Effects of Recreational Drugs Exam 4 | Textbook Portion

What were the general conclusions of the 1944 LaGuardia Commission?

It seems as though strong negative reactions by some authorities were motivated by factors other than the actual data.

What are safe drug consumption facilities?

Clean, safe, and protective facilities where people who use drugs are permitted to consume their substance of choice under medical supervision, although the supervision is not overbearing or intrusive. Designed to be accessible to drug users who may not be well connected to other health care services.

What do ALERT and Life Skills Training have in common, besides their effectiveness?

Communication with children, decision-making skills, how to set goals and limits, and when and how to say no to your child

What are some of the "parenting" skills that might be taught and practiced in a prevention program?

Communication with children, decision-making skills, how to set goals and limits, and when and how to say no to your child.

What is the knowledge-attitudes-behavior model, and what information first called it into question?

- Based on an assumed model: that providing information about drugs would increase the student's knowledge of drugs and their effects. that this increased knowledge would lead to changes in attitudes about drug use, and these changed attitudes would be reflected in decreased drug-using behavior. - However in 1971, a study indicated that students who had more knowledge about drugs tended to have a more positive attitude toward drug use. A 1973 reported that four different types of drug education programs were equally effective in producing increased knowledge about drugs and equally ineffective in altering attitudes or behavior. Concern arose about the possibility that drug education may have even contributed to increased drug use.

Give an example of an unintended consequence associated with inappropriate drug policy?

- Documentation that racial discrimination flourished under the conditions of inappropriate drug policies, specifically devastating in black males. In the United States, nearly one-third of those arrested for drug law violations are black. Although drug use doesn't differ by race. Black males comprise about 6% of the general population, but make up nearly 40% of the incarcerated population. - Drug overdoses increased mostly from ingesting a combination of various sedating drugs. Rarely are overdoses caused by a single drug. This suggests a need for better drug education in the public domain.

Why was LSD used in psychoanalysis in the 1950s and 1960s? How does this relate to its proposed use by the Army and CIA?

- It was used by psychiatrist when they felt as if there patient hit a "road block" and was unable to dredge up repressed memories and motives it was used for its "mind-viewing" properties. All of this was to access the subconscious mind. - The CIA administered LSD to various different soldiers and civilians without them knowing. This was intending to showcase how being given a powerful mind-altering drug without your knowledge before an examination could change the outcome. However, the main take-away is that administering any psychoactive drug without their knowledge is not only unethical, but it can be extremely dangerous.

What evidence suggests that attitudes about the regulation of marijuana have changed?

1. An increasing amount of scientific evidence shows that marijuana is not as toxic as was thought when it was banned in 1937. 2. Beginning in late 2007, the economy of the United States plummeted into crisis from which some experts warned it might take years to recover. However, billions of dollars were spent yearly to try and stop illicit drug use. More than 700,000 Americans were arrested each year for marijuana-related violations, with limited funds arresting people simple possession is not the most prudent use of public resources. 3. Americans suggested that if recreational marijuana use was legal, states could tax its cultivation, transportation, and sale in order to generate additional income. 4. The almost weekly media reports of the violence, especially in Mexico, related to illicit drug trade. A popular view suggests that legalizing marijuana would take the profits out of the illicit drug markets, and thereby, decrease much of the violence.

Explain what is meant by "value-free" values clarification programs, and why they fell out of favor in the 1980s.

1. It seemed important for schools not to try to impose a particular set of values, but, rather, allow for differences in religion, family background, and so on. Thus it was said to be "value-free." 2. To many parent, the purpose of values clarification training is not immediately clear, and teaching young children to decide moral issues for themselves may run contrary to the particular set of values the parents want their children to have.

What is meant by "cannabinoid", and about how many are there in Cannabis? What is the cannabinoid found in brain tissue?

1. The chemicals unique to the cannabis plant. 2. 400 overall chemicals in Cannabis, 70 of which are cannabinoids. 3. Anandamide, which was the result of the 1992 discovery of a substance produced in the body that has marijuana-like effects when administered to animals. (A chemical isolated from brain tissue that has marijuana-like properties).

What were the five components of the social influence model for smoking prevention?

1. Training Refusal Skills: (eight ways to say no) Students learn to refuse to "cooperate" without being negative. When all else fails, however, they are taught to be assertive and insist on their right to refuse. 2. Public Commitment: Having each child stand before his/her peers and promise not to start smoking and sign a pledge not to smoke. 3. Countering Advertising: The purpose of this is to "inoculate" the children against cigarette advertising by teaching them to question its messages. 4. Normative Education: Adolescents tend to overestimate the statistics on how many peers around them participate in smoking. This provides students with the realistic picture of true social normals and reduces the "everybody is doing it" attitude. Stats from specific school/community should be used if possible. 5. Use of Teen Leaders: It's one thing to say fewer than one-fifth of high school students in the community smoke, but it's another to bring a few high school students into the room have have them discuss the fact that neither they nor their friends smoke, their attitudes about smokers, and ways they have dealt with others' attempts to get them to smoke.

What two medical uses have been approved by the FDA for dronabinol?

1. Treating nausea during cancer chemotherapy 2. Appetite stimulation in patients with AIDS

Explain how one might decrease the number of impurities found in illegal drugs through effective drug policy.

An anonymous and confidential drug-testing service called drug purity-testing where people who use illegal drugs can submit their drug samples for testing in order to understand the composition and purity of the sample and to identify adulterants. It's free of charge to Spanish citizens.

What are the two most consistent physiological effects of smoking marijuana?

