Lesson 2 SUBSTANCES OF ABUSE AND THEIR

HAMRFUL EFFECTS ON THE BODY

Pre-discussion

The Dangerous Drug Board (DDB) listed three major drugs of abuse in
the Philippines. These are methamphetamine hydrochloride or commonly
known as shabu, marijuana from the cannabis plants, and inhalants or better
known as “solvents”. Aside from these three, there are other drugs which
belong to different classes of drugs according to their effect on the body.
This lesson discusses and describes the different classification of
drugs according to its ill effects on the body and the drugs belonging to each
classification.

a. identify the types of substance or drugs

What to
of abuse
Expect?
b. Classify drugs abuse according to their
effects on the body
c. Describe the different ill effects of each
type of drug to the body
1. Gateway drugs
Gateway drugs are legal drugs that a non-drug user might try, which can
make the person to try more dangerous drugs such as marijuana and shabu.
A study shows that people who engage in early smoking and early drinking
have a higher chance of using and experimenting with dangerous drugs of
abuse later in life. Prolonged use of gateway drugs can lead to heart
diseases, lung diseases, liver diseases and cancer.

2. Depressant drugs
A depressant, or central depressant, is a drug that lowers
neurotransmission levels, which is to depress or reduce arousal or
stimulation, in various areas of the brain. Depressants are also occasionally
referred to as "downers" as they lower the level of arousal when taken.

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Stimulants or "uppers" increase mental and/or physical function, hence the
opposite drug class of depressants is stimulants, not antidepressants.

Depressants are widely used throughout the world as prescription

medicines and as illicit substances. Alcohol is a very prominent depressant.
Alcohol can be and is more likely to be a large problem among teenagers and
young adults. When depressants are used, effects often include ataxia,
anxiolysis, pain relief, sedation or somnolence, and cognitive/memory
impairment, as well as in some instances euphoria, dissociation, muscle
relaxation, lowered blood pressure or heart rate, respiratory depression, and
anticonvulsant effects, and even similar effects of General Anaesthesia and/or
death at high doses. Cannabis may sometimes be considered a depressant
due to one of its components, cannabidiol. The latter is known to treat
insomnia, anxiety and muscle spasms similar to other depressive drugs.
However, tetrahydrocannabinol, another component, may slow brain function
to a small degree while reducing reaction to stimuli, it is generally considered
to be a stimulant and main psychoactive agent to sometimes cause anxiety,
panic and psychosis instead. Other depressants can include drugs like Xanax
(a benzodiazepine) and a number of opiates.

Depressants exert their effects through a number of different

pharmacological mechanisms, the most prominent of which include facilitation
of GABA, and inhibition of glutamatergic or monoaminergic activity. Other
examples are chemicals that modify the electrical signaling inside the body,
the most prominent of these being bromides and channel blockers.

3. Stimulant drugs

Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as

uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that
increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are
pleasurable and invigorating, or drugs that have sympathomimetic effects.
Stimulants are widely used throughout the world as prescription medicines as
well as without a prescription (either legally or illicitly) as performance-
enhancing or recreational drugs. The most frequently prescribed stimulants as
of 2013 were lisdexamfetamine, methylphenidate, and amphetamine. It was

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estimated in 2015 that the percentage of the world population that had used
cocaine during a year was 0.4%. For the category "Amphetamines and
prescription stimulants" (with "amphetamines" including Amphetamine and
Methamphetamine) the value was 0.7%, and for Ecstasy (drug) 0.4%.

4. Narcotics

Narcotics originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with

sleep-inducing properties, and euphoric properties as well. In the United
States, it has since become associated with opiates and opioids, commonly
morphine and heroin, as well as derivatives of many of the compounds found
within raw opium latex. The primary three are morphine, codeine, and
thebaine (while thebaine itself is only very mildly psychoactive, it is a crucial
precursor in the vast majority of semi-synthetic opioids, such as oxycodone or
hydrocodone).

Legally speaking, the term "narcotic" may be imprecisely defined and

typically has negative connotations. When used in a legal context in the U.S.,
a narcotic drug is one that is totally prohibited, such as heroin, or one that is
used in violation of governmental regulation.

In the medical community, the term is more precisely defined and

generally does not carry the same negative connotations.

Statutory classification of a drug as a narcotic often increases the

penalties for violation of drug control statutes. For example, although U.S.
federal law classifies both cocaine and amphetamines as "Schedule II" drugs,
the penalty for possession of cocaine is greater than the penalty for
possession of amphetamines because cocaine, unlike amphetamines, is
classified as a narcotic.

5. Hallucinogens

A hallucinogen is a psychoactive agent that often or ordinarily causes

hallucinations, perceptual anomalies, and other substantial subjective
changes in thought, emotion, and consciousness that are not typically
experienced to such degrees with other categories of drugs. The common

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classifications for hallucinogens are psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants.
Although hallucinogens all can induce altered states of consciousness with
some overlap in effects, there are quantifiable differences in the induced
subjective experiences between classes of hallucinogens that are due to
differing and distinct pharmacological mechanisms.

6. Inhalants

Inhalants are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose

volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via
the nose or mouth to produce intoxication, in a manner not intended by the
manufacturer. They are inhaled at room temperature through volatilization (in
the case of gasoline or acetone) or from a pressurized container (e.g., nitrous
oxide or butane), and do not include drugs that are sniffed after burning or
heating. For example, amyl nitrite (poppers), nitrous oxide and toluene – a
solvent widely used in contact cement, permanent markers, and certain types
of glue – are considered inhalants, but smoking tobacco, cannabis, and crack
are not, even though these drugs are inhaled as smoke.

While a small number of inhalants are prescribed by medical professionals

and used for medical purposes, as in the case of inhaled anesthetics and
nitrous oxide (an anxiolytic and pain relief agent prescribed by dentists), this
article focuses on inhalant use of household and industrial propellants, glues,
fuels and other products in a manner not intended by the manufacturer, to
produce intoxication or other psychoactive effects. These products are used
as recreational drugs for their intoxicating effect. According to a 1995 report
by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the most serious inhalant abuse
occurs among homeless children and teens who "live on the streets
completely without family ties." Inhalants are the only substance which is used
more by younger teens than by older teens. Inhalant users inhale vapor or
aerosol propellant gases using plastic bags held over the mouth or by
breathing from a solvent-soaked rag or an open container. The practices are
known colloquially as "sniffing", "huffing" or "bagging".

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 The effects of inhalants range from an alcohol-like intoxication and intense
euphoria to vivid hallucinations, depending on the substance and the dose.
Some inhalant users are injured due to the harmful effects of the solvents or
gases or due to other chemicals used in the products that they are inhaling.
As with any recreational drug, users can be injured due to dangerous
behavior while they are intoxicated, such as driving under the influence. In
some cases, users have died from hypoxia (lack of oxygen), pneumonia,
cardiac failure or arrest, or aspiration of vomit. Brain damage is typically seen
with chronic long-term use of solvents as opposed to short-term exposure.

Even though many inhalants are legal, there have been legal actions taken
in some jurisdictions to limit access by minors. While solvent glue is normally
a legal product, a Scottish court has ruled that supplying glue to children is
illegal if the store knows the children intend to abuse the glue. In the US,
thirty-eight of 50 states have enacted laws making various inhalants
unavailable to those under the age of 18, or making inhalant use illegal.