Unit One: Substance Use and Addiction

Unit Objectives:

1. To examine the leading causes of death for teenagers in the United States and consider risk factors related to those causes

2. To define the 7 main categories of drugs

3. To understand the potential short and long term

effects legal and illegal drugs can have on the body

4. To discuss how drugs are scheduled by the US government

5. To examine the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana for

medicinal purposes.

6.  To understand how drugs effect normal neuron

communication in the brain

7.  To label the parts of a neuron and explain normal

neuron communication

8.  To discuss the physical, social, and mental issues associated with substance addiction

Assessments: This unit will be assessed with a test on Tuesday February 15th

Packet: This packet will be assessed for 2 homework grades and two class work grades

Prior Knowledge: Before we begin to investigate various drugs and drug-related issues, I would like to gather more information about your perception/opinion on these issues as a teen. Please use the space below to respond to the following prompt:

Unit One Syllabus: Substance Abuse and Addiction

Day / Lesson Objectives / Assignments
1/25 / Course Introduction
Tell Me About You / Sign Course Outline
1/26 & 1/27 / Themes: Risk Taking
And Decision Making
Investigating Teen
Risk Behaviors;
Venn Diagram Activity
And Discussion / Complete Health Related Issue #1:
Cyberbullying: Issue or Not? (Pgs.2-3)
Complete Note Taking on Drug Categories
Pgs. 4-5
1/28 / NO SCHOOL / Complete assignments for 1/31 listed above
1/31 / Discussion: Cyberbullying
Article
Drug Categories & Scheduling
Legal & Illegal Drugs: NOTES
2/1 / Legal & Illegal Drugs: NOTES / Review Notes
2/2 & 2/3 / Marijuana Web Activity and
Discussion:
Current Laws and Issues
Video: Dispensing Marijuana
2/4 / Pros/Cons of Medical
Marijuana Discussion / Medical Marijuana Reflective Writing (2/7)
Read: Understanding Brain Chemistry and
Drugs: Complete Vocab Activity pgs 13-15
2/7 / Reality of Addiction: How
Would it Feel to be Addicted?
Neuron Function and Addiction
2/8 / Film: The Teenage Brain
R.A.F.T. Assignment / R.A.F.T. Assignment (SBR Assessment
and Quiz Grade) Due 2/18
2/9 & 2/10 / Maine Correctional Facility
Presentation / Reflection Letter
Due 2/18
2/11 / Presentation Discussion
Work Time: R.A.F.T.
Assignment / RAFT Due 2/18
Complete Unit One Packet and Review
Sheet
2/14 / Unit One Test Review / STUDY
2/15 / Unit One Test
2/16 & 2/17 / Alcohol 101
Film: Spin the Bottle:
Sex, Lies, and Alcohol
2/18 / Turn In RAFT
Film Discussion

Bullying and Cyberbullying: Issue or Not?

Task: Read the short stories included below and then complete the reflection assignment on the last page.

Bullies pose a real threat in a virtual world. By Rosalind Wiseman February 25, 2007

divagirl: Hey, loser, watch your back.

surferchick: What r u talking about?

divagirl: Why don’t you kill yourself while u r ahead?

surferchick: Why can’t you just leave me alone?

divagirl: Ugly girls like you need to be put in their place.

Bullies used to be big kids who picked on smaller ones. But instant messages (like the exchange above), cell phones and the Internet have changed that. Today, young people are using technology against each other: It’s called cyberbullying, and it can be as frightening as face-to-face aggression. While most parents worry that their child will fall victim to a sexual predator online, cyberbullying often slips under the radar.

Cyber-Bullying Growing

So Are Efforts To Stop It; Teens, Experts Talk To Hannah Storm

(CBS)Cyber-bullying, when kids pick on other kids on the Internet, is a very real phenomenon. A recent study found more than 40 percent of students claim to have been bullied online.

The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm recently met with some Atlanta teens to discuss the disturbing trend. Today's kids don't even know what life is like without the Internet, Storm points out. It's an integral part of their lives, for homework, entertainment, and chatting with friends. But the downside has become apparent to many teens and pre-teens.

"I got some anonymous e-mails, probably around 300 of them, and they all had the same message on them, saying I was a whore," says Tricia, who's 15.

She suspects a former friend initiated the hateful messages. But her mother, Lisa, says there wasn't much they could do: "You can't prove who did it, you can't find out who did it, and it probably would exacerbate the problem to make something of it."

Frontier justice in an online world? By P.J. Huffstutter

Megan Meier, 13, committed suicide in 2006.

