Addiction: Ch 1 Drug Use and Abuse

Which three psychoactive drugs consistently appear in National survey data, as the most commonly tried and currently used psychoactive drugs?

1- Alcohol 2- Tobacco Cigarettes 3- Marijuana

6 Ways to Classify Drugs

1- By origin (Plant vs Synthetic) 2- By therapeutic use (Behavior it will effect? 3- By site of drug action (Where does it act?) 4- By chemical structure (Families: Tricyclic) 5- By mechanism of action (how produces effects) 6- By street name

What 3 sets of factors influence the experience that humans have from taking drugs?

1- Pharmacological Factors 2- Characteristics of the Drug User 3- The setting in which the drug is used

TorF: A person's use of more than one drug at a time is of little concern because it happens so infrequently.

False (Although multiple drug use is not as frequent as use of a single substance, it is hardly rare, especially among young people. It is of great concern because combining drugs sometimes has unpredictable effects that may be life-threatening.)

TorF: A person's reaction to a drug depends mostly on the biological action of the drug in the body.

False (Biology is important, but psychological and social or environmental factors must also be included to explain the effects of psychoactive drugs on humans)

TorF: Within the US, similar patterns of alcohol and other drug use are found even among different subgroups of the population.

False (Drug use has been found to vary with characteristics of the person and of the environment.)

TorF: Because drug use is complicated, it is impossible to estimate patterns of drug use for the population of the whole country.

False (Drug use is complicated, but sophisticated sampling methods and computers have made it possible to select large numbers of people and survey they to derive precise estimates of drug use in a given population.)

TorF: Because the effects of drugs are both predictable and obvious, it is relatively easy to define drug abuse.

False (Drugs have a variety of effects on people, and the way drugs are perceived may vary in different cultures and subcultures. As a result, it has proved difficult to create a definition of drug abuse that is generally agreeable.)

TorF: The continued use of any drug will eventually lead to tolerance of and physical dependence on that drug.

False (The continued use of many, but not all, drugs may lead to tolerance of and physical dependence on that drug.)

TorF: The total economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse in the US is about a billion dollars annually.

False (The most recent estimates suggest it is more than 400 times that amount)

TorF: The use of alcohol and other drugs causes violence and crime.

False (The use of alcohol and other, but not all other, drugs is associated with violence and crime but does not directly cause such behavior.)

TorF: A diagnosis of drug use disorder is made when a person has become either physically or psychologically dependent on a drug.

False (Tolerance and physical dependence are two of 11 criteria in DSM-5 that must be considered in making a diagnosis of drug use disorder. In DSM-5, psychological dependence "is not among the criteria for a drug use disorder."

TorF: Modern researchers rely on definitions of alcohol and other drug use that are free of social or cultural biases.

False (We are improving our ability to rid our definitions of biases, but due to the influence of social and cultural factors on alcohol and other drug use and the perception of such use, it is unlikely that we will ever arrive at bias-free definitions.)

Opiates

Naturally occuring (Morphine)

Opioid

Synthisized from an Opiate (Heroin)

TorF: Definition of addiction emphasize overwhelming involvement with a drug.

True (Addiction is identified when a person has overwhelming involvement with using a drug. The person's life centers on getting an adequate supply of the drug, which takes priority over most or all other parts of life, such as school, job, family, and friends.)

TorF: The highest rates of alcohol and other drug use are found among 18-25 year olds.

True (People in this age group, called "young adults", have the highest rates of alcohol and other drug use in the US.)

TorF: A drug's street name sometimes describes the actual effect of that drug.

True (Street names, which come from drug subcultures and the street drug market, sometimes do reflect actual drug effects.)