Alcohol And Other Drugs

Front 1

Drug use around the world

Back 1

level of drug use varies...some differences in drug use is due to variations in policies

Front 2

Netherlands drug issues:

Back 2

treats the use of drugs such as weed,hash,geroin as a health issue rather than a criminal issue

Front 3

Drug use in canada: 1975-1995

Back 3

1975:46% identified drugs as a "very serious: problem

1995: dropped to 34%

- drugs identified as problematic have varied over time

Front 4

Canada: Use of Alcohol

Back 4

much more widespread use than drugs...we condemn the use of hard drugs but encourage and tolerate alcohol

Front 5

Define Drug:

Back 5

(1) has a direct effect ton the users physical, psychological and/or intellectual functioning

(2) has the potential to be abused

(3) has adverse consequences for the individual and/or society

Front 6

Structural Functionalist Perspective:

Back 6

- drug abuse is a response to the weakening os societal norms (anomie)

- drug use is a response to the bases of the perceived bond between the individual and society, and to the weakening of the consensus of what is considered acceptable

Front 7

Feminists Perspectives:

Back 7

- feminists work in this area is unified by the drive to illuminate previously neglected assessment of risk factors and substance use problems unique to women

A: misuse of prescriptions drugs - with more frequent contact with the health care system, they are more likely the recipients of prescription medications

B: drug use during pregnancy - for example, subjects women to institutional scrutiny and social blaming tactics that men don't face

Front 8

Conflict Perspective:

Back 8

1. Drug use is a response to the inequality perpetuated by a capitalist system

2. Drug use is an escape from alienation from work, friends and family, as well as otherlarger social institutions

3. Conflict theorists highlight the considerable influence of the most powerful members ofsociety to define which drugs are illegal and to set the penalties for their production, sale,and use

4. The consumption of “street drugs” such as cocaine and heroin is associated with thepowerless and disenfranchised: the poor, minority group members, and visible minorities

5. Criminalizing drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana exercises social control overthe powerless, political opponents, and minorities

Front 9

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective:

Back 9

- if initial drug experience is defined as pleasurable, it is likely to recur and individuals may earn the label of a "druggie"

- drug users learn motivations and techniques of drug use through interaction with others; also learn how to label the experience positively

Front 10

Biological and Psychological Theories:

Back 10

- genetics may predispose an individual to alcoholism

- some individuals are psychologically predisposed to experience more pleasure from drugs than others, and consequently, are more likely to be drug users

- some personality types are more susceptible to drug use (anxiety...relax, confidence, tension_

- positive and negative reinforcement maintain drug use

Front 11

Alcohol:

Back 11

- increased concern about fetal alcohol syndrome, teenage drinking, and drinking and driving

- most widely used and abused drug in Canada (53% 12 and older reported drinking 1 drink per month...96/96)

Front 12

Binge Drinking:

Back 12

consumption of 5 or more alcoholic drinks on at least one occasion...more likely to report using other controlled substances and more frequent the binge, higher probability of other drug use

Front 13

Education/Alcohol

Back 13

education levels correlate more strongly with problem drinking, than is the open consumption of alcohol in the family

Front 14

Tobacco:

Back 14

- nicotine is the addictive psychoactive drug

- on the decline among Canadians

- kills more than 45,000 Canadians yearly

- by 2030 will be leader in deaths worldwide killing 1 in 6 people

- associated with lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, apportion, premature birth, neonatal death

Front 15

Marijuana:

Back 15

- most commonly used and trafficked illicit drug in the world

- THC is the active ingredient...may act as a sedative or hallucinogen, depending on the amount ingested

- use as far back at 2737 BC

- most widely used illicit drug in Canada

Front 16

Cocaine:

Back 16

- stimulant...produces feelings of excitation, alertness, and euphoria...addictive

- over past 10-20 years, coke has become focus of societal concerns over drug abuse...major cause of "war on drugs

Front 17

Injection Drug Use:

Back 17

16 million are IV drug users...3 million of them have HIV

34% of all new HIV cases from from injection drug use

Front 18

Amphetamines:

Back 18

stimulants...legal when prescribed by a physician...illegal use has increased recently...many common cold remedies are now used to make crystal meth

Front 19

Inhalants:

Back 19

usual household items used to get "high" include hair spray, glue, paint, air fresheners, lighter fluid

Canadians between age of 15-17 are the most frequent users

solvent use is considerably higher among indigenous and Metis youth

extremely toxic...may result in Sudden Sniff Death Syndrome

Front 20

Drug Issues: Family Costs

Back 20

- parent users may spend money on drugs rather than necessities...children in these homes have higher chance of neglect, school absenteeism, and psych/behaviour problems

