Exam 1

Chapters 1-4

case implications

risky behavior, range of legal oversight, age of initiation, false sense of safety, influence of current penal system, involvement of cues, power of nicotine

what are artificial distinctions among drugs?

legal drugs = less dangerous, less addictive

what is hardly ever thought of drugs or considered part of the war on drugs?

nicotine, alcohol, caffeine

war on drugs

1971, campaign aimed at eliminating the illegal drug trade through strict prohibition, military intervention, and aggressive law enforcement

pharmacology

the scientific study of drugs

psychopharmacology

the scientific study of the effects of drugs on behaviors

what is a drug (medical)?

any substance that can potentially prevent or cure disease or improve physical or mental well-being

what is a drug (psychopharmacological)?

a chemical entity or mixture not required for the maintenance of normative health that alters some aspect of biological function

psychoactive drugs

those that affect mood, cognition, and/or behavior

why do people use drugs?

religious practices, alter moods/states, stimulation/relieve boredom, social interactions, self-medicate, pleasure

should a drug-free society be the ultimate goal?

no, example: prohibition

given the market….

there will always be a supply of drugs

drug abuse

any drug use that causes physical, psychological, legal, or social harms to the user or others

drug misuse

using a drug for a reason or in a way other than what was perscribed or intended

drug use

consumption of a drug that does not meet the criteria for drug abuse; broader category

natural drugs and substances

natural does not mean something is not a drug. Substances such as caffeine, nicotine, THC, and psilocybin can alter biological function but are natural/naturally found

behavioral reinforcer

something that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again. Drugs of abuse often reinforce drug-taking behavior

which 2 legal drugs are more dangerous than many illegal drugs?

alcohol and nicotine

will legalization help drug abuse problems?

no, it will increase use

is the war on drugs (punitive methods) working?

no, most experts agree that the best way to combat drug abuse is drug education

benefits of psychopharmacology

understand the brain, help define neuroanatomical and neurophysiological features, help understand specific behavioral attributes, help with the development of therapeutic compounds

why do we bother classifying drugs?

easy for information retrieval

what is the key to classifying drugs

differences

primary classification of drugs (for the class)

by effects, especially on mood, thinking, and behavior

drug classification by origin

Classifying drugs according to where they come from

drug classification by therapeutic use

Classifying drugs according to their medical purpose

drug classification by site of action

classifying drugs according to where they act in the body or nervous system

drug classification by chemical structure

grouping drugs based on their chemical structure

drug classification by mechanism of action

grouping drugs according to how they produce their effects in the body

drug classification by street name

classifying drugs using names developed within drug-using subcultures

the drug experience

Pharmacological effects of the drug, characteristics of the user, setting in which the drug is used

why is it important to know the different methods for conducting research?

different methods ask different questions and yield different answers

case study

detailed examination of a real-world subject within its natural context

downside of case studies

n=1, not a large enough sample size, not able to have control groups

Naturalistic observation

watch and record the behavior of the subject in their real-world environments without interfering or changing anything

Disadvantages of naturalistic observation

no control groups

human laboratory settings advanatges

control groups, high subject numbers, can control the environment

human laboratory disadvantages

people know they are getting observed, lose the actual natural environmental setting

survey

typically a self report form, clinical populations or general population

issues in survey research with clinical populations

bias, self-reporting, different interpretations of prompts, denial/lying

how to maximize accuracy in surveys

make sure subject is not intoxicated, in an environment where they can answer freely and not feel coerced, questions are clear and objective, assurance of confidentiality

are general population surveys accurate?

no

do surveys give you an absolute or relative perspective?

relative perspective, can see what’s happening with the data over time

major examples of surveys

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (National Household Survey), Drugs Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), Monitoring the Future

NSDUH

National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual national survey of substance use among people age 12 and older

goal of the NSDUH

establish the overall prevalence of use in lifetime, past year, and past month for a variety of substances (most commonly reported agents)

prevalence

The general occurrence of an event in a population during a specific time period

what will lowering the drinking age do?

greater usage because there will always be curiosity

how credible is the NSDUH?

pretty credible, gets good relative impact

limitations to the NSDUH

doesn’t account for homeless people, people in clinical settings, incarcerated people, people in active military service, sampling bias, memory problems, reluctance to admit drug use

NSDUH 2018 findings

About 60.2% of the population age 12+ reported using a substance in the past month; alcohol was most common, tobacco was second, and marijuana were the most commonly used illicit drug

illicit drug

illegal substances or legal prescription medications used outside of medical guidance to produce psychoactive effects

