12. addictive

Question 1

3 main substance of abuse (excluding caffeine)

Answer 1

alcohol, tobacco, cannabis

Question 2

most commonly used drugs in australia

Answer 2

caffeine, alcohol, tobacco

Question 3

most commonly used illegal drugs

Answer 3

marijuana

Question 4

gateway hypothesis

Answer 4

• generally drugs that are more avail leads to more abuse problems
• use of one easy-to-get drug elicits use of harder-to-get drugs
• marijuana is a gateway drug
• not alcohol bc some people use alcohol and dont develop abuse of other drugs

Question 5

relationship between age of start of drug use and risk of developing addiction

Answer 5

the earlier you start, the higher the risk of developing addiction. this is regardless of what kind of substance you use.

eg: people starting before 15yo would have higher probability of developing SUD than those who start using after 18

Question 6

peak are of developing addiction

Answer 6

general prime period of developing SUD: 15-35yo

PEAK: 18-20yo

Question 7

most dependence-inducing drug

Answer 7

tobacco

not heroin!!

Question 8

abuse potential characteristics

Answer 8

• quick up, quick down
• intake form: inhalation (>injection>snorting>ingestion)
• short half life

Question 9

what is the theory behind drug’s half life and how it relates to abuse potential

Answer 9

half life is basically how long HALF of the substance can stay in your system
eg: you consume 10g of cocaine. cocaine’s half life is 6hrs. so by 6hrs mark you would have 5g left in your system.

the shorter the halflife of a drug, the more you’ll consume to remain in the ‘high’ state. therefore higher the substance abuse potential

Question 10

types of ways to use substances (in ORDER)

Answer 10

1. inhalation (straight to the lungs, gets to brain real fast)
2. injection (have to go thru bloodstream first, then get to brain. longer than inhalation)
3. snorting or snuffing - usually powdered cocaine etc (this is different pathway to inhalation as it goes thru sinus membrane)
4. ingestion (slowest! because only a proportion of it would end up being at brain, some goes somewhere else in the body)

Question 11

can you have withdrawal without dependence?

Answer 11

yes.

eg: caffeine. you can have as little as 100mg of it one day and have withdrawal symptoms the next day.

Question 12

what is delirium tremens

Answer 12

serious or severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms (serious seizures and hallucination)

Question 13

key in treatment of SUD

Answer 13

• therapeutic community (most effective)
• family therapy (recent finding)
• harm reduction/minimisation –> focus on functionality and not abstinence (regain function in life since i cant stop you using drugs)

Question 14

why detoxification need medical oversight

Answer 14

• alcohol withdrawal can lead to seizures
• opioid withdrawal can lead to overdose (tolerance used to be 100% then after detox, lowered to 50%, when patience relapse, might think their tolerance is still 100%, this might result in overdose)

Question 15

cannabis and psychosis relationship

Answer 15

use of cannabis is likely to EXACERBATE people who are at risk of schizophrenia

Question 16

gambling disorder aetiology

Answer 16

• BEHAVIOURAL LEARNING

- gambling = intermittent reinforcement (refers to behaviours that are rewarded intermittently, or not continuously)