Drugs

DRUGS

Luis Martínez Iáñez 3º Wegener

Page 1

Table of Contents 1. What are Drugs?

Page 3

2.Cocaine Page 4

3.Heroin Page 6

4.Synthetic or designer drugs

Page 8

5.Alcohol Page 9

6.Tobacco Page 10

7. Drugs in Schools

Page 11

8. Personal Conclusion

Page 12

9.Bibliography Page 13

Page 2

What are Drugs?

A drug is a substance which may have medicinal, intoxicating, performance enhancing or other effects when taken or put into a human body or the body of another animal. It is not consider exclusively a food.

What is considered a drug rather than a food varies between cultures and distinctions between drugs and foods and between kinds of drug is enshrined in laws which vary between jurisdictions and aim to restrict or prevent drug use.

Even within a jurisdiction, however, the status of a substance may be uncertain or contested with respect to both whether it is a drug and how it should be classified if at all. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.

In pharmacology, a drug is "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being." Drugs may be prescribed for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.

Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system, such as opioids or hallucinogens ones. They may be used for perceived beneficial effects on perception, consciousness, personality, and behaviour. Some drugs can cause addiction.

Drugs are usually distinguished from endogenous biochemicals by being introduced from outside the organism. For example, insulin is a hormone that is synthesized in the body; it is called a hormone when it is synthesized by the pancreas inside the body, but if it is introduced into the body from outside, it is called a drug. Many natural substances, such as beers, wines, and psychoactive mushrooms, blur the line between food and recreational drugs, as when ingested they affect the functioning of both mind and body and some substances normally considered drugs such as DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) are actually produced by the human body in trace amounts.

Recreational drugs use is the use of psychoactive substances to have fun, for the experience, or to enhance an already positive experience. National laws prohibit the use of many different recreational drugs and medicinal drugs that have the potential for recreational use are heavily regulated. Many other recreational drugs on the other hand are legal, widely culturally accepted, and at the most have an age restriction on using and/or purchasing them. These include alcohol, tobacco, betel nut, and caffeine products in the west and in other localiced areas of the world are common. Because of the legal status of many drugs, recreational drug use is controversial, with many governments not recognise spiritual or other perceived uses for drugs and classe them under illegal recreational use.

Page 3

Cocaine Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a powerful nervous system stimulant, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic. Biologically, cocaine acts as a serotonin– norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor. It is addictive because of its effect on the mesolimbic reward pathway. It is illegal to possess, produce, or distribute cocaine for non-medicinal and non-government-sanctioned purposes in almost every country.

The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects, which include hyperstimulation, reduced fatigue, and mental clarity, depending on the route of administration. The faster the cocaine is absorbed, the more intense the high.

On the other hand, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action.

Cocaine's effects appear almost immediately after a single dose, and disappear in a few minutes or hours. Taken in small amounts, cocaine usually makes the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, and mentally alert. It can also temporarily decrease the need for food and sleep. Some users find that the drug helps them to perform simple physical and intellectual tasks more quickly.

The short-term physiological effects of cocaine include: constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Large amounts intensify the user's high but may also lead to bizarre, erratic, and violent behaviour. These users may experience tremors, vertigo, muscle twitches, paranoia, or, with repeated doses, a toxic reaction closely resembling amphetamine poisoning. Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. In rare instances, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or sometime thereafter.

Long-term effects of cocaine use include addiction, irritability and mood disturbances, restlessness, paranoia, and auditory hallucinations.

Binge cocaine use, during which the drug is taken repeatedly and at increasingly higher doses, leads to a state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This may result in a full-blown paranoid psychosis in which the individual loses touch with reality and experiences auditory hallucinations.

Side effects of chronic use of cocaine

Page 4

Cocaine dependence (or addiction) is a psychological desire to use cocaine regularly. The immediate craving of the addict for more soon after use is due to the short-lived high that usually subsides within an hour, leading to prolonged, multi-dose binge use.