DARDENNE PRAIRIE, Mo. — For nearly a year, the families living along Waterford Crystal Drive in this bedroom community northwest of St. Louis kept the secret about the boy Megan Meyer met in September 2006 on the social-networking site MySpace.

He called himself Josh Evans, and he and Meier, 13, struck up an online friendship that lasted for weeks.The boy then abruptly turned on Meier and ended it. Meier, who previously battled depression, committed suicide that night.

The secret was revealed six weeks later: Neighbor mother Lori Drew had pretended to be 16-year-old "Josh" to gain the trust of Meier, who had been fighting with Drew's daughter, according to police records and Meier's parents.

Cyber-bullying gathers pace in US

One 16-year-old girl said: "There's this boy in my anatomy class who everybody hates and some girl started up this I Hate [Name] MySpace thing. So everybody in school goes on it to say bad things about this boy."

The Untouchable Mean Girls January 24, 2010

Like a lot of kids her age, Phoebe Prince was a swan, always beautiful and sometimes awkward.Last fall, she moved from Ireland into western Massachusetts, a new town, a new high school, a new country, a new culture. She was 15, when all that matters is being liked and wearing the right clothes and just fitting in.She was a freshman and she had a brief fling with a senior, a football player, and for this she became the target of the Mean Girls, who decided then and there that Phoebe didn’t know her place and that Phoebe would pay.

Kids can be mean, but the Mean Girls took it to another level, according to students and parents. They followed Phoebe around, calling her a slut. When they wanted to be more specific, they called her an Irish slut.The name-calling, the stalking, the intimidation was relentless.

Ten days ago, Phoebe was walking home from school when one of the Mean Girls drove by in a car. An insult and an energy drink can came flying out the car window in Phoebe’s direction.Phoebe kept walking, past the abuse, past the can, past the white picket fence, into her house. Then she walked into a closet and hanged herself. Her 12-year-old sister found her.

Please provide a general response after reading the stories above: What are your initial thoughts, good or bad? Should there be a punishment attached to cyber-bullying or is it just part of being a teen?”

In what ways is cyberbullying different than face to face bullying?

Is this an issue at our school? Discuss.

Should students be allowed to access social networking sites at school, such as Facebook, Skype, and MySpace? Discuss.

Double Entry Vocabulary Journal: Drug Categories: Please define the 8 main categories of drugs and provide an example, if applicable, of each. Use the article on page 6.

Drug /

Definition

/ Drug Examples/Products
Stimulants
Depressants
Inhalants
Cannabinoids
Narcotics or Opiates
Anabolic Steroids
Hallucinogens
Prescription Drugs

Top 8 Drug Categories

Drugs come in various forms, and can be taken numerous ways. Some are legal and others are not. Drug abuse and misuse can cause numerous health problems, and in serious cases death can occur. Treatment for drug abuse is often sought to aid in recovery. Drugs and medications of abuse can be grouped together into categories based on similarities between how they work and what effects they will produce in the human body and brain. A useful categorization scheme follows.

Stimulants

These drugs speed up the body’s nervous system and create a feeling of energy. They are also called “uppers” because of their ability to make you feel very awake. Stimulants have the opposite effect of depressants. When the effects of a stimulant wear off, the user is typically left with feelings of sickness and a loss of energy. Constant use of such drugs can have very negative effects on the user.

The stimulating effects of these drugs can be extremely dangerous to the heart.

Types of drugs include: Cocaine Methamphetamines Amphetamines

Depressants

Depressants slow down activity in the central nervous system of your body. These drugs are also called “downers” because they slow the body down and seem to give feelings of relaxation. Depressants are available as prescription drugs to relieve stress and anger, although drowsiness is often a side effect. The “relaxation” felt from these drugs is not a healthy feeling for the body to experience and can cause organ systems to shut down due to the depressing effects of these drugs.

Types of drugs: Barbiturates Benzodiazepines GHB (Gamma-hydroxybutyrate)

Alcohol Tranquillizers Rohypnol

Inhalants

Inhalants are sniffed or huffed and give the user immediate results. Unfortunately, these immediate results can also result in sudden mental damage. When inhalants are taken, the body becomes deprived of oxygen, causing a rapid heart beat. Other effects include liver, lung and kidney problems, affected sense of smell, difficulty walking and confusion.

