Osbokayandwalladr substance use_and_abuse_presentation.doc

Substance Use and Abuse

Kaylea Adkins and Adrian Bloomer

Myths Vs. RealityMyths Reality

Legal drugs are less dangerous than illegal drugs.

Legal drugs are more dangerous and kill more people than illegal drugs do.

People who use illegal drugs are addicted, compulsive, and/or heavy users.

Most people who use illegal drugs are using experimentally, occasionally, or moderately.

“Once a junkie, always a junkie”; people addicted to heroin will never be able to stop using.

If the cause of heroin use is removed, the addiction can go away.

Because of tough laws against drug use, the United States has a lower rate of use than most other countries.

The United States has the highest rate of drug use in the world.

Drug use is even in all classes of Americans.

The highest number of drug users are in the lower classes, and usually socially and/or economically oppressed.

Myths Continued…

Myths Reality

Most cigarette smokers are unaware of the dangers of smoking.

Most people are in fact aware of the dangers and often overrate the risk of smoking.

Drug use causes criminal behavior because there are so many poor users who need to rob or steal money to get their drugs.

Drug use doesn’t necessarily cause crime. Most drug users have a criminal record before they began using drugs.

People who use marijuana WILL progress to harder drugs.

Marijuana use doesn’t cause drug escalation; the cause is most likely due to the user having friends who are using harder drugs.

Marijuana use is so dangerous that is banned in almost all 50 states.

11 states have legalized marijuana use for medical purposes.

Drug Use in Perspective

There are more people who use legal drugs than illegal drugs.

125 million Americans drink alcohol.

62 million Americans smoke cigarettes.

20 million Americans use illegal drugs.

Each year, two legal drugs (alcohol and cigarettes) combined kill at least 60 times more people than all the illegal drugs combined.

Illegal Drugs: Their Effects and Users

Types of drugs are separated into 3 categories in accordance to their effect on the central nervous system.› Stimulants (stimulate activity of the CNS and produce alertness)› Depressants (reduce activity of the CNS and cause relaxation)› Hallucinogens (disturbs the CNS and alters perception of reality)

Marijuana is in a class by itself because it can cause the user to react in ways that could be considered be similar to any of the three types of drugs.

Certain factors influence the effect of the drug on the user.1) Dosage2) Purity/potency3) Drug mixing4) Method of administration

Marijuana Most used illegal drug in the U.S. Short term effects include:

› Memory Loss› Anxiety› Increased heart rate

Long term effects include:› Cancer› Respiratory diseases› Heart problems

Withdrawal symptoms are:› Mild nausea› Restlessness› Loss of appetite

Believed to be the “gateway” to harder drugs Used in some states for medical purposes

Heroin

Can be smoked, sniffed through the nose, taken orally, or injected into the skin, muscle, or vein

A psychological dependence can easily be developed because of the “rush” users experience.

Also very physically addictive Withdrawal symptoms include:

Profuse sweating Running nose Watering Eyes Chills Cramps Nausea Diarrhea

A user must keep using in order to relieve withdrawal symptoms.

Cocaine Effects of this drug are:

› Provides a sense of elation and well-being› Enhances self-confidence, supplies a sense of mastery and competence at whatever the

user is doing› Increases energy and suppresses fatigue, enabling the user to continue mental and/or

physical activity longer and more intensely› Physical effects are increased heartbeat and raised body temp and blood pressure

Physically addictive and withdrawal symptoms included exhaustion and stomach cramps

Extremely psychologically addictive due to the high quality of pleasures the user derives from it

The “coming down” process cause such gloom that the only remedy is to use more cocaine.

The most expensive drug and a status symbol of wealth and used primarily by affluent whites.

Crack Crack cocaine is the less pure and cheaper form of cocaine Users of “crack” are often younger and poorer More addictive and dangerous than cocaine; the National Institute

on Drug Abuse states that crack addiction develops in only 6-10 weeks

Can be extremely dangerous if taken in large doses or used frequently over an extended period of time and can cause:› Insomnia› Impotence› Extreme irritability› Paranoia› Symptoms of psychosis› Sensation of bugs crawling under the skin› *OVERDOSE can cause severe headaches, nausea, and convulsions with the possibility of

the total respiratory and cardiovascular system to collapse

Methamphetamine

Relatively cheap and very available

Used to be known as “poor man’s cocaine” and popular among white men in the working class, ages 18 to 34, but currently has spread to men and women of all classes

Easily made from cold medicines like Sudafed, so congress passed the Combat Methamphetamine Act, which required them to be purchased from behind the counter in pharmacies

When initially used, suppresses appetite, causes euphoria, boosts self-confidence, and energy…but after a tolerance is developed, it causes depression and intense paranoia.

Rohypnol (Roofies)

Related to the sedative Valium but 10 times stronger

Actually a prescription drug for severe insomnia

Also known as “the date-rape drug” after men began using it on women to make them blackout and rape them

Besides memory loss and blackouts, it can cause aggression, fearlessness, addiction, and/or lethal overdoses.

Sometimes combined with alcohol to produce a quick high

Ecstasy

Chemical name: methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)

Popular amongst high school and college students as well as affluent young adults

Often taken at a dance club or party

Mood-altering, psychedelic drug that causes a strong desire for human connection

A single dose can cause brain damage

Causes the body to overheat; if people who use it do not take in enough water, they may suffer from dehydration, organ failure, or brain damage….drinking too much water can cause death from thinning out the blood as well.

Social Dimensions of Drug Use

Drug use is not an individual behavior….it is a social behavior!

Many drug users are involved and it doesn’t affect just the individual, it affects the entire society!

