Chapter 5 : Variations of consciousness(4) Flashcards
What are sedatives?
Sedatives are sleep-inducing drugs that tend to decrease central nervous system (CNS) activation and behavioral activity.
What sedatives are the most widely used historically and what have people turned to now?
Historically, the most widely abused sedatives have been the barbiturates.
People have now turned to the benzodiazepine sedative.
What are the effects of taking sedatives?
The desired effect is a euphoria similar to that produced by drinking large amounts of alcohol.
Feelings of tension or dejection are replaced by a relaxed, pleasant state of intoxication, accompanied by loosened
inhibitions.
What are stimulants?
Stimulants are drugs that tend to increase central nervous system activation and behavioral activity.
What are the ranges of stimulant drugs?
Stimulants range from mild, widely available drugs such as caffeine and nicotine, to stronger, carefully regulated ones such as cocaine. + amphetamines
How is cocaine and amphetamines derived?
Cocaine is a natural substance that comes from the coca shrub.
In contrast, amphetamines are synthesized in a pharmaceutical laboratory.
What are the effects of cocaine and amphetamines?
Cocaine and amphetamines have fairly similar effects, except that cocaine produces a briefer high.
Stimulants produce a euphoria very different from that created by opioids or sedatives. They produce a buoyant, elated, energetic “I can conquer the world!” feeling accompanied by increased alertness
What are the side effects of cocaine and amphetamines?
Side effects of stimulants vary with dosage and potency but may include restlessness, anxiety, and insomnia.
In larger doses, the side effects may include heart problems, psychosis, and even sudden death.
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What is free-basing?
“Freebasing” is a chemical treatment used to extract nearly pure cocaine from ordinary street cocaine.
What is crack?
“Crack” is the most widely distributed by-product of the freebasing process, consisting of chips of pure cocaine that are usually smoked.
How are amphetamines sold and adminstered?
Amphetamines are increasingly sold as a crystalline powder, called “crank,” that can be snorted or injected intravenously.
Drug dealers are also beginning to market a smokable form of methamphetamine called “ice” or “crystal meth.”
Which stimulants have been used to treat children with ADHD?
Adderall and Ritalin
What are hallucinogens?
Hallucinogens are a diverse group of drugs that have powerful effects on mental and emotional functioning, marked most prominently by distortions in sensory and perceptual experience.
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What are the drugs that are classified as hallucinogens?
The principal hallucinogens are LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), mescaline, ketamine, and psilocybin.
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What effects do hallucinogens produce?
Hallucinogens produce euphoria, increased sensory awareness, and a distorted sense of time.
In some users, they lead to profound, dreamlike, “mystical” feelings that are difficult to describe.
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What is cannabis and what are the drugs derived from it?
Cannabis is the hemp plant from which marijuana, hashish, and THC are derived.
What are marijuana and hashish? How are they adminstered?
Marijuana is a mixture of dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds taken from the plant.
Hashish comes from the plant’s resin.
Smoking is the usual route of ingestion for both marijuana and hashish.
What chemical ingredient is responsible for the mood-altering properties of marijuana?
THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), one of the main active chemical ingredients in cannabis, is the one responsible for the
mood-altering properties in marijuana
What is the desired effect of cannabis drugs?
The desired effects of the drug are
a mild, relaxed euphoria and enhanced sensory awareness.
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What are the unintended side effects of cannabis drugs?
Unintended effects may include anxiety; sluggish mental functioning; impaired reaction time, thinking, and memory; and possibly psychosis.
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What are the side effects of alcohol?
Common side effects include impairments in mental and motor functioning, mood swings, and quarrelsome
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What are the effects of alcohol?
When people drink heavily, the central effect is a relaxed euphoria that temporarily boosts self-esteem, as problems seem to melt away and inhibitions diminish.
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What is MDMA?
MDMA (“ecstasy,” “molly”) is a compound drug related to both amphetamines and hallucinogens, especially mescaline.
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What drug is sometimes referred to as a psychedelic amphetamine?
MDMA
What kind of effect does MDMA provide?
MDMA produces a short-lived high that typically lasts a few hours or more.
Users report that physical sensations are heightened, they feel warm, friendly,
euphoric, sensual, insightful, and empathetic, but alert and energetic
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What is tolerance?
Tolerance refers to a progressive decrease in a person’s responsiveness to a drug.
What are the neurotransmitters affected by amphetamines?
Norepinephrine and dopamine.
What neurotransmitter is affected by MDMA?
large amounts of the neurotransmitter serotonin being released.
What neural pathway is affected by virtually all abused drugs?
Mesolimbic dopamine pathway also called the reward pathway.
