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Siva Sivani Institute of Management
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INDEX:
ABOUT DRUGS:
A drug is a chemical substance that causes a change in
an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are
typically distinguished from food and substances that provide
nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be
via inhalation, injection, smoking absorption via a patch on the
skin, suppository, or dissolution under the tongue
In pharmacology, a drug is a chemical substance,
typically of known structure, which, when administered to a living
organism, produces a biological effect. A pharmaceutical drug, also
called a medication or medicine, is a chemical substance used
to treat, cure, prevent, or diagnose a disease or to promote well-
being. Traditionally drugs were obtained through extraction
from medicinal plants, but more recently also by organic synthesis
.Pharmaceutical drugs may be used for a limited duration, or on a
regular basis for chronic disorders.
Pharmaceutical drugs are often classified into drug
classes—groups of related drugs that have similar chemical structures,
the same mechanism of action (binding to the same biological target),
a related mode of action, and that are used to treat the same
disease. The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification
System (ATC), the most widely used drug classification system,
assigns drugs a unique ATC code, which is an alphanumeric code that
assigns it to specific drug classes within the ATC system. Another
major classification system is the Pharmaceutics Classification
System. This classifies drugs according to their solubility and
permeability or absorption properties.
TYPES OF DRUGS:
Drugs can be grouped together in different ways –
by the way they affect the body, how they are used or where
they are used.
o CATEGORIES OF DRUGS:
Drugs can be categorised by the way in which they affect our bodies:
Depressants – slow down the function of the central nervous system Hallucinogens – affect your senses and change the way you see, hear, taste, smell or feel things Stimulates – speed up the function of the central nervous system.
DEPRESSANTS
Drugs can be categorised by the way in which they affect our bodies:
Depressants – slow down the function of the central nervous system Hallucinogens – affect your senses and change the way you see, hear, taste, smell or feel things Stimulants – speed up the function of the central nervous system.
Examples include:
alcohol benzodiazepines (minor tranquillisers) cannabis GHB Heroin, morphine, codeine.
HALLUCINOGENS
Hallucinogens change your sense of reality – you can have hallucinations. Your senses are distorted and the way you see, hear, taste, smell or feel things is different. For example, you may see or hear things that are not really there, or you may have unusual thoughts or feelings.
Small doses can cause a feeling of floating, numbness, confusion, disorientation, or dizziness.
Larger doses may cause hallucinations, memory loss, distress, anxiety, increased heart rate, paranoia, panic and aggression.
Examples include:
cannabis LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) psilocybin (magic mushrooms) PCP (phencyclidine).
STIMULANTS:
Stimulants speed up the messages between the brain and the body. This can cause:
your heart to beat faster your blood pressure to go up your body temperature to go up – leading to heat exhaustion or even heat stroke reduced appetite agitation Sleeplessness.
You can feel more awake, alert, confident or energetic.
Larger doses can cause anxiety, panic, seizures, stomach cramps and paranoia.
HISTORY OF DRUGS:
Thousands of years ago abound Mead, an alcoholic drink made from fermented honey, was first used about 8000 BCE, and beer and berry wines were first used about 6000 BCE. The ancient Sumerians used opium starting about 5000 BCE. Ancient Egypt used alcohol in 3500 BCE, while ancient China used cannabis (the source of marijuana) around 3000 BCE. Ancient people in what is now Switzerland ate poppy seeds (the source of opium) in 2500 BCE. Coca leaves (the source of cocaine) have been chewed for thousands of years. Folk medicines made from plants and herbs have also been used since ancient times.
People in ancient Palestine drank wine in 350 BCE. Ancient Greeks drank poppy juice in 300 BCE. In about the same period, South American tribes used a hallucinogen called COHOBA, made from mimosa beans.
The Chinese and other Asians were using opium regularly by 1000 CE. Native Americans used tobacco before being discovered by Columbus in 1492. The use of various drugs has also been common in the many societies that anthropologists have studied (Durant &, 2003; Page & Singer, 2010).
