HEALTH: 3RD QUARTER

Prevention of
Substance
Use and Abuse
Lesson 1

Drug Scenarios in the

Philippines
 Drug addiction is one of the most increasing and alarming problems
that our society is facing. There are many negative implications of
becoming involved and addicted to illegal drugs. Teenagers get hooked on
drugs because of several reasons, and one of them is peer pressure. If the
use and abuse of these illegal substances are not solved, many lives and
families will be shattered.
 In the Philippines, illegal drugs have become one of our most
rampant and perennial problems. The young generation plays a big part in
this problem. Based on the facts gathered from the Dangerous Drugs
Board (DDB), there are 1.3 million drug users in the Philippines. Most of
these users are male and are between the ages of 20 and 29. Based on
the DDB record, the youngest in the bracket of drug dependents is 9 years
old and the oldest is 78 years old. Most of these users are also
unemployed, have low incomes, and reside in urban areas. Substances that
are most commonly abused are (1) methamphetamine hydrochloride
(.shabu), (2) cannabis (marijuana), and (3) inhalants (contact cement or
rugby).
 Note that most drug takers are poly-users or those who are using
different kinds of illegal drugs. Because illegal drugs are easily available,
they attract drug users to be involved also in illegal activities. Illegal drug
trafficking is still a problem that is yet to be solved in our country. Drug
traffickers become more resourceful as they find creative and new ways
to hide their illegal activities and transactions.
Government Efforts and Actions in
Reducing the Rate of Drug Abuse
The government is exerting a lot of effort in trying to
solve this problem or at least reduce the number of
drug cases in the country. These are only some of the
massive efforts done by the government in fighting the
battle against drugs:
1. The Philippine National Police (PNP), the National Bureau of
Investigation (NBI), the Bureau of Customs, the Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and other local officers help in arresting
drug traffickers and syndicates. They also destroy the warehouses and
laboratories of these drug syndicates.

2. Programs and projects of the DDB are realized and strengthened

through partnerships with other government agencies such as the
Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Social Welfare
and Development (DSWD), local government units (LGUs), and non-
government organizations (NGOs). DepEd even mandated an anti-drug
national campaign or drug-free advocacy in schools.
3. Strict compliance of the policies are implemented, as indicated in
the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 These include
compulsory drug test screening when applying for a driver's license
and purchasing firearms.

In 2016, a project of the PNP called OpIan Tokhang was implemented. The
word tokhang is a Visayan word that means "to approach and talk". This is a
national program that was launched as part of the war against illegal drugs.
 Responsible
Substance Abuse Substance Dependence
Substance Use

Continued use of drugs

Use of a substance Deliberate use of drugs or
even if they harm one's
according solely for its substances without any
mind and body, including
purpose: to promote health or medical reasons
his or her relationships
health and wellbeing Example: Taking drugs
with other people; leads
Example:Taking without prescription;
to a full-blown addiction
prescription drugs keeps taking drugs
already, until one's
according to a because they alter his or
judgment and common
doctor's instructions her mood
sense are affected
 Stages of Progression to Drug Dependency
Stage 1: Trying-out Stage
A person is persuaded to try a new drug, and he or she tries it.

Stage 2: Getting the Desired Effect

A person likes the feeling that he or she gets from the drug, so he or she
continues to use it.

Stage 3: Developing Tolerance

The person needs the drug not because of the pleasure it gives but because
his or her body needs it. His or her body develops withdrawal symptoms when he or
she does not take the drug.
 Stages of Progression to Drug Dependency
Stage 4: Denial Stage
The person does not admit that he or she is hooked into the drug. He or she
keeps saying that he or she can quit taking it anytime.

Stage 5: Depending on Drugs Stage

The person becomes hooked and dependent on drugs. His or her body craves
for the sensation it brings.
Lesson 2

Substance
Use And Abuse
 Medicines are important. However, some medicines
are being taken for reasons other than their main
purpose, and sometimes, in a greater amount than the
physician's recommended dosage. When these
circumstances happen, we can say that these medicines
are being abused.

There are substances that are used and abused, and

we call them drugs. As discussed earlier, these drugs
can alter or modify the person's behavior, making him or
her do things that he or she will not be able to do when
he or she is in a normal state.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSE
Have you ever wondered why there are teens who use drugs? There are factors
that lead to how drug abuse starts and advances.

