UDA: Chapter 1: Psychoactive Drugs Flashcards
Altered state of consciousness
A non-ordinary state of perception that can be caused by psychoactive drugs.
Psychoactive drug
Any substance that directly alters the normal functioning of the central nervous system. Early psychoactive plants came from any of 4,000 plants and fungi.
Shaman
A medicine man or woman who uses magic, spiritual forces, or drugs to cure illness, speak to the spirits and control the future.
Cannabis
A psychoactive plant that can be used as a source of fiber, oil, or a psychoactive substance.
Peyote cactus
A small cactus found in northern Mexico and the American southwest that contains the hallucinogen mescaline.
Hexing herbs
Members of the nightshade family of plants that contain the psychoactive chemicals atropine and scopolamine.
Ergot
A toxic fungus found on rye, wheat, and other grasses that contains lysergic acid. It is used in the synthesis of LSD.
Distillation
A chemical process that vaporizes the alcohol in fermented beverages and then collects the concentrated distillate. It can raise the percent of alcohol in a beverage from 12% (wine) to 40 % (brandy).
Coca
A shrub whose leaves contain cocaine; the leaves can be chewed for a mild high.
Theriac
An opium-based cure-all that was developed almost 2,000 years ago. It has undergone many changes in formulation but the opium remained.
Gin Epidemic
A period in English history (1710-1750) where availability of gin led to widespread public drunkenness and health problems.
Hemp
A generic term often used to describe Cannabis plants that are high in fiber content and low in THC content.
Opium Wars
Two wars in the 1800s, mostly between England and China, that were fought for the right to sell opium in China.
Alkaloid
An extract of plants with pharmacological (often psychoactive) activity, e.g., morphine, cocaine, or nicotine.
Sigmund Freud
The nineteenth century father of modern psychiatry who popularized cocaine, partly through his book Uber Coca.
Temperance
A philosophy of light-to-moderate drinking that was and is an alternative to abstinence or prohibition.
Prohibition
A supply reduction prevention technique that prohibits the importation, sale, or use of a drug.
Patent medicines
Medicines that were very popular in the 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s that promised cures for almost any ailment. They often contained opium, cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol.
Pure Food and Drug Act
One of the first (1906) laws that prohibited interstate commerce in misbranded food and drugs and required accurate labeling.
Eighteenth Amendment
Known as the “Prohibition Amendment”, it prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages (1920-1933).
Alcoholics Anonymous
The first 12-step, self-help, alcoholism recovery group founded in 1934 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith.
Sinsemilla
A technique for growing high-potency marijuana that consists of keeping female marijuana plants from being pollinated by male plants thus greatly increasing the THC content from a few percent to as high as 30% or more.
Amphetamines
A group of long-lasting nervous system stimulants that include amphetamine and methamphetamine.
Benzodiazepines
A group of minor tranquilizers, such as Klonopin and Xanax, that calm anxiety, relax muscles, and induce sleep.
Lysergic acid diethylamide
An extremely potent psychedelic (LSD) discovered in 1938 that causes illusions, delusions, hallucinations, and stimulation.
Methadone
A long-acting synthetic opiate used orally to treat heroin addiction.
Crack
A street term for smokable cocaine; a chemical variation of cocaine that gives an intense reaction when absorbed through the lungs.
Tar heroin
A black or dark brown heroin grown and processed in Mexico.
AIDS/HIV
A usually fatal disease spread by unsafe sex and IV drug use with contaminated needles.
Meth (crystal meth)
A street term for methamphetamine, an intense, long-lasting stimulant.
Club drugs
Drugs used at music parties, often called “raves”, that include MDMA or ecstasy, ketamine, GHB, and nitrous oxide.
Ecstasy
A stimulant (MDMA) that is taken to promote closeness and empathy at parties and clubs.
Medical marijuana
The use of marijuana for medical purposes rather than for the high it causes.
Oxycontin and Vicodin
Two prescription opioids that are often abused by drug abusers and addicts.
Behavior addictions
Non-drug addictions such as compulsive gambling, eating disorders, and sexual addiction that have many of the same signs and symptoms as drug addiction.
Drug courts
Courts that offer alternatives to incarceration for drug offenses by first, and occasionally second-time offenders.
Chemical name
The technical name for drugs such as methylenedioxyamphetamine.
Trade name
The commercial name for drugs such as Vicodin or Prozac.
Street names
The slang or street name for a drug such as crack or meth.
Uppers
A class of drugs that act as stimulants, including cocaine, amphetamines, coffee, and tobacco.
Downers
A class of drugs that act as depressants, including opiates and opioids, sedative-hypnotics, and alcohol.