Sociologist Erich Goode (2008, p. 176) summarizes the history of drug use as follows: “Humans have been ingesting drugs for thousands of years. And throughout recorded time, significant numbers of nearly every society on earth have used one or more drugs to achieve certain desired physical or mental states. Drug use comes close to being a universal, both worldwide and throughout history.”
As a recent book on drug policy states, “People have used chemicals to alter their state of mind since before there were written records” (K, Caulk, & Hawk, 2011, p. xviii). If past is indeed prologue, then it is no surprise that drug use remains common in contemporary nations despite considerable efforts to reduce it.
DRUG USED IN US HISTORY:
This history of drug use includes the United States,
where past is again prologue. During the colonial era, tobacco was a
major crop in Virginia and other colonies thanks to slave labour. After
being processed, it was commonly used by colonists and also
exported to Europe in great quantities (2001). From the earliest
colonial days, alcohol was another drug used in great quantities, as
“Americans were drinkers right from the start” (Gen, 2011, p. C1).
The Mayflower, the celebrated ship that brought the first Puritans to
what eventually became the United States, was filled with barrels of
beer.
In colonial New England, rum manufacturing was a
major industry, and rum drinking was common. During the early
1770s, New England had more than 140 rum distilleries, and rum
consumption in the colonies averaged 7 million gallons annually.
This massive drinking has led one author to call rum “the real spirit of
1776” (Williams, 2006). Rum was also a major export to Europe and
elsewhere. In addition to rum, colonists routinely drank beer and hard
cider.
During the nineteenth century, Americans began to
use drugs other than alcohol in great quantities. One popular drug was
coffee. Before the Civil War, Americans who drank coffee had to buy
green (unroasted) coffee beans in bulk and roast their own coffee.
Then in 1865, John Arbuckle, a Pittsburgh grocer, began selling
roasted coffee inside a new invention—the paper bag. His bagged
coffee was an instant hit across the nation, other coffee manufacturers
followed suit, and coffee use by Americans greatly increased.
OPIUM:
During the decades before and after the Civil War, the use of
opium was extremely common (Goode, 2012). Beyond making
people feel good, opium is an effective painkiller and cough
suppressant. Accordingly, it was a staple in many patent medicines,
elixirs and tonics, sold back then in apothecaries, general stores, and
other venues.
Large numbers of people from all social backgrounds used
these opium-laced medicines for problems such as depression,
headaches, menstrual cramps, and toothaches. It is not much of an
exaggeration to say that the United States was a nation of opium users
during this period; an estimated 500,000 Americans were addicted to
opium by the end of the century. As anthropologist Robert B.
Edgerton (1976, pp. 57–58) summarizes the situation, “The use of
opium was widespread in all segments of American society.
Children were calmed with opium derivatives, women used
many popular patent medicines which were liberally larded with
opiates, and ‘opium dens’ were probably present in all cities and most
towns as well.”
Attendance at opium dens (the equivalent of today’s bar or
tavern, with opium the drug of choice rather than alcohol) was a
popular activity for the Chinese immigrants who began coming to the
United States during the 1850s to help build the nation’s railroads and
perform other jobs.
White workers feared their growing numbers as a threat to
their jobs, and racial prejudice against the Chinese increased.
Politicians, labour unions, and other parties began to focus on the
Chinese habit of smoking opium at opium dens and warned that the
Chinese were kidnapping little white children, taking them to the
opium dens, and turning them into “opium fiends.”
This campaign had two effects: it increased prejudice against the Chinese, and it increased public concern about opium. This rising
concern led San Francisco in 1875 to become the first locality to ban
opium dens. Other California cities did the same, and the state itself banned opium dens in 1881. Three decades later, the federal government banned the manufacture, sale, and use of opium (except for use with a physician’s prescription) when it passed the Harrison
Narcotics Act in 1914.