According to the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health, children are
already starting to abuse drugs at 12 or 13 years old, and some even at an
earlier age.

There are risk factors and protective factors in drug use and abuse. Many
factors can add to a person's risk for substance abuse. Risk factors are factors
that raise the chance of a negative outcome, whereas protective factors reduce
the risk.
 Risk Factors Protective Factors
Lack of self-respect and early aggressive Practice self-respect and self-control
behavior
Peers who use drugs Wise choice of friends
Drug availability Strict implementation of anti-drug use policies and campaigns
Resilience or learning how to control one's behavior and decision

Inability to express emotions Practice resistance skills

Feelings of rejection Healthy social skills
Unhappy family relationships Healthy family relationships
Learning disability
Practice anger management skills and improve academic competence
Poverty Improvement of community's economic condition
 The more protective factors an individual has or
practices, the less his or her risk of giving in to drug
abuse. Still, the lack of protective factors does not give
a person an excuse to take illegal drugs. In the end, it
is still up to him or her if he or she is going to use
harmful drugs or not.
Common Myths and Misconceptions on Drug Misuse and Abuse
Myth Number 1: Drug addiction is a character flaw.

Trying out a dangerous drug for the first time is a choice.

Abusing drugs lead to addiction. Drug addiction alters the
brain, but it can also lead to social, psychological, and
behavioral defects.
Common Myths and Misconceptions on Drug Misuse and Abuse
Myth Number 2: It only takes a one-term treatment to treat drug addiction.

Drug addiction is a chronic disease. It depends on how long it

requires for a person to be treated. There are individuals who are fine
after a one-term treatment. However, there are others who require
longer and repeated treatments, especially if they have been
dependent on the drugs for a long time.
Myth Number 3: People who take drugs usually have problems.

Most people who take drugs take them not because they have
problems, but simply because they like the "pleasurable" effect of the
drug.
Common Myths and Misconceptions on Drug Misuse and Abuse
Myth Number 4: Regular usage of drugs will lead to addiction.

Not all drug users inevitably become drug addicts. Only a small
percentage of people who use illegal drugs develop addiction to them.
A study funded by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
states that within 10 years of first using a drug:

1) only about 15% of people who used cocaine become addicted;

2) 12% of people who took alcohol became addicted; and
3) 8% of people who took marijuana became addicted.
Common Myths and Misconceptions on Drug Misuse and Abuse
Myth Number 5: Licit drugs are safer.

Alcohol and tobacco are more damaging to a person's health in

terms of developing chronic diseases, as compared to some illegal
drugs. However, it is more difficult to get illegal drugs because they
are prohibited.
Myth Number 6: Once listed as a misused drug, that particular drug can be controlled.

There is some truth to this myth. However, its production and

distribution remain hidden. This makes the drug more uncontrollable.
Common Myths and Misconceptions on Drug Misuse and Abuse
Myth Number 7: People who take caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco/cigarettes are not drug users.

People who use these substances are definitely drug users.

These substances are categorized as "gateway drugs. "These
substances can actually kill if they are taken in high dosages.
Myth Number 8: Cannabis leads to addiction of "hard" drugs.

Cannabis comes in different varieties. There are varieties used

for health treatment, but Cannabis sativa or marijuana is the illegal
one. The majority of young adults who have used Cannabis have not
become addicted and have not advanced to using "hard" drugs.
Common Myths and Misconceptions on Drug Misuse and Abuse
Myth Number 9: Stimulants help one focus at school or in work.

Stimulants come in different forms—prescription stimulants such

as amphetamines to illegal ones such as methamphetamine "uppers."
People take them because they think these stimulants will help them
earn higher grades or do better in their jobs. The truth is that the
excitement or the rush these drugs provide may turn into paranoia,
hostility, nervousness, or desire to harm oneself or other people.
Common Myths and Misconceptions on Drug Misuse and Abuse
Myth Number 10: Peddlers or pushers are the ones who mostly supply drugs to first-time users.

