Drug Use and Abuse - Assignment Example

Drug Use and Abuse 1. I think that most adults should have some idea what the danger signs for drug abuse are. As an educator, you see students more often than they see anyone other than their parents. What signs of drug abuse would you look for? Equally importantly, what would you do if you suspected one of your students was a drug abuser? Educators spend a lot of time with the students and should be able to identify some signs of drug abuse. Visible signs of drug abuse may include shaking hands, poor body coordination, needle marks on the hands, red and watery eyes, smell of the substance on the cloths, hacking cough and sudden change of behaviour. A combination of this signs is normally associated with drug abuse (Maisto, Galizio, and Connors 251). An educator should approach the suspected drug abuser and express concern. Talking to the student will help establish the cause of the drug abuse and provide advice to the student. The educator should also report the case to the relevant authorities to ensure that the drug problem is contained. 2. Please describe the relationship between drug abuse and the family. What changes in a family might discourage drug abuse? The family is the basic unit in the society and shapes the behaviour of the individual. A family that exposes the students to vices such as violence and exposure to drugs promotes drug abuse. The presence of drugs in the house will tempt students to use drugs. Families should encourage dialogue to ensure that children do not turn to drugs as a way to relieve stress. Drugs such as alcohol and cigarettes should be kept away from the students. The parents should avoid arguing when the children are around. Exposing the children to violence should be avoided (Maisto, Galizio, and Connors 423). 3. Adolescents can be a challenging group to teach. Why might this group of students be disposed to experiment with drugs? Adolescence is the stage between childhood and adulthood. This group is a challenging group to teach because it is characterized by the need for independence. Adolescents are prone to experiment with drugs compared to other groups. Educating the adolescence the impacts of drug abuse is important in the battle against drugs. Peer pressure is one of the reasons that lead to drug abuse by adolescents. Stability in the family also exposes the group to drugs. The availability of drugs and a culture that accepts drug use puts the adolescents at risk of drug abuse. Academic pressure may also lead to drug abuse by the group (Maisto, Galizio, and Connors 147). 4. Please describe the administration, absorption, distribution, and metabolism/elimination of alcohol. Alcohol is a legal drug that is abused by students due to its availability and cost. Alcohol enters the body orally or through the mouth. Absorption of alcohol takes place in the small intestines where alcohol enters the blood system. Alcohol has an elevated affinity for water hence distributed in tissues and fluids containing water. Alcohol elimination takes place in the liver where the most of the alcohol is metabolized. A small percentage is eliminated through the breath, spit, urine, sweat and feces. Alcohol is metabolized into acetaldehyde to acetic acid to the products carbon dioxide and water. 5. In class we discussed how the use of mind-altering chemicals falls on a continuum. Identify and explain each of these phases. Mind-altering drugs fall into a continuum of substance abuse and addiction. The continuum has three major phases with no use as the first phase. This is the phase where the individual is free from any mind-altering drug. The second phase is drug abuse, which is defined as the inappropriate use of mind-altering substances. The final phase in the drug abuse and addiction continuum is the substance addiction. Substance addiction is the repeated obsessive consumption of mind-altering chemicals despite their effect on the health of the user. At this stage, the user losses control of his habits (Maisto, Galizio, and Connors 387). 6. What are some of the causes of addiction in terms of the agent, the host, and the environment? What implications might these causes have on prevention and treatment? Some drugs contain addictive substances that cause dependency. Pain medication like morphine if taken for a long time may cause addiction. The use of strong pain medication may be required during medical procedures. Treatment for such addiction may cause withdrawal symptoms. The host also determines the extent of the addiction to the drug. Biological condition, genetic characteristics and psychological health determine drug addiction. Prevention and treatment is also determined by the biological, genetic and psychological characteristics of the individual. Cases of mental illness are susceptible to drug abuse compared to stable people. Biochemical condition like faulty metabolism influences addiction to drugs. 7. You were asked to participate in an addiction simulation exercise: “Eyeskube Addiction” in which you may have experienced, first hand, some of the physical, social, cognitive and emotional experiences of a person who is actually addicted to a drug. Please reflect on this experience as you describe your thoughts, feelings, experiences and reactions to the exercise. If for any reason you terminated the experiment early, reflect on the time that you did participate and explain what led to your decision to terminate. If you chose not to participate at all, you must explain why you made this decision and answer this question by what you think one would have experienced. The addiction exercise undertaken was adding ice cubes to all the drinks consumed. The drug was the ice cubes while the addiction caused thirst. Adding ice cubes to the drinks was a secret kept from the members of the society. At first I thought the experiment was easy but later realized that, drinking frozen water had become an addiction. Taking drinks at room temperature felt abnormal. The experience was emotionally frightening as the concept of addiction was real. I decided to terminate the experiment because of the health complications associated with taking cold drinks during cold weather. I suffered withdrawal after terminating the experiment, as the pleasure associated with quenching thirst was lost. Work cited Maisto, Stephen A, Mark Galizio, and Gerard J. Connors. Drug Use and Abuse. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2011. Print. Read More