DAWN

Drug Abuse Warning Network; collects information from emergency-room visits to identify drugs associated with medical harm

goal of DAWN

find out which drugs are the most dangerous

DAWN findings

alcohol and alcohol in combination with other substances most prevalent

MTF

Monitoring the Future, survey of mainly 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students that tracks drug use and perceptions of drug riskM

MTF findings

if the perception of risk goes up, usage goes down (and vice versa)

what types are considered acceptable depends on…

the culture and time period

substances can be viewed as:

normal part of everyday life, medically beneficial, socially acceptable, dangerous or addictive, morally unacceptable, something that should be regulated or prohibited

George Santayana wrote…

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it

fermentation

natural process in which yeast acts on sugar and converts it into alcohol

other animals seeking fermented fruit suggests…

this may be a natural/normative interest in substances that alter behavior or produce pleasurable effects

when did restrictions develop?

when societies began associating substances with health problems, death, addiction, religious beliefs, morality, socual disorder, government control

important influences on drug regulations

morality, personal choice, social order, scientific evidence, health, religion and culture, economic/politics

morality

whether society considers a substance right or wrong

personal choice

whether individuals should be free to make their own decisions

social order

concerns about violence, crime, disorder, etc.

scientific evidence

research about the effects and risks of a substance

health

addiction, illness, injury, and death

religion and culture

beliefs about what is acceptable

economics/politics

financial interests and government power

mandrake

cllaed “sorcerer’s root”, associated with magic and witchcraft

henbane

associated with names such as “devil’s eye” and “stinking nightshade”

tobacco

once punishable by death in Russia but widely used in Americas, shows how the same substance in one culture is different in another

why did alcohol become increasingly regulated?

easy to obtain, associated with intoxication, fatalities and social problems, widely available in different concentrations

Gin Lane 1751

portrayed drinking as connected with poverty, disorder, fighting, neglect, and social decline

Beer Street 1751

Portrayed as healthier, productive, social, and prosperous

why was gin lane and beer street important?

not all alcoholic beverages viewed the same way, concentration and patterns of use mattered

Gin act of 1751

increased taxes and restrictions on the sale of gin in England, example of the government attempting to regulate a substance through legislation, making a substance harder to get does not automatically eliminate people’s desire to use it

Drug use in the US

US was one of the last countries to develop extensive substance-use regulations

19th century

“Drug User’s Paradise”, general absence of restrictions on many psychoactive substances, if a substance was not considred harmful to society, the government often did not intervene

What changed everything?

organic chemistry, delivery system, route of administration, patent medicines

organic chemistry

allowed for more concentrated substances, drugs could become more powerful and predictable

development of the syringe

allowed drugs to be delivered directly into the body and at higher concentrations

patent medicines

often contained psychoactive substances, helped make addictive substances a part of normal everyday life

patent medicines (examples)

cocaine, heroin, paregoric

Mrs. Winslow’s soothing syrup

Marketed to mothers to calm infants and young children, contained morphine in an alcohol-based solution

drug laws often focused on:

distribution, production, licensing, taxation, sale

restrictions can lead to:

higher prices, illegal markets, smuggling, alternative sources of access

whiskey rebellion

Alexander Hamilton wanted to use taxation to help pay off national debt, whiskey producers opposed the tax and resisted government officials

what did the whiskey rebellion demonstrate?

regulating substances can create conflict when people view restrictions as an attack on personal or economic fredom

whether a drug is accepted, restricted, or prohibited depends on a combination of:

science, health, culture, morality, religion, economics, politics, and social attitudes

drug laws in the US

largely absent until late 1800s

1875: San Francisco Ordinance

first recorded drug law in the US, prohibited opium dens not opium use, made opium dens more clandestine

Pure Food and Drug Act 1906

control opiate addiction through regulation of interstate commerce in adulterated and misbranded food and drugs

outcome of the food and drug act of 1906

bogus cures exposed, increased awareness and not resctriction

Sherley Amendment 1912

companies had to show the scientific evidence for their claims, the basis of clinical trials

Harrison Narcotic Act 1914

regulation of opium trafficking, a tax act not meant to be punitive, established the writing of prescriptions in the US and helped segue into patient privacy, expanded to include other drugs like cocaine

what did the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914 restrict?

the amount of opium in patent medicine, not the manufacturing of patent medicines

18th amendment

1920, prohibited production, sale, transportation, and importation of alcohol within the US, did not prohibit alcohol produced in a persons home through natural processes