When administration stops after binge use, it is followed by a "crash" (also known as a "come down"), the onset of severely dysphonic mood with escalating exhaustion until sleep is achieved, which is sometimes accomplished by taking sleeping medications or sedatives. Resumption of use may occur upon awakening or may not occur for several days, but the intense euphoria of such use can, as it has in many users, produce intense craving and develop rather quickly into addiction.

The cocaine drug is one of the most dangerous for our body and it is one of the most addictive drugs

Graphic of the Drugs Dependence and Physical Harm

Cocaine produces its psychoactive and addictive effects primarily by acting on the brain's limbic. Such an addiction makes it that to many people have cost them their jobs, possessions, loved ones, freedom, and even their lives. The cocaine alters a neural circuit in the brain that “said to the person� the drug is fundamental to survive.

Page 5

Heroin Heroin, also known as diamorphine, and colloquially as H, smack, horse, brown, black, tar, and other names, is an opioid analgesic synthesized by C.R. Alder Wright in 1874.

When used in medicine it is typically used to treat severe pain, such as that resulting from a heart attack or a severe injury. The name "heroin" is only used when being discussed in its illegal form. When it is used in a medical environment, it is referred to as diamorphine. The white crystalline form considered "pure heroin" is usually the hydrochloride salt, diacetylmorphine hydrochloride. Under the chemical names diamorphine and diacetylmorphine, heroin is a legally prescribed controlled drug in the United Kingdom, and is supplied in tablet or injectable form for the same indications as morphine is.

Heroin effects:  Immediate effects: depending on how heroin is taken, the effects may be felt within 7-8 seconds (injecting) or within 10–15 minutes (snorting or smoking). The effects of heroin can last for approximately 3–5 hours.

Some of the effects can be experienced after taking.

•

Lower doses. Include: feelings of intense pleasure, strong feelings of wellbeing, confusion, lowered cough reflex, pain relief, reduced sexual urges, drowsiness, slurred and slow speech, reduced coordination, constricted pupils, dry mouth, slow breathing rate, decreased heart rate and blood pressure, nausea and vomiting, and reduced appetite.

•

Higher doses. A high dose of heroin can cause a person to overdose.

This means that a person has taken more heroin than their body can cope with. High doses of heroin can cause: impaired concentration, going "on the nod", shallow and slow breathing, nausea and vomiting, increased sweating and itching, urge to pass urine but difficulty doing so, drop in body temperature, irregular heartbeat, unconsciousness, death…

 Long-term effects. The long-term effects of heroin use on health can include: dependence, constipation, menstrual irregularity and infertility in women, loss of sex drive in men, intense sadness, cognitive impairment, tetanus and damage to heart, lungs, liver and brain.

Page 6

These chemical and neurological changes can make it difficult for the heroin addict to live a normal life. In fact, some studies suggest that a heroin addiction can cause personality changes. For example, a study published by the American Psychological Association found that people who were taking heroin were twice as likely to make impulsive decisions, compared to those who were not. It could be hard to do the hard work of leaving heroin behind when you’re now hardwired to be impulsive and only think about the present.

In addition, heroin is illegal. People who abuse heroin take significant risks each time they buy or use the drug. In some cases, heroin addicts enter top drug treatment programs when they’re arrested for drug offenses. In other cases, heroin addicts lose their children and their jobs when their addiction comes to light. It’s a terrible consequence.

Heroin addiction might be serious, but it can be treated. Often, this means that the heroin addict’s family must step in and point out that the addiction is both noticeable and treatable. The heroin addict might truly think that the addiction is private, not noticeable or not very serious. Family members can help the addict see the dangers of addiction and the hope implicit in recovery.

Heroine Addiction Problem

Page 7

Synthetic or Designer Drugs Designer/Synthetic drugs are drugs that are created (or marketed, if they had already existed) to avoid the provisions of existing drug laws, usually by preparing analogs or derivatives of existing drugs by modifying their chemical structure to varying degrees, or less commonly by finding drugs with entirely different chemical structures that produce similar subjective effects to illegal recreational drugs; they are usually sold on the black and grey market because there are little to no regulations when it comes to these substances.

