week3 Issues Behind Addictive Drug Use

Response 1

Evaluate the employment of psychoactive drugs from the aspects of a risk-benefits

Recent studies have asked experts and drug users alike to rate the dangers of psychoactive drugs in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. This research aimed to examine the perceived advantages and dangers of commonly used recreational drugs, both legal and illegal, in a sample of drug users from throughout the globe. Drug usage was scored by residents on a scale of one to ten for 15 frequently used substances or drug types. The poll was completed by 5791 people from over 40 nations, with most respondents from English-speaking countries. Each of the ten distinct benefit categories had a distinct effect on how medications were ranked (Schweitzer et al., 2018).

Herbal cannabis and skunk strains of marijuana were consistently rated as healthy, whereas alcohol and cigarettes were rated as less beneficial than many other substances. Drugs' harm rankings were not correlated with their classifications in the US or the ABC system in the United Kingdom. Analgesics prescribed by doctors were among the most hazardous medications, and with alcohol and cigarettes. According to these studies, both the US and UK systems do not seem to be informing people about the dangers of psychoactive drugs. It is anticipated that the findings will provide health care providers and educators with a better understanding of the advantages and risks associated with the use of psychoactive drugs by children and adolescents (Wu & Cheng, 2020).

Tobacco and alcohol are responsible for 12 % of all fatalities globally, with tobacco accounting for 2.5 million deaths each year and alcohol for 2.5 million. Tobacco smoking costs the United States and the United Kingdom an estimated $96 billion and $2.25 billion, respectively, in annual health care expenditures. More than $200 billion is spent annually in the United States and the United Kingdom on alcohol-related costs, including health, social, and criminal justice costs. Prescription analgesics (or painkillers) have seen a recent rise in non-medical usage, with a rising trend of "pill mills" and "doctor shopping. Twelve million persons in the United States abused these substances for non-medical purposes in 2010, making them the second most widespread type of illicit drug usage after marijuana. Prescription analgesic deaths in the United States have tripled in the previous decade, probably not unexpected considering their considerably bigger customer base.

Think about how a risk-benefit analysis and other ethical factors like the danger of addiction vs. the expense of punitive action may be used to evaluate psychoactive substance use. In addition, go through topics including pharmacokinetics, medication administration methods and dosage. Finally, supply, societal attitudes about drug use, and drug usage setting may be relevant (Pitanupong et al., 2022).

Humans have been using psychoactive drugs in official (ceremonial) and informal (recreational) contexts for millennia. However, abuse and addiction have only recently become widespread issues in the western world. With the help of the literature and your understanding of the problems at hand, come up with an explanation for why the problem has become so big. Use risk-benefit analysis and ethical concerns, such as the potential for addiction vs. the cost of punitive action, to help you decide whether or not to use psychoactive medications. In addition, go through topics including pharmacokinetics, medication administration methods and dosage. Supply, societal attitudes about drug use, and drug usage setting may be relevant.

The bioavailability of a drug is the percentage of the dosage that enters the bloodstream after administration. To a doctor, the most crucial factor is the amount of active medication that makes it to the brain. No consideration is given to how quickly the medicine may be absorbed. Influences on absorption might have an impact on bioavailability. Comparing the different areas under the plasma concentration curves (AUC) following oral administration might help assess a drug's absolute availability (Davis et al., 2018).

The amount of a drug's supplied dosage absorbed into the bloodstream is known as its bioavailability. To a doctor, the most crucial factor is the amount of active medication that makes it to the brain. The rate at which the medicine is absorbed is not considered by bioavailability. However, influences on absorption might have an impact on bioavailability. Comparing the different areas under the plasma concentration curves (AUCs) following oral and intravenous delivery might help assess a drug's absolute availability.

 

References

Davis, A. K., Barsuglia, J. P., Lancelotta, R., Grant, R. M., & Renn, E. (2018). The epidemiology of 5-methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) use: Benefits, consequences, patterns of use, subjective effects, and reasons for consumption. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(7), 779-792.

Pitanupong, J., Karakate, A., Tepsuan, L., & Sritrangnant, G. (2022). Attitudes Toward Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics among Schizophrenia Patients in Southern Thailand: A Multihospital-Based Cross-Sectional Survey. Siriraj Medical Journal, 74(3), 193-201.

Schweitzer, R. D., Vromans, L., Brough, M., Asic-Kobe, M., Correa-Velez, I., Murray, K., & Lenette, C. (2018). Recently resettled refugee women-at-risk in Australia evidence high psychiatric symptoms: individual, trauma and post-migration factors predict outcomes. BMC medicine, 16(1), 1-12.

Wu, H. C., & Cheng, C. C. (2020). Relationships between experiential risk, experiential benefits, experiential evaluation, experiential co-creation, experiential relationship quality, and future experiential intentions to travel with pets. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 26(1), 108-129.

Response 2

Nicotine is in the top three most widely used psychoactive drugs in our society next to caffeine and ethyl alcohol (Advokat et al., 2018). Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States with more than 400,000 premature deaths (Advokat et al., 2018). The key work in this research is "preventable", but why are so many people becoming addicted to tobacco? The toxicity of smoking is related to other components of cigarette smoke, it is the pharmacological effects of nicotine that produces the addiction to tobacco (Benowitz, 2010). Nicotine binds to nicotinic cholinergic receptors that facilitate neurotransmitter release mediating the complex action of nicotine in tobacco users (Benowitz, 2010). Research shows that tobacco addiction is much more common in people with mental illness and substance abuse disorders which accounts for the high proportion of current smokers (Benowitz, 2010). When you buy any tobacco products they come with a warning label that states "may cause heart disease" and "may cause cancer" but nevertheless, people will continue to use tobacco. Nearly 70% of adults who use tobacco say they want to quit, but only 6% were actually successful (Benowitz, 2010).

When a person inhales smoke from a cigarette, nicotine is distilled from the tobacco and carried into the lungs, and is installed instantly into the pulmonary venous circulation (Benowitz, 2010). This shows that people are instantly feeling the effects of the nicotine giving them the sensation of a temporary high, and by it just being temporary this is what causes people to what is called "chain-smoking" in which they are chasing that instant rush. Nicotine causes a release of dopamine into the mesolimbic area and the prefrontal cortex area (Benowitz, 2010) the release of dopamine signals this is a pleasurable experience to the parts of the brain that is responsible for logical thinking and intense emotion. Nicotine is not only inhaled but also absorbed through chewing gum, chewing tobacco, nasal sprays, transdermal skin patches, and smokeless inhalers (Advokat et al., 2018). The lethal dose of nicotine for an adult has been reported at around 60 milligrams the average smoker will absorb 1 to 2 milligrams of nicotine per ten puffs (Advokat et al., 2018) which equals about one cigarette but, there are people who smoke more than a pack a day explaining why the number of deaths due to tobacco was labeled preventable.

 

Advokat, C. D., Comaty, J. E., & Julien, R. M. (2018).  Julien's primer of drug action: A comprehensive guide to the actions, uses, and side effects of psychoactive drugs  (14th ed.). Worth Publishers.

Benowitz, N. L. (2010). Pharmacology of nicotine: addiction, smoking-induced disease, and therapeutics. PubMed Central. 49. 57-71. doi: 10.1146/annurev.pharmtox.48.113006.094742.