Just read.

5. DRUG
a medicine or other substance which
has a physiological effect when ingested or
otherwise introduced into the body.

6. ABUSE
improper or excessive use or treatment

7. DRUG ABUSE
 Is the recurrent use of illegal drugs, or the misuse of prescription or over-
the-counter drugs with negative consequences.
 Excessive, maladaptive, or addictive use of drugs for nonmedical purposes
despite social, psychological, and physical problems that may arise from such
use.
 Compulsive, excessive, and self-damaging use of habit forming drugs or
substances, leading to addiction or dependence, serious physiological injury
(such as damage to kidneys, liver, heart) and/or psychological harm (such as
dysfunctional behavior patterns, hallucinations, memory loss), or death. Also
called substance abuse.

8. DRUGS AND DRUG
ADDICTION

9. ADDICTION
 Defined as the physiological dependence that an
individual develops after heavy use of a particular drug
 Intense craving for a drug that develops after a period of
physical dependence stemming from heavy use

10. 2 Essential Characteristics of an
Addictive Drug
1. Tolerance – another name for immunity to
the effects of a drug that builds up after heavy
use.
2. Withdrawal discomfort – is the sickness that
a habitual user experiences when the drug is
not taken regularly.

11. ALCOHOL

12. ALCOHOL
 Most serious drug problem
 Harmless when used in moderation but is one of the
most dangerous drugs when used to excess
 Depresses the central nervous system and thereby
interferes with coordination, reaction time, and
reasoning ability

13. ALCOHOLIC
Is a person whose drinking problem disrupts his
or her life, interfering with the ability to hold a
job, accomplish household tasks, or participate
in family and social affairs.

14. Most studies indicate that
 More MEN drink (75 to 90 %) than WOMEN (55 to 65 %)
 Increasing more rapidly among WOMEN
 Catholics are more likely than Protestants to be drinkers
 Greatest among the college educated and those with high
prestige occupations
 ALCOHOLISM – those with LESS education and LOWER
incomes

15. TOBACCO

16. Most studies indicate that
 More MEN smoke than WOMEN
 The rate has been increasing more rapidly for WOMEN
and TEENAGED GIRLS
 About ¾ of all MALE smokers and 2/3 of all FEMALE
smokers use more than 15 cigarettes a day

17. TOBACCO
 NICOTINE – principal drug
 Withdrawal Symptoms – drowsiness, nervousness,
anxiety, headaches, and loss of energy
 MORE than TWO packs a day reduces normal life
expectancy by EIGHT years and that LIGHT smoking (half
pack or less) reduces by FOUR years

18. MARIJUANA

19. MARIJUANA
 Most widely used illegal drug, and its users no longer accept their legal
status passively
 Based on 6 full-scale investigators under government sponsorship,
marijuana is relatively harmless and does not pose a serious threat to society
Effects:
1. slight increase in heart rate
2. dryness in the mouth
3. reddening of the eyes

20. MARIJUANA
 Health problems: from liver damage to birth defects and
decreased production of male sex hormones
 Use declines rapidly in older age group
 More common among MEN than WOMEN
 More common among STUDENTS than NONSTUDENTS

21. OPIATES

22. OPIATES
 Physiological effects:
Reduced rates of metabolism and Respiration
 Psychological effects:
Induce a state of tranquility, peace, or euphoria
 Withdrawal distress:
Resembles a bad case of the flu accompanied by a feeling of
severe depression

23. PSYCHEDELICS

24. PSYCHEDELICS
 Produce hallucinations and perceptual distortions
 Dangers:
• So-called “bad trip” – a terrifying experience that throws
the user into a paranoic state
• Suffered prolonged psychotic episodes
• “flashback” or recurrence of the psychedelic state

25. SEDATIVE HYPNOTICS

26. SEDATIVE HYPNOTICS
 Such as Barbiturates and Tranquilizers. Depress the central
nervous system
 Moderate doses: slow down breathing and normal reflexes,
interfere with coordination, relieve anxiety and tension
 Larger doses: produce drowsiness and sleep
 Methaqualone – “Love Drug” - a sexual stimulant
 PSP or “Angel Dust” produces a sleepy, dreamlike state. It also
produces hallucinations. It has been used as a Surgical Anesthetic.

