Drug Prevention and Control

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 :)