Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, and the Road to Recovery: Life on the Edge

by Stimmel; Barry

• ISBN13: 9780789005533
• ISBN10: 0789005530
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2002-03-20
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Gain a fuller understanding of substance addiction and treatment options! Originally published in 1992 as The Facts About Drug Use, this updated edition contains new information about the effects of alcohol and recreational, mood-altering drugs on the body. The multiple causes of drug use and the options available to those dependent on drugs as a way of life are thoroughly and clearly described. Drug use affects nearly 1 out of 2 Americans and cuts across every social and economic boundary. The effects of addiction on the individual are great, and the cumulative effects on society are staggering. Knowledge of the adverse effects of mood-altering drugs and why and how they are used excessively is a centerpiece of this book. It presents, intelligently and interestingly, ways to identify persons at risk and identify problems that the addicted encounter in attempts to become drug free. Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, and the Road to Recovery: Life on the Edge is an essential tool in both finding available resources for drug users and developing appropriate responses to today's drug problem. This remarkable, well-referenced book enables those with little or no background in science or health care to understand the complex issues surrounding drug use. It provides current, reliable, and unbiased information on methods for dealing with dependency upon alcohol and central nervous system depressants, hallucinogens, heroin, nicotine, marijuana, caffeine, amphetamines, designer drugs like Ecstasy, and steroids. A glossary listing common street names for drugs will be invaluable to those interested in identifying specific substances. This comprehensive volume will show you: who typically uses drugs and the reasons why they do how to classify mood-altering drugs how to identify and treat drug dependency areas of special concern such as multiple drug use, AIDS and drug use, drugs and pregnancy, drugs and sports, and drug testing technology Chapter by chapter, this nonjudgmental book helps readers develop a better understanding of the effects of mood-altering substances and the reasons many continue to use them despite serious consequences. This is a valuable key to the nature of dependency and addiction, and the external forces (including poverty and homelessness) that promote such behavior.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xvii
PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS
Who Uses Drugs?	3	(6)
Drugs and the Young	4	(1)
Adults and Drug Use	5	(1)
Ethnicity and Drug Use	6	(1)
Drugs and the Workplace	6	(1)
Drug use Among the Affluent	7	(1)
Summary	8	(1)
Classifying Mood-Altering Drugs	9	(12)
Type of Classification	9	(2)
Differences and Similarities Among Drug Groups	11	(6)
Designer Drugs	17	(1)
Club Drugs	18	(1)
Performance-Enhancing Drugs	19	(1)
Summary	19	(2)
Habituation, Dependency, and Addiction	21	(14)
Defining Terms	21	(5)
Effects of Drugs on the Brain	26	(9)
Why People Use Drugs	35	(8)
Initiating Drug Use	35	(1)
Biological Determinants	36	(2)
Psychological Factors	38	(2)
Environment and Conditioning	40	(1)
Conclusion	40	(3)
Identifying Inappropriate Drug Use and Drug Dependency	43	(16)
Signs and Symptoms of Drug Use	43	(3)
Addressing Drug Abuse in Your Children	46	(2)
Laboratory Aids to Identify Alcohol and Drug Use	48	(9)