Designer drugs are chemically modified versions of therapeutic medications, which users take to alter their mental state. The physical and mental effects of designer drugs often prove unpredictable because the illegal manufacture of these substances commonly nets chemical mixtures. Different types of designer drugs have varying effects on users, depending on the nature of the base chemical. Stimulants and narcotics remain the primary types of designer drugs in the United States.

Some examples of designer drugs: ďƒ˜ Methamphetamine. Is a stimulant drug, which causes a profound surge of dopamine release in the brain. Dopamine release normally occurs with pleasurable events, such as eating and sexual activity. The level of dopamine release associated with methamphetamine use far exceeds normal brain dopamine levels. Methamphetamine effects include an increased energy level, intense feelings of pleasure and well-being, increased sex drive, talkativeness, prolonged wakefulness and decreased appetite. ďƒ˜ Methylenedioxymethamphetamine. This drug has both stimulant and sensory effects. MDMA cause a surge in the levels of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain. Psychological effects of MDMA include: relaxation, feelings of well-being, increased energy, altered sensory perception and heightened sociability. Physical effects of MDMA include increased body temperature and blood pressure, sweating, muscle cramps, nausea and heart rhythm abnormalities.

MDMA can be addictive.

ďƒ˜ Fentanyl-like Drugs. Is a potent pain-relieving medication, chemically similar to morphine and heroin but with a much higher level of potency.

Illegal laboratories produce mixtures of fentanyl-like drugs. Fentanyl-like drugs are addictive and can cause heart and respiratory arrest.

Page 8

Alcohol In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxyl functional group is bound to a carbon atom. It is also consider a type of legal drug.

Short-term effects of alcohol can take on many forms. The drug alcohol, to be specific ethanol, is a central nervous system depressant with a range of sideeffects. Cell membranes are highly permeable to alcohol, so once alcohol is in the bloodstream it can diffuse into nearly every biological tissue of the body.

The concentration of alcohol in blood is usually measured in terms of the blood alcohol content. The amount and circumstances of consumption play a large part in determining the extent of intoxication; for example, eating a heavy meal before alcohol consumption causes alcohol to absorb more slowly.

Hydration also plays a role, especially in determining the extent of hangovers. After excessive drinking, unconsciousness can occur and extreme levels of consumption can lead to alcohol poisoning and death (a concentration in the blood stream of 0.40% will kill half of those affected). Alcohol may also cause death by asphyxiation from vomit.

The long-term effects of alcohol consumption range from cardioprotective health benefits for low to moderate alcohol consumption in industrialized societies with higher rates of cardiovascular disease to severe detrimental effects in cases of chronic alcohol abuse. High levels of alcohol consumption are associated with an increased risk of: alcoholism, malnutrition, chronic pancreatitis, alcoholic liver disease, and cancer. In addition damage to the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system can occur from chronic alcohol abuse. Long-term use of alcohol in excessive quantities is capable of damaging nearly every organ and system in the body.

Alcohol at moderate levels has some positive and negative effects on health.

The negative effects include increased risk of liver diseases, oropharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer and pancreatitis. Conversely moderate intake of alcohol may have some beneficial effects on gastritis and cholelithiasis. Chronic alcohol misuse and abuse has serious effects on physical and mental health.

Alcohol is an addictive drug that can cause lots of problems, especially for the teenagers and other young people who have no control on it and they cause serious problems to their families. The fun of consuming alcohol doesn’t compensate for the harm.

Page 9

Tobacco Tobacco is a product processed from the dried leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be used as a pesticide, and extracts form ingredients of some medicines, but is most commonly consumed as a drug. The addictive alkaloid nicotine is popularly considered the most characteristic constituent of tobacco but the harmful effects of tobacco consumption can also derive from the thousands of different compounds generated in the smoke.

In consumption it most commonly appears in the forms of smoking, chewing, snuffing, or dipping tobacco. The most use form of it is the cigarette. Because of the powerfully addictive properties of tobacco, tolerance and dependence develop.

The health effects of tobacco are the circumstances, mechanisms, and factors of tobacco consumption on human health. Epidemiological research has been focused primarily on cigarette tobacco smoking.

