DRUGS: USAGE AND ABUSE

BACKGROUND

From man`s earliest days various plants and crude chemicals have been used to treat illnesses. The foxglove was found to help certain types of heart disease and juice of the poppy pod   to relieve pain and have tranquillizing effect.  Highly refined extracts of   these plants are still used today as Digoxin and Morphine. Many useful drugs have side effects and if these give pleasurable sensations or effects the mind there is a danger of misuse which can damage the human body. Morphine is such an example.

OPIUM AND   ALCOHOL

Alcohol is mentioned in early history and in the Bible, Noah his spoken of as planning a vineyard, drinking wine and becoming drunk. In the middle ages the Arabs introduced distillation into Europe and alcohol was hailed as the elixir of life. Apart from its sedative effect it was used as a pain killer and anaesthetic .

Opium too, has a history of thousands of years. Early writes thought of it as a remedy given by Almighty God to relieve suffering. It was not until the nineteenth century when it was used in the America civil war to relieve pain, that its addicting qualities became fully known.

Cocaine was introduced as a supposedly safe substitute and stimulant but again it proved dangerous. This drug had been used by South America Indians as a stimulant and cure for hunger for centuries. Many other mind- altering or  psychotropic, substances have been  used –hashish or pot, peyotyl, kat, etc.

Some of these were used to give ‘vision’ of the Gods in certain religious rites. Other found they induced an unnatural state of intoxication but when used regularly produced as state lethargy and disinterest in work. The Industrial Revolution brought about a change from small scale alchemy to chemistry on a large scale with the synthesis of many organic chemical and drugs.

Coal provided the raw material for many of these; Nitrous Oxide was prepared by a chemist, Joseph Priestley, in 1776. Later Humphry Dave, famed for his invention of miner`s lamp, noted its intoxicant and anaesthetic properties when he had toothache! Bromides were used for all sorts of conditions from epilepsy to mania. It was soon found that toxic reactions ensued and confusion of the mind resulted.

Chloral Hydrate was introduced in 1869, first as a possible anaesthetic but later as a sedative. It is still used today and is very safe.

Barbiturates came along about the turn of the century. At first they were hailed as the answer to insomnia, among other things, but it was soon apparent that became dependent and could not manage without them. Today safer drugs are usually used.

Amphetamines were synthesized in the 1920s to combat fatique. They were used during the last war for this purpose. Again abuse was soon rife when they were used, not as appetite suppressants, but as pick –me-ups and pep pills.

In the early 50s safer sedatives were sought. These were termed tranquillizers. Among the most popular of these is Diazepam or valium. These drugs have been a phenomenal commercial and medical success, giving some  indication of the tensions of modern  life.

Again dependence and  misuse  is possible. About the same time a number of antipsychotic drugs were synthesized. These are still  used  to help the mentally ill. They  have made a major contribution of the treatment of a number of types mental illness.  Patients can often continue with a useful  life instead of being  incarcerated  in mental hospitals. Side effects are often present and the sparkle of an individual`s  personality is at times  suppressed by the process of  treating the sysmptoms mental illness. Up to about twenty- five years ago the only really effective treatment for severe depression was  electro- convulsion therapy. This is still used in intractable cases but  many antidepressant  drugs are now available and are effective in 80 percent of people. They fall into two, one of which  reacts  with foods and complications ensue  if care is not taken. These are not used a great deal now but the  other group – the tricyclics- are very effective and are widely prescribed. Every few years a new drugs is discovered which promises well, but side effects are found which make it dangerous- we  all remember the thalidomide tragedy. Most of the drugs used in psychiatry were discovered  by accident.

They have an obscure mode of action chiefly because of  the extraordinary and wonderful complexity of the human brain and  its  functions. We have  a limited knowledge of its biochemistry and consequently drugs are difficult to find to act selectively on a part of the  brain  which  may be malfunctioning.

We must remember that drugs only act on the mechanisms of illness. They do not prevent the factors that lead to mental illness or distress. Consequently a combined approach to the biological, psychological, social and spiritual factors will probably prove  the way forward for research in the future.

