Module 26: Psychoactive DrugsPaige ColePeriod 2Psychology

Module 26 Learning Goals Define psychoactive drugs, and explain the

cycle of dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal. Describe the physiological and psychological

effects of alcohol. Describe the physiological and psychological

effects of marijuana. Describe the physiological and psychological

effects of hallucinogens. Discuss factors associated with drug use and

with the prevention of drug use.

Vocabulary Psychoactive drug Dependence Withdrawal Tolerance Depressants Stimulants Caffeine Nicotine Cocaine Amphetamines Hallucinogens Lysergic acid diethylamide(LSD) Ecstasy Marijuana

Psychoactive Drugs:The Basic Information

Psychoactive drugs – chemical substances that alter mood, behavior, or perceptions.

The three most common, in order, are caffeine, alcohol and nicotine.

These drugs can induce an altered state of consciousness as well as leading to dependence – a state of physiological or psychological need to take more of a drug after continued use.

When users are deprived and desperate to have to drug, they have become dependent on it. Symptoms of withdrawal, usually discomfort and distress, arise from this dependence.

Psychoactive Drugs:The Basic Information

Regular use of a drug leads to tolerance, a reduced response to the drug, which prompts the user to take larger doses to achieve the same pleasurable effects previously obtained by lower doses.

There are four kinds of psychoactive drugs: Depressants Stimulants Hallucinogens Marijuana

Alcohol: A Depressant Depressants are drugs that reduce neural

activity and slow body functions. Alcohol is the second most used psychoactive

drug in the world. It slows thinking and impairs physical activity Beer is 3.5 to 5% alcohol, wine is 9 to 12%,

and spirits such as whiskey are 40%. Blood alcohol content(BAC) increases the

more you drink.

Alcohol: A Depressant BAC of 0.08% is legal intoxication. Alcohol effects controlling inhibitions & making

judgments. It also impairs memory. The combined yearly deaths from all illegal

drugs are still fewer than the number of alcohol-related deaths each year.

Women & girls are more likely to experience liver & brain damage than men.

Pound for pound, men have more blood in their vascular systems, so alcohol is diluted more in men.

Stimulants: Caffeine Stimulants are drugs that excite neural activity and

speed up body functions. They include caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and amphetamines. Caffeine:

Caffeine is the stimulant found in coffee, tea, cocoa and soda.

80% of adults consume caffeine daily. 5 oz. cup of coffee = 100 milligrams of caffeine. Caffeine rewards with energy, mental alertness, and forced

wakefulness. Produces a tolerance & dependence. 200 or more milligrams daily creates withdrawal symptoms,

giving you headaches, agitation & tiredness.

Stimulants: Nicotine Nicotine:

Nicotine, the stimulant found in tobacco, ranks up there with alcohol & caffeine in the most used drug category.

Usually enters body from cigarette. Over the past 35 years there has been a 90% decline in

smoking Statistics:

6000 American teens will smoke for the first time today. 3000 of them will develop a smoking habit. 1000 of them will die from smoking-related lung diseases. 37,000 will die this year from second-hand smoke. Another 4000 nonsmokers will contract a lung disease from

second-hand smoke. Nearly 450,000 U.S. smokers will die this year.

Stimulants: Cocaine Cocaine:

Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of a coca plant.

Horrible side effects include dependence, tolerance and depression.

From 1896-1904 Coke, the soda, had actual cocaine in it.

Banned around 1910, and came back in the 1970’s as crack

Cocaine & crack produce a strong euphoric effect but an even stronger crash, can also experience paranoia & susupicion

Stimulants: Amphetamines Amphetamines:

Amphetamines are drugs that stimulate neural activity and speed up body functions, also called speed or uppers

The cheap versions is called methamphetamine(crystal or crank)

Effects include restlessness, high blood pressure, insomnia, agitation, and tolerance builds quickly.

“ice” is to methamphetamines as “crack” is to cocaine.

