drugs and addiction lect 1 Flashcards
what is the most widely consumed drug
caffeine
what is the most harmful drug
alcohol
what is the most addictive drug in animal research
cocaine
what drug has caused the most deaths from overdose in uk
heroin
what is the most commonly used illegal drug
cannibis
what is addiction
a social construct
can only be measured in a clinical way by asking people or families about a patient’s symptoms
what is considered an addiction
when a drug has substantial LT neg effects on the life of an indiv
what is psychopharmacology
-study of drug induced changes in mood, cog and behaviour
what are drugs
prescribed medications, legal recreational substances or illegal recreational substances
what are the sources of drugs
natural or synthetic
how do drugs impact psychopharmacology
-act on receptors in neurons to induce physiological/ psychological changes
what is drug action
specific interaction between drugs and target sites or receptors
what is drug effect
action of drug on brain and body and the changes in psychological/ physiological function
examples of routes of administration
ingested
ocular
oral
nasal
inhalation
intravenous
what is the significance of diff routes of administration
-pharmacokinetics graph shows quickest administration method to hit brain and which method lasts the longest
-inhalation is the quickest, followed by injection (fast high)
-the slower the onset of the drug, the longer the effects will last as the build up is more gradual
-ingestion is the slowest method to peak but lasts the longest (slower high, less peak, slower to build up and then build down)
differing administration methods for cocaine
-duration of crack cocaine is much shorter than nasal/intravenous
-administration method important for duration/ intensity of effects
what may effect the choice of administration
-chemical characteristics of the drug (unprocessed drug e.g cannabis cannot be injected, only smoked and snorted etc
-personal preference e.g disliking injections
-speed which the drug acts
what does ROA mean
route of administration
ROA rural vs urban drug users in USA
Young et al 2010
-212 rural users vs 111 urban users
-prescription drug abuse
-urban users more likely to swallow drugs
-alternative routes used in rural populations
-linked to drug problem severity- higher in rural populations
effect of ROA of heroin on transition to regular use
Hines 2017
-395 heroin users in london
-looked at difference in speed of transition from first use to daily use according to ROA (injecting, snorting, smoking)
-those injecting were almost 5x more likely to progress to daily use within 1-3 weeks of first use than other methods
ROA and culture
-cultural norms and local legal policies can effect ROA
-changing views on cannabis and tobacco have affected ROAs
-changes in technology e.g vaping
cross cultural differences in cannabis
Hindocha 2016
-33,000 pp from 12 countries
-66% smoked cannabis with tobacco globally (method most used in europe but uncommon in USA)
-using non tobacco ROAs associated with desire and motivation to use less tobacco
-consistent with image of smoking in USA (implications for health and interventions)
differences in cannabis ROAs according to legalisation
Borodovsky (2016)
-2800 pp surveyed form USA
-in some states cannabis was legal for medical purposes (MML: medical marijuana laws), but illegal in others
-vaping and edibles higher in MML states
-the longer the duration of the MML, the higher the incidence of vaping and edibles, maybe bc of higher no. of dispensaries
how does absorption into bloodstream account for a difference in pharmacokinetics
-more barriers drug has to cross to reach brain, the slower the effect and drug likely to be degraded
–depends on degree to which drug is lipid soluble
–degree of ionisation: ionised forms less likely to cross cellular membrane than deionised forms
–size of molecule: smaller = faster
–diff in drug conc across mem, greater diff = faster crossing