An increase in heart rate as well as the reddening of the eyes and dryness in the mouth and throat.

What distinguishes DARE from other similar programs based on the social influence model?

DARE is delivered by police officers, originally in fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms. By basing the curriculum on sound educational research, by maintaining strict training standards for the officers who were to present the curriculum, and by encouraging the classroom teacher to participate, some of the old barriers to having non-teachers responsible for curriculum were overcome. Officers were in uniform and they use interactive techniques as described for the social influence.

Which of the psychedelic plants was most associated with witchcraft?

Belladonna (deadly nightshade) was associated with witchcraft. It was used in the "flying ointment", and started the notion that witches would fly on broomsticks due to the psychedelic producing a flying feeling.

What are the major differences between C. Sativia and C. Indica?

C. Sativa is more mentally "uplifting" (stimulating) and C. Indica is more sedating.

Compare and Contrast drug legalization and drug decriminalization.

Drug Legalization: When the sale, acquisition, use, and possession of recreational drugs are legal for adults. Ex: alcohol and tobacco. Drug Decriminalization: When the possession of illegal drugs for personal use is not a criminal offense.

What is the diagnostic term for flashbacks?

Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (DSM-IV-IR)

How are hashish and sinsemilla produced?

Hashish: Concentrated resin from the Cannabis plant. By scraping or breaking off the tiny hairlike trichomes and packing them together, the more concentrated product is created, with up to 65% THC by weight. Sinsemilla: "Without seeds", a method of growing more potent marijuana. This is done by selecting particular strains and removing the male plants prior to pollination so that the female plants produce more flowers, and no seeds.

What is the most common component of "drug-free workplace" plans?

In 1989, rules went into effect requiring all companies and organizations that obtain grants or contracts from the federal government to adopt a "drug-free workplace" plan. The most consistent feature of these programs is random urine screens.

When and where was the earliest recorded medical use of Cannabis?

In a pharmacy book written in 2737 BC by Chinese emperor Shen Nung. Referring to the euphoriant effects of Cannabis, he called it the "Liberator of Sin". He recommended it for some medical uses including, "female weakness, gout, rheumatism, malaria, beriberi, constipation and absent-mindedness.

How might employers discriminate against someone who has been convicted of a drug-related crime?

Jobs may refuse to higher someone due to drug-related violations despite them being the most common cause of arrests. More than 80% of arrests in the United States involve only simple possession, but can prevent you for getting a job.

Contrast MDMA and PCP in terms of how they appear to make people feel about being close to others.

MDMA increases empathy, social ability, openness, and euphoria. However, PCP only has reports of violence and aggression to those around them.

Besides the psychological effects, what other effects are reliably produced by peyote?

Pupil dilation, pulse rate and blood pressure increase, and an elevation in body temperature. Similar to LSD and most other alkaloid psychedelics. As well as "Bad trips", vomiting/violent sickness, and convulsions.

Which psychedelic acts as an agonist at kappa opiate receptors?

Salvinorin A, which was identified in 1982 by Wasson and Hoffman. The drug produces on effect on the serotonin-2A receptor, which is the main target of classic psychedelics.

What is the distinction between secondary and tertiary prevention?

Secondary is thought to be used for those who have tried the drug in question or a variety of other substances. The aim is to prevent the use of more dangerous drugs, and development of the issue. This is typically used for college students in showcasing how to drink safely. Tertiary is a relapse prevention, and is for those who already meet the criteria of substance use disorder. It's considered a follow-up program.

How is the action of THC in the brain terminated after about 30 minutes, when the half-life of metabolism is much longer than that?

THC is rapidly absorbed through the blood and distributed first to the brain, then redistributed to the rest of the body, so that within 30 minutes much is gone from the brain. THC half-life is about 19 hours, but metabolites (at least 45), primarily ``-hydroxy-delta-9-THC, are formed in the liver and have a half-life of 50 hours. After one week 23-30% of the THC and its metabolites might still remain in the body. Complete elimination of a large dose of THC and its metabolites might take 2-3 weeks. This is due to the high lipid solubility and it is selectively taken up and stored in fatty tissue to be released slowly, primarily through feces.

When the Drug-Free-Schools programs began in 1986, the emphasis shifted away from curriculum to what?

The Department of Education created a book called "What works: Schools Without Drugs". The most significant feature was the emphasis on factors other than curriculum such as school policies, on drug and alcohol use. It suggested policies like locker searches, suspension, and expulsion of students.

In Project ALERT, what was the impact of using teen leaders to assist the instructors?

The group with teen leaders support showed the largest reduction: 50 percent fewer students were weekly smokers at the 15-month follow up.

What is the active agent in the "magic mushrooms" of Mexico, and is it an indole or a catechol?

The primary active ingredient in so-called magic mushrooms is psilocybin, an INDOLE psychedelic.

What can be concluded from the evidence regarding the neurotoxic effects of MDMA?

The research found damage to dopamine and serotonin neurons as well as reduced levels of these neurotransmitters in the brain. However, the study caused controversy due to the high dosage used as well as using the intravenously, which most MDMA users do not do. This questioned if the research was created from a negative outlook on recreational drug use, rather than finding true data on neurotoxicity.

Describe the dependence potential of LSD in terms of tolerance, physical dependence, and psychological dependence

Tolerance: Develops rapidly, usually within 3-4 days if the drug is taken daily on multiple occasions. Cross-tolerance has also been shown among LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin. Physical Dependence: None have been found quite yet Psychological Dependence: Also not quite, but people can crave the feeling of a "trip" which makes them more creative and serene.