GENPSYC 7 DRUGS

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/genpsyneurotransmitters.html

Acetylcholine was the first neurotransmitter to be discovered. It is responsible for
much of the stimulation of muscles, including the muscles of the gastro-intestinal
system. It is also found in sensory neurons and in the autonomic nervous system,
and has a part in scheduling REM (dream) sleep.

Norepinephrine is strongly associated with bringing our nervous systems into "high
alert."

Another relative of norepinephrine and epinephrine is dopamine, It is
an inhibitory neurotransmitter, meaning that when it finds its way to its receptor
sites, it EXCITES the tendency of that neuron to fire.

GABA acts like a brake to the excitatory neurotransmitters that lead to
anxiety. People with too little GABA tend to suffer from anxiety disorders, and drugs
like Valium work by REDUCING the effects of GABA.

If GABA THERE IS TOO MUCH in certain parts of the brain, epilepsy results.

Curiously, glutamate is actually toxic to neurons, and an excess will kill
them. Sometimes brain damage or a stroke will lead to an excess and end with
many more brain cells dying than from the original trauma.

Too MUCH serotonin has been shown to lead to depression, problems with anger
control, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and suicide.

Endorphins. It is also the neurotransmitter that allows bears and other animals to
hibernate.



http://allpsych.com/drugs.html

Medication and Drug Guide


Street Drug Fact Sheet

The word "substance" can refer to a drug of abuse, a medication, or a
toxin. "Polysubstance" Abuse/Dependence means that a person abuses or depends
upon more than one substance, with one usually being that person's favorite or
"drug of choice." It is important to note that we are not only referring to illegal
drugs; over the counter or prescription drugs are often abused as well.

The more commonly abused drugs today are cocaine, marijuana, inhalants, and
heroin. Substance exposure that can cause substance related disorders include
heavy metals (e.g., lead, rat poison containing strychnine, certain pesticides, nerve
gas, antifreeze, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide). The medications, both
prescriptive and over the counter, that may cause substance related disorders
include anesthetics, analgesics, anticonvulsants, antihistamines, blood pressure and
heart medication, and muscle relaxants.

There are many ways that drugs get classified, many psychologists and other mental
health professionals group them into 12 general categories based on their
effect. Many of the drugs discussed on this page can be prescribed and monitored
by a physician and when used appropriately can have positive rather than negative
effects.


alcohol
Examples and Street Names: beer, wine, whiskey, etc.
Method(s) of Ingestion: Taken orally
Potential Benefits: Considered a central nervous system
depressant. Alcohol use causes false self confidence, sense of belonging, and
lowering of inhibition
Potential Detriments: Can result in vitamin deficiencies, memory
disturbances or loss, liver damage, hallucinations (if physically dependent, it
often occurs within 48 hours of abstaining from alcohol), hypertension,
pancreatitis, and heart problems. Has also been linked to Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome.


amphetamines, and amphetamine like substances
Examples and Street Names: speed (black beauties, pink hearts, diet pills)
Method(s) of Ingestion: Can be taken orally or injected
Potential Benefits: These are stimulants and decrease the need for sleep
and food, and produce feelings similar to cocaine.
Potential Detriments: Low dosages can cause increased breathing, heart
rate, and blood pressure, and dilated pupils. Moderate dosages cause dry
mouth, fever, sweating, headache, blurred vision, dizziness, diarrhea,
constipation, loss of appetite.
High dosages can cause very rapid and irregular heart beat, tremors, loss of
coordination, and physical collapse.
If injected, a rapid increase in blood pressure can occur which can cause
sudden death due to stroke, very high fever, and/or heart failure. Other long
term effects include brain damage resulting in speech and thought
disturbances, skin disorders, ulcers, malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies,
depression, hallucinations, and violent behavior.


caffeine
Examples and Street Names: coffee, tea, soda, and chocolate
Method(s) of Ingestion: Taken orally
Potential Benefits: Results in energy and decreased appetite.
Potential Detriments: Can cause agitation, hypertension (leading to
possible cardiac conditions), and anxiety.


cannabis
Examples and Street Names: marijuana (pot, weed, grass) and hashish
(e.g., hash)
Method(s) of Ingestion: Typically smoked, but can be eaten.
Potential Benefits: Produces feelings of happiness, calmness, sleepiness,
increased appetite, decreased pain and certain types of nausea (i.e., nausea
resulting from chemotherapy), and increased sensations.
Potential Detriments: Can result in splitting in consciousness (i.e., feelings
of observing oneself), anxiety, mood swings, amnesia, paranoia, respiratory
disorders (similar to nicotine products).


