This document provides information about various drugs. It defines drugs and discusses drug vocabulary terms like tolerance, psychological dependence, and physiological dependence. It also covers different drug classifications like prescription drugs, marijuana, inhalants, steroids, psychoactive drugs, and club drugs. Specific sections explain marijuana/THC, inhalants, steroids, and psychoactive drugs like LSD, heroin, and their effects, risks, and problems with use.

1. Drugs
8th grade Health

2. What are drugs?
 Drugs are substances that are used to treat
or prevent diseases. They are also used to
relieve pains, to help control mental or
physical ailments, and even to help
diagnose illnesses.

3. Drug Vocab
 Tolerance
 Body becomes accustomed to drug and causes
the user to experience a need for more and more
drug to achieve the desired effect or high.
 Psychological Dependence
 A condition that occurs overtime and causes
user to believe that drug is needed in order to
feel good or function normally.

4. Drug Vocab
 Physiological dependence
 A user develops a chemical need for a drug.
Symptoms of withdrawal occure when the effects
of the drug wear off.
 Symptoms can include nervousness, insomnia,
headaches, vomiting, chills, and cramps.
 Addiction
 A physiological or psychological dependence on
a drug.

5. Classification of Drugs
 Prescription
 Marijuana and THC
 Inhalants
 Steroids
 Psychoactive
 “Club Drugs”
 Stimulants
 Depressants

6. Marijuana and THC
 Marijuana is produced from the dried
leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant.
 The active ingredient is THC
(tetrahydrocannabinol)
 A fat-soluble drug
 Produces psychoactive effects of Marijuana
 Fat-soluble means that the drug will be
distributed to those areas of the body with high
fat content.

7. Marijuana and THC
 THC stays in the body for several weeks
 Why?
 Fat soluble areas of the body are:
 Brain
 Lungs
 Reproductive System
A person who uses marijuana may be under its
effects several days later, even though the
"high” has worn off.

8. Marijuana and THC
 How it’s used
 Smoked, Ingested or Taken as a Pill
 When smoked much more THC enters the bloodstream
 It’s used to achieve a state of calmness or euphoria.
 Almost all users report a change in how they perceive
time.
 Larger doses may produce anxiety and feelings of
paranoia.
 Short term effects
 Increase heart rate, reddening of eyes, talkativeness and
giddiness
 Some users may become quiet or reflective

9. Marijuana and THC
 Medical uses of THC
 when made synthetically;
 Lessen nausea associated with Chemotherapy
 Help people with AIDS regain appetite
 Used to treat glaucoma
 Glaucoma is the build up of pressure on the eyeball.

10. Marijuana and THC
 Effects on the Brain
 Increases level of dopamine
 Dopamine produces a pleasurable feeling.
 THC works by binding to specific receptors in the brain
called "cannabinoid receptors," which are located
throughout the following brain structures:
 Cerebellum
 Hippocampus
 Cerebral Cortex
 Limbic System

11. Marijuana and THC
 Effects on the Brain
 Cerebellum
 By binding with the cannabinoid receptors
 THC interferes with the normal function of the
cerebellum, which controls balance, posture, and
coordination.
 Hippocampus
 THC activates cannibinoid receptors in the
hippocampus.
 effects memory
 by decreasing nerve cell activity in this area. Short-term
memory is the first to be affected.

12. Marijuana and THC
 Effects on the Brain
 Cerebral Cortex
 THC affects areas in the cerebral cortex that are responsible
for sensory perception.
 Sense of taste, sight, smell, hearing, and touch may be
altered.
 Limbic System
 THC produces changes in the limbic system ( governs) our
emotions.
 These changes, which are most evident during withdrawal
from THC, are similar to those observed after long-term
use of cocaine, heroin, and alcohol.

13. Inhalants
 Are substances whose fumes are sniffed or
inhaled to give effect.
 Types of inhalants
 Prescribed Inhalants
 Used to treat allergies, asthma, and other medical
conditions.
 Solvents, Aerosols, Glues, Paints, Gasolines
 These if used can cause brain damage.

14. Inhalants
 Effects on the body
 Depress the central nervous system
 Immediate effects
 Glassy stare, Slurred Speech, Impaired Judgment, Nausea,
Coughing, nosebleeds, fatigue, and lack of coordination.
 Can lead to permanent loss of Brain Damage
 Long Term effects
 Liver and Kidney damage, Blindness, Brain damage,
Paralysis, Cardiac Arrest and Death.

15. Inhalants
 All inhalants are extremely dangerous
 Many labeled as poisons
 Can be harmful even if you are not trying to abuse
them
 Can be accidentally inhaled when doing
household chores.
 When using inhalants work in well-ventilated room
and wear a mask when project requires long
exposure to fumes.

16. Steroids
 Can be prescribed for medical purposes
 Anabolic- androgenic steroids
 Synthetic substance similar to male sex
hormones.
 Anabolic refers to muscle building
 Androgenic refers to increased male
characteristics.

17. Steroids
 Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids
 Synthetic derivatives of the naturally occurring
male anabolic hormone (testosterone).
 Anabolic means “to build”
 Androgenic means “masculinizing”

18. Steroids
 Testosterone is the primary male hormone
responsible for the development of
masculine traits
 Androgenic effect triggers the maturing of the
male reproductive system.
 Anabolic effect helps body retain protein which
aids in development of muscles
ANABOLIC PROPERTY LURES ATHLETES!

