Drug - Answers any chemical other than food intended to affect the structure or function of the body
Psychoactive drug - Answers A drug that can alter a person's perceptions, mood, behaviour, or
consciousness
Causes intoxication
Intoxication - Answers A state in which sometimes unpredictable physical and emotional changes
occur
Addictive behaviour - Answers Any habit that becomes out of control, resulting in a negative effect on
a person's health
Addiction - Answers a chronic disease that disrupts the brain's system of motivation and reward,
characterized by a compulsive desire and increasing need for a substance or behavior, and by harm to
the individual and/or society
Characteristics of addiction - Answers reinforcement, compulsion or craving, loss of control,
escalation, negative consequences
Types of Addictive Behaviours - Answers Substance use disorder
Gambling disorder
Social media disorder
Gaming disorder
Compulsive buying or shopping
Work addiction
Compulsive exercise
Sex addiction
Routes of administration of drugs - Answers oral dosage, intravenous injection, inhalation,
subcutaneous injection, intramuscular injection
Which route of administration is more likely to cause dependence - Answers - Injecting/smoking
drugs
- it is a strong stimulus-response pairing
- they wear off more quickly
•Users may take more frequent doses
Which route of administration is more likely to transmit infectious diseases such as hepatitis & HIV. -
Answers Injecting drugs
How do drugs affect the brain - Answers • Changes in brain chemistry
• Altered effects of neurotransmitters
• Some increase the effects of dopamine in the brain's reward and pleasure pathway
• Nicotine, cocaine, alcohol, heroin and amphetamines all affect dopamine levels
Factors that Influence Drug Effects - Answers • Pharmacological properties (e.g. composition)
• Dose-response function (e.g. intensity)
• Time-action function (e.g. lag time)
• Drug use history (e.g. first time or not)
• Route of administration (e.g. oral or injection)
• Physical factors (e.g. weight)
- the effects of a certain dose of a drug un a person who weighs 50 kg will exceed its effect on a
person who weighs 100kg
, • Psychological factors (e.g. setting)
-People believe that a given drug will affect them a certain way, so they ave lively to experience those
effects regardless of their pharmacological properties
CNS stimulants and examples - Answers speed up the activity of the nervous or muscular system
- caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy, Ritalin
Most popular psychoactive drug - Answers caffeine
Examples: coffee, tea, cocoa, energy drinks
- mild stimulant, effects at low doses are relatively harmless
Excess consumption of caffeine can cause what - Answers Can cause shaking, difficulty concentrating,
insomnia, irregular heart beat
Withdrawal of caffeine - Answers Causes irritability, drowsiness & headaches
Nicotine - Answers Stimulant drug in cigarettes and e-cigs
Stimulates the cerebral cortex
Leading preventable cause of death disease, and disability - Answers tobacco use
Smoking associations - Answers - Smoking is strongly associated with CVD and lung cancer
-Carcinogens in cigarette smoke damage DNA, and poisons weaken tumor fighters
- chronic smoking con also cause bronchitis, emphysema, and reproductive complications
E-cigarettes/vaping - Answers • Uses a mouthpiece, heating element, battery and liquid
• Not yet known to be safer than traditional cigarettes
• Vapour still may contain harmful chemicals or unsafe levels of nicotine (currently unregulated)
• May help with quitting smoking, may also perpetuate addiction
• WHO does not recommend use until studies determine safety
Long term effects of smoking - Answers cardiovascular disease, lung disease, cancer
Short term effects of smoking - Answers Constricts blood vessels, stimulates brain, dull taste buds,
accelerates heart rate, elevates bp, depresses hunger contractions, inhibits production of urine in
kidneys
Smoking effects on lungs - Answers Smoke slows then stops action of cilia, eventually destroying it
This leaves delicate membranes exposed to injury from substances inhaled in cig smoke
Cocaine - Answers • potent CNS stimulant
- derived from coca plant
Cocaine effects - Answers Euphoria, paranoid ideations, rapid heart breathing rate, decreased
appetite, invincibility, power
- activates the brain's reward pathway (dopamine)
- short lasting and ends abruptly
- Repeated use can lead to insomnia, weight loss, impotence
- overdose can cause death due to heart irregularities
Amphetamines - Answers • Powerful stimulants effects similar
to cocaine; highly addictive
Example: methamphetamine; "meth"
Can be made from household
ingredients, therefore cheap
• Cause high levels of dopamine
• Promote tolerance, powerfully
addictive, very high relapse rate
• Chronic use may lead to severe
weight loss, heart attack, stroke,
paranoia, psychosis, violent behavior.
Amphetamine psychosis - Answers psychotic features including paranoia, visual and auditory
hallucinations, and delusions
MDMA/Ecstasy - Answers • "X" , "molly"; stimulant and mild hallucinogen
• Mood elevator (increases serotonin) • Euphoria, increased energy, heightened sense of belonging