Exam 2 Flashcards
Coca Bush
A flowering bush that stands 3-6 feet high and yields approx.. 4 ounces of waxy leaves that are about 1% cocaine by weight.
Process of making Cocaine
- It takes 500-550kg leaves to make 1 kilo of paste
- 2.5 kilos of paste to make one kilo of cocaine
- The paste is treated with ether, acetone, and hydrochloride acid to make 1 kilo of cocaine hydrochloride. `
Cocaine’s Impact on Neurotransmission
Binds to specific receptor sites on the brain that trigger the release of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, thus activating the sympathetic nervous system. Acts on the hypothalamus to decrease appetite and need for sleep.
High of Cocaine
High in 2 minutes, lasts for 10 minutes, high subsides after 20 minutes and is gone by 30 minutes
Effects of cocaine
Increased alertness, excitation, euphoria, high pulse rate, high blood pressure, insomnia, weight loss, and hypersensitive stress system.
The underlying effect of Cocaine
Cocaine short-circuits reward pathways of the brain; impairs the function of and damage to the brain.
Crack
Cocaine cooked in a mixture of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water becoming hard from dry heat.
Typically smoked in a glass pipe.
Differences between cocaine and crack
Coke is for the rich and crack is for the poor. Cack high is very intense and addictive, coke is more psychologically addictive than physical.
Speedballing
Mixing Cocaine or crack with heroin
Cocaine bugs
Itchiness coming from withdrawal
Amphetamines
Synthetic drugs with a high that lasts for hours. Lab-made. Crushed, dissolved, and mainlined.
Methamphetamine (speed, crank, crystal)
A very fast-acting substance with a high potential for abuse.
Amphetamines vs. Cocaine
Amphetamines are much easier to produce and the effects last longer.
Meth tolerance
Tolerance does not develop to all effects at the same rate, and each high is not as intense as the last high. Withdrawal can be almost immediate
Meth effects on the brain
Elevates dopamine levels and blocks the reuptake of dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and glutamate. Increases sensitivity to glutamates in the reward system. Inhibits MAO and continually stimulates CNS. Rish can last 5-30 minutes but high can go from 4 to 16 hours.
Bath Salts
Synthetic derivatives of cathinone, a CNS stimulant found in Khat. Typically snoted or ingested.
Khat
Stimulant cultivated as a shrub,
Yaba
A mix of meth and caffeine
Nicotine
Cigarettes, chew, vaping… etc…
Absorbed through the skin and mucosal lining of the mouth and nose by inhalation into the lungs
Effects of Nicotine
The brain is swamped by a “spike” and also exerts a sedative effect.
Tolerance and withdrawal of Nicotine
repeated exposure results in tolerance
Nicotine is very, very addictive.
Dangers of Nicotine
440,000 people die annually from the deadly effects of tobacco smoke- accounts for 1/3 of all cancers and 90% of lung cancer
Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor (constricts blood vessels), causes the heart to work harder to maintain a sufficient level of oxygen
Exited delirium
A condition that manifests as a combination of delirium, psychomotor agitation, anxiety, hallucinations, speech disturbances, disorientation, violent and bizarre behavior, insensitivity to pain, superhuman strength, and elevate body temperature.
SSRIs
Antidepressants selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Theses medications that prevent the reuptake of certain excitatory neurotransmitters, allowing the neurotransmitters to stay in the synaptic space longer, making it more likely that the next neuron will fire.
Types of depressants
Alcohol, barbiturates, sedatives/tranquilizers, narcotics (natural, semisynthetic, synthetic)
Endorphines
Analgesics in the brain
Large amounts are released during stressful events or in moments of great main. When they reach their receptor sites in the CNS endorphines relieve pain.
Stress and addictions
The body reacts to stress by secreting two types of chemical messengers… hormones and neurotransmitters.
Depressants inhibit the release of stress hormones and stress-related neurotransmitters. (without stress, you’re less likely to get addicted to opiates)
Herion
Comes from the poppy plant, which grows into a seedpod, milky white fluid secretes and hardens into a dark brown gum-raw opium. Opium is converted to morphine and morphine is converted to heroin.
Effects of prolonged heroin use
Pervasive and persistent changes in brain function
Heroin’s impact on neurotransmission
Inhibition of the release of stress hormones and neurotransmitters (Cortisol)
The Four different effects of heroin
1) The rush: Initial onset of euphoria
2) The High: Feeling of general well-being
3) The Nod: Described as being “out of it”
4) Being straight: Not being sick due to withdrawal
Side effects of heroin
In withdrawal, the dramatic increase intensifies other unpleasant symptoms, such as anxiety, shaking, and cold sweats
Oxycodone/Oxycontin
Synthetic version of morphine, prescribed for chronic or long-lasting pain
Fentanyl
A powerful synthetic version of morphine, prescribed for
chronic or long-lasting pain.
Analog
A chemical variation of other drugs synthetically produced
Designer drugs
Designed by chemists to mimic controlled substances
Barbiturates
Sedative and hypnotic drug used as a surgical anesthetic, to inhibit seizures, migraines, and cluster headaches.
Benzodiazepines
Sedative-hypnotics that are used to treat stress/pain/anxiety (Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Librium)
Rohypnol
“Roofies,” used as sedatives. Colorless, odorless and tasteless. Date rape drugs
GHB
Similar to roofies, abused for euphoric, sedative, and anabolic effects.
Three major classes of alcohol and their levels of alcohol
i. Beer (5-8% alcohol
ii. Wine (6-14% alcohol)
iii. Liquor (25-50% alcohol)
Alcohols effects on the body
Absorbed through small intestine to the bloodstream
Depresses CNS, and part of brain that controls inhibitions
Ratio of American Adults who consume alcohol
2/3 of adult Americans consume alcohol
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
cause cognitive and physical effects including mental retardation, growth deficiency, head and facial deformities, joint and limb abnormalities, and heart defects.
Safe injection sites
• Centers for heroin users to safely use their drugs with clean needles and nurses ready to help them if they overdose.
Most frequently used hallucinogens
LSD, PCP, Mushrooms and cactus, ecstasy
LSD and the history of
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
First synthesized in 1938, first trip recorded by Hoffman in ’43, introduced in US as an experimental drug for treating psychiatric illness
Use of LSD
Skin contact and oral ingestion
LSD Tolerance
Develops rapidly and causes cross tolerance to other hallucinogens
Bromo-Dragonfly
synthetic psychedelic substance of the substituted amphetamine and phenethylamine chemical classes. It produces an array of extremely dose-sensitive psychedelic effects when administered.
Marijuana
Plant that grows in the wild throughout most of the tropical regions of the world, mostly smoked and eaten.
Psychoactive ingredient in marijuana
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
What accounts for the relative Mildness of marijuana withdrawal
THC appears to act as a dopamine agonist with also have an opiate-like effect on the brain’s receptor system
The Psychoactive reaction occurs in one to ten minutes, with a total duration of about 3 to 4 hours
No physical dependence, but moderate
Active hallucinogenic ingredient in peyote cactus and psilocybin mushrooms
Mescaline… chemically similar to LSD and can be produced synthetically
Four categories of inhalants
- Volatile Solvents
- Aerosols
- Anesthetics
- Volatile Nitrates
Volatile Solvents
Glue, paint thinner, nail polish remover, gasoline
Aerosols
Hair spray, spray paint, deodorants
Anesthetics
Ether, nitrous oxide found in whipped cream cans
Volatile Nitrates
Amyl nitrate and butyl nitrate
Mainlining
Shooting substances directly into veins
