Addiction Part 3 Opiods, Cannabis

Opioids intoxication effects

Euphoria, drowsiness, slowed breathing—It allows everything to calm down and slip away. You aren’t’ thinking so much, you merely zone out.

Death due to depressed respiration—You can die from opioids because your breathing slows down so much that you suffocate and die from it.

Opioid withdrawal effects

Nausea, chills, diarrhea, insomnia—it’s like a super bad flu for a bunch of days. But, assuming you don’t have a really bad health condition, you won’t die from it.

Biological etiological factors of opioids

Enkephalin and endorphin systems—enhance the effect of the body’s natural pain killers

It’s mainly negative reinforcement—it removes unpleasant stuff—rather than adding pleasant stuff

Three treatment methods for biological-etiology factors

Methadone

Buprenorphine

Naltrexone

Methadone

An opioid, but stronger than painkillers you have in your own home. It is a safer type of opioid because its given in monitored dosages from a medical professional

Research shows that this greatly improves the individuals overall quality of life, but a lot of people will fall out of the program because they have a tough time following the guidelines

Buprenorphine

A partial opioid agonist. It targets the same receptor sites as morphine and heroine, but it is not as strong as methadone.

When people come off of methadone, the withdrawal effects are less intense if taking Buprenorphine

Some evidence indicates that it’s an effective stop-smoking agent.

Naltrexone

Blocks you from receiving a high from an opioid, and it also seems to help with the cravings. But, if the person decides that they do want to do heroine, it’s easier for them to overdose with the naltrexone, as they won’t feel the effects, so they’ll take more of the drug.

Psychological-etiological effects of opioids

Withdrawal symptoms prompt re-use—if people are afraid of withdrawal, they will stay on the drug to avoid the withdrawal

Sensation seekers vs. emotional copers—people take the drugs both for the sensation, but also to cope with trauama and physical pain (emotional copers)

Treatment for opioids

Narcotics Anonymous—typically less effective than traditional AA

CBT—?

Harm reduction—methadone programs, helping people with housing

Ex. In places like Norway and Sweden, they have “heroine ice cream trucks” that drive around treating people

Cannabis

Contains numerous substances, unlike alcohol, which just contains alcohol

There are more than 100 different types of cannabinoids

Key types of cannabinoids in cannabis?

(Most popular) THC—the one that gets people high

(Most popular) CBD—does not get people high; its more of a relaxation effect

There is also terpenes, CBN, and CBG, which are getting more popular, though there is no research on what they do

Intoxication effects of cannabis (part 2)

Intoxication effects of cannabis (part 1)

Paranoia, hallucinations, dizziness—happens if you smoke a whole bunch

There is cannabis induced psychosis, though it’s more likely to happen if you have the genetic predisposition of schizophrenia, though if the THC levels are super potent, you can have it without the predisposition

Intoxication effects of cannabis (part 3)

Tolerance—chronic and heavy users report tolerance, especially to the euphoric high

Sensitisation—regular users often experience more pleasure from the drug after repeated use

Additional effects of THC

No evidence to date that pure THC having causes lung cancer

Some research shows that using cannabis can help people recover from a traumatic brain injury

It’s impossible to overdose on marijuana

Cannabis withdrawal effects

Irritability, appetite loss, difficulties sleeping—tends to be very mild for those who come off, although if you smoke cannabis super intensively, then you can have fairly intense withdrawal effects, though that’s still fairly rare

Biological-etiological effects of cannabis

Endocannabinoids—your body’s natural versions of THC and other cannabinoids

Sensitization—occasionally people will become more sensitized to weed overtime, but this is rare

Receptor cites for cannabis

All of the coloured portions are parts of your body with a receptor cite for cannabis

Some research shows there are more receptor cites in the brain for cannabis than for GABA and glutamate, though this is not necessarily true

Treatment for biological effects of cannabis

Treat comorbid conditions—essentially, if you smoke weed because of depression, the therapist will treat the depression

Psychological-etiological effects of cannabis

Motivations for use—why are you using the weed?

Ex. Is it because you are depressed, you want to get high, or because you enjoy having it while going to concerts (if so, then keep going to the concerts without the weed, and eventually you’ll love them again)

Treatment for psychological factors of cannabis

CBT relapse prevention—when the client relapses, the therapist says that an individual just had a bad weekend which is why they relapsed. It’s just a small slip, which doesn’t mean you are fully back to the life you didn’t want to. This is in contrast to AA, as sometimes when people relapse in AA, they really spiral, because they teach it’s the end of the world.

Harm reduction—-? No notes