It is deadly!

Hallucinogens: LSD Hallucinogens – sometimes called psychedelics

– are drugs that distort perceptions & evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input. LSD:

Lysergic acid diethylamide(LSD) is a powerful hallucinogenic drug that is sometimes called acid.

“acid trip” – where visual distortions, detachment from reality and panic are common.

Consciousness – altering LSD is made in lab, but other hallucinogens are in nature

Mescaline (from the peyote cactus) and psilocybin (from certain mushrooms) both produce perceptual disruption of time & space

Hallucinogens: Ecstasy Ecstasy:

The hallucinogenic drug ecstasy(3, 4-methylendioxy-N-methylamphetamine, or MDMA) produces lowered inhibitions, pleasant feelings, and greater acceptance of others.

First manufactured over 80 years, but this amphetamine derivative is experiencing a rebirth of sorts today.

It is closely associated with “rave” dances, where hundreds of party goers pack in shoulder to shoulder and dance to techno music for most of the night.

Ecstasy can enable the dancers to maintain the frenzied pace longer than they normally could.

The drug is seductive b/c it is relatively inexpensive, usually $10 per pill but it varies depending on the seller or your location.

Even moderate users may experience permanent brain damage, losing memory, concentration and verbal reasoning skills.

Marijuana It was used to make rope as far back as 8000 B.C. It was used for medical purposes starting in China in 5000 B.C.,

for religious purposes in India in 2000 B.C. It comes from the cannabis sativa, or hemp, plant and is called

ganja, sinsemilla, pot, hash, Mary Jane, dope, weed, bhang and many more.

Most often though, it is called marijuana, and it is the leaves, stems and flowers from the hemp plant.

When smoked, marijuana lowers inhibitions and produces feelings of relaxation and mild euphoria.

There is evidence that it counteracts both nausea accompanying cancer’s chemotherapy treatments and several terrible side effects of AIDS

Its use among high school seniors is on the rise… dun dun dun!

Marijuana Marijuana’s active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol(THC), was

isolated in 1964. When smoked THC heightens sensitivity to tastes, smells and sounds. THC can stay in a regular user’s system for months, producing a kind

of reverse-tolerance effect. The user can take smaller subsequent doses to induce the “high” feeling again because of the amounts of THC already stored in the body.

Withdrawal is unpleasant and occurs within 48 hours of on nonuse. Symptoms include depression, insomnia, nausea, cramping and irritablity

Marijuana is different from the other types of drugs for these reasons: Its behavioral effects are similar to those of low doses of alcohol but

different in that high does do not suppress breathing and are not lethal. Compared with LSD, it produces only mild hallucinogenic experiences. Its chemical structure does not resemble that of hallucinogens.

Prevention Consider these questions:

1. Is education related to psychoactive drug use?2. Is hopefulness related to dependence?3. Is genetics a factor in the development of dependence?4. Are you peers’ attitudes toward drugs important?YES. 5. Education is related to drug use. Roughly 15% of U.S.

college dropouts smoke, as do 42% of high school dropouts. 6. Hope matters. Those who believe their lives are

meaningless are more likely to take drugs.7. Genetics plays a role. Geneticists have, for example, found

a gene occurring more often among alcohol-dependent people thank among others.

8. Peers count. If the friends you hang out with never light up or drink alcohol, there is a good chance you won’t either.

The graph below shows the distribution of drug related deaths registered in the UK according to the Office of National Statistics.

Deaths related to cocaine, ecstasy, all amphetamines, and mephedrone

Deaths from different drugs in 2010

Sources: The text book http://www.greenfacts.org/en/psychoactive-drug

s/index.htm#1

http://maddieruud.hubpages.com/hub/Psychoactive_Drugs

http://neurobonkers.com/2011/12/22/the-year-in-drug-deaths-and-data-fraud/

http://forcon.ca/learning/pharmacology.html Google images