Types of drugs include: Glues Paint thinner Gasoline Laughing gas Aerosol sprays

Cannabinoids

A group of mind altering chemicals found in marijuana plants. These drugs result in feelings of euphoria, cause confusion and memory problems, anxiety, a higher heart rate, as well as staggering and poor reaction time. Cannabinoids can produce hallucinogenic effects in certain amounts.

Types of drugs include: Hashish Marijuana

Narcotics or Opiates

Narcotics and opiates are generally used legally to treat pain, but can also cause drowsiness, confusion, nausea, feelings of euphoria, and cardiovascular and respiratory complications. Some opiates are legal and others are not.

Types of drugs include: Codeine Heroin Morphine Oxycodone Hydrocodone

Anabolic Steroids

Steroids are a synthetic form of the male hormone testosterone, and are taken to improve physical performance as well as to enlarge muscles and increase strength. Negative effects of steroids include baldness, cysts, oily hair and skin, acne, heart attack, stroke and change in voice. Hostility is also a frequent side effect of anabolic steroids.

Hallucinogens

These drugs change the mind and cause the user to hear and see things that are not there. Hallucinogens affect the body’s self-control, such as speech and movement, and often bring about hostility, or rapid changes in emotions. Other negative side effects of these drugs include heart failure, increased heart rate, higher blood pressure and changes in the body’s hormones.

Types of drugs include: LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) Mescaline Psilocybin Cannabis Mushrooms

Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs can be very helpful drugs when used properly and when under the guidance of a qualified physician. These drugs can be used as aids in surgery, to treat medical conditions and while controlling various symptoms. Misuse and abuse of prescription drugs however can be very dangerous and is becoming VERY common

Types of drugs include: Opiates: Codeine, Oxycodone, Morphine

Depressants: barbiturates, benzodiazepines Stimulants: dextroamphetamine(DXM), methylphenida

Therapeutic vs. Non-Therapeutic Effect:

Method of Delivery:

Stimulants:

Cocaine
Schedule and Medical Use
Effects
Concerns
Methamphetamines / Also called “Poor Man’s Cocaine”
How Made?
Problems
Legislation to Limit Access to Ingredients
Amphetamines
Medical Uses
Recreational Use
Concerns/Issues

Depressants:

Rohypnol and GHB
Schedule
Medical Uses
Onset and Duration of Effects
Use as date rape drugs
Prevention

Narcotics/Opiates:

Heroin
Schedule
Effects
Treatment
Prescription Painkillers / Oxycontin, Hydrocodone, Codeine, Fentanyl, Vicodin, Demerol, Percocet, Dilaudid
Effects
Controlled Release
Recreational Use
“Pharm” Parties

Inhalants:

Inhalants
Products Used and Duration of Effects
Age Group Affected
Concerns/Issues

Marijuana: Web Activity: Prior to beginning this activity, what are your HONEST thoughts about marijuana use (good, bad, safe, unsafe, abused, not abused, etc.)

Use the Internet to gather research about each heading in the left hand column. While reading about marijuana, please fill in the space on the right. PLEASE go to several sites to ensure factual information. You may find contradictory information, please report on all aspects, good or bad.

Effects of Marijuana intoxication on the brain
Impact on learning and memory
Potential for Addiction
Withdrawal Symptoms
Effects on the heart
Effects on the Lungs

Medical Marijuana Web Activity

Please travel to the following website and answer the questions listed below:

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/issues/marijuana.html

1.  When did the prohibition of marijuana occur?______, AND how was it being used in that time period?

2.  What change in law occurred in 1970 and how did that change in law affect marijuana access and use?

3.  How many states have legalized the medicinal use of marijuana?______

4.  How did the June 2005 ruling impact the state medical marijuana laws?

5.  Discuss the major differences between smoked marijuana and Marinol, including legal status, form or method of delivery, positive and negative characteristics:

Legal Status / Method of Delivery / Positives/Negatives
Smoked Marijuana
Marinol

6.  Discuss 3 disorders that can benefit from medical marijuana, including ways in which each benefits.

7.  Fill in the chart below to summarize the pros and cons associated with the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, please add any ideas you believe are related to this issue. In the cons section, please do some research to consider the general negative effects of marijuana use.

Pros of Medical Marijuana / Cons of Medical Marijuana

6. If you were a member of the US Supreme Court and were responsible for making a decision about this issue, would you vote to uphold the laws in the 14 states that allow the use of medical marijuana? Explain why or why not? Give specific reasons, facts, and examples you would use to support your opinion about the use of medical marijuana. WRITE YOUR ANSWER ON A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER!!!

Understanding Brain Chemistry and Drugs: How Does the Brain Send Messages?