- alcoholics more likely to divorce

- linked to abuse with intimates 25-50%

Front 21

Drug Issues: Crime and Drug Use

Back 21

- drug users more likely to commit crimes

- driving while intoxicated is one of most common drug-related crimes in canada...2002, canada reported over 82,000 incidents of impaired driving

- relationship between drugs, organized crime, and violence has become a major concern in Canada

Front 22

Drug Issues: Economic Costs

Back 22

- costs include government expenditures on law enforcement, lost corporate dollars due to reduce worker productivity, absenteeism, premature death, and insurance and health costs, and the cost of health care

- RCMP estimates that the economic cost of illicit drugs alone is in the range of $8.2 billion a year in Canada and that 60% drug suers are between 15-24

Front 23

Drug Issues: Health Problems

Back 23

1. Physical health consequences include shortened life expectancy, higher morbidity (e.g.lung cancer, cirrhosis of liver); exposure to HIV and hepatitis; a weakened immunesystem; and birth defects

2. Especially vulnerable are the Aboriginal populations – significantly lower levels ofhealth, correlates strongly with substance abuse in Aboriginal communities

3. fetal alcohol syndrome – a birth defect syndrome; involves brain damage, impairedgrowth, and head and face abnormalities; carried across generations, especially inAboriginal communities

Front 24

Drug Issues: Mental Health

Back 24

Heavy alcohol and drug use associated with negative consequences for mental health

drug users more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders, such as phobias, depression and antisocial personalities, also higher incidence of suicide

Front 25

Treatment Alternative: Inpatient/Outpatient Treatment

Back 25

- treatment of drug dependence in a hospital and includes medical supervision of detoxification...most inpatient programs last between 30 and 90 days and target individuals whose withdrawl symptoms require close monitoring

- outpatient treatment allows individuals to remain in their home and work environments...a physician evaluates the patients progress, prescribes needed medication, and watches for signs of a relapse

Front 26

Treatment Alternatives: Peer Support Groups

Back 26

- 12 step programs like AA and Narcotics Anonymous meet weekly to assist addicts

- Symbolic interactionists highlight the social contexts of AA and NA, where abusers are surrounded by others who convey positive levels and social support for sobriety

Front 27

Treatment Alternatives: Therapeutic Communities

Back 27

- house between 35-500 people for up to 15 months helping them abstain from drugs...develop marketable skills and receive counselling

- symbolic interactionists argue that behavioural changes appear to be a consequence of revised self-definition and the positive expectations of others

Front 28

Government Regulations: Federal Government

Back 28

- regulates the importation and exportation of alcohol products, alcohol-related excise taxes, and broadcast advertising

- prohibits broadcasting of a range of messages, including those that encourage non-drinkers to consume alcohol, that direct their appeal to minors, that suggest that alcohol use is positively associated with social acceptance, personal accomplishment, or success in athletic or business endeavours, or that link the consumption of alcohol with high-risk activities

Front 29

Government Regulations: Canadian Criminal Code

Back 29

- 4 types of drinking and driving offences:

1.operating or having care or control of a motor vehicle while ones ability told rive is impaired by alcohol or a drug

2. engaging in impaired driving causing death or bodily harm

3. operating or having care or control of a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration over .08%

4. failing to provide breath or blood samples for analysis without a reasonable excuse

Front 30

Harm Reduction

Back 30

- 2003, Vancouver...first NA safe injection site...prevented about 200 deaths

- provincial why traffic legislation...allow to stop cars in random manner...issue, suspend, revoke, reinstate licences

- controlled drug and substances act outlines the 6 federal criminal offences:...possession, trafficking, possession for purpose of selling, production, importing or exporting, and "prescription shopping"

- war on drugs possibly intensified other social problems like gang violence, spread of AIDS, overcrowded prisons and diversion of police from other serious crimes

Front 31

FOR Legalization:

Back 31

- adults can make informed choices about drug use

- revenues from drug taxes could be used to benefit all citizens

- would result in decreased drug prices and reduced crime

- drugs would be regulated and safer

- greater availability of drugs would not increase drug use (in countries where some drugs have been decriminalized, drug use has decreased)

Front 32

AGAINST Legalization:

Back 32

- legalization would be costed as government approval of drug use, leading to increase in drug use and abuse

- not al drugs would be legal (i.e., crack), illegal trafficking would still exist

- legalization would require costly bureaucracy to regulate the manufacture, sale, and distribution of drugs

- legalization and the greater availability of drugs would not guarantee a safer society

Front 33

Canada's Drug Strategy (CDS) 4 Pillars:

Back 33

Education and Prevention

- to teach about the dangers of harmful substance use and to provide information on how to adopt healthy behaviours

Treatment and Rehabilitation

- for those with an unhealthy dependency on substances

Harm Reduction

- to limit the secondary effects of substance use, such as the spread of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and Hep C

Enforcement and Control

- to prevent the unlawful import, export, production, distribution, and possession of illegal drugs