chapter 2 (personal and social issues) Flashcards
toxicity
physical or psychological harm that a drug might present to the user.
dose
the quantity of drug taken into the body. usually measured in milligrams (mg) or micrograms (μg.)
acute toxicity
physical or psychological harm a drug might present to the user immediately or soon after drug is ingested in body.
dose response curve
s-shaped graph showing the biological or behavioural response due to specific concentrations/doses of drug.
effective dose (ed)
minimal dose of particular drug necessary to produce the intended drug effect in given percentage of population.
lethal dose (ld)
minimal dose of particular drug capable of producing death in a given percentage of he animal population studied. may overlap with ed response curve.
therapeutic index
measure of drug’s relative safety for use. computed as the ratio of the lethal/toxic dose for 50% of population to effective dose for 50% population. higher index number = safer drug. (LD50 : ED50)
toxic dose (td)
minimal dose of particular drug capable of producing toxicity in a given percentage of humans.
margin of safety
ratio of lethal dose for 1% population to effective dose for 99% of population. (LD1 : ED99). higher ratio = greater safety.
canadian centre on substance abuse (CCSA)
federal program to initiate leadership and solutions to canada’s alcohol and drug related issues. collects stats.
drug-related ED visit
occasion o which a person visits an emergency department for purpose related to recent drug use.
polydrug use
drug-taking behaviour involving multiple drugs.
DAWN statistics
drug abuse warning network (DAWN) compiles data on drug-related er visits and deaths in public hospitals.
chronic toxicity
physical or psychological harm a drug might cause over a long period of use.
tolerance
capacity of a drug to produce a gradually diminished physical or psychological effect upon repeated administrations of drug at same dose level.
behavioural (conditioned) tolerance
process of drug tolerance that is linked to drug-taking behaviour occurring consistently in the same surroundings or under the same circumstances.
physical dependence
model of drug dependence based on idea that the drug abuser continues the drug-taking behaviour to avoid consequences of physical withdrawal symptoms.
psychological dependence
model of drug dependence based on idea that drug abuser is motivated by a craving for pleasurable effects of drug.
catheter
device to deliver IV injections of drug in free-moving animal or human.
ventral tegmented area
area in midbrain that contains many dopamine-releasing neurons. very important brain area related to addictive nature of drugs. reward centre.
substance abuse
diagnostic term is DSM-4-TR to identify individuals who continue to take psychoactive drugs despite the fact that the drug-taking behaviour creates problems for the individual. OLD.
substance dependence
diagnostic term in DSM-4-TR to identify individuals with significant signs of dependent relationship with a psychoactive drug. OLD.
substance use disorder
diagnostic term in DSM-5 to identify individuals with significant problems associated with some form of drug-taking behaviour.
needle exchange program (NEP)
program that allows IV drug users access to clean needles to help prevent transmission of HIV. harm reduction ♡ can reduce new cases of HIV infection by 1/3!
pharmacological violence
violent acts committed while under the influence of a particular psychoactive drug, with implication that drug caused the violence to occur.
economically compulsive violence
violent acts committed by drug abuser to secure money to buy drugs.
laissez-faire
philosophy of exerting as little gov’t control and regulation as possible.
drug licence
federal contract that allows a company to fabricate, package, label, distribute, import, wholesale, or test a new drug.
analogue
descriptive term in controlled drugs and substances act that refers to a substance that has a substantially similar chemical structure to a scheduled drug.
