Drugs and Your Body:

1
Drugs and Your Body

• The Health Risks of Abuse

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Inhalants Glue, Paint Thinner, Gas, Aerosol
Propellants, etc.

• The fumes can displace oxygen in the lungs,
  causing the body to suffocate. Nerve damage,
  brain damage, and even death can result.
• Some chemical components of these products can
  cause
• Heart failure
• Hearing loss
• Liver and Kidney damage

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Cocaine

• Cocaine is an alkaloid that is extracted from
  leaves of the coca plant. The powder is usually
  sniffed, but if it is heated with baking soda
  (which is a basethis is where the term
  free-basing comes from), it becomes crack,
  which has a lower melting point and can be
  smoked.
• Smoked cocaine enters the brain much more quickly
  than snorted cocaine does, intensifying the
  effects, but for a shorter period of time.

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Cocaine

• Cocaine stimulates the central nervous system and
  extends the activity of dopamine by blocking its
  reabsorption. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that
  transmits pleasure signals in the brain.
• Cocaine use causes peripheral blood vessels to
  constrict, while heart rate and blood pressure
  rise. This can cause heart failure, and can also
  cause blood vessels in the brain to explode,
  leading to brain damage and/or death.

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Cocaine use can result in an extensive
intracerebral hemorrhage.
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Cocaine-Induced EuphoriaTopographic Brain Map

• Alpha waves are a particular frequency of
  electrical activity in the brain that indicate a
  relaxed state or inactivity.
• These maps are being used to help target
  treatment medications.

 
Increase in Alpha wave activity
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Added Danger Cocaethylene

• When people mix cocaine and alcohol consumption,
  they are compounding the danger from each drug.
• This is because the human liver combines cocaine
  and alcohol and manufactures a third substance,
  cocaethylene, which intensifies cocaine's
  effects, including increasing the risk of sudden
  death.

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Opiates

• Opium derived from the poppy plant
• Morphine and Codeine Purified components of
  Opium
• Heroin Semisynthetic. Made from morphine and
  acetic acid.

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Opiates

• Inhibits cells in the brain stem that are
  responsible for respirationslows down, and in
  some cases completely stops breathing!
• Stimulates cells of the vomiting center in the
  brain stem, causing nausea and vomiting.
• Inhibits intestinal peristalsis, causing
  constipation.
• Binds to cells of the hypothalamus, therefore
  affecting hormone release throughout the body.
  Lowers testosterone levels.
• The use of needles for IV drug injection provides
  an entryway for many kinds of infections.

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IV Drugs Talc granulomatosis can occur when the
talcum powder used to "cut" many IV drugs
accumulates in the liver. Diminished liver
function can result.
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IV Drugs IV drug use can provide an entryway
into the body for microorganisms that attack and
destroy heart valve tissue. The top picture shows
a normal aortic valve the bottom picture shows
one that has been chewed away by infective
endocarditis.
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• IV Drugs IV drug use has also been associated
  with an increased incidence of infection with
  tuberculosis. The lung pictured has been
  significantly damaged by such infection.

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IV Drugs IV drug use has been associated with an
increased incidence of infection with bacterial
meningitis. The pus that accumulates on the
tissues surrounding the brain is visible in this
picture.
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IV Drugs IV Drug use provides an entryway into
the body for the viruses that cause different
types of hepatitis. This picture shows the
damage to liver tissue that hepatitis can cause.
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IV Drugs Over time, hepatitis infection can lead
to cirrhosis of the liver. This occurs more
commonly with hepatitis B, but can sometimes
occur with hepatitis C.
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Marijuana

• Comes from the leaves and flowers of the Cannabis
  sativa plant. Ingredient responsible for
  psychoactive effects is Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabin
  ol (THC).
• Immediate physical effects expansion of blood
  vessels in the eye, loss of coordination and
  balance, increased heart rate and blood pressure.
• If marijuana is combined with cocaine, the
  increases in heart rate and blood pressure can be
  severeheart rate can even double! This can
  overload the cardiovascular system, resulting in
  a heart attack.

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Effects of Marijuana on the Brain

• THC damages and destroys nerve cells of the
  hippocampus, a part of the brain that is crucial
  for learning, memory, and the integration of
  sensory experiences with emotions and motivation.
  Marijuana abuse is thus associated with
  attention and memory problems.
• It has been shown to cause changes in the brain
  that prime the user to become more easily
  addicted to other drugs.

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Effects of Marijuana on the Lungs

• The daily use of one to three marijuana joints
  produces approximately the same lung damage and
  potential cancer risk as smoking five times as
  many cigarettes!
• Thus, the same lung cancer risks associated with
  tobacco also apply to marijuana users, even
  though they smoke far less.
• Users are also more likely to get bronchitis and
  chest colds.

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PCP (Phencyclidine)

• Was originally used on animals as a powerful
  tranquilizer. Is often used to cut other drugs,
  such as marijuana.
• Low doses increase heart rate and blood pressure,
  depress breathing, and cause numbness of legs and
  arms. Higher doses decrease heart rate and blood
  pressure, depress breathing, cause dizziness,
  nausea, vomiting, and uncontrolled drooling, and
  can cause psychological effects that mimic the
  symptoms of schizophrenia.
• Chronic use has been associated with memory loss,
  problems with speech, problems with fine motor
  coordination, and depression.

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LSD Lyseric Acid Diethylamide

• A hallucinogen. Alters the users perception of
  sensations and feelings (including sensation
  cross-over). Causes delusions.
• Increases body temperature, heart rate, and blood
  pressure. Can cause nausea, sweating, and
  tremors.
• Flashbacks can occur days, weeks, or even years
  after taking the drug.
• Chronic use has been associated with an increased
  manifestation of schizophrenia and major
  depression.

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Metamphetamine

• Metamphetamine (a.k.a. speed, crank, or
  ice) is a potent synthetic amphetamine. It can
  be taken by mouth, smoked, snorted, or injected
  with needles.
• It acts on the central nervous system, causing
  increased wakefulness, decreased appetite, and
  euphoria. Can also cause paranoia, anxiety,
  irregular heart beats, and convulsions that
  result in death. Increases heart rate and blood
  pressure, which can then cause brain
  attacks/strokes and heart attacks.

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Metamphetamines This picture shows the changes
to heart muscle fibers that can occur with
metamphetamine use (normal fibers are on the
left, damaged fibers on the right). The fibers
on the right have lost many of their
cross-striations, which can lead to decreased
cardiac contractility.
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Ecstasy/MDMA

• Chemical name is Methylenedioximetamphetamine.
• Use can cause blurred vision, muscle tension, and
  nausea, as well as increased heart rate and blood
  pressure.
• Use can also result in a variety of acute
  psychiatric disturbances, including panic,
  anxiety, depression, and paranoid thinking.
• MDMA has been shown to destroy serotonin-producing
  neurons in animals. These neurons play a direct
  role in regulating aggression, mood, sexual
  activity, sleep, and sensitivity to pain.

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Ecstasy/MDMA Damage to Serotonin-Producing
Neurons