Drugs and Personal Health Notes

Drugs: Personal Health

What is a Drug?

  • A drug is any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) that causes physical and/or psychological changes in the body (WHO, 1981).

  • Psychoactive drugs affect the central nervous system, acting on the brain to alter thinking, feelings, or behavior.

Where Do Drugs Come From?

  • Drugs are derived from various sources, including plants:

    • Nicotine from tobacco.

    • Caffeine from coffee.

    • Cocaine from the coca plant.

    • Morphine and codeine from the opium poppy.

    • Heroin is made from morphine or codeine.

    • Marijuana: leaf, buds, and seed heads of the cannabis plant; hashish and hash oil are the plant's resin.

  • Alcohol is a product of natural fermentation of fruits, grains, or vegetables.

  • Fungi such as magic mushrooms and some cactus plants also contain drugs.

Classifying Drugs

  • Common methods of classifying drugs:

    • Legal status.

    • Effects on the central nervous system.

  • Other classifications:

    • Hard/Soft.

    • Prescription/Non-prescription.

    • Performance enhancing/Non-performance enhancing.

Classifying by Legal Status

  • Legal drugs are subject to restrictions and controls affecting their availability, quality, and price.

  • Illegal drugs have no quality or price controls.

  • Users of illegal drugs are uncertain of the drug's strength or purity.

  • Illegally manufactured drugs may contain varying mixtures of the drug and additives like talcum powder, sugar, and caffeine.

  • Additives can sometimes be poisonous.

Classifying by Effects on the Central Nervous System

  • Three main types:

    • Depressants.

    • Stimulants.

    • Hallucinogens.

Depressant Drugs

  • Slow down the functions of the central nervous system.

  • Small quantities can cause relaxation and reduced inhibitions.

  • Larger quantities can cause unconsciousness, vomiting, and death.

  • Affect concentration and coordination, slowing the ability to respond to unexpected situations.

  • Examples:

    • Alcohol.

    • Barbiturates (Seconal, Tuinal, Amytal).

    • Benzodiazepines (Rohypnol, Valium, Serapax).

    • Cannabis.

    • GHB (gamma-hydroxbutrate).

    • Opiates and opioids (heroin, morphine, codeine, methadone, pethidine).

    • Some solvents and inhalants.

Stimulant Drugs

  • Speed up messages going to and from the brain.

  • Can make the user feel more awake, alert, or confident.

  • Increase heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure.

  • Other physical effects include reduced appetite, dilated pupils, talkativeness, agitation, and sleep disturbances.

  • Large quantities can overstimulate, causing anxiety, panic, seizures, headaches, stomach cramps, aggression, and paranoia.

  • Prolonged use can cause these effects.

  • Strong stimulants can mask the effects of depressants like alcohol.

  • Mild stimulants:

    • Caffeine in coffee, tea, and cola drinks.

    • Ephedrine in medicines for bronchitis, hay fever, and asthma.

    • Nicotine in tobacco.

  • Stronger stimulants:

    • Amphetamines.

    • Cocaine.

    • Ecstasy.

    • Slimming tablets.

Hallucinogenic Drugs

  • Affect perception.

  • Users may see or hear things that aren't there, or experience distortions.

  • Effects vary greatly and are unpredictable.

  • Other effects include dilated pupils, loss of appetite, increased activity, talking or laughing, euphoria, jaw clenching, sweating, panic, paranoia, loss of contact with reality, irrational behavior, stomach cramps, and nausea.

  • Examples:

    • Datura.

    • Ketamine.

    • LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide).

    • Magic mushrooms (psilocybin).

    • Mescaline (peyote cactus).

    • PCP.

    • Cannabis (also a depressant).

    • Ecstasy (can have hallucinogenic qualities).

Drug Laws

  • Four main types of offenses related to illegal drugs:

    • Use.

    • Possession.

    • Cultivation.

    • Trafficking.

Drug Use

  • Includes smoking, inhaling fumes, injecting, ingesting, or otherwise introducing a drug into a person's body.

  • Lesser penalty for cannabis compared to other drugs.

Possession of Drugs

  • Most common offense.

  • Having control or custody of a drug.

  • Knowledge of possession must be proven.

  • Applies to drugs found on the person and on their property.

Cultivation of Drugs

  • Sowing, planting, growing, tending, nurturing, or harvesting a narcotic plant.

  • Any of these activities constitute the offense.

  • Charges for possession, cultivation, and trafficking may be laid if cultivating a trafficable quantity or intending to sell.

Trafficking Drugs

  • A very serious offense.

  • Includes preparation, manufacturing, selling, exchanging, or possessing a drug for sale.

  • Severe penalties for commercial quantities.

  • Bail may be refused unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Why People Use/Misuse Drugs

  • Many different and overlapping reasons.

  • Usually based on several motives.

  • Understanding the reasons can help prevent or stop drug habits.

  • Reasons:

    • Relief from stress.

    • Curiosity and stimulation.

    • Peer expectations and pressure.

    • Boredom and dissatisfaction.

    • Immediate self-gratification.

    • Inadequate coping and vulnerability.

    • Role expectations.

    • Rebelliousness and nonconformity.

