DRUGS
Drug Scenario in the Philippines
• “Drug War” killings in the Philippines
in 2020 increased by more than 50
percent during the early months of
the pandemic. The police reported in
November that since Rodrigo Duterte
became president, nearly 8,000
alleged drug suspects had been killed
during police operations. In June, the
United Nations Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights
validated many of these killings.
Drugs
• You have to understand what drugs
are and what they can do to our
bodies. You know that drug use may
be beneficial to humans. But you
have to acknowledge that drug use
can lead to abuse and addiction,
health problems, and even death,
and may result in legal offenses that
you may have to deal with.
What is drugs?
• A drug is any substance that is used in the
diagnosis, cure, relief, or prevention of diseases.
This chemical or substance affects a person
physically, mentally, and emotionally.
• Drugs can be beneficial to man. However, you
have to know which drugs are harmful, when, and
why they are harmful.
• Drugs may be classified as legal or illegal,
prescription or non-prescription, or classified
based on their effects on the systems of the body.
Classification of Drugs
A. Prescription and Non-prescription drugs
B. Legal and Illegal
C. Pharmacological Classification
• Stimulants
• Depressants
• Hallucinogens
• Narcotics
• Inhalants
A. Prescription and Non-prescription drugs
• 1. Non-prescription or Over-the-counter
(OTC) drugs are drugs that do not need a
prescription from a doctor in order to buy.
You can buy them from drugstores.
• 2. Prescription drugs are restricted drugs
that can only be purchased legally when
prescribed by physicians. Drugstores
won't sell the drug to you without a
prescription.
B. Legal and Illegal
• 1. Legal drugs are substances that are not prohibited by law in a
country. Medicines are legal drugs. These drugs can be prescribed
by doctors to patients and be bought from drugstores. If the
medicine was prescribed by a doctor, the patient must take the
medicine as prescribed.
• 2. Illegal drugs are those substances that are prohibited by law in
a country. The laws may prohibit the selling, buying, using,
possessing, or manufacturing of drugs. Any of these acts carry
penalties.
There are drugs that are considered legal in other countries but are
illegal in the Philippines like marijuana. If in a country, the use or
even possession of a certain drug carries penalties, then that drug is
considered illegal. If you are found in possession or using illegal
drugs, you have to face legal actions and the possibility of going to
prison.
C. Pharmacological Classification
1. Stimulants
2. Depressants
3. Hallucinogens
4. Narcotics
5. Inhalants
• These drugs, however, are classified as dangerous when not
properly used. Most of these substances are psychoactive
drugs affecting the central nervous system. They change
moods, feelings, personalities, and behavior.
• Abuse of controlled drugs like stimulants, depressants,
narcotics, and hallucinogens, especially without a
prescription, is considered illegal drug use.
1. STIMULANTS
•Speed up a persons central nervous
system.
•Has the opposite effect of depressants.
•Makes a person’s energy high.
•Side effects are depression and tiredness.
2. DEPRESSANT DRUGS
• Slows down a persons central nervous system(brain,
spinal cord, nerves).
• Doctors commonly prescribed depressants to help
people who have anger management issues, stressed
or tensed.
• Depressants relax muscles and nerves.
• These drugs make patients feel sleepy and light
headed.
3. HALLUCINOGENS
•Drugs which distort reality and facts.
•Affects all senses; makes a user feel,
hear, see things that don’t exist in the
time being.
•Came from the word hallucinate (to
perceive illusions).
4. NARCOTICS
•Are drugs which relieve pain and induce
sleepiness.
•These are prescribed to patients dealing
with severe pain like cancer.
•These drugs are illicit and dangerous if
taken.
5. INHALANTS
• Found in ordinary household chemical
products and anesthetics.
• Readily available and accessible to young
children.
• Abuse can lead to delusions, brain damage,
liver damage, comatose and death.
Substance or Drug
Use, Misuse, Abuse,
and Dependence
Substance or Drug Use, Misuse, Abuse, and
Dependence
• The use of drugs has become a major help in the field
of medicine. Drugs help prevent or control many
diseases as they relieve pain and help the body
properly. However, even good things have their
drawbacks.
• Misuse of drugs has led to us, abuse and addiction for
millions of people.
• In addition, the widespread illegal use of drugs has
become a major problem in society.
• Drugs can become a substance of abuse. These
substances can turn harmful and fatal when not
properly taken, that is when there is abuse, misuse, and
dependence on the drug.
Substance/Drug Use
• Have you ever been sick? Have you taken medicines?
Medicines are legal drugs. Your doctor may have prescribed
medicines for you to take to get well.
• If the medicine was prescribed by a doctor, the patient must
take the medicine as prescribed. If the medicine can be
bought over the counter, it must be used according to its
intended use so that you can benefit from the use of the
drugs. That's the positive side of drug use.
• Now drug use is often defined negatively. It is mostly
associated with the use of substances or drugs with negative
consequences like problems with the law, school
performance, relationships with family and friends, and
problems with its effect on the body. These happen usually
because of drug misuse.
Substance Misuse
• Substance misuse is the intentional or
unintentional use of prescribed medication in a
manner that is contrary to directions,
regardless of whether a harmful outcome
occurs.
• Doctors usually indicate in their prescription
the amount of medicine to be taken, how often
to be taken, and how long can it be taken.
• It is not safe to use medicines any way you
want. This may result in accidents or even
death.
When can there be a misuse of drugs?
• When not taking the medication according to the
prescription
• Taking more than the prescribed dosage and thinking
that it will hasten the effect
• Changing the way, it is taken like injecting instead of
swallowing
• Getting or buying drugs from other unreliable sources
like buying from a friend
• Taking the drug out of anger or as a way of getting
attention Not taking the medicine when it is supposed to
be taken
Substance Abuse
• Substance abuse is an intentional self-administration of
medications, whether prescribed or not, to alter one's state of
consciousness.
• Substance abuse starts when people begin to use drugs and
feel the pleasurable effects of the drugs when they want to fit
in with peers or want to try on adult roles and behaviors.
• These will lead them to the continuous use of drugs. A
person's continuous and intentional use of a medication or
substance may lead to addiction.
• When a person experiences compulsive drug use and cannot
stop using the drug despite knowing the harmful effects, then
you can say that the person is addicted to the drug. Drug
addiction is caused by brain changes due to constant drug use.
Substance Dependence
• This is a condition in which a person is accustomed to
the drug that it relies on it to function normally.
• Usually, the drug is taken to treat an illness or relieve
pain. The continued use of the drug becomes necessary
to relieve the pain or treat the ailment, but this may
develop tolerance to the drug.
• Tolerance means that the person needs more of a drug
or needs a higher dosage in order to achieve the same
effects that they felt using only a smaller amount or
dosage.
• When the drug is stopped, the person experiences
withdrawal symptoms like chills, sweating, mood swing,
anxiety and depression, vomiting, and insomnia.
