Medical Aspects of Mind Altering Drugs

[Music] I used marijuana because it helped me get along with people my own age I drank and used cocaine because I couldn't go to a party and talk to people without it yeah I felt like a a Swiss watch around too tight and booze helped me unwind I did mushrooms because I thought that it was a hip thing to do you heard them there are plenty of excuses for using mind altering drugs but there's only one reason that reason is to change the chemistry of the brain to alter brain cell function to change how we think how we feel how we answer problems thoughts and desires that we have can be altered by mind altering drugs we really use these drugs to change the chemistry of our brain which creates what I call cobs cobs chemical organic brain syndrome in the presence of these mind altering drugs the material within the brain cells is altered and the alteration May last for hours days weeks months or even years and there is evidence to show that the changes of the chemistry in the brain particularly of the neurotransmitters those chemicals that transmit the nerve impulses and the brain cells themselves are lost altered or blocked in their action although the high goes away the changes within the brain May linger at an unconscious level over a long period of [Music] time think of drug abuse is hitting yourself in the head with a hammer when you stop and then throw the hammer away your head hammer level is zero but the malady lingers on the effects last long after you've tossed the hammer out it's the same with the mind altering drugs even though you stop using the drugs the effects Linger on and on and on well let's take a look at these mads these mind altering drugs there are a lot of them but we can group them into about six categories marijuana sedative hypnotic drugs narcotic analgesics the painkillers inhalent lucens and psychomotor stimulants or upper drugs we'll spend a little time checking out some of the drugs in each of these classes and see what they do to our bodies the medical aspects of mind altering drugs there are certain mads mind altering drugs we call drugs of entry alcohol marijuana nicotine and inhalants are the drugs that people usually start with as they go into the world of mind-altering drugs one of these is marijuana let's see how marijuana affects the brain we all know it makes the user feel giddy it Alters space perception and time perception short-term memory is impaired speech becomes slightly disassociated when talking about these effects the user might think well what's wrong with that how's a little high like that going to hurt me well here's what can [Music] happen nerve muscle coordination is altered and the user's stance and balance become unusual high doses can cause hallucinations marijuana has been shown to alter brain tissue and cause veral atrophy the brain can shrink Judgment of distance speed spatial relationships and reaction time become distorted the user's ability to drive a car plane boat truck or bus or even a simple power tool becomes impaired and this lasts 7 to 12 hours after the last smoke one study tested pilots and showed impairment in their ability to land a plane 24 hours after having had the last marijuana and even when impaired most people thought they were okay nothing could be further from the truth Swift reaction times and coordination are hampered motivation is decreased Behavior becomes altered concentration has decreased the user may gradually develop a lack of interest in goals marijuana affects the hypothalamus and the pituitary glands of the brain these in turn alter the sex stimulating hormones there is a decrease in the sperm and testosterone in the male and a decrease in female hormones with alterations of ovulation 12,000 women were studied and the kids of mothers who smoke marijuana had more birth defects than those of non-marijuana smoking mothers the active drug is Delta 9 tetrahydro canaban THC the dope Bean smoked today is almost as strong as the pure resin of hashish THC is very fat soluble and the halflife is about 8 days halflife is the length of time it takes for half of the drug to get out of the body this varies from drug to drug a lot of people say well I only smoke marijuana on weekends and then only one joint let me show you how it accumulates if we smoke one joint and the blood level goes up to here we know that the half life is 8 days so 8 Days Later half of the drug is out of the system 8 days later than that half of the residual is out and 8 Days Later half of that is out so at the end of 21 days there is still marijuana from that one joint in our body now let's go back to the first week if the drug level only comes down to here at the end of 7 days that is less than half of the drug is out of of our system at the end of a week and we smoke another joint there is a higher Peak because the new drug is added to the residual dope we used last week and so weekend after weekend we accumulate more and more of the drug in our brain and body what are the cardiovascular changes