ALCOHOL

TOBACCO

UPPERS, DOWNERS

& ALL AROUNDERS

DRUGS

› A drug is any substance other than food that changes a person’s physical or psychological state.

What is a Drug?

› Drugs can:Alter(change) moodSlow down reaction timeImpair thinking abilityEffect formation of memoryDistort judgmentCause lung cancer & heart diseaseCreate problems with the law

Effect of Drugs on the Body

› Drugs do not provide the body with any nutrients that are necessary for life.

› Drugs can be found in foods and beverages as well.

› For example: ____________

What Is a Drug?

› Drugs can be takenOrally (by mouth)Chewing Injection (by hypodermic needles)SmokingInhaling (by breathing)Transdermal patch

Taking Drugs…

› Many drugs are used as medicine.

› A medicine is a substance used to treat disease, injury, or pain.

› Medicines can be obtained in two ways:Prescription Over the counter

The Use of Drug as Medicine

Drug abuse is misusing a legal drug on purpose or using any illegal drug.

Misuse of a drug involves taking too much of the drug.

Drug Abuse

People abuse drugs for many reasons:

They like how the drug makes them feel

They feel the drug helps them perform better

To escape their problems

Drug Abuse

› Drug addiction is the uncontrollable use of a drug even if it is harming a person’s health and/or relationships.

› Dependency on a drug means needing the drug in order to function properly.

› Withdrawal is the negative symptoms that result when a drug-dependant person stops using a drug.

What Is Addiction?

Physical dependency is the body’s chemical need for a drug.Stopping to use the drug will take the body

into withdrawal.

Psychological dependency is a person’s emotional or mental need for drug.Stopping to use the drug will cause craving

for the drug.It is harder to overcome psychological

dependency than physical dependency.

Dependency

Some problems related to drug abuse:–Problems with family and friends

–Problems at school–Money problems–Health problems–Problems with the law

The Consequences of Drug Abuse

Drugs are classified as:Stimulants (uppers)

Cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine,

Depressants (downers)Alcohol, heroin, morphine,

Hallucinogens PCP, LSD, mushroom,

Types of Drugs

› Stimulants are drugs that speed up the activities of the body.

› Stimulants increase heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, blood sugar level, and tight blood vessels.

› All of these changes make the user feel more awake and alert.

› Dangers of using stimulants include heart failure, brain damage, and stroke.

› Caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and methamphetamine are examples of stimulants.

Stimulants

› Depressants are drugs like tranquilizers that slow down the body’s activities.

› Depressants reduce heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing; causing the person to feel relaxed, sleepy and slow.

› Depressants are extremely addictive and they can cause heart failure, brain damage, and death.

› Alcohol, heroin, and pain killers such as Vicodin and Methadone are examples of depressants.

› Narcotics like morphine, heroin and codeine are depressants that relieve pain and dull the senses

Depressants

› Hallucinogens are drugs that cause a person to sense things that are not real or do not exist.

› The user may feel several emotions at once, panic, or act dangerously.

› A long-term effect of hallucinogens is having a sudden flashback of reliving the hallucinogen experience (even months or years later).

› LSD, magic mushrooms and PCP are examples of hallucinogens.

Hallucinogens

› Marijuana is the dried flowers of the Cannabis plant. It has many street names like pot, grass, weed, green, and Mary Jane.

› The active chemical in marijuana is THC.

› The effect of marijuana on a person depends on the amount of THC the flower has in it.

› Major effects of marijuana are: –Inability to focus–Poor coordination–Lack of motivation–Slow reaction time

Marijuana

› Alcohol is a depressant drug.

› Alcohol is the oldest of all drugs.

› Is alcohol a legal drug?

› Short term effects include inhibiting the central nervous system, making it difficult to operate heavy machinery.

› Long term effects can be fatal and include withdrawal – this can cause anxiety, seizures and hallucinations.

Alcohol

› Heroin is a drug that is semi-synthetic. It is synthetically derived from morphine, which is a painkiller created from the poppy plant.

› It is a downer drug that takes effect fastest with a rush if it is injected into the blood.

› Withdrawal can begin within 6-24 hours and include symptoms such as sweating, chills, muscle and bone aches, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, anxiety and depression.

Heroin

› A naturally occurring stimulant drug that is found in the leaves of the coca plant.

› Cocaine increases alertness, feelings of well-being, energy and motor activity.

› Anxiety, paranoia and restlessness are some frequent side effects.

› Dependence may result in physical damage, psychosis, depression and death.

Cocaine