MARIJUANA:
A third legal drug during the late nineteenth century was marijuana. It joined opium and cocaine in being a common ingredient in patent medicines, and it was a popular drug for problems like migraine headaches, menstrual cramps, and toothache pain. After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, Mexicans moved to the United States in increased numbers and brought with them their habit of marijuana use.
Whites feared that Mexicans would take their jobs, and, similar to what happened with opium and Chinese immigrants during the 1870s, began to charge that Mexicans who used marijuana would become violent and more likely to rape and murder innocent white victims. This racially prejudiced claim increased concern about marijuana and helped lead to the federal Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 that banned its use.
This brief history shows that drug use has been part of the American culture ever since the nation began. If past is prologue, it should come as no surprise that drugs remain part of the American culture today, and it should also come as no surprise that efforts to reduce or eliminate drug use often meet with much resistance and little success. As the United States continues to try to deal with drug use, these basic facts must not be forgotten.
USES OF DRUGS:
For many people, taking medication is a regular part of their daily routine, and these medicines are relied upon to treat disease and improve health. Although medicines can make you feel better and help you get well, it's important to know that all medicines, both prescription and over-the-counter, have risks as well as benefits
The benefits of medicines are the helpful effects you get when you use them, such as lowering blood pressure, curing infection, or relieving pain. The risks of medicines are the chances that something unwanted or unexpected could happen to you when you use them. Risks could be less serious things, such as an upset stomach, or more serious things, such as liver damage.
Here are some tips from the Food and Drug Administration and some of its public health partners to help you weigh the risks and benefits when you make decisions about the medicines you use.
MANAGING RISKS:
When a medicine's benefits outweigh its known risks, the FDA considers it safe enough to approve. But before using any medicine--as with many things that you do every day--you should
Tell them about any allergies or sensitivities that you may have. Tell them about anything that could affect your ability to take medicines, such as difficulty swallowing or remembering to take them. Tell them if you are or might become pregnant, or if you are nursing a baby. Always ask your health care professional questions about any concerns or thoughts that you may have. the brand and generic names what they look like how to store them properly when, how, and how long to use them how and under what conditions you should stop using them what to do if you miss a dose what they are supposed to do and when to expect results side effects and interactions whether you need any tests or monitoring Always ask for written information to take with you. Make sure you understand the directions; ask if you have questions or concerns. Always double-check that you have the right medicine. Keep medicines in their original labeled containers, whenever possible. Never combine different medicines in the same bottle. Read and follow the directions on the label and the directions from your doctor, pharmacist, or other health care professional. If you stop the medicine or want to use the medicine differently than directed, consult with your health care professional. Ask whether there are interactions with any other medicines or dietary supplements (including vitamins or herbal supplements), beverages, or foods. Use the same pharmacy for all of your medicine needs, whenever possible. Before starting any new medicine or dietary supplement (including vitamins or herbal supplements), ask again whether there are possible interactions with what you are currently using.
Ask whether there is anything you can do to minimize side effects, such as eating before you take a medicine to reduce stomach upset. Pay attention to how you are feeling; note any changes. Write down the changes so that you can remember to tell your doctor, pharmacist, or other health care professional. Know what to do if you experience side effects and when to notify your doctor. Know when you should notice an improvement and when to report back.
PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF DRUGS:
The way a drug affects you depends on:
the drug itself o what type of drug it is o how you took it o how much you took o how strong or pure it is o how often you take it your own body o your gender o physical size o mood o personality o expectations o how recently you ate o your general health o Have you become tolerant? o What other drugs you took with it – for example, alcohol.
Each drug causes different physical reactions, depending on the type of drug. Some will make you feel more awake, alert and energetic. Others will give you a calm, relaxed feeling. Some alter your perceptions and can cause hallucinations. Others may make you feel numb.
Long-term use and larger doses have negative effects that can seriously harm your health, even cause death, including disease risks from sharing needles, and permanent damage to the brain and other organs.
