narcotics/Opiates/Rx Pain Drugs

• Highly addictive,• Relief from SEVERE pain • Nausea & drowsiness

• Examples:– Heroin

• Examples Rx drugs:– Oxycontin– Vicodin– Hydrocodone– Percocet– Dilaudid – Morphine– Methadone/suboxone

More about Rx Pain DrugsOxycontin, Hydrocodone, Percocet, Vicodin, Dilaudid

ALL OPIATES/NARCOTICS ARE HABIT FORMING!!:

Effects: Euphoric, relaxed, drowsy, nausea, vomiting, itching-easily addictive---withdrawals (same as heroin)

• Controlled Release: Drugs are coated to provide pain relief over time (12 hrs.)

• Recreational Use: - Concern for respiratory depression - Decreased brain function- Mood changes - Confusion - Numbness in arms/legs- Vomiting/Nausea - Slurred Speech - Coma/Death

- Will cause withdrawals and Tolerance• Issue in Maine? Pharm Parties

• Treatment for Opiate addiction: Methadone (a.k.a. Suboxone)

Given Orally(by pill)

Has gradual onset, reduces Has gradual onset, reduces desire for heroin & opiates desire for heroin & opiates

• Synthetic opiate medication that binds to the same receptors in the brain that heroin binds

• Not intoxicating or sedating...can still function

More about Heroin• Schedule I: Very dangerous, no medical use, very addictive,

CHEAPER than Rx Drugs with similar effect

• Initial Effects: “Euphoric Rush”---feel warm, heavy, cloudy, drowsy

• Chronic Use: Tolerance develops quickly, significant withdrawal symptoms when not high; “keep the sick off”

• Withdrawals = severe pain, vomiting, diarrhea,• cold flashes, muscle spasms, insomnia

• Usually persist for one week after last use

Narcan

• Rx drug to prevent death from Heroin overdose

5. Club Drugs • Combinations of Combinations of

hallucinogens & stimulantshallucinogens & stimulants• Effects:

– Sweating, increases in hb, bp– Increased energy & seizures– Delusions & psychosis– Teeth grinding & nosebleeds– Heart attack and death

• Examples:– EcstasyEcstasy (love drug)

hallucinogen & stimulant– KetamineKetamine (cat tranquilizer)

hallucinogen & stimulant

Cough Syrup Abuse (with DXM)Hallucinogenic Drug when ABUSED

Laws: Some states limit access to age 18+, and/or limit quantities a person can purchase

Effects: Dizzy/Light Headed/Hallucinations

Other Common Effects/Concerns/Issues:

- Nauseous/Vomiting- Fatigue- Flashbacks- Insomnia- Permanent Damage to Thinking Skills - Permanent Liver & Brain Damage- Seizures- Death

6. Inhalants

• Not drugs, they are POISON!Not drugs, they are POISON!• Household products that produce a high by breathing

them in• Trick brain into thinking it is Oxygen when it is really Trick brain into thinking it is Oxygen when it is really

poisonpoison• ANY perceived “high” is really the brain shutting downANY perceived “high” is really the brain shutting down

• Effects: death, dizziness, blackout, trouble with vision and hearing, nausea, headache, memory problems, brain cell death– 39% of inhalant deaths are 1st time users

More about Inhalants / POISON

Duration of high = 15 seconds – 2 minutes

Concerns:IMMEDIATE death of brain cells

Hypoxia: Decrease in the oxygen supply in the bloodstream

Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome

In The News VIDEO Video 2

STEROIDS• Examples:

– Testosterone & androgens– HGH

• Effects:• Increase muscle mass • Develop secondary sex

characteristics (puberty) of the opposite gender

• acne, infertility, liver cancer, sexual dysfunction

• Roid rage”

Drug Exam Review1. 3 parts of the brain impacted by drugs & functions limbic system, prefrontal

cortex & brain stem

2. Define Tolerance & Addiction

3. ALL about alcohol & 3 reasons it’s so bad for teens

4. Effects of the 6 categories of drugs

5. Why marijuana today is stronger than it was 20 years ago

6. Brief description & effects of all the specific drugs we talked about (see back of Drug Practice Quiz 1)

7. Explain how drugs change the brain in 2 ways (neurotransmitters and receptors, leading to tolerance)

8. Drug delivery methods (fastest to slowest)

9. 2 reasons why GHB/Rohypnol is used as date rape drug

10. ½ ounce/hour rule for alcohol and .02 BAC/hour rule (know the math)

11. Healthy decision making process

FYI: A “Drug Lab”