for marijuana increased heart rate increased blood pressure rening of the eyes alterations of body temperature and lowering of pressure within the eyes and the effects of smoking marijuana on the lungs chronic cough sinusitis tracheitis bronchitis with ulceration and scarring of the lungs and decreased ability of oxygen to go into the bloodstream through the lungs as we see more people smoking stronger pot over a longer period of time it is anticipated that we will see a dramatic increase of cancer in the lungs in pot smokers and if used along with tobacco the user is in Double Jeopardy of lung and cardiovascular problems marijuana decreases immunity to infections the ability of the bone marrow to produce bacteria fighting cells is impaired white cells that are produced have reduced ability to kill germs when there is marijuana in the body therefore pot smokers are much more susceptible to infections such as colds bronchitis pneumonia and AIDS and marijuana cigarettes frequently contain bacteria and fungi that cause lung infections because of the long half-life of THC withdrawal from the drug may be very subtle and gradual person will feel agitated Restless May have some sleep problems and be disturbed generally this may last for many weeks drug craving may continue for a period of time let's talk about the sedative hypnotic drugs these include the sleeping pills and capsules alcohol tranquilizers sedatives and antihistamines all sedative drugs sedate the brain cells the more we use the greater and deeper the sedation these drugs enhance each other so when used in combination we have what we call the synergistic effect that is one and one equal three instead of two all of these drugs lead to a condition called tolerance the body adjusts to dosages of the drug and so it takes more and more of the same chemical to get the same effect this by the way is a sign of chemical or physical addiction and there is something called cross tolerance with this group of drugs the sedative hypnotics tolerance to one usually means tolerance to all of the drugs addiction to one means addiction to all if one attempts to stop the drug or cut down abruptly the person goes through withdrawal symptoms which can be extremely dangerous and uncomfortable even low doses of a prescribed tranquilizer such as valium or Librium or xanax taken over a period of 30 to 40 days can cause severe withdrawal symptoms if stopped abruptly alcohol withdrawal can be extremely dangerous and abruptly discontinuing sleeping pills such as quales doain or helian can lead to severe complications although these drugs May originally be used to relax you let you get some sleep the sedatives can actually interfere with the Sleep mechanism by altering brain chemicals instead of getting rest the user wakes up sooner than she or he expected experiencing restlessness and agitation and needing more of the chemical to get back to sleep alcohol which is also a set hypnotic drug is the most used and abused of these drugs it is unwise to use alcohol in the growing years because it affects mental and emotional growth and it is dangerous to use alcohol in senior years because it adds to the aging process alcohol negatively affects all organs and all human tissue it should never be used by pregnant women because of the effects on the fetus so-called fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol effects the user also gets decreased muscle tone slurred speech loss of coordination and sedation and depression the sedative effect on the brain and the depressive action may cause respiratory arrest cardiac irregularities shock coma and death and this is especially true if these drugs are used in combination with other mind altering drugs any chemical that sedates or induces sleep is a potentially addicting substance the difference between an old drug and a new drug is that the new ones aren't addicting yet the next section is the painkilling group of drugs the narcotics this group includes heroin morphine Demerol and diloted Codine peridan darvan talwin buprex Stadol Fentanyl and the designer drugs the so-call designer drugs which might sound attractive have in fact caused severe nerve damage and paly like Parkinson's disease and these effects may be permanent and even fatal narcotics are highly addicting both physiologically and psychologically whether taken by mouth snorted or shot by needle they attach themselves to the neuro receptors in the brain and in the bowel and they interfere with the brain's production of natural opium like substances called endorphins the neurotransmitters this is one of the reasons why withdrawal from narcotics is so difficult narcotic drugs numb pain but also create side effects as well they can cause convulsions they interfere with REM sleep and therefore create s disturbances I have I have I have another call coming just take a number thanks breathing becomes slow and shallow and respiratory arrest may occur these drugs slow the heart cause low blood pressure and shock they interfere with digestion and cause