Year 10 Drug Education Notes

Definition: A drug is any substance that, when taken or administered into the body, has a physiological and/or psychological effect.
Effect: Drugs affect how your body and mind function.
Categories:
- Stimulants: Increase Central Nervous System (CNS) activity.
- Depressants: Dampen or slow down CNS activity.
- Hallucinogens: Distort perceptions via the CNS.
Note: Some drugs can affect the CNS in more than one way, fitting into multiple categories.

Stimulants:
- Effects: Alertness, increased concentration, energetic, increased confidence, increased heart rate (HR), reduced appetite, dilated pupils.
- Examples: Ecstasy, Cocaine.
Depressants:
- Effects: Affects coordination, judgment, reflexes, causes slurred speech, reduces inhibition, induces a relaxed state.
- Examples: Alcohol, Cannabis.
Hallucinogens:
- Effects: Unpredictable, depends on individual mood and context, may cause hallucinations related to sight, smell, and touch.
- Examples: Magic Mushrooms, LSD.

Experimental Use: Single or short-term use.
Dependent Use: Physical or emotional dependence.
Recreational Use: Drug use in a social setting.
Circumstantial Use: Use for pain relief, to increase energy, or to relieve stress.

Factors Influencing Legality: Many factors can influence whether a drug is legal or illicit.
Legal Drugs:
- Alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, prescribed and over-the-counter medications.
- Use may be restricted based on age, location, driving, and rules around where they’re sold.
- The amount of active ingredients is regulated and controlled (e.g., alcohol content, milligrams of nicotine).
Illegal Drugs:
- Cannabis, amphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin.
- Not subject to quality or price controls, inconsistent active ingredient amounts.
- Users can never be sure of the drug's strength or contents.
Addiction: Many drugs, both legal and illegal, can be highly addictive.

Social and behavioral signs:
- Relying on drugs to cope with emotional problems.
- Dishonesty with friends and family to hide drug use.
- Financial problems and debts.
- Selling or stealing to pay for drugs.
- Taking dangerous risks, such as driving under the influence.
- Self-blame and low self-esteem after unsuccessful attempts to quit.
- Legal trouble.
Addiction Definition: Repeatedly using a substance or engaging in an activity for pleasure, even when it causes harm or interferes with everyday life.

Street Names: Marijuana, grass, pot, dope, weed, etc.
Description: Psychoactive drug derived from the Cannabis plant, used for recreational, entheogenic, and medicinal purposes.
Storage: Stored in fatty tissues, slowly released back into the bloodstream and excreted from the body.
- Traces can be detected in urine for up to several weeks, or more than a month for regular users.

The highest contributing factor for youth mortality (death rates) for males and females aged 15-19 years is injuries.
Injury includes self-harm, accidental drowning, substance misuse, and road traffic accidents.

Cannabis can only be smoked: FALSE - can be smoked, eaten, or vaporized in different forms.
Nausea and vomiting can occur mixing cannabis with other drugs such as alcohol: TRUE - Alcohol + Cannabis = nausea, vomiting, panic, anxiety, and even paranoia.
Sleep patterns will return to normal after withdrawing from cannabis: FALSE - Withdrawal symptoms may last a week, but sleep may be affected for longer.
Cannabis can be detected up to 30 hours after using if given a drug test: TRUE - Roadside saliva tests can detect THC for around twelve hours after use for infrequent users, and around 30 hours for frequent users.

Short and long-term effects on health and wellbeing:
- Mind (mental health & wellbeing).
- Body (physical health and wellbeing affects).

Possession:
- Caution – good behavior bonds.
- Fines – up to $2000$ .
- Conviction – criminal record.
Driving Under Influence:
- First offense:
  - Go to court.
  - License or learner permit cancelled for at least 12 months.
  - Complete an Intensive Drink and Drug Driver behavior change program.
  - Have a zero trace of cannabis in the system for three years.
  - The court may also record a conviction.

Youth Illicit Drug Use in Australia:
- 17% had tried cannabis.
- 3% had tried ecstasy.
- 2% had tried amphetamines.
- 2% had tried cocaine.

Definition: An approach to reduce the negative consequences associated with alcohol and other drug use and reduce other related risk factors.
Three Pillars:
- Harm reduction
- Demand reduction
- Supply reduction

Harm Reduction: Reduce risk behaviors; safer settings.
Demand Reduction: Prevent uptake, delay first use, reduce harmful use, support people to recover.
Supply Reduction: Control illicit drug and precursor availability, reduce illicit drug availability and accessibility.

Demand Reduction: Information and awareness campaigns, education and early intervention, restrictions on marketing of harmful substances, drug treatment programs.
Supply Reduction: Controls prohibiting or restricting drugs at the border, enforcement of minimum purchasing age, restriction of operating hours for venues supplying alcohol, law enforcement operations involving drug seizures and arrests.
Harm Reduction: Pill testing, government-funded needle and syringe programs, drug treatment programs, opioid substitute programs.

Internet-based:
- ReachOut
- Headspace
- Family Drug Support Australia
- Australian Drug and Alcohol Foundation
Health professionals:
- Doctors
- Hospitals (emergency care)
Government and community-based foundations:
- Medically supervised injection rooms
- Harm Reduction Victoria
- Drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinics

A non-profit, community organization for people who use drugs.
Aims to reduce harms associated with drug use.
Believes drug-related harm should be treated as a health issue, not a criminal issue.