Applied Sciences IMPACT OF DRUGS ASSIGNMENT

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Large-scale public health campaigns by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Drug Abuse have led to recent declines in the opioid crisis. These initiatives include increasing access to treatment and recovery services, increasing access to overdose-reversal drugs like Naloxone, and implementing better public health monitoring systems (NIDA, 2019).

Hallucinogens

A hallucinogen is one of a class of drugs that results in profound alterations in sensory and perceptual experiences (Figure 4.18). In some cases, users experience vivid visual hallucinations. It is also common for these types of drugs to cause hallucinations of body sensations (e.g., feeling as if you are a giant) and a skewed perception of the passage of time.

Figure 4.18 Psychedelic images like this are often associated with hallucinogenic compounds. (credit: modification of work by "new 1lluminati"/Flickr)

As a group, hallucinogens are incredibly varied in terms of the neurotransmitter systems they affect. Mescaline and LSD are serotonin agonists, and PCP (angel dust) and ketamine (an animal anesthetic) act as antagonists of the NMDA glutamate receptor. In general, these drugs are not thought to possess the same sort of abuse potential as other classes of drugs discussed in this section.

LINK TO LEARNING

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To learn more about some of the most commonly abused prescription and street drugs, check out the Commonly Abused Drugs Chart (http://openstax.org/l/drugabuse) and the Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs Chart (http://openstax.org/l/Rxabuse) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

DIG DEEPER

Medical Marijuana The decade from 2010–2019 brought many changes in laws regarding marijuana. While the possession and use of marijuana remains illegal in many states, it is now legal to possess limited quantities of marijuana for recreational use in eleven states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Medical marijuana is legal in over half of the United States and in the District of Columbia (Figure 4.19). Medical marijuana is marijuana that is prescribed by a doctor for the treatment of a health condition. For example, people who undergo chemotherapy will often be prescribed