SOC 2070 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Drug User, Central Nervous System, Psychoactive Drug
10 Jun 2020
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Chapter 8: Substance Abuse
• Psychoactive substances are chemicals that influence how the brain works -- how we think,
feel and act
o They produce an "out of the ordinary" state of mind that induces atypical behaviour
and make routine behaviour difficult
o At a large dosage, we call this state "intoxication" and achieving this state, "getting
high"
Rates of Use: NSDUH and MTF
NSDUH
• 1971, first systematic survey of drug use among sample of Americans conducted by the
federal government
• In 2014, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) conducted a survey
o Found that legal drugs (alcohol and cigarettes) were used more than illegal drugs, and
marijuana is the most popular illicit drug in the US
o Teen use has decreased over the decade, especially for all tobacco products
o Alcohol consumption higher among males (57.1%), but for youth male (11.2%) and
female (11.9%) percentage is almost identical
o Illicit drug use highest among 18-25-year-old
o smokers or tobacco cigarettes and drinkers of alcohol especially heavy drinkers are
significantly more likely to use and abuse illicit drugs and at all levels
o Smokers 5 times more likely to be current illicit drug users; drinkers 3 times more
likely; heavy/binge drinkers 10 times more likely
o 2 generalizations: 1. people who drink alcohol are more likely to use illicit substances
than those who do not drink, 2. most people who drink do not use illegal drugs
MTF
• Since 1975, done by Institute on Survey Research at the University of Michigan
• 2014 MFT (Monitoring the Future) Survey of drug use among 8th, 10th, 12th graders
o Similar findings to NSDUH survey done in 2014
A Classification of Drugs and Drug Effects
• Stimulants
o Speed up signals passing through the central nervous system (CNS)
o Enable user to feel more alert and awake
o Strong stimulants include: cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, Adderall and
Ritalin
• Narcotics
o Aka "narcotic analgesics" diminish the brain's perception of pain
o Include opiates (opium, morphine, heroin, codeine), synthetic and semisynthetic
narcotic called opioid (or "opium like" drugs) such as Percodan, Dilaudid,
methadone, meperidine (or Demerol), and oxycodone (including OxyContin)
o All narcotics are also physically addicting i.e. they generate physical dependency
after regular long-term use
o Effects include mental clouding and euphoria
• Sedatives or General Depressants
o Have depressive effect on wide range of body organs and functions
o Induce relaxation, inhibit anxiety, and at higher doses do result eventually in sleep
o Most well known is alcohol
o Sedative hypnotics such as barbiturates, methaqualone and GHB; tranquilizers
including valium, xanax, Librium, lorazepam and Rohypnol (roofies)
o General depressants in high doses result in mental clouding, drowsiness, and physical
dependence
• An overdose can produce unconsciousness, coma, and even death
• Hallucinogens
o Have effects on the CNS
o Induce profound sensory alterations
o Include LSD, peyote and mescaline and psilocybin or "magic mushrooms"
o Principle effect is extreme psycho-activity, a loosening of the imagination and
intensification of emotional states
o Includes PCP or Sernyl once referred to as "angel dust", originally used as animal
tranquilizer, seen as a dissociative anesthetic
o MDMA or ecstasy referred to as hallucinogen but does not produce sensory
alteration; more accurate term to describe it would be "empathogen", that which is
capable of inducing empathy or an emotional identification with other
Loyal Rates
• As a general rule, legal drugs tend to be used much more often on a continued basis,
whereas illegal drugs tend to be used more infrequently
• Users of illegal substances more likely to discontinue using after a period of time
• Alcohol attracts the greatest user loyalty
• Marijuana tends to be "stuck with" the longest among all illegal drugs
• The more legal the drug the more loyal users are to it
Alcohol Consumption: An Introduction
• Alcohol can induce pleasure, euphoria, intoxication, a sense of wellbeing, a state of
relaxation, a relief from tension, a feeling of goodwill towards others, the alleviation of
pain, drowsiness, and sleep
• Most widely ingested psychoactive substance in the world, almost omnipresent the world
over
• Impact of alcohol consumption is determined not solely by the biochemical effects of the
drug, but also the relationship of those effects to the characteristics of the people drinking
it, constrained by the culture and the society in which it is used
• Five reasons that drive sociologists’ interest in alcohol consumption as a form of deviance
1. The excessive consumption of alcohol a form of deviance
i. Makes it difficult for most people to perform their expected institutional roles
ii. Failing to perform expected roles as a result of intoxication if a form of
deviance
2. The effects of alcohol facilitate or are associated with the enactment of many forms
of deviance (crime, violence, sexual transgressions, and needless, avoidable
accidents)