constipation tolerance to of these drugs is quickly developed the higher and higher doses eventually required lead to severe complications coma convulsions and death withdrawal from narcotics is very very painful with severe muscle spasm abdominal cramping running from the eyes and nose and diarrhea vomiting nausea weakness may occur and these symptoms May last for several days followed by many weeks of less severe symptoms such as anxiety restlessness sleep problems muscle cramping and Drug craving the group called inhalent are like marijuana and alcohol and nicotine considered drugs of Entry some people have discovered that inhaling the fumes of chemicals like gasoline lighter fluid should polish paints and thinners glue and white out can give them a high these are legal cheap easy to get and easy to hide others will snort or sniff poppers Amal or butal nitrite these chemicals can do serious and even permanent damage to the brain heart liver and kidney these are very dangerous chemicals people become a fiated and die from a lack of oxygen blood pressure drops heart irregularities occur severe inflammation of the nose bronchi and lung takes place causing wheezing and coughing the effects on the brain and the cardiorespiratory tract may cause collapse and death other changes take place in nerve tissue we get photophobic can't stand lights eyes become red we see double get ringing in the ears and we may develop Mental Illness but the muscles of the body become weak and the joints get inflamed and painful these conditions can last for many months both red and white cells can be destroyed and anemia and decreased immunity to all kinds of infection takes place we lose our appetite develop inflammation of the liver hepatitis of the pancreas pancreatitis and the kidneys can fail recurrent use of these drugs may cause kidney stones which are extremely p painful and may require surgery the halflife of these drugs is quite short from 1 to 45 minutes and so frequent use is common to get the high or get frequent highs and this is dangerous drug users turn themselves into human test tubes and many of them just seem to explode mentally and emotionally they do permanent damage to what might otherwise be a healthy body and a healthy mind there are a group of drugs called psychedelics or hallucinogens or perceptual distorters they've been around for hundreds of years and have been used for religious ceremonies and rituals people believe that the effects that they gave were spiritual or religious effects in reality they were simply brain chemistry changes which gave them Distortion of reality brain cells were altered these psychedelics or perceptual disorders include PCP LSD mushrooms of the psilocybin type peyote or mescaline do or STP and ecstasy or MDMA what exactly do these drugs do to the brain they alter the chemical transmission of nerve impulses some are blocked some are prolonged some are short circuited but all are distorted and hallucinations occur for this reason psychedelics impair Judgment of distance and time and decrease one's reflexes PCP is an extremely dangerous drug and deserves special attention for the person who's used PCP the sense of pain may go and in spite of painful stimuli one may carry on abnormal activities like trying to fly out a window or fighting with police or family or friends as they try to subdued the wild acting user as the amount of drug used increases or the frequency increases the user will become anxious Giddy and drunk they will have illogical behavior and will stagger and stammer they become either withdrawn and passive but more frequently hostile and violent blood pressure goes up vomiting drooling muscle spasm and facial muscle ticks occur the person becomes restless and psychotic convulsions and coma may occur and death frequently takes place from accidents or drownings and from respiratory and cardiac arrest and strokes withdrawal from psychedelics may be associated with depression anxiety erratic behavior and restlessness the thought processes become distorted and particularly with PCP the person is unable to track or to concentrate to follow a thought pattern and we see what we call Brain burnout the inability to relate the inability to understand clearly what is going on around us these effects can last a long time and even can be permanent many people have had frightening Flash backs reexperiencing very unpleasant situations they had while under the influence of a drug these flashbacks are not due to the fact that there is still a drug in the body they are due to a revitalization of a memory by some current stimulus this will gradually fade over a period of years as long as a drug is not reused you can never predict the outcome of street drugs the effects may be altered by other chemicals PCP may be mixed with marijuana STP may be mixed with speed the combinations give different effects and you never know what you're buying the potency and the Purity are never the same it's like Russian Roulette there is another group of mind-altering drugs we need to talk