SOME DRUGS OF ABUSE

DRUGS NAME	SLANG	HOW USED	EFFECTS AND DANGERS
CANNABIS: Marijuana                   Hanish	Pot/Tea    Grass,   Mary Jane,       Weed Smoke boo   Hash	Smoked in Joints Sticks Reefers Pipes Eaten in food Smoked, Eaten	Euphonia, increased pulse rate. High doses may lead to reduced motivation, impulse behavior, and anxiety, bring on psychotic reaction. Brain damage, and possible effects on foetus. Like marijuana, but about six times as strong. Tendency to  Hallucinate after high dos
HALLUCINOGENS: LSD Mescaline Psilocybin	Acid, Sunshine Peyote,               Mesc	Swallowed (Capsules, liquid, Sugar cubes) injected	Hallucination, dilated pupils Unusual hilarity, intense, anxiety Paranoid reaction, impairment of normal motivational, some
STIMULANTS Amphetamines Methamphetamine Cocaine	Speed  Bennies,       Dex, Hearts,     Greenies,            Pep pills,            Coke,  C.,                  snow,  Dust (When mixed with heroin).	swallowed      (tablets), Sniffed as         Crystals Injected     Sniffed or injected.	abnormal alertness and aggressiveness, loss of appetite, paranoid activities acute depression as dose wears off (Crashing) rapid tolerance build up. Hyperactivity, paranoid Convulsions. activities, possible
DEPRESSANTS Barbiturates Alcohol              Tranquillizers	Downs. Yellows,      Blue Heavens,      Barbs Red,                   Booze Quieter’s,          (Downer)	Swallowed          injected (Tablets or capsules). Swallowed (liquid) .               Swallowed (capsules)	with alcohol or from unsupervised withdrawal Physical addictive. Danger of death from overdose, especially in combination Sluggishness, faulty judgments. Possible acute and chronic in toxication, cirrhosis, physical dependence and addiction,  with serious   withdrawal symptoms , including Convulsions and delirium. Drowsiness, nausea. Possible physical dependence from use of excessive doses               over long periods of time, with withdrawal Symptoms, including convulsions.
NARCOTICS OPIUM Heroin (opium derivative) Morphine ( opium derivative)	Poppy, Tar, Black Stuff.             Horse Skag, Junk, Stuff M.White      Stuff   Dreamer.	Smoked Sniffed, injected just under the skin. ( Skin popping) Or into vein (mainlining). Same as heroin	Euphoria then drowsiness. Likelihood of physical addiction with painful withdrawal or death from overdose Same as heroin. Slower-acting, longer-lasting.

TACKLING THE CAUSES

We would now like to consider tackling the stress of everyday like by making a supreme effort to get at the cause of the situation  rather  than dealing with the symptoms.

As pointed out at the beginning of this article, drugs have to be used to control and treat some illnesses. These should always be used under medical supervision.  Many of the conditions for which patients consult doctors these days could be better treated in ways other than by drugs. Many illnesses have a mental component which can be helped considerably by explanation of the disease process. Worries concerning financial social and marital problems loom large days.

The housing shortage with consequent overcrowding can make tempers brittle  when the children  play up. Often a brief consultation with a general practitioner is not the best answer to the many stress-related problems that rise. One is likely to come away with a prescription for some tranquillizer pills given by a doctor as a temporary measure until he can see his patient on several subsequent occasions to try to understand the underlying problem and find an answer. These may help an answer. These may help temporarily but it is far better to try to get help with the root cause than smother the symptoms with drugs.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Be honest with yourself, don`t complain of some bizarre symptoms if the real trouble is disharmony at home etc.
2. Share the problems with a reliable relative or friend who would respect your confidence. This could well be someone other than your best friend with whom you often associate. You will be surprised how anxious people are to help, if you give them the chance and approach them sensibly.
3.  If more professional advice is needed you might get this from your doctor or social worker- depending on the particular difficulty.

If it proves impossible to resolve the situation your doctor may refer you to a consultant or prescribe medication. Any drugs taken should only be used under the medical supervision of one person otherwise confusion may result.

Remember alcohol is a drug and disastrous consequences can result if used as well as some drugs prescribed by your doctor. Many death have  from  this combination- quite unintentionally.

Likewise advice is freely available from the other professional people mentioned – possibly not always the advice one might wish to receive, but it should be very seriously considered.