Substance Abuse Flashcards
poor man’s whiskey
Alcoholic beverages are expensive, especially ‘hard’ liquor with high alcohol content.
People who cannot afford liquor may turn to cheaper substances containing high levels of alcohol.
Mouthwash, like Listerine, has become the ‘poor man’s whiskey’.
Other alcoholics have taken a more dangerous route by mixing a disinfectant air freshener (like Lysol spray) with water and drinking it
The Crystal Meth Epidemic
Crystal methamphetamine is a stimulant that can be ‘home made’ with over the counter drugs.
Effects include euphoria, increased energy and alertness, and increased libido (sex drive).
Negative side effects include agitation, irritability, anger (including violent behaviour), panic, and confusion.
The drug can be addictive, and it has been known to spread among middle class youth in rural and suburban areas
Solvent Abuse
Includes the inhalation of solvent based glues, aerosol sprays, petroleum products (including gasoline), acetone (nail polish remover), amil nitrate, and nitrous oxide.
Solvent abusers inhale the vapour of these substances by sniffing the contents in their containers, on rags, or in plastic bags.
Solvent abuse can lead to heart failure, kidney failure, damage to the brain and central nervous system, and death.
The most publicized case of widespread solvent abuse was among Innu children sniffing gas in the remote community of Davis Inlet in northern Labrador
Home Grown Marijuana
More marijuana is being grown indoors under hydroponic planting and growing methods.
One reason for growing weed indoors is to conceal it from law enforcement officials and anyone who might ‘snitch’ on growers.
Home grown marijuana can have a higher amount (or potency) of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) than field grown plants.
There is some debate over whether the increased potency poses health risks to users, including possible brain damage and memory loss.
Crack Cocaine
A type of cocaine that is smoked instead of ‘snorted’.
Offers a short but intense high.
Originally appeared in poor neighbourhoods in large US cities in the mid-1980s.
Effects include euphoria, supreme confidence, loss of appetite, insomnia, alertness, increased energy, and a craving for more cocaine.
The intense desire to recapture the first high is what makes crack cocaine so addictive
Heroin Addiction
Heroin addiction begins with dependency on recreational drug use.
Heroin creates a feeling of relaxation and euphoria.
After prolonged use it becomes a physical dependency which takes over the whole body.
Addicts who try to quit suddenly will go into withdrawal, and they will need heroin to relieve their withdrawal symptoms.
The most popular way of taking heroin is through injection
Tobacco
Cigarettes are the most popular and addictive of all tobacco products.
Cigarette smoking reached its height in popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.
Smoking began to decline after the mid 1960s, when people became more aware of the health hazards (cancer, heart, and lung disease).
The numbers of smokers tend to be greater among the poor and working class.
Governments have taken steps to ban smoking in public places
Homeless Junkies
a social side effect of substance abuse
People who become addicted to and dependent on drugs risk losing everything.
They lose their jobs, their possessions, their homes, and even their families and friends.
They may end up on the streets or turn to a life of crime to support their habits.
Some cities have whole neighbourhoods that are inhabited by chronic drug users, and some of these neighbourhoods have support services to help manage problems associated with addiction such as safe injection sites and detoxification centres
Drunken Indians
In many circles, the stereotype of the ‘drunken Indian’ was once all-powerful. It was assumed by some that if you were of aboriginal ancestry, whether you were Métis, Inuit, non-status or First Nation, then you had a drinking problem.
Employers felt justified in refusing employment to aboriginal people based on this stereotype. Landlords would not rent to aboriginal people. Some establishments, bars mostly, refused to let aboriginal people enter. Taxi drivers drove past aboriginal people on the street. The daily humiliations added up to real social and economic barriers
The War on Drugs
Some politicians and segments of the public believe that the only way to combat drug addiction and drug related crime is to increase the severity of penalties for the sale and possession of illegal drugs.
The down side to this approach is that it has lead to increased organized crime activity and violence, which in turn creates a need for even more law enforcement.
The war on drugs is expensive, and critics say that the war is being lost due to the increased gang activity and violence associated with the production and sale of illegal drugs
Addiction: A Moral or Medical Problem?
In examining the problem of substance abuse and addiction, some critics of current policies argue that treatment is a better way of dealing with the problem than incarceration.
By viewing addiction as being a medical problem, more emphasis can be placed on rehabilitation and reintegration.
Treating drug addiction as a form of criminal behaviour places blame on the victim, as though the drug addict has made a deliberate choice to harm himself and harm others
