Download Drug-Altered-Cons.. - Windsor C

Drug Altered
Consciousness
States of Consciousness
Unit 3
Objectives



Define psychoactive drugs and
reasons they are more problematic
today, than historically
Identify the 3 categories of drugs,
common drugs for each category,
and effects of their use.
Examine the reasons some people
become addicts, while others do
not.
Psychoactive Drugs
 Chemicals that change moods and
perception
 Have always been used in history,
but are more problematic now b/c:
1. motives for use changed
2. drugs are synthetic and stronger
3. long term effects aren’t always clear
due to new chemical mixtures, etc
3 Categories of Drugs
1.
2.
3.
Depressants
Stimulants
Hallucinogens
Depressants
 Alcohol,
barbiturates,
tranquilizers, opiates
 Slow down cognitive
processes
 Highly addictive, easy to
develop a tolerance, cause
severe withdrawals
Stimulants
 Caffine,
nicotine,
amphetamines and cocaine
 Stimulate the nervous system
creating feelings of optimism
and energy, but cause a
severe “crash”
Hallucinogens and Marijuana
 Hal: Drugs that distort visual and
auditory perception (acid, lsd,
mescaline)
 Mar: mild hallucinogen. Causes a state
of euphoria, anxiety, and/or paranoia.
Infrequent use is less harmful than
alcohol or nicotine, however, frequent
long term use causes severe short term
memory loss and cognitive damage that
is permanent
Damage is specifically
indicated in areas of
Pot Head
the brain responsible
for memory, attention,
decision-making,
language, and
executive functioning
skills.
Brain scan of a brain exposed to
chronic marijuana usage.
Yellow/orange areas indicate
abnormalities.
Pot as a Medicine
While pot has extremely negative effects on the
developing teen brain, there are some medical
benefits.
•The main ingredient THC has been found
(preliminarily) to help in a variety of diseases
•Alzheimer's
•Parkinson’s Disease
•Muscular Sclerosis
•Glaucoma
•It is key to realize that all of these diseases
have FDA approved medicines, which have
proven as (in some cases more) effective as
Abuse
 Can
stem from any or all of
the following
 Biology/genetics
 Psychology
 Social Setting
 Cultural Factors
Exit Ticket
1.
2.
3.
Define psychoactive drugs and
reasons they are more
problematic today, than
historically
Identify the 3 categories of drugs,
common drugs for each category,
and effects of their use.
Examine the reasons some
people become addicts, while
others do not.