Download Types of Drugs and Their Effects

Warm Up
Name as many categories of drugs
as you can
Types of Drugs and Their
Effects
Lesson 2, Chapter 10
Drug Use and the Body
All drugs affect the body in some way, but the same drug can
affect people differently.
Some drugs are more harmful than others. When a person uses a
drug over time, he or she can develop a tolerance to the drug.
Tolerance: the body’s need for larger and larger amounts of a drug
to produce the same effect.
Overdose: taking more of a drug than the body can tolerate.
Types of Drugs
There are many types of drugs, including:
Stimulants
Depressants
Club drugs
Narcotics
Hallucinogens
All of them can be harmful to your physical,
mental/emotional, and social health.
Stimulants
Caffeine is a stimulant found in foods and drinks such as chocolate, coffee, tea, and some
soft drinks (soda).
Have you ever had a soda near bedtime and then couldn’t fall asleep?
Stimulant: a drug that speeds up the body’s functions.
Physical
 Heart Rate
 Breathing Rate
 Raises blood pressure
Mental/Emotional
 Gives a false sense of energy, well-being, confidence, power
In time, these effects wear off, and the user often feels exhausted and irritable.
Stimulants
Amphetamines: strong stimulant drugs that speed up the nervous system.
 Sometimes prescribed to treat certain medical conditions. (ADD and ADHD)
 Often called “speed”
 They come in different forms that may be swallowed, inhaled, smoked, or injected
“Crystal meth” is the street name for methamphetamine = an extremely addictive drug
that can cause a person’s heart to suddenly stop working.
Cocaine is an illegal stimulant made from the coca plant. Can be inhaled through the
nose, smoked, or injected into the veins. (also known as “blow,” “snow,” or “coke.”)
 Produces a brief feeling of well-being and confidence, but after it wears off the user
feels anxious
Depressants
Depressants: drugs that slow down the body’s functions and reactions, including heart
and breathing rates.
Depressants work by slowing down a person’s motor skills and coordination.
 During use: Can affect a person mentally and emotionally by giving the user a false
sense of well-being through reduced anxiety and relaxation.
 After use: user may experience mood swings and depression.
Most depressants come in tablet or capsule form.
Depressants are legal when prescribed by a doctor to treat certain conditions
 EX: Anti-anxiety and Sedatives
*Alcohol is a depressant!
Effects of Stimulants and Depressants
Stimulants and depressants have serious physical and mental/emotional effects. How are
they different?
Effects/Possibility of
Addiction
Stimulants
Depressants
Physical effects
Speed up body functions,
such as heart rate, breathing
rate, and blood pressure
Slow down body functions,
such as coordination
Mental/Emotional effects
False sense of energy, wellbeing, confidence, and
power
False sense of well-being
through reduced anxiety
and relaxation
Exhaustion and mental
imbalance
Depression, mood swings
Yes
Yes
Effects when the drugs wear
off
Addictive?
Marijuana
An illegal psychoactive drug made from parts of the hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa).
Active ingredient is THC…This drug is usually smoked.
Marijuana affects people differently. For some, it acts as a depressant…for others, it acts as a
stimulant.
Possible Effects:
 May hear or see things that are not really there
 May feel relaxed (depressant) or talkative (stimulant)
 Some people may giggle a lot
 May experience memory loss, forgetting what was just said or done
 Eyes become bloodshot
 May feel confused, shaky, or fearful
Possible physical effects in males and females
Males = can lower testosterone levels in males, reduce the number of sperm the body makes
Females = may cause females to have irregular periods
Club Drugs
Club drugs: illegal drugs that are found mostly in nightclubs or at all-night dance parties
called raves.
*often used to make people feel more relaxed.
Common Club Drugs include Ecstasy, Rohypnol, Ketamine. Club drugs are often made in
home laboratories and mixed with other harmful chemicals. *Not controlled by law
You never know what is in a designer drug. Sometimes a change in a designer drug’s
chemical structure results in fatal toxic effects.
Ecstasy (X)
Symptoms:
• Tingly skin
• Clenched jaws
• Increases heart rate and
body temp.
• Make user feel anxious and
paranoid
*these feelings may last long
after the drug wears off
Rohypnol (“roofies”)
Symptoms:
• Blood pressure drops
• User feels dizzy and very
sleepy
• Causes blackouts and
memory loss
• Causes loss of
consciousness
*often used to commit date
rape
Ketamine (“special K”)
Symptoms:
• Causes hallucinations
• Users experience
memory loss
• Overdose will result in a
stop in breathing
*many have died while
overdosing
Narcotics
Narcotics: drugs that get rid of pain and dull the senses. *Highly Addictive!!
Morphine / Codeine = both used as medicine, like most narcotics.
Heroin:
 Usually injected, giving users an instant “high”, or feeling of happiness
 This “high” does not last
 As it wears off, the user experiences nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting
 Highly addictive
 Withdrawal symptoms are very painful
 Dependence and tolerance quickly grows = users will soon need larger amounts to feel
its effects = very easy to overdose on heroin
 Because it’s injected, a risk of using heroin is contracting HIV (sharing needles)
Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens: drugs that distort moods, thoughts, and senses
Group of psychoactive drugs that alter perception, thought, and mood.
*Illegal and have NO medical use.
Common drugs include:
 LSD
 Mescaline (Peyote)
 Psilocybin
 PCP
Inhalants
Inhalants: the vapors of chemicals that are sniffed or inhaled to get a “high.”
*works very quickly!!
Some preteens and younger teens use inhalants. Where do they get these chemicals?
Most come from household products that are not meant to be taken into the body.
Common symptoms include:
 Nausea
 Dizziness
 Mental confusion
 Loss of motor skills
When inhaled, the poisons contained in these inhalants go
straight to the brain, where they can cause permanent
damage, even death.
Steroids
*Synthetic drugs that resemble the male hormone testosterone (most commonly used for
athletics.)
 Often prescribed for patients with skeletal and growth disorders.
 Also used to treat certain types of anemia (not enough healthy red blood cells) and to
offset the negative effects of cancer therapy.
Harmful Consequences / Serious health problems include:
 Aggressive behavior/problems controlling your anger (“roid rage”)
 Liver, Kidney and Heart Damage (heart disease)
 Increased blood pressure
 Depression
 Overgrowth of skull and facial bones
Females: can affect the production of estrogen (an important female hormone) resulting
in masculine traits (facial hair, low voice, a masculine-looking body)
Males: risk stunted growth, infertility/sterility, hair loss, severe acne.
The Effects of Drugs on Unborn Babies
Babies don’t take drugs, or do they?
If a pregnant female takes drugs, the drugs can hurt her unborn baby.
 Give birth to low-weight babies
 Babies are born with brain problems…the drugs interfere with the
baby’s development
 If injecting drugs, females can become infected with HIV from
sharing a needle, then passing the virus on to their unborn babies.