Four social dimensions of drug use:› The extent of drug use in the United States› How U.S. society reacts to drug use› The impact of drug use on the spread of AIDS› The influence of drug use on crime

The Extent of Drug Use Young adults ages 18 to 25 have the highest rate of drug use and

teenagers ages 12 to 17 have the second highest The United States has the highest rate of drug use in the world Most drug problems, such as drug addiction, death from overdose,

and drug-related homicides are more common in lower-classes Table 11.1 Users of Drugs in 2006:

Drug # of People Using the Drug in the Past Month

Marijuana 14.8 million

Cocaine 2.4 million

Meth 0.7 million

Ecstasy 0.5 million

Heroin 0.3 million

Drugs and AIDS

Intravenous injection of illegal drugs can spread HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from one user to another.

Most drug users with AIDS are heroin users and caught the disease by sharing needles with other addicts.

Of all AIDS cases in the United States, 30% resulted from drug use, and even higher in some cities, such as:› New York City- 40%› Newark- 65%

Drugs and Crime Almost half of people arrested for crimes in the United States used illegal

drugs within three days of committing the crime.

Studies have shown that drug users are 3 to 4 times more likely to commit a crime when compared with nonusers.

Drug Enslavement Theory: “drug users are forced into a life of crime because they cannot pay for their prohibitively expensive drug habits unless they rob or steal the money to get their next fix”› “Users living in poverty, have inadequate education, lack job skills, face racial

discrimination, and/or suffer other social disadvantages because they are relatively poor, uneducated, and economically unskilled”

General Deviance Syndrome Theory: drug users who are criminals continuing deviancy and were committing crimes before starting drug usage

Drugs and Socioeconomic Status The higher the status, the more likely to use marijuana

Heroin is the most popular among lower status people, especially those who live in poor, inner city areas

Cocaine is more common with affluent people because of its expense and crack cocaine is more common among poor people because it is cheaper

Meth and roofies are found more among the working class and the young

Ecstasy is mostly used by high school and college students or young professionals

Becoming a Drug User Four stages associated with becoming a drug user:

› Experimentation› Occasional Use (once a week or less)› Regular Use (once a day or more)› Addiction (unable to break the habit)

A user may go through all stages or stop at any stage

Most users are introduced to drugs by their friends

Howard Becker (1963) identified 3 steps of learning how to become a marijuana user:› Learning the technique of how to get high by watching friends › Learning to recognize the effects of the drug› Learning to enjoy the effects

Social Profile Male 18-25 yrs old Learn to use

from parents/peers

If in high school more likely to skip class/school/drop out

Causes of illegal drug use

Biological

Psychological

Sociological

Theories

Economic Deprecation The link between

drug abuse and deprivation

Explanation on why poor people turn to drugs

Cognitive Association Designed to explain

drug addiction

TH

EO

RIE

S C

ON

T Social PsychologicalExplains why people of all walks of life use drugs

Punitive strategy

Drug laws against minorities Law enforcement aimed at foreign

countries

Advocates fight the idea that current drug laws do more harm than good

Most Americans oppose legalization – fear of drug addiction rise

The war on Drugs

Histo

rical Pa

ttern

Two basic strategies:› Punitive

“Using law enforcement to stop the supply of drugs and punish drug sellers and users” (Thio, 2010, P. 288).

› Supportive “Using drug prevention (or education) and

treatment to reduce the demand for drugs and help drug addicts” (Thio, 2010, P. 288).

In 2008 $8.3 billion spent on enforcing drug laws.

In 2008 $4.6 billion spend in incarcerating drug offenders.

Fist battle on drugs was in 1875

PR

EV

EN

TIO

N Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE)– This program is taught in schools all over.

Treatment

Chemical Treatment Detoxification Psychological

Therapy

Aversion Therapy Personal Therapy Group Therapy Therapeutic

Community

SMOKING CIGARETTES

-Legal drugs are more prevalent-Legal drugs are more dangerous over time-Smoking is related to lung cancer-Smokers make up 25% of U.S. population -13 % of young adults (12-17 years old) smoke in any given month-White teenagers are more likely to smoke over blacks but as adults blacks are more likely to smoke.-Those with less education are more likely to smoke. -There are many more adult male smokers than adult females 

References for Part I

Thio, Alex. Deviant Behavior. Tenth Ed. 2010. Boston, MA. Pages 269-284.

“Preincarceration Patterns of Drug and Alcohol Use by Jail Inmates.” Criminal Justice

Policy Review. 1991. Pages 5-40. Sage Publications. Accessed on Sept. 16,

2010. http://cjp.sagepub.com

Stein, Judith A., Michael D. Newcomb, and P.M. Butler. “An 8-Year Study of Multiple

Influences on Drug Use and Drug Use Consequences.” University of California, Los

Angeles. American Psychological Association, Inc. 1997. Accessed on Sept. 16,

2010.

References for Part II

Bogenschneider, K., Wu, M., Raffaelli, M., & Tsay, J. C. (1998). "Other teens

drink, but not my kid": Does parental awareness of adolescents alcohol

use protect adolescents from risky consequences? Journal of Marriage and

Family, 60(2), 356-373. Retrieved September 17, 2010, from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/353854

Simons, R. L., & Robertson, J. F. (1989). The impact of parenting factors,

deviant peers, and coping style upon adolescent drug use. Family

Relations, 38(3), 273-281. Retrieved September 17, 2010, from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/585052.

References part II cont

Thio, A. (2010). Deviant behavior (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn

& Bacon.

Thomas, G., Farrell, M. P., & Barnes, G. M. (1996). The

effects of single-mother families and nonresident fathers on

delinquency and substance abuse in black and white

adolescents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 58(4), 884-894.

Retrieved September 17, 2010, from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/353977.