What is drug prevention?
=
The term “drug prevention” is a short hand reference to the issue of helping
people (often with a focus on young people) avoid the abuse of drugs. This
includes preventing “problematic use” and avoiding the harm that drugs can
cause.
DRUGS
= “Drugs” include not
only illegal substances such as heroin, cocaine or cannabis but also legal
substances such as pharmaceuticals as well as tobacco and alcohol which cause
more preventable premature fatalities than illegal substances.
Approaches to Prevention
. Primary prevention (preventing “use”);
. Secondary prevention (helping those
involved in drug use);
. And tertiary prevention (treatment and
services for drug users)
Acid/LSD
¡ LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is one of
the major drugs making up the hallucinogen class.
¡ commonly referred to as acid, is sold on the
street in tablets, capsules, and, occasionally, liquid form. It is odourless,
colourless, and has a slightly bitter taste and is usually taken by mouth.
Often LSD is added to absorbent paper, such as blotter paper, and divided into
small decorated squares, with each square representing one dose.
¡ The effects of LSD are unpredictable. They
depend on the amount taken; the user's personality, mood, and expectations;
¡ the user feels the first effects of the
drug 30 to 90 minutes after taking it. The physical effects include dilated
pupils, higher body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure,
sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors.
STEROIDS
¡ Anabolic-androgenic steroids are man-made
substances related to male sex hormones
¡ Anabolic refers to muscle-building
¡ Androgenic refers to increased masculine
characteristics.
¡ Steroids refers to the class of drugs.
Health
Hazards
¡ For
men: shrinking of the testicles,
reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts, and an
increased risk of prostate cancer.
¡ For women: growth of facial hair,
male-pattern baldness, changes in or cessation of the menstrual cycle,
enlargement of the C part of their private organ , deepened voice.
¡ For adolescents: growth halted
prematurely through premature skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty
changes. This means that adolescents risk remaining short the remainder of
their lives if they take anabolic steroids before the typical adolescent growth
spurt.
ALCOHOL
¡ ethanol, or ethyl alcohol.
¡ A liquid that is taken orally, alcohol is often
consumed in copious quantities.
¡ Surveys of adolescent and young adult drinkers
indicate that they are particularly likely to drink heavily with the intention
of getting drunk - often every time they drink.
Three basic types of alcoholic drinks
¡ Beer is made from fermented grains and has an
alcohol content of three to six percent.
¡ Wine is made from fermented fruits and
has an alcohol content of 11 to 14 percent. Some wine drinks, such as wine
coolers, have fruit juice and sugar added, lowering alcohol content to between
four and seven percent. Fortified wines, such as port, have alcohol added,
bringing alcohol content to between 18 and 20 percent.
¡ Spirits
are made by distilling a fermented
product to yield a drink that usually contains 40 to 50 percent alcohol. The
alcohol content in a spirit is sometimes indicated by degrees of proof.
Signs and
symptoms of alcohol use and intoxication:
¡ Smell of alcohol on breath
¡ Irritability
¡ Euphoria
¡ Loss of physical coordination
¡ Inappropriate or violent behaviour
¡ Loss of balance
¡ Slurred and/or incoherent speech
¡ Loss of consciousness
¡ Slowed thinking
¡ Depression
¡ Impaired short-term memory
¡ Blackouts
Health Hazards of Alcohol
¡ Neurological dangers include impaired
vision and impaired motor coordination, memory defects, hallucinations,
blackouts, and seizures
¡ Cardiological problems include elevated
blood pressure and heart rate, risk of stroke and heart failure.
¡ Respiratory dangers include respiratory
depression and failure, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and lung abscesses.
Additionally, alcohol abuse increases the risk of mouth and throat cancer.
¡ Liver disease caused by chronic alcohol
abuse, including alcoholic fatty liver, hepatitis, and cirrhosis
COCAINE
¡ Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug of
abuse.
¡ The major routes of administration of
cocaine are sniffing or snorting, injecting, and smoking
Effects of cocaine
¡ Physical effects includes:
§ constricted peripheral blood vessels,
§ dilated pupils, and
§ increased temperature, heart rate, and blood
pressure.
¡ Euphoric effects includes
§ hyper-stimulation, reduced fatigue, and
mental clarity
HEROIN
¡ processed from morphine, a naturally
occurring substance extracted from the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant.
¡ Recent studies suggest a shift from
injecting heroin to snorting or smoking.
Health
Hazards of Heroin
¡ Heroin abuse is associated with serious
health conditions, including
§ fatal overdose,
§ spontaneous abortion,
§ collapsed veins,
§ and infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS
and hepatitis.
MDMA/Ecstasy
¡ MDMA is a synthetic, psychoactive drug with
both stimulant (amphetamine-like) and hallucinogenic (LSD-like) properties.
Street names for MDMA include Ecstasy, Adam, XTC, hug, beans, and love drug.
¡ High
doses it can cause a sharp increase in body temperature (malignant
hyperthermia) leading to muscle breakdown and kidney and cardiovascular system
failure.
Health
Hazards
¡ Psychological difficulties, including
confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug craving, severe anxiety, and
paranoia - during and sometimes weeks after taking MDMA.
¡ Physical symptoms such as muscle tension,
involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, rapid eye movement,
faintness, and chills or sweating.
¡ Increases in heart rate and blood pressure, a
special risk for people with circulatory or heart disease.
NICOTINE
¡ Cigarette smoking has been the most popular
method of taking nicotine since the beginning of the 20th century.
¡ one
of the most heavily used addictive drugs in the World.
Health
Hazards
¡ both a stimulant and a sedative to the
central nervous system.
¡ a
study found that when chronic smokers were deprived of cigarettes for 24 hours,
they had increased anger, hostility, and aggression, and loss of social
cooperation.
¡ cigarette smoke is primarily composed of a
dozen gases (mainly carbon monoxide) and tar. The tar in a cigarette, which
varies from about 15 mg for a regular cigarette to 7 mg in a low-tar cigarette,
exposes the user to a high expectancy rate of lung cancer, emphysema, and
bronchial disorders. The carbon monoxide in the smoke increases the chance of
cardiovascular diseases. The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that
second hand smoke causes lung cancer in adults and greatly increases the risk
of respiratory illnesses in children and sudden infant death.
MARIJUANA
¡ a green or grey mixture of dried, shredded
flowers and leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa.
¡ Common Marijuana Terminology
¡ pot
¡ herb
¡ weed,
¡ boom,
¡ Mary Jane,
¡ gangster and
¡ chronic.
¡ It is usually smoked as a cigarette (called
a joint or a nail) or in a pipe or bong. In recent years, marijuana has
appeared in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and
refilled with marijuana, often in combination with another drug. Some users
also mix marijuana into foods or use it to brew tea.
¡ distorted perception
¡ difficulty in thinking and problem-solving
¡ loss of coordination
¡ increased heart rate
¡ anxiety
¡ panic attacks
COMPREHENSIVE DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 2002
¡ Republic Act No. 9165
¡ It was enacted and passed by the Senate of
the Philippines and House of Representatives of the Philippines on May 30, 2002
and May 29, 2002, respectively.
¡ It was signed into law by President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo on January 23, 2002.
¡ This Act repealed the Republic Act No.
6425, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972
¡ Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) remains as the
policy-making and strategy-formulating body in planning and formulation of
policies and program on drug prevention and control.
¡ Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)
¡ Penalty Life Imprisonment to death with
fine of P500,000 to P10,000,000.
Source: Jayson Villafuerte's lecture :)