about the stimulant these drugs are cocaine speed including the amphetamines dexadrin crystal meth and crank Rin and affh fedrin as in the nasal decongest and the lookalikes advertised in some magazines and designed to look like some of the old weight control drugs illegal in most areas these lookalikes are made up of caffeine phenopen alamine and can cause severe headaches anxiety nervousness and high blood pressure these drugs also affect the neurotransmitters of the brain those chemicals that activate and transmit MIT brain activity usually after the neurotransmitters are stimulated the brain cells reabsorb the chemicals but in the presence of cocaine the reabsorption is blocked and more cocaine is needed to activate more brain chemicals cocaine comes in many forms in South America where it's grown people will chew the leaves and absorb the cocaine through the lining of their mouths others will snort the crystals and some will mix the crystals with ether heat it and form a potent free base which is smoked another product on the market is called crack which is preformed cocaine of the free based type cocaine has a short halflife it's rapidly absorbed and goes to the brain quickly but the high lasts only 20 to 30 minutes followed by a severe crash requiring more and more of the drug cocaine pain is extremely potent and dangerous and a person can become physiologically and psychologically addicted within a few days what do we get when we use stimulants strength and confidence a racing mind increased alertness a charged up feeling and we get impaired judgment decreased job efficiency ruined relationships and severe drug craving and death our muscle activity is stimulated our speech and respirations become more rapid and our blood pressure Soares the nasal membranes become inflamed a septum may even perforate and the bridge of the nose may even collapse we become anxious and restless and paranoid our appetite is reduced we get constipation and urinary tract retention really nice hot tub water we get CED out and a tremendous craving and then we crash with sleep disorders and depression and the Cocaine Blues the Euphoria goes to dysphoria and we get cocaine psychosis hey baby how you doing it's me we are seeing more and more of this serious disease particularly with crack it causes hallucinations alter of taste smell touch and sight and respiratory arrest convulsions and death a 31-year-old friend and patient of mine the president of a recording company died of a stroke caused by cocaine after using it for only 3 weeks a 21-year-old basketball star and a 23-year-old professional football player died of cardiac arrest due to cocaine a lot of people say it won't happen to me they didn't know how to use it it won't happen to me but it does it does the amphetamines include crystal meth or crank and dexadrin and Rin these uppers cause the heart rate and the blood pressure and the respirations to rise and a feeling of a rush comes over one when taken intervenous they cause sweating headaches dizziness blurred vision Sleep Disorders anxiety irregular heart rate fever and loss of appetite seizures may occur strokes and heart failure take place psychoses delusions paranoia lead to bizarre behavior depression and disorientation driving under the influence of one of these drugs is extremely hazardous there is a high incidence of Auto Truck motor motorcycle bus accidents from drivers using these drugs to try to stay awake the combination of lack of sleep and the effects of the drug on brain chemistry impair judgment and can be fatal in fact these drugs the stimulants cocaine amphetamines all of them dominate behavior and drive the user to reuse them again and again chemical dependency appears to sneak up on people who are just trying to have a good time to experiment we all think we're strong enough brave enough smart enough and moral enough not to get hooked anyone can become a drug addict what is helpful to keep in mind is that there is also psychological addiction the belief we need this drug in order to survive and there is a psychological addiction to the rituals of using and the addiction to the drama involved in getting the drug and there is investment in the time all this takes so it's possible to experience grief and to mourn the loss of what has been a substantial part of our life to experience a psychological craving even after the physical craving has passed Medical aspects of these drugs will affect different people in different ways important thing is not to start using them but if you have the next step is to stop and not start again and that may take help you probably can't do it alone don't worry there's a lot of help out there how you doing my name is [Music] Anthony all the things you'd like to say how you feel if it's love will say it all to many thoughts to your mind and you can s them out in time it doesn't matter it just get better cuz love will say it all you know that time let you know you really need it makes the road even sweeter and you wonder how you live before this day