Tobacco is the single greatest cause of preventable death globally. Tobacco use leads most commonly to diseases affecting the heart, liver and lungs, with smoking being a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancer. It also causes peripheral vascular disease and hypertension. The effects depend on the number of years that a person smokes and on how much the person smokes. Starting smoking earlier in life and smoking cigarettes higher in tar increases the risk of these diseases.

Effects of Tobacco Smoking

In large part, the psychological effects of smoking are directly linked to how nicotine physically affects the brain. Early cigarette use can cause improvement in reaction and processing times because nicotine is a psychomotor stimulant.

Even though this improved skill does not last long, smokers notice it enough to continue to claim the enhancement from cigarettes.

The nicotine in tobacco is very addictive. Each cigarette contains about 10 milligrams of nicotine. Because the smoker inhales only some of the smoke from a cigarette, and not all of each puff is absorbed in the lungs, a smoker gets about 1 to 2 milligrams of the drug from each cigarette. Although that may not seem like much, it is enough to make someone addicted.

Most of the people who smoke want to quit it, but only a few ones achieve it.

The tobacco does not leave the people free, it just does the opposite, it makes people slaves of it, and it not only harms the people who smoke, also the close people to the smokers.

Page 10

Drugs in Schools Many drugs consumers are young people, teenagers or even older children that might go to school. Some schools can be the place where drugs trafficking take place. How could we insure that our school is drug free?

Nowadays almost all schools in the world have the responsibility of making sure the students do not bring drugs, but there are lots of cases of schools that do not realise that their students brought drugs in secret to consume them in their enclosure. This happens in many schools near to us. We need to make sure that our school is drug free.

In my opinion, our school (Granada College) should do a drug control for all the students to be 100% insure that our school is drug free. It could be a little medical test to detect the ones which have a positive drug consume. Although these students could have been taking drugs out of the schools (which is not the responsibility of the school), the school would watch over them more closely to make sure that the drugs were not brought to the school.

For preventing the drugs in schools, also it will be important to alert the students about the drugs effects and said them to avoid the consume of them. In some every year there are meetings where they came people to talk about drugs.

Drugs trafficking in schools

Page 11

Personal Conclusion Drugs are refer to substances that cause an effect (or more than one) when are put into a body. Some of them could be medical’s drugs and may be use in medicine for cure diseases (they have positive effects), but others are the ones that we know we shouldn’t take them because they can cause serious problems to our health.

Although we know they are not any good for us, many people still take these drugs. I don’t really know how drugs can make slaves of them to lots of people.

Drugs have some substances that make you feel happy and they said you they are essential for being good, and then they have the substances that destroy our life.

I founded very hard to understand when I discover that many of this drugs, such as tobacco, can makes us slaves of them at the first time we take them. Drugs are very dangerous and we should take lot of care with them, they could get us very easily and anyone can offer us to take them. We need to say NO to the drugs and never take then, even if it’s our best friend the one who offer us to have a good time taking drugs for the fun that make feel us.

To others that drugs are very easy get into them, there is another important problem: the person that have taken the drug and want to forget it to recuperate his normal life will found it extremely hard. The moment you start taking the drug you should have the need of it and if you stop taking it, you will found terrible. This phenomenon is also known as a Crash. In this period of time, you feel very bad for not having your drug pleasure, but you should endure and wait for the moment you pass this need, if you do it, you should forgot the drug!

In conclusion, we need to pay attention to the drug’s world, we could found it even in the school and we have to know that we mustn’t try the any type of drugs.

Luis Martínez Iáñez

Page 12

Bibliography Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/cocaine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine_dependence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2851032/ http://www.mydr.com.au/addictions/heroin-what-are-the-effects http://www.altamirarecovery.com/heroin-addiction/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designer_drug http://www.livestrong.com/article/227581-what-are-the-different-types-of-designerdrugs/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-term_effects_of_alcohol http://www.gumauctions.com/article/313/Psychological-Effects-of-Smoking/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco

Page 13