    • Transcendental and mystical urges.

    • Lack of self-esteem.

Risks Associated with Use/Misuse

  • Progression: Experimental -> Social/Recreational -> Intensive -> Compulsive.

  • Health burden includes hospitalization, mental illness, pregnancy complications, injection-related harms, overdose, and mortality.

  • Tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use accounted for 14% of the total burden of disease in Australia in 2024 (AIHW, 2024).

  • Age-standardized DALY rate attributable to illicit drug use has risen.

  • In 2024:

    • Tobacco use contributed to 7.6% of the total burden of disease (cancers, respiratory diseases, CVD).

    • Alcohol use contributed to 4.1% of the total burden of disease (alcohol dependence, cancers, CVD, chronic liver disease, and injuries).

    • Illicit drug use contributed to 2.9% of the total burden of disease, including drug use disorders, poisoning, Hepatitis C, acute Hepatitis B, and HIV/AIDS.

    • Opioid use accounted for the largest proportion (28%) of the illicit drug use burden, followed by amphetamine use (25%), cocaine (11%), and cannabis (6.9%) (AIHW 2024).

Risk of Harm Continuum

  • Low Risk 🡪---------------------🡪 High Risk

  • No alcohol consumed at all - Drink alcohol within the recommended low risk levels - Drink more than the recommended level- Drink more than the recommended level and engage in additional risk (e.g. driving, swimming, combining other drugs.)

What Problems Can Drug Use Cause?

  • Family/relationship problems.

  • Work/school problems.

  • Accidents.

  • Legal problems.

  • Financial problems.

  • Health problems.

  • Sexual problems.

Family/Relationship Problems

  • May lead to conflict.

  • Family and friends may feel frustrated and concerned when manipulated or pressured for money or possessions.

  • Or when the person refuses to recognise their drug use is causing problems.

Work/School Problems

  • Drug users may take increased sick days and be unable to work properly.

  • May lead to loss of job, therefore income.

Accidents

  • Drug use may affect a person’s ability to respond appropriately, think clearly, and maintain attention.

  • May cause physical symptoms such as blurred vision, cramps, and nausea.

  • Increases the risks of car accidents and drowning, reduces the ability to safely cross roads.

Legal Problems

  • Each state has laws governing the manufacture, possession, and use of drugs.

  • The four main types of offenses are; use, possession, cultivation and trafficking of drugs.

  • Drugs may also lead to other legal concerns such as crimes committed in order to raise sufficient money to support ongoing drug use and violent assaults.

Financial Problems

  • The cost of maintaining ongoing drug use may mean that there is not enough money left to pay for a range of goods and services.

  • This may include regular bills, food and clothing and other purchases that may increase a persons quality of life, such as entertainment and leisure.

Health Problems

  • Tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs can all have serious health effects if used over a long period of time.

  • Lifestyle changes such as poor eating habits and inadequate sleep can increase chances of experiencing a variety of health complications.

  • People who inject drugs are at risk of contracting Hep B, Hep C and HIV.

Sexual Problems

  • Certain types of drugs may lead a person to feel sexually aroused, but can actually reduce their ability to perform sexually (Impotence).

Preventative Strategies for Drug Misuse/Abuse

  • Drug prevention is a key element of drug policy in Australia, being the strategy most favoured by the general public.

  • Historical perspective:

    • Early efforts relied upon information strategies assuming that drug problems were the result of poorly informed individuals therefore programs aimed to increase their knowledge. In many cases this just made children more curious.

    • Later efforts were based around the assumptions that young people’s drug use were due to inadequate value clarification or low self-esteem.

    • Life education was a strategy used earlier on however this was later dismissed as children dismissed that ‘childish way’ in which the message was presented.

    • To be effective, programs aimed at drug prevention must integrate with wider social priorities and prevention efforts (mental illness an crime prevention).

    • Drug prevention can be used to refer to services and programs delivered earlier in life to reduce the incidence of drug abuse or dependents later in life. Australian policies emphasised minimisation of drug-related harm (National Drug Strategy, 2001).

    • In this context, prevention involves a broad set of goals, including the reduction of supply, demand and harm and is not limited simply to the reduction of drug use

Current Responses – Harm Minimisation

Reduce the Supply

  • Law enforcement activities aim to prevent illegal drugs from entering the country or being manufactured or distributed in Australia.

  • Force the street price, because the users are forced to bid against each other for the limited quality available.

  • Increasing the Laws restricting the supply of legal drugs. For example, making sure that alcohol is not sold to people under the age of 18 years.

Reduce the Demand

  • Giving people the necessary information to make responsible informed choices about drug use.

  • Working to ensure that people have an adequate standard of living and positive social and personal relationships so thy are less likely to turn to drugs.

  • Helping people with drug problems reduce their drug use through access to treatment and rehabilitation programs.

Reduce the Harm

  • When drug use does occur it is important that the harm caused to individuals and the community is minimised.

  • For example,

    • Providing access to clean needles through needle exchange programs has reduced the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C.

    • Drink driving laws and random breath testing has reduced the harm caused by drink drivers.

    • Under the National Drug Strategy (NDS), Australia’s approach to illegal drugs combines law enforcement with harm reduction.