drug abuse

1. ANALYSIS OF DRUG ABUSE By T.Shivakumar Shiva.pharmacist@mail.com

2. DEFINITION DRUG ABUSE: Drug abuse is relatively an old term which describe inappropriate excessive or persistent misuse of a drug behind the medical needs, usually at the cost of ones health and deviates from approved medical or social partners of norms with in a given culture. Drug abuse: misuse; abuse: improper or excessive use Ex: alcohol abuse

3. CHARACTERS AND FACTORS OF DRUG ABUSE • An over powering desire(compulsion) to continue taking the drug in spite of knowing its harmful effects. • A tendency to increase the dose. • A high tendency to withdrawl. • Factors which facilitate initiation of drug abuse: • Ready availability of drugs as in case of doctors and medical students. • General public acceptance of the use of mood modifiers such as alcohol. • Increasing mobility particularly of youth. • An abundance of information about drug effect and sources. • Lack of adequate publicity given to harmful effects of these agents, and • Unstable or broken homes, socio-cultural pressure & social ills

4. Classification of different drugs 1)Narcotics 2)CNS depressants 3)CNS stimulants 4)Hallucinogens 5)Cannabis preparations

5. NARCOTIC DRUGS The group of such drugs are morphine,codeine,heroin, methadone, meperidine (pethidine). Sources of narcotic drugs: They are obtained from capsules of opium (poppy) seeds. Effects of narcotic drugs: These drugs cause stimulation of vagal centers occulomotor centers, vomiting centets and cause euphoria. These drugs cause depression of pain sensitivity, anxiety, cough centers & respiration. Withdrawl of narcotic drugs produces time dependent adverse effects. After 8-12 hrs of narcotics produce lachrimation,persipiration yawning. After 12-14 hrs there may be loss of sleep following by dilated pupils, anorexia, restlessness, irritability,tremors.

6. CNS DEPRESSANTS Barbiturates(pentobarbitone) Barbiturates like drugs(methaqualon) Alcohol(beer,wine,rum,vodka etc,) Alcohol like drugs(chloral hydrate) Minor tranquilizers(diazepam) Effects of CNS depressants: These drugs causes anti anxiety,leading to sedation,leads to hypnosis,coma and finally may terminate death. There effects are dependent on dose and route of administration. These drugs are generally used as sedative, hypnotics, anticonvulsants or as muscle relaxants. Withdrawl symptoms of CNS depressants are also time dependent. With in 12-16hrs with drawl of CNS depressants result in restlessness,anxity,weakness,cramps,neauseadays convulsion may be produced .After 4-7 days patient feels delirium,agitatin&hyperthermia

7. CNS STIMULANT Cocaine and amghetamine are commonly abused CNS stimulants. In moderate doses these produce arousal,aleartness,decresedapetite,wakefulness&increase senses of energy. In very high dose either orally or by I.V route they intense pleasurable feelings. It`s toxic relacation include hallucination ,delusion necrosis &psychotic behaviour.

8. HALLUCINOGENS This class of drugs include LSD(Lysergic-acid-diethyl-amide),psilocybin&mescaline. Effects of hallucinogens: They produce hallucination,pleasure delusion pupil dilation, tracycardia,increase body temperature,increase pulse rate &respiratiory rate .They also produce alteration in time sense,colour perception&lossof limitations. Cannabis preparation are also hallucinogens.These preparations are obtained from the dried flowering tops of plants,cannabis,sativa,it`s different preparations are as followes. Hashish(Arab) It is pure resin obtained from the tops of female hemp plants. Charas(India); It is obtained from flowers beads. Bhang(India): It is obtained from dried matured leaves of plants. Ganga(India) It is also obtained from flowering tops. Marijuana(Mexican cannabis): It is entire plant with variable portion. Commonly refered to as THC.

9. SOLVENT SNUFFING The group of such solvents that are un knowingly inhaled are as follows; plastic cements, nailpolish remover, carbon tetra chloride, gasoline, toluene, xylene, benzene, acetone, alcohol. Effects of these solvents are depression & psychotometic actions. Their immediate effects are light headed euphoria, hallucination,drowsiness, sedation & coma.

10. TOBOCCO Nicotine is active ingrident in tobacco. Nicotine stimulates various parts of nervous system. Followed by depression. It causes constriction of peripheral vessels, elevation of blood pressure and long term effects of these drugs are loss of weight increase incidences of heart attacks, lung cancer & decreased life span is dose related in irritability, agresivness, difficulty in concentrations & depression

11. COMMON TYPES OF DRUG TESTS • Adrug test is a technical analysis of biological specimen for example • Urine drug screen • Hair testing • Saliva drug screen • Sweat drug screen • Blood

12. URINE DRUG SCREEN The first step at the testing site is to split the collected urine sample into two aliquots. One aliquot is first screened for drugs using an analyzer that performs immunoassay as the initial screen. If the urine screen is positive then another aliquot of the sample is used to confirm the findings by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methodology. If requested by the physician or employer, certain drugs are screened for individually; these are generally drugs part of a chemical class that are, for one of many reasons, considered more abuse-prone or of concern. For instance, this is, due to their wide recreational use[citation needed](much more than similar drugs), done to oxycodone and diamorphine, both sedative analgesics. If such a test is not requested specifically, the more general test (in the preceding case, the test for opiates) will detect the drugs, but the employer or patient will not have the benefit of the identity of the drug.

13. HAIR TESTING Hair drug testing can detect drug use over a much longer period of time, which is often used for highly safety-critical positions where there is zero tolerance of drug usage. Standard hair follicle screen covers a period of30 to 90 days. The growth ofhair is usually at the rate of 0.5 inches per month. The hair sample is cut close to the scalp and 80 to 120 strands of hair are needed for the test. In the absence of hair on the head, body hair can be used as an acceptable substitute

14. SALIVA DRUG SCREEN Saliva / oralfluid-based drug tests can generally detect use during the previous few hours to 1–2 days. THC may only be detectable for less than 12 hours in most cases. On site drug tests are allowed per the Department ofLabor. Detection in saliva tests begins almost immediately upon use ofthe following substances, and lasts for approximately the following times: Alcohol:6–24 h NOTE:Saliva tests are poorly sensitive to THC and detection times can vary considerably based on the cutoffs used. some cases drug use may only be detectable for a few hours. Adulteration products are readily available on the Internet to avoid oralfluid detection

15. SWEAT DRUG SCREEN Sweat are patches attached to the skin to collect sweat over a long period of time (1–4 Hours). These are almost exclusively used by child protective services, parole departments, and other government institutions concerned with drug use over long periods, when urine testing is not practical

16. BLOOD Drug-testing a blood sample measures whether or not a drug or a metabolite is in the body at a particular time. These types of tests are considered to be the most accurate way oftelling if a person is intoxicated. Blood drug tests are not used very often because they need specialized equipment and medically trained administers. These factors make it a more costly testing method. Depending on how much marijuana was consumed, it can usually be detected in blood tests within six hours of consumption. After six hours has passed, the concentration of marijuana in the blood decreases significantly. It generally disappears completely after 22 hours

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