Most of the time, individuals who got addicted to illegal drugs got
their first drug from a friend, from someone whom they look up to, or
from someone whom they owe.
Lesson 3

Dangerous Substances
and
Their Harmful Effects
on the Body
Illegal substance use and abuse is a problem of
many countries. Many domestic problems arise
because of the harmful effects of these
dangerous substances in the body. So you must
be familiar with the names, characteristics, and
damaging effects of illegal drugs on persons.
 Many substances or drugs are subject to abuse.
There are legal drugs, such as prescription or controlled
drugs, and there are illegal drugs. In general, drugs are
categorized as stimulants, Cannabis, narcotics,
depressants, hallucinogens, inhalants, and steroids
 Long-term/
Methods Short-term
Category Substances Overdose
of Intake Effects
Effects
Fatigue, weakness,
Cocaine depression,
Stimulants hallucination,
Make people feel
-These speed up aggression,
alert, active, and
the activities of reduced motor
awake
the skills, impaired
Inhaled, injected,
central nervous verbal skills,
or smoked Increase blood
system increased risk of
pressure, heart
(CNS);they are being infected with
rate, breathing
also called HIV or hepatitis B,
rate
“uppers” seizure, stroke,
heart attack, or
death
 Long-term/
Methods Short-term
Category Substances Overdose
of Intake Effects
Effects

Marijuana -These are dried leaves and tops of

Damages the brain's
Cannabis plants that contain
ability to focus;
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).THC has
causes memory loss;
psychoactive effects.
elevates the chances
Increases appetite,
of accidents,
feelings of ecstasy,
violence, and crime;
Cannabis Ingested or smoked removes
increases the chance
inhibitions, and
of lung cancer and
disorientation
damage of lungs; can
affect the
reproductive system
of females
 Long-term/
Methods Short-term
Category Substances Overdose
of Intake Effects
Effects

Morphine -This is found in opium, a milky Mood swings,

Ingested or
fluid from the seedpod of a poppy plant; it impaired
injected
controls pain. judgement,
Narcotics-These Relieves pain,
nausea, yawning,
relieve pain, blunt euphoria,
irritability, coma,
the senses, and drowsiness, and
convulsion,
induce sleep; they Injected, inhaled, slows down
Heroin -This is derived from morphine. increase in the
are also known as or smoked breathing and
risk of hepatitis B
analgesics. heart rate
and HIV
infection,
Codeine -This is a painkiller produced from Ingested or possible death
morphine injected
 Long-term/
Methods Short-term
Category Substances Overdose
of Intake Effects
Effects

Slow down brain

Depressants Impaired memory,
function, heart,
-These slow down judgement, and
and breathing
the activities of the Benzodiazepines or benzos -These are coordination;
rate, poor
CNS; they oppose tranquilizers that relax muscles or calm breathing and sleep
concentration,
of the effects mental Ingested or problems,
sluggishness,
of stimulants excitement. injected paranoia; suicidal
slurred speech,
and cause thoughts;
confusion,
calmness; they are aggression;
disorientation,
also known as possible coma or
dilated pupils,
"downers." death
Barbiturates - used as sedatives or and depression
sleeping pills
 Long-term/
Methods Short-term
Category Substances Overdose
of Intake Effects
Effects

