Substance Use Basics Flashcards
What is the most commonly used illicit drug?
Marijuana
What is NSDUH?
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
What age group has the highest percentage of substance use disorder?
- 18-25
- 26+
- 12-17
What is the process of addiction?
Progressing from experimental and social use to dependency and addiction.
What are the stages of addiction?
AESAC
1. Abstinence
2. Experimental
3. Social
4. Abuse
5. Chemical Dependency
What is a substance use disorder?
Patterns of symptoms resulting from use of a substance which the individual continues to take, despite experiencing problems.
What is a substance-induced disorder?
- Psychosis
- bipolar
- depressive/anxiety disorders
- OCD
- Sleep disorders
- sexual dysfunctions
- delirium
- neurocognitive disorders
What are the 11 substance use disorder criteria on the DSM-5?
Amount, control, time, and cravings, importance, social, obligations, harm, risk, tolerance, withdrawal
What are the DSM-5 substance use severity criteria?
Mild = 2-3 symptoms
Moderate = 4-5 symptoms
6+ = severe symptoms
How many years on average does it take to progress to dependency?
5-10 years
What is recovery?
The process of initiating and maintaining abstinence from alcohol or other drug use.
What is assessment?
Using diagnostic instruments and processes to determine an individual’s needs and problems.
What is patient-treatment matching?
Ensures an individual receives the type of treatment corresponding with his or her personality, background, mental condition, and the extent and duration of substance abuse determined by the assessment.
What are comprehensive services?
Range of services needed in addition to alcohol and drug treatment.
What is relapse prevention?
Assesses individuals triggers that rekindle the need for drugs.
What is accountability?
The accountability of treatment programs to maintain integrity, results, etc. Treatment programs need to be evaluated.
What are 5 critical components of treatment?
- Comprehensive assessment
- Patient-treatment matching.
- Comprehensive services.
- Relapse prevention
- Accountability
What are CNS depressants?
Sedative hypnotics (benzos, barbiturates, and sleep aids, alcohol, and opioids.
Increases GABA which inhibits or slows brain activity.
What are stimulants?
Amphetamines, cocaine, nicotine, and caffeine.
increases CNS activity by releasing catecholamines from the adrenal glands.
What are catecholamines?
Hormones like epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine.
Hallucinogens
LSD, mushrooms, MDMA (ecstasy), ketamine, and synthetic cannabinoids like K2.
Affect parasympathetic nervous system and the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
Cannabis
Stimulates cannabinoid receptors that produce THC and CBD chemical compounds.
Inhalants
Gases, aerosols, volatile solvents, nitrites (inhalants that work as vasodilators).
Suppress the action of the CNS.
Performance Enhancing Drugs
Anabolic steroids.
Activate androgen receptors and increase calcium levels.
10 Categories of Substances Within the DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Canabis
- Hallucinogens
- Inhalants
- Opioids
- Sedatives
- Hypnotics
- Stimulants
- Tobacco
Dependency
Brain disease characterized by uncontrollable desire to consume increased quantities of psychoactive substances.
Tolerance
Causes individual to require and increased amount of substance to attain the desired effect.
Forms of Tolerance
- Behavioral tolerance (someone feels even more functional when intoxicated)
- Dispositional/metabolic tolerance (metabolism accelerates)
- Cross-tolerance (same pharmaceutical family)
- Pharmacodynamic tolerance (brain becomes desensitized)
- Reverse tolerance (ex. liver damage)
- Select tolerance (some effects experienced, others not.)
4 Stages of Withdrawal
- Initial symptoms (few hours to 24 hours)
- Intensification of symptoms like body aches, sleep disturbances, depression)
- Post acute (sharp peak then decline in symptoms, weeks to months)
- PAWS - months to years (memory, mood swings, cravings, etc.)
3 Steps of Detox Management
- Screening, assessment, and evaluation
- Stabilization
- Treatment Engagement
Half-life
Duration of time it takes for half of a substance to be eliminated from the body.
Metabolism
Process through which a substance is eliminated from the body (primarily in the liver.)
Routes of drug administration
- oral
- inhaled
- intravenous
- intramuscular
- subcutaneous (beneath skin)
- nasal
- sublingual (under tongue)
- transdermal (absorbed into skin)
What is the fastest method of administering drugs?
- injection
- snorting
- substances placed in mucous membrane
What is the slowest method of administering drugs?
Oral
Amphetamines
Cause a dopamine release, synthetic psychoactive substance like meth.
Schedule 2.
Made with over the counter allergy meds.
What two substances have the most hazardous or lethal withdrawal symptoms?
Alcohol and benzodiazepines
What is social or supervised detox?
Reserved for individuals with non lethal withdrawal symptoms.
SAEST
Phases of detox management 1. Screening, assessment, evaluation 2. Stabilization 3. Tx engagement