19. Steroids
 How it’s used
 Can be taken orally or injected.
 Injected steroids are broken down into additional
categories
 Long-Lasting
 Short-Lasting
 Water-soluble injections

20. Steroids
 Who takes steroids?
 Athletes, Men are stereotypically associated with
steroids
 Anyone who uses desires to look, perform or feel
better regardless of danger

21. Steroids
 Health Hazards
 Transmitting or contracting HIV and Hepatitis B
through needles.
 Side effects can occur long after you stop using
 Megadosing – using more than one type of
steroid at a time
 Effects can be irreversible body damage.

22. Steroids
 Physical Side effects
 Male
 Feminization effect
 Decrease in normal sexual function
 Reduced sperm count
 Impotence
 Development of Breasts
 Shrinking of Testicles
 Difficulty or pain while urinating

23. Steroids
 Women
 Experience Masculinization effect
 Facial Hair Growth
 Deepened Voice
 Breast Reduction
 Menstrual Cycle Change

24. Steroids
 Both Genders
 Acne
 Bloated Appearance
 Rapid Weight Gain
 Clotting Disorders
 Liver Damage
 Premature Heart Attacks and Strokes
 Elevated Cholesterol levels
 Weakened Tendons

25. Steroids
 Special Dangers to adolescents
 Steroids close growth centers in a kid’s bones
 Once growth plates are closed they cannot
reopen
 So adolescents may end up shorter than they
should have been

26. Steroids
 Addictive
 Long-time steroid users may experience
addiction through:
 Cravings
 Difficulty in stopping
 Withdrawal Symptoms
STEROIDS DO NOT HELP IMPROVE SKILL,
AGILITY OR CARDIOVASCULAR CAPACITY!

27. Psychoactive Drugs
 Chemicals that affect the function of the
central nervous system and alter brain
activity.
 Four main groups
 Hallucinogens
 Opiates
 Stimulants
 Depressants

28. Psychoactive Drugs
 Some have medicinal value
 When misused and abused an individual’s
health is seriously affected.
 Effects on TEEN’’s developing brain and body
especially damaging

29. Psychoactive Drugs
 Consequences of psychoactive drugs
 Poor judgement and behaviors
 Unintentional injuries
 Violence
 STDs
 Unintended pregnancy
 Suicide

30. Psychoactive Drugs
 Hallucinogens
 category of drugs that affect the brain in such a
way that a person’s perceptions -- meaning their
sights, sounds, feelings, and how they judge time
-- become very different and unreal.
 Can cause changes with emotions, memory and
judgement.

31. Psychoactive Drugs
 LSD (Hallucinogen)
 Also known as acid, doses, trips, tabs, hits,
sunshine, window pane, sugar cubes, microdot
 is a very powerful drug made with a chemical
found in a fungus -- that grows on grains.

32. Psychoactive Drugs
 LSD (Hallucinogen)
 It was originally developed as a treatment for
mental patients, but doctors soon learned that it
was too unpredictable to be useful. In the 1960’s,
many people took LSD because they believed
the drug “expanded the mind.” LSD is usually
found as pieces of thin paper sprayed with the
drug, which are eaten, or in liquid or gelatin form.

33. Psychoactive Drugs - LSD
Side Effects
 Changes in personality and mood
 Mood swings
 Hallucinations
 Delusions
 Intense fear
 Confused senses, like “seeing sounds” and “hearing colors”
 Dilated pupils
 Increased body temperature
 Sweating
 Loss of appetite
 Sleeplessness
 Dry mouth
 Tremors

34. Psychoactive Drugs
 LSD (Hallucinogen)
 Health Risks
 Increased heart rate and blood pressure
 Long lasting mental problems, like schizophrenia
or depression

35. Psychoactive Drugs
 LSD (Hallucinogen)
 Problems with using
 Scary hallucinations can make people panic,
which can lead them into dangerous situations.
 LSD “flashbacks” are very common, with the
drug’s effects returning without warning from a few
days to a year later.
 Users develop tolerance, meaning that they
eventually need more and more of the drug to get
the same effect.

36. Psychoactive Drugs
 Opiates (Hallucinogen)
 which means that it comes from a flower called
the opium poppy.
 Opiates are used in hospitals as painkillers for
patients in serious pain from injury, surgery, or
illness; morphine is another opiate that you might
see used for medical purposes.

37. Psychoactive Drugs
 Heroin (Opiate)
 is a brown or white powder that is sometimes
snorted or smoked. Most of the time, users turn it
into a liquid and inject the drug into their veins
with a needle.

38. Psychoactive Drugs
 Heroin (Opiates)
 Side effects
 Euphoria, a “rush” of well-being
 Reduced pain
 Dry mouth
 Droopy eyelids and smaller pupils
 Flushed skin
 Heavy arms and legs
 Slow thinking and movement
 Slow and slurred speech
 Periods of sleepiness, sometimes called “the nod”
 Vomiting
 Constipation
 Considered to be the MOST ADDICTIVE DRUG

39. Psychoactive Drugs
 Heroin (Opiates)
 Health Risks
 Collapsed veins
 Heart infections
 Pneumonia
 Death from overdose

40. Psychoactive Drugs
 Heroin (opiate)
 Problems with Using
 Heroin is one of the most physically addictive drugs in the
world, and breaking the addiction can be very difficult.
 Users develop tolerance, meaning that they eventually need
more and more of the drug to get the same effect.
 Because heroin can be expensive, users often turn to crime
to get drug money.
 Sharing needles can lead to infectious diseases, including
hepatitis and AIDS.

41. Psychoactive Drugs
 Heroin (Opiate)
 Problems with using
 Quitting the drug or “kicking the habit” can lead to
bad withdrawal symptoms, including pain, nausea
and vomiting, diarrhea, cold flashes, and an
incredible craving to return to the drug.
 Quitting suddenly, called “going cold turkey,” can
lead to death in long-term addicts in bad health.