




Facts
At least part of ecstasy's popularity is based on how easy it is to take. It is sold primarily in pill form. Users swallow the small pills with water or alcohol. Some users have been known to crush ecstasy and snort it. The average dose per pill is 50 milligrams, but the dosages can range up to 300 milligrams. Sometimes ecstasy is taken deliberately with other controlled substances. A combination of ecstasy and LSD is called a "candy flip." The DAWN report indicates that ecstasy users who are admitted to hospital emergency rooms sometimes also test positive for marijuana, hallucinogens, or stimulants such as cocaine. Alcohol: This is the main substance used by Hispanic youth. By eighth grade, Hispanics report higher drinking rates than other groups. Crack is a form of cocaine that can be smoked or dissolved in water and injected. The body reacts faster and gets a more intense high from this form compared to the powder form, particularly if the drug is injected. Crack is actually more addictive because the high doesn't last very long. While more intense, smoking crack cocaine gives a high that only lasts around 5 or 10 minutes as opposed to the 30 minutes or so that snorting will give the user. This means that in order to continue the high, the user will need to smoke even more crack in a short period of time, which obviously increases the amount of toxins in the blood and makes it very easy to overdose on. In May 2001 OxyContin®’s manufacturer voluntarily stopped selling their 160 milligram pill. The dosage in these pills, if taken all at once, could kill a first-time user. Critics of the company feared that this move would not have much of an effect, as the 160 mg pills only made up about 1% of the total amount of OxyContin® available. Purdue Pharma announced in early August 2001 that they are working on a new formulation of the drug that would make it harder to abuse. Such a formulation could take three years or more to come to market, however. |
Abstinence
Abstinence is the act or practice of refraining from indulging a desire. The type of abstinence we are referring to here is abstinence from drugs and alcohol. This term has two connotations when it comes to abstaining from drugs. The first refers to drug or alcohol treatment programs that aim to help an individual stop using drugs or alcohol for the rest of their lives. The time abstinence is also used in drug education and prevention. It refers to trying to stop children from ever using drugs.
Therapeutic Community
An effective therapeutic community attends to the many needs of the individual, not just his or her drug use. Care given at a therapeutic community addresses the individual's drug use and associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems. Also, a therapeutic community will continue to be flexible and provide ongoing assessments of the individual's needs, which may change during the course of care.
Remaining in care at a therapeutic community for an adequate period of time is critical for treatment effectiveness. The time depends on an individual's needs. For most people, the significant improvement is reached at about 3 months in treatment.
Dependence
Dependence is the compulsive use of a substance despite negative consequences which can be severe; drug dependence is simply excessive use of a drug or use of a drug for purposes for which it was not medically intended. Physical dependence on a substance (needing a drug to function) is not necessary or sufficient to define addiction. There are some substances that don't cause addiction but do cause physical dependence (for example, some blood pressure medications) and substances that cause addiction but not classic physical dependence (cocaine withdrawal, for example, it does not have symptoms like vomiting and chills; it is mainly characterized by depression).
Relapse
Relapse is a term used to describe when an individual who has quit using drugs starts using once again. A relapse can mean just a one time use, a long term continues period of using or anything in between after a period of sobriety has taken place. An individual begins to experience a psychological relapse long before their first use after
quitting. Some things that can lead to relapse both physically or psychologically include: 1. Being in the presence of drugs or alcohol, drug or alcohol users, or places where you used or bought chemicals. 2. Feelings we perceive as negative, particularly anger; also sadness, loneliness, guilt, fear, and anxiety. 3. Positive feelings that make you want to celebrate by using. 4. Listening to others past drug use stories and just dwelling on getting high. 5. Believing that you no longer have to worry (complacent). That is, that you are no longer stimulated to crave drugs/alcohol by any of the above situations or by anything else – and therefore maybe it’s safe for you to use occasionally.
Addict
An addict is an individual who has a compulsive urge to use drugs, to the point where they feel they have no effective choice but to continue use. An addict will continue their self destructive behaviors in order to feel good or to avoid
feeling bad. It can dominate their mind, and keep them coming back for more. The addiction can be
different for each addict, depending on their vice and the kind of person they
are.
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