Intense feelings of
Hallucinogens
-These are drugs
Lysergic acid diethylamide Hallucinations, ecstasy, increase in
Ingested illusions, feeling body temperature
that cause (LSD) of invincibility,
and heart rate
hallucinations and changed
and distortions of perception of
auditory and time and distance Lack of coordination and
visual Phencyclidine -This acts as a stimulant, a sedative, or balance, restlessness,
a painkiller anxiousness,
images; they are aggressiveness
also known as Ingested, smoked,
3,4-methylenedioxy- or inhaled Intensified senses,
"psychedelics." Methamphetamine dehydration, and Increased body
temperature, electrolyte
(MDMA) - Examples of this drug include ecstasy, XTC, grinding teeth
imbalance; cardiac
and love drug.
arrest
 Long-term/
Methods Short-term
Category Substances Overdose
of Intake Effects
Effects
Inhalants-These Examples of this drug include active Huffing (sniffing Euphoria, Hallucination,
are chemicals that substances in contact or rubber cement, fumes to get high) dizziness, delusion, limb
produce vapor that fingernail polish remover, gasoline, glue, impaired memory, spasm, hearing
affect mood laughing gas (nitrous oxide), hairspray, Bagging (inhaling lack of loss, CNS or brain
and behavior lighter fluid, paint thinner, marker fluid, from a bag to get coordination, damage, bone
shoe polish, spray paint, liquid wax. high) slurred speech marrow damage,
possible death
 Long-term/
Methods Short-term
Category Substances Overdose
of Intake Effects
Effects
Anabolic- androgenic
steroids - These are
synthetic forms of the
male hormone Increase the risk of
testosterone, heart disease and
which increases Virility, edema, stroke; harm the
muscle growth and acne, oily skin reproductive system;
Examples of this drug include testosterone,
strength; these are Ingested or injected rashes, testicular cause bone growth to
dianabol, nandrolone, and deca durabolin.
also known as atrophy, aggressive stop among teens;
"ergogenic" drugs. behavior increase the risk of
violence and
accidents
 Controlled Drugs ( Illegal without
Illegal Drugs Uncontrolled Drugs
prescriptions)
 Cocaine  Ephedrine  Caffeine
 Methamphetamines  Methylphenidate  Inhalants
 Heroin  Depressants
 Hallucinogens  Morphine
 Codeine
 Marijuana
 Anabolic-androgenic steroids
 A person reduces the risk of HIV infection and
unwanted pregnancy if he or she has a drug-free lifestyle. The
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a pathogen that
destroys T-cells that fight infection in the body. People who
get infected with HIV may develop acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition that
damages the immune system or inability of the body to fight
infections. This disease can be transferred only by means of
exchange of body fluids (blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid,
semen, blood plasma, synovial fluid, vaginal lubrication,
interstitial fluid, serum, and mucus) such as through sexual
contact or use of syringe or needle that was infected by
another person.
The four possible reasons that people who use drugs increase their risk of HIV
infections and unwanted pregnancy are the following:
1. People who use drugs may be prone to having sex with a person who may
have HIV or AIDS. A person who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol has
poor judgment and does not think clearly. A one-night stand may lead to HIV
infection and unwanted pregnancy.

2. Females who use drugs may be raped, get infected by HIV-AIDS, or get
pregnant. Females who use drugs may not think of the consequences of their
actions. Some males may take sexual advances, so rape may happen in these
cases.
The four possible reasons that people who use drugs increase their risk of HIV
infections and unwanted pregnancy are the following:

3. Drug dependents may trade sex for drugs. There are drug dependents who
cannot support their addiction. Therefore, they will sell their body as a way to
get money, or they will trade sex for drugs.

4. People who are injecting drug users (IDUs) may share needles that have
been used previously by a person with infected blood. Drug users who share
needles during their sessions may get HIV-AIDS if their co-users have infected
blood.
 Warning Signs of Drug Abuse
The following are the warning signs revealed by drug users. Take note
that these signs do not guarantee that a person is actually involved in drugs.
There could also be some other reasons such as emotional or physical
problems that cause these behaviors. There is a high possibility of drug use or
abuse when many of these symptoms are present in the individual.
• Having frequent mood swings and hostility
• Always feeling tired
• Wanting to be left alone most of the time
• Exhibiting a change in behavior (becomes negative, irritable, or anxious)
• Suddenly losing interest in school or work
• Changing a set of friends, or hanging out with people who use drugs
• Joining a gang, and being involved in a lot of fights
 Warning Signs of Drug Abuse
•Losing appetite, or changing eating habits
•Losing interest in hobbies or sports
•Having a lack of focus, and developing poor judgment
•Showing an unexpected change in appearance and behavior (slurred speech,
sloppy appearance, reddened and glassy eyes, blank stares, frequent runny
nose and sniffing, loss of weight, constant stomach aches and headaches,
shaking, constant coughing, and brown stains on fingernails).
Effects of Drug Use and Abuse

On the family: •Separation from family members

•Unhappy family relationships
•Embarrassment and family conflicts
•Financial problems due to drug dependence/addiction
•Financial constraints due to expensive rehabilitation treatment

•Loss of interest in studies, which leads to poor academic

In school: performance and achievement
•Increased rate of absenteeism and tardiness More cases of school
or gang fights
•Lack of interest in joining school activities such as sports
•Incidents of disrespect to the school authorities.
Effects of Drug Use and Abuse

In the community: •High number of accidents such as car crashes and

accidental falling Increased incidences of crimes such as
stealing, snatching, robbery, rape cases, and killing

•Economic effects due to absenteeism from work, which

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results in low productivity.
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•Additional financial cost for the government due to drug

operations, treatment, rehabilitation, and additional drug
enforcement manpower.