cocaine
Examples and Street Names: powder cocaine (snort, toot, snow), freebase
cocaine, crack , and rock
Method(s) of Ingestion: used by sniffing/snorting, smoking, or injecting
Potential Benefits: It is a short acting central nervous system stimulant. It
produces feelings of happiness, increased energy, alertness, sensory
awareness and self-esteem. It also reduces the need for sleep and food.
Potential Detriments: Cocaine and crack constrict the heart's blood vessels
making it work harder and faster to move blood through the body. This can
trigger chest pain or a heart attack, or it may beat so irregularly that it may
actually stop. Cocaine, in all forms, has been associated with sudden heart
attacks in people under the age of 30, some of whom used the drug for the
first time. It can cause brain seizures, violent, erratic, or paranoid behavior,
anxiety, and hallucinations.
Also, long term effects include chronic nose bleed and runny nose, chronic
sore throat, exhaustion/chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties, headaches,
respiratory ailments, vitamin deficiencies, chronic nausea/vomiting,
dangerous weight loss, and miscarriage/birth defects




hallucinogens
Examples and Street Names: acid, LSD, Mescaline (Mesc), and Mushrooms
(shrooms)
Method(s) of Ingestion: Taken orally or injected
Potential Benefits: Hallucinogens can cause visions (visual, auditory, and
tactile hallucinations), altered perception of reality, mood, and thinking.
Potential Detriments: Can result in flashbacks (alterations such as above
after drug is out of system), flashes and/or trails in front of the eyes, very
frightening and realistic hallucinations (often referred to as a bad trip).


inhalants
Examples and Street Names: paints, fuel, glue, and freon
Method(s) of Ingestion: Inhaled
Potential Benefits: Produces feelings of euphoria, excitement, and
sensations of floating.
Potential Detriments: Can result in dizziness, slurred speech, brain
damage, respiratory disorders, seizures, and death.


nicotine
Examples and Street Names: cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco (chew),
and dipping tobacco (dip)
Method(s) of Ingestion: Smoked, chewed, or dipped
Potential Benefits: Can produce feelings of calmness and energy, increases
metabolism.
Potential Detriments: Linked with respiratory problems such as
emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and cancer. Can also result in hypertension,
cardiac disease, and low birth weight babies.


opiates
Examples and Street Names: morphine, heroin, codeine, and methadone
Method(s) of Ingestion: Snorted, smoked, or injected
Potential Benefits: It is considered a central nervous system depressant
and causes calmness and a sense of well being.
Potential Detriments: Opiod intoxication includes slurred speech, altered
mood, drowsiness, impaired memory and/or attention. Overdose often
results in death due to the fact that it is a respiratory (it slows down your
breathing).


phencyclidine
Examples and Street Names: (PCP)
Method(s) of Ingestion: Smoked or taken orally
Potential Benefits: Considered a hallucinogen (see above)
Potential Detriments: Users are often noncommunicative, appear
oblivious, have active fantasies (believing they fly), distortion in time, space,
and body image, and can produce auditory hallucinations.


sedatives, hypnotics, and anxiolytics
Examples and Street Names: barbital or amytal, pentobarbital, nembutal,
secobarbital [seconal], methaqualone [quaaludes] (ludes), valium, and
librium
Method(s) of Ingestion: Taken orally or intravenously (IV)
Potential Benefits: Induce mental calmness, hypnotics induce sleep, and
anxiolytics reduce anxiety.
Potential Detriments: Can cause problems with concentration and speech,
poor judgment, mood swings, paranoia, disinhibition of sexual and
aggressive impulses. Some of these drugs (e.g., quaaludes) cause dry mouth,
headaches, dizziness, chills, and diarrhea.
Overdose can result in delirium, convulsions, and death. Valium (and other
benzodiazepines) can cause hostile or aggressive behavior, nausea, sweating,
and convulsions.


steroids (not one of the eleven categories, but worth learning about)
Steroids are hormones which stimulate growth and accelerate weight
gain. Anabolic steroids are man made versions of the male hormone
testosterone.
This drug can lower the muscle recovery time from training and over all
fatigue, can produce surges in self esteem, increased energy and sex drive,
increased appetite, and a greater tolerance for pain.
In women, steroid use can produce the growth of facial and body hair,
deepening of the voice, menstrual irregularities, and enlargement of the
clitoris.
In men, testosterone is converted to estradiol, a female hormone, often
leading to an enlargement of the breasts and a decreased sperm
production. Possible long term effects include impotence, atrophy of the
testes, violent acne and early baldness, high blood pressure and increased
risk of heart disease, liver tumors and failure of liver function, stunted
growth and permanent short stature in children and teenagers, mood
changes, agitation, aggressiveness, anger, and an inability to control
impulses.