The Value of Identifying Drug Users	57	(2)
Treating Drug Dependency	59	(26)
Available Treatment Modalities	59	(11)
Evaluation of Treatment	70	(4)
After Treatment	74	(1)
The Law and Drug Treatment	74	(11)
PART II: MOOD-ALTERING DRUGS
Alcohol	85	(36)
Patterns of Use	86	(1)
Costs of Drinking	87	(1)
Common Alcoholic Beverages	88	(2)
How Alcohol Is Handled by the Body	90	(5)
Effects of Environment	95	(1)
Interaction With Other Drugs	96	(1)
Dependency and Withdrawal	97	(1)
Adverse Effects	98	(4)
Diagnosis	102	(3)
Reasons for Excessive Drinking	105	(3)
Alcoholism: A Disease or a Psychological Disorder?	108	(8)
Summary	116	(5)
Central Nervous System Depressants and Antianxiety Agents	121	(14)
Patterns of Use	122	(1)
Barbiturates	123	(2)
Nonbarbiturate Hypnotics and Sedatives	125	(2)
Other Central Nervous System Depressants	127	(2)
Benzodiazepines	129	(4)
Miscellaneous Antianxiety Agents	133	(2)
Powerful Hallucinogens, Phencyclidine, and Ecstasy	135	(12)
Classification	136	(4)
Adverse Effects of Hallucinogens	140	(1)
Ecstasy	141	(2)
Phencyclidine	143	(3)
Ketamine	146	(1)
Marijuana	147	(12)
Reefer Madness	148	(1)
Patterns of Use	149	(3)
Tolerance, Dependency, and Withdrawal	152	(1)
Adverse Effects	153	(3)
Moving to Stronger Drugs	156	(1)
Medical Uses of Marijuana	156	(1)
Conclusion	157	(2)
Opiates and Opioids	159	(14)
Opium Preparations	160	(1)
Action of Opiods on the Brain	161	(1)
Effects of Opioids on the Body	162	(1)
Tolerance, Dependency, and Withdrawal	163	(1)
Opioids Susceptible to Nonmedical Use	164	(5)
Opiate Agonists-Antagonists	169	(2)
Partial Opioid Receptor Agonists	171	(2)
Heroin Addiction	173	(30)
Heroin From Opium: The Street Trade	173	(3)
Getting High and Coming Down	176	(1)
Prevalence	177	(1)
Adverse Effects	178	(5)
The Challenge of Treating Heroin Addiction	183	(18)
Measuring Treatment Effectiveness	201	(2)
Amphetamines, Amphetamine-like Drugs, and Caffeine	203	(18)
Amphetamines	203	(8)
Amphetamine-Like Drugs	211	(5)
Caffeine	216	(5)
Cocaine	221	(22)
Patterns of Use	222	(5)
Cocaine Metabolism	227	(1)
Dependency, Tolerance, and Addiction	228	(1)
Adverse Effects of Cocaine	229	(7)
Treatment of Cocaine Dependency	236	(7)
Nicotine	243	(24)
Cigarette Smokers Today	245	(1)
Available Nicotine Products	246	(4)
Ingredients in Tobacco	250	(4)
Dependency, Tolerance, Addiction, and Withdrawal	254	(2)
Adverse Effects of Smoking	256	(5)
Treatment	261	(6)
Volatile Solvents, Anesthetics, and Organic Nitrites	267	(12)
Volatile Solvents	267	(5)
Anesthetic Agents	272	(2)
Organic Nitrites	274	(5)
PART III: AREAS OF SPECIAL CONCERN
Multiple Drug Use	279	(8)
Alcohol and Other Drugs	281	(2)
Smoking and Drug Use	283	(1)
Opioids	284	(1)
Cocaine	284	(1)
Marijuana	284	(1)
Treatment	285	(2)
AIDS and Drug Use	287	(14)
HIV: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus	287	(7)
Preventing HIV Transmission	294	(3)
Treatment of AIDS	297	(1)
Relationship Between the Use of Noninjecting Mood-Altering Drugs and HIV Infection	297	(2)
Summary	299	(2)
Drugs, Pregnancy, and the Newborn	301	(16)
Incidence of Drug Use During Pregnancy	301	(1)
General Effects of Drugs on Pregnancy Outcome	302	(10)
Human Immunodeficiency Virus	312	(1)
Treatment of Drug Use and Dependency During Pregnancy	313	(1)
Prevention of Drug Use During Pregnancy	314	(3)
Drugs and Sports	317	(12)
Stimulants	317	(1)
Anabolic Steroids	318	(7)
Growth Hormone	325	(1)
Erythropoetin	326	(1)
Detecting and Preventing Inappropriate Drug Use by Athletes	327	(2)
Appendix A: Drug Use Reporting Sources	329	(2)
Appendix B: List of Common Names for Drugs	331	(18)
Selected Bibliography	349	(46)
Index	395