Drug Abuse

Report Examines Alcohol Use among Underage Drinkers

noreply@blogger.com (pokkamacho) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:43:00 +0000

Underage consumption of alcohol can pose significant risks to those engaging in the activity. While some adolescents and other underage drinkers may only try a drink to satisfy a curiosity, still many others are engaging in the activity on a regular basis. Aside from the illegal factor, this also puts the individual at risk for negative health consequences as a result of high levels of alcohol intake.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health report, Quantity and Frequency of Alcohol Use Among Underage Drinkers, draws on data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which examines the prevalence, patterns and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse in the general population of individuals aged 12 and older.

Data collected from 2006 indicated the majority – or 53.9 percent – of American adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 20 had indulged in an alcoholic beverage at least once in their lifetime. In fact, data shows that people within this age group were responsible for 11.2 percent of the alcoholic drinks consumed in the United States in the past month.

According to industry research, underage drinkers tend to consume more alcohol per occasion than those legally able to drink alcohol. Early drinking has been linked to heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems in adulthood. For instance, 16.3 percent of adults of the legal drinking age or older who had first used alcohol at 15 met the criteria for alcohol dependence or abuse in the past year. This is compared to 2.4 percent of adults with the same dependence that first used alcohol at age 21 or older.

Combined data from 2005 and 2006 shows that an annual average of 28.3 percent of persons aged 12 to 20 in the United States consumed alcohol in the past month. Rates of use tended to vary among demographic characteristics. Those in the 18 to 20 age range were three times as likely as youths 12 to 17 to have used alcohol.

Gender and race also seemed to play a role as underage males were more likely than their female counterparts to have consumed alcohol in the past month – although the difference was not great. Males were 29.1 percent versus females at 27.5 percent. The rate of past month consumption ranged from 17.6 percent among Asians to 32.3 percent among whites.

For those in the studied age range who did consume alcohol in the past month, the average number of days of usage was 5.9. Those drinkers aged 18 to 20 consumed 6.7 days, while those 12 to 17 consumed on 4.6 days. Male underage drinkers consumed on 6.6 days versus their female counterparts who consumed on 5.1 days. Asians tended to consume an average of 4.2 days, while Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders used 8.3 days.

The number of drinks per day on the days they drank averaged 4.9 drinks for those aged 12 to 20. For those 18 to 20, they consumed 5.2 drinks per day, versus those 12 to 17 who consumed 4.5 drinks per day. Males tended to consume more per day at 5.8 drinks than females at 4.0 drinks per day. Blacks in the United States tended to consume 2.8 drinks per day, while Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders consumed 6.4 drinks per day.

The good news is that the heavier drinking per month was found among those individuals of a legal age of consumption. On the other hand, more drinks per day were consumed on average by those underage drinkers.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under Research & News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

What are its short-term effect of Heroin?

noreply@blogger.com (pokkamacho) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:52:00 +0000

The short-term effects of heroin abuse appear soon after a single dose and disappear in a few hours

After an injection of heroin, the user reports feeling a surge of euphoria ("rush") accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth, and heavy extremities.

Other heroin effects include

– dizziness

– feeling as though the body has become heavy and the person cannot move,

– nausea

– a change in skin temperature

– begin to feel tired

– though the world no longer exists around them

– their ability to function both mentally and physically will decrease

Heroin

noreply@blogger.com (pokkamacho) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:04:00 +0000

Heroin is a synthetic opiate drug that is highly addictive. It is made from morphine

Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder or as a black sticky substance, known as “black tar heroin”.

First synthesized from morphine in 1874, heroin was not extensively used in medicine until the early 1900s. Commercial production of the new pain remedy was first started in 1898.

How is Heroin Abused?

Heroin can be injected, snorting/sniffed, or smoked

Injecting is the use of a needle to release the drug directly into the bloodstream.

Snorting is the process of inhaling heroin powder through the nose, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues.

Smoking involves inhaling heroin smoke into the lungs.

The street name of heroin: Big H, Blacktar, Brown sugar, Dope, Horse, Junk, Mud, Skag, Smack.

Definition of term

noreply@blogger.com (pokkamacho) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:32:00 +0000

Tolerance - When the regular use of a drug increases the threshold needed to achieve the desired effect.

Dependence – a need for repeated doses of the drugs to feel good or to avoid feeling bad

Detoxification – the process of removal the toxic effects from an episode of drug use

Hallucinogens – a chemical agent that induce alteration in perception, thinking and feeling which resemble those in person with psychotic illness

Intoxication – a condition that follow the administration of a sufficient amount of a psychoactive substance and which result in disturbance in the level consciousness, cognition, perception, judgment, affect, behavior and responses

LAAM – levo-alpha-acetyl methadol, a sinthetic pure opioid agonist of the morphine type

LSD – Lysergic acid diethylamide, lysergide, a semi-synthetic drug derive from lysergic acid

MDA – methylenedioxyamphetamine

MDMA – methylenedioxymethamphetamine

Methadone – a synthetic opiate drug used in maintenance therapy for those dependent on opioid

Relapse – return to drinking or other drug use after a period of abstinence

The concept of addiction

noreply@blogger.com (pokkamacho) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:38:00 +0000

Drug addiction (Jaffe, 1980) is
a behavioral pattern of drug use, characterized by overwhelming involvement with the use of a drug (compulsive use), the securing of its supply and a high tendency to relapse after withdrawal,

Traditionally, the concept of addiction only applied to substance abuse

In recent years, the concept of addiction is not only a biological concept that is precipitated from substance abuse, but it also considers cultural, social, and cognitive or psychological influences.

There are three ways that drug addiction can be recognized in an individual.

- The addicted person exhibits a heightened need for a substance. This need then leads to habits that are aimed at acquiring the substance.
- Upon discontinued use of the abused substance, the individual suffers intensely.
- The hallmark of addiction is the addicted individual's willingness to sacrifice everything, to the point of self-destruction, to take the drug.

The concept of addiction provides a powerful description of human behavior that involves compulsion and self-destruction

What is cannabinoids?

noreply@blogger.com (pokkamacho) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:27:00 +0000

Cannabinoids is a group of terpenophenolic compounds present in Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L) or marijuana

Cannabinoids refers to a group of substances that are structurally related to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or that bind to cannabinoid receptors.

Marijuana - often called pot, grass, reefer, weed, herb, mary jane, or mj - is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of Cannabis sativa, the hemp plant.

THC is a very potent chemical compared to other psychoactive drugs.

An intravenous (IV) dose of only 1 milligram can produce serious mental and psychological effects.

Once in your bloodstream, THC typically reaches the brain within seconds after it is inhaled and begins to go to work.