27. STIMULANT

28. STIMULANT
 Stimulate the central nervous system
 Examples are caffeine, amphetamines and cocaine
 Increase alertness, improve mental performance,
and reduce drowsiness

29. WHY USE DRUGS?

30. 1. Biological Theories
2. Behavioral Theory
3. Personality Theories
4. Interactionist Theory

31. 1. Biological Theories
◦ Physiological changes produced by
the drugs eventually generate a
craving that is so strong that the
individual is powerless to resist.

32. 2. Behavioral Theory
o Behaviorists conclude that drug use is learned
through a process of conditioning. That is, use
of a drug often provides a reward (positive
reinforcement). When experimental animals
and humans use a drug and find it rewarding,
they are stimulated to use it again.

33. 3. Personality Theories
o These people have inadequate or immature
personalities. Drug addicts have thus been classified as
narcissists, psychopaths, sociopaths, dependent
personalities, immature, schizophrenic, neurotic, and
character disorders.
o Ausubel gave this description of the “inadequate
personality”, is likely to turn to drugs in order to escape
responsibilities.

34. 4. Interactionist Theory
o Drug use is determined by individual’s
attitudes toward drugs, the meaning drug has
for them, their overall world view, and their
system of values – all of which are learned from
interaction with people in a certain culture or
subculture.

35. THE DISTRIBUTION OF
DRUGS

36. 1. The over-the-counter market
2. The Prescription Market
3. The Black Market

37. 1. The over-the-counter market
The most popular means of distributing
psychoactive drugs. Alcohol, nicotine, and
caffeine are distributed in this way. A number of
nonprescription medicines are sold over the
counter as well.

38. 2. The Prescription Market
A wide variety of drugs are legally available only with
a doctor’s prescription. The minor tranquilizers are
prescribed most often.
About 75% prescribed by doctors are used to
produce sedation, tranquility, and sleep and about
25% are prescribed to increase energy or treat
depression.

39. 3. The Black Market
Many of the drugs prescribed by doctors are
also available on the black market. Holders of
legitimate prescription for such drugs
sometimes give or sell them to other users.

40. Responding to the
Drug Problem

41. 1. Legal Repression
The most common response to drug use has
been to make it a crime, usually prohibiting the
manufacture and sale of specific drugs and
punishing users.
Fear of the law clearly has discouraged many
people from using drugs.

42. 2. Treatment
The treatment approach, like the punitive
approach, tries to discourage drug use. The
difference is that punitive approach attempts to
discourage users by cutting of their supplies or
sending them to jail while the treatment
approach encourages voluntary abstinence.

43. 3. Increased Social Tolerance
This approach includes a variety of different
solutions, ranging from relatively minor
reductions in penalties for some types of drug
offenses to full legalization of all drugs.

44. 4. Legalization
Proponents of legalization believe that attempts at legal
repression of drug use have been so disastrous that the
problem can be solved only by taking the government out of
the drug law enforcement business.
Thomas Szasz, feels that the decision to use a drug is
entirely an individual matter in which the government has
no legitimate concern.

45. 5. Decriminalization
It is a step halfway between prohibition and full
legalization. Its advocate argue that the penalties for
possession and use of a given drug, should be
dropped but that sales of the drug should continue to
the illegal.
The aim is to stop punishing those who use illicit
drugs but to discourage such use by forbidding sales.

46. 6. Maintenance
Maintenance programs supply addicts or
habitual users with a drug while denying it to
the public at large.

47. Lucero, Lorraine N.
IV- 7 BEED
PROBLEMS AND ISSUES IN OUR CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
• DRUG ABUSE