Drugs & Consciousness

Chapter 7-3

From “Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know” by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1998

Marijuana is the illegal drug most often used in this country. Since 1991, lifetime marijuana use has doubled among 8th and 10th grade students, and increased by a third among high school seniors. Our research shows that accompanying this upward pattern of use is a significant erosion in antidrug perceptions and knowledge among young people today. As the number of young people who use marijuana has increased, the number who view the drug as harmful has decreased. Among high school seniors surveyed in 1997, current marijuana use has increased by about 72 percent since 1991. The proportion of those seniors who believe regular use of marijuana is harmful has dropped by about 26 percent since 1991.

How Drugs Work

• Drugs come into contact with capillaries• Absorbed into the blood stream• Carried through the blood • Hook onto the ends of nerve cells• Act like neurotransmitters sending out their

own chemical messages

Psychoactive Drugs

• Chemicals that affect the nervous system and result in altered states of consciousness

• Interact with the central nervous system to alter a person’s mood, perception, and behavior

Psychoactive Drugs

• Examples:– Caffeine– Alcohol– Marijuana– LSD

Psychoactive Drug Types

• Stimulants (caffeine, amphetamines, cocaine)

• Depressants (alcohol)

• Mixed stimulants & depressants (nicotine)

• Hallucinogens (LSD, mescaline)

• Tranquilizers (barbiturates, benzodiazepines, Valium, Xanax)

• Opiates (morphine, heroin)

• Distortion of experience (marijuana [THC])

marijuana

• Dried leaves and flowers of Indian hemp that produce an altered state of consciousness when smoked or ingested

• Cannabis sativa

Marijuana facts

• Active ingredient: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

• Made by drying the plant

• Can be smoked or cooked with food and eaten

• Can be psychologically addictive

Marijuana Effects - mental

• Can vary• Can be both pleasant & unpleasant• Sensory experiences increased– Music sounds richer– Colors look brighter– Smells are stronger– Foods taste stronger– Etc…

• May feel elated• World seems to have more meaning• Ordinary events become special

Marijuana Effects - mental

• Can amplify negative moods– Become more frightened – Become more unhappy– Become more depressed– Can become more paranoid– Etc…

Marijuana Effects - physical

• Pain management• Reduction in seizures?• Reduction in nausea for chemo patients

Marijuana Effects - physical

• decrease in short-term/working memory• dry mouth• impaired motor skills • reddening of the eyes• increased heart rate • increased appetite and eating• lowered blood pressure• Impairment of coordination• Impairment of concentration• Decrease in IQ• Heart/liver/lung disease

hallucinations

• Perceptions that have no direct external cause

• Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or feeling things that do not exist

• Created when different areas of the brain start firing together instead of separately

Causes of Hallucinations

• Hypnosis• Meditation• Certain drugs• Drug withdrawal • Psychological breakdown• Dreaming• Lack of sleep• Periods of high emotion/concentration/fatigue• daydreams

hallucinogens

• Drugs that produce hallucinations

• Also called “psychedelic”

• Create a loss of contact with reality

• Can change a false body image and cause loss of self & dreamlike fantasies

Effects on People

• Hallucinogens produce similar results in individuals

• Parts of the brain respond to stimuli by becoming disorganized, while the entire central nervous system is aroused

• Typically hallucinations are in color

LSD• Lysergic acid Diethylamide

• acid

• Strong psychedelic drug that produces distortions of perception and thought

• One of the most powerful drugs known

• Synthetic substance

• Considered to be non-addictive

LSD Effects - mental

• “trip” “trippin”• Small doses can lead to 6-14 hour trip• Go through many moods, all intense and changing

very quickly• Objects change/morph and can become

unrecognizable • Sense intermingle – sounds become seen, etc…• Distortion of time• Split self

LSD Effects - mental

• Impairs thinking• Panic• Paranoia• Anxiety• impair the ability to make sensible judgments • Difficult to understand common dangers• temporary confusion• difficulty with abstract thinking• impaired memory and attention span

LSD Effects - physical• Pupil dilation• reduced or increased appetite• wakefulness. • Other reported symptoms:

– Numbness– Weakness– Nausea – Hypothermia/hyperthermia– Elevated blood sugar– Goose bumps– Increased heart rate– Jaw clenching– Perspiration– Silva production– Tremors

LSD Uses Through History

• Psychotherapy (1950s/1960s)• End of life anxiety• Pain• Alcoholism• Cluster headaches• Creativity• Spirituality• CIA

Opiates

• Narcotics

• Include:– Opium– Morphine– Heroin

• Can become physically addicted

Opiate Effects

• Pain reduction• Euphoria• Constipation

• Overdose – loss of control of breathing resulting in death

Alcohol

• A depressant that inhibits the brain’s normal functions

Alcohol Effects

• Loosening of inhibitions• Ability to function go down• Slurred speech• Blurred vision• Impairment in judgment• Impairment in memory• Permanent damage to the brain/liver• Change in personality

Drug Abuse

• Abusers: people who regularly use illegal drugs or excessively use legal drugs

• Reasons for abuse: – Boredom– Fit in with peers– Gain more self-confidence– Forget problems– Relax– Feel good

Risks with Drug Abuse

• Death• Injury• Damage to health• Legal consequences• Destructive behavior– Personal relationships– career

• Loss of control• Addiction

Treatment

• Abuser must admit he/she has a problem• Enter a treatment program/get therapy• Must remain drug free