Substance abuse – Study material

Substance abuse – Study material

Human beings have used mood-altering drugs - or drugs of potential abuse - for hundreds of thousands of years. People use these drugs because they produce quick surges of a neurotransmitter, or brain chemical called dopamine. Dopamine, when released in the brain, makes people feel pleasure or euphoria, or, in other words, “high”.

Mood altering drugs don't just affect dopamine; they also have many other brain effects. There are four main classes of mood altering drugs: Stimulants, Opioids, Sedative Hypnotics, and Hallucinogens.

Stimulants	Opiods	Sedative Hypnotics	Hallucinogens
Caffeine Nicotine Cocaine "Crack" Methamphetamine Psycho-stimulants: Amphetamine Diet pills	Opium Heroin Prescription opioids Codeine Morphine Methadone	Alcohol Benzodiazepines: Diazepam Aprazolam Rohypnol Barbiturates	LSD Marijuana Mescaline Mushrooms Jimson weed

Stimulants can cause:

• dilated (widening) pupils
• increased attention
• increased reflexes
• increased blood pressure and heart rate
• increased alertness
• decreased need for sleep
• decreased appetite.

Opioids can cause:

• constriction (narrowing) of the pupils
• dry eyes
• dry mouth
• constipation
• sedation or sleepiness
• slowing of the heart rate and breathing rate
• decreased blood pressure
• pain relief.

Sedative hypnotic can cause:

• relief of anxiety
• sleepiness
• impairment of judgment
• bizarre behaviour
• when used at too high a dose, coma or even death.

Hallucinogens can cause:

• a low degree of judgment
• altering of perception
• visual distortions
• spatial distortions
• loss of time perception.

Alcohol use and other drug use exists in our society as a gradual continuum. There are four different levels of use: abstinence, low risk or casual use, risky use or "substance abuse", and chemical dependence or addiction.

Abstinence: People who abstain do not use any mood altering drugs, not even in low risk amounts. People who abstain are likely to have:

People who are addicted will experience problems in these areas:

• self-respect
• close love relationships
• social relationships
• financial problems
• legal problems
• work problems
• medical or psychiatric problems.

Addiction causes overwhelming problems in our society. Some of the consequences of addiction include:

• Tobacco dependence - the leading preventable cause of death in America
• Fetal alcohol syndrome - the leading cause of preventable birth defects in our country.
• domestic violence
• child abuse
• childhood sexual abuse.

Addiction also costs our society money: The economic costs of addiction are estimated at 80-110 billion dollars per year.

Alcohol

Alcohol is the oldest and most widely used drug in the world.

Dealing with drunkenness and with alcohol-related accidents, crime, violence, and disturbances consumes more resources than any other aspect of police operations, while the health consequences of alcohol abuse add enormously to national health care costs. Illegal drugs can be more rapidly addicting than alcohol and may well have a more powerful effect on human behaviour, but the high level of alcohol consumption, which is many times greater than the level of illegal drug use, makes it one of most serious drug problems.

Alcohol is the name to given a variety of related compounds; the drinkable form is ethanol, or ethyl alcohol. It is a powerful, addictive, central nervous system depressant.

A liquid that is taken orally, alcohol is often consumed in copious quantities. Surveys of adolescent and young adult drinkers indicate that they are particularly likely to drink heavily with the intention of getting drunk—often every time they drink.

There are three basic types of alcoholic drinks:

Beer is made from fermented grains and has an alcohol content of three to six percent.

Wine is made from fermented fruits and usually has an alcohol content of 11 to 14 percent.

Liquor is made by distilling a fermented product to yield a drink that usually contains 40 to 50 percent alcohol.

Signs and symptoms of alcohol use and intoxication:

• Smell of alcohol on breath
• Irritability
• Euphoria
• Loss of physical coordination
• Inappropriate or violent behaviour
• Loss of balance
• Unsteady gait
• Slurred and/or incoherent speech
• Loss of consciousness
• Slowed thinking
• Depression
• Impaired short-term memory
• Blackouts
• Signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, experienced by alcoholics and problem drinkers:
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Paranoia and delusions
• Hallucinations (usually visual)
• Nausea and vomiting

What is Alcoholism?

Chronic abuse of alcohol can lead to addiction or alcoholism. The behaviour of abusers and the consequences of that behaviour are better indicators of alcoholism than how often or how much a person may drink. Alcohol addiction can be characterized by increased tolerance, causing the abuser to drink greater amounts to achieve the same desired effect. When an alcoholic stops drinking, he or she will typically experience the symptoms of withdrawal.

Adjusted to:

http://www.netwellness.org/healthtopics/substanceabuse/madrugs.cfm

http://www.acde.org/common/Alcohol.htm