B1.3 The use and abuse of drugs

B1.3 The use and abuse of drugs

1. Drugs

   • Extensively tested and trialled
     • Tested in the lab
       • 1st stage: cells, tissues
       • 2nd stage: live animals
       • Clinical trials
         • 3rd stage: healthy volunteers
           • Low dosage at start
             • Slowly increased
               • Test for side effects
         • 4th stage: patients with the illness
           • Optimum dosage found
             • Least side effects
           • 5th stage: blind clinical trials- patients split into two groups
             • One group given the real drug, another given a placebo
               • Allows for placebo effect
                 • Patient expects drug to work so feels better, even if the 'drug' is doing nothing
               • Placebo
                 • Substance like the drug being tested but doesn't do anything
             • Sometimes trials are double blind
               • Patient nor doctor knows which is the placebo
     • For toxicity, efficacy and dose

2. Thalidomide

   • Intended as a sleeping pill
     • Found effective against morning sickness
       • Has not been tested on pregnant women
         • Many babies born with severe limb abnormalities
           • Drug banned
   • Resulted in more rigorous drug testing
   • Now used to treat other diseases
     • Leprosy

3. Legal and illegal drugs

   • Medicinal
     • Some require prescription
       • Morphine
       • Some do not
         • Paracetamol
       • Statins
         • Lower risk of heart and circulatory diseases
           • Also lower blood cholesterol
             • And risk of heart disease in diabetic patients
   • Recreational
     • Used for fun
       • Legal
         • Alcohol
           • Slows reactions
           • Liver disease
           • Brain damage
         • Nicotine
           • Cancer
           • Addiction
           • Disease of heart and lungs
       • Illegal
         • Ecstasy
         • Cannabis
           • Can cause mental health problems
           • Considered a gateway drug
         • Heroin
           • All three can cause heart and circulatory problems
         • Addictive
   • Performance enhancing
     • Improve an athlete's performance in sport
       • Anabolic steroids
         • Increase muscle size
         • Can lead to high blood pressure
       • Stimulants
         • Increase heart rate
       • Arguments against
         • Unfair
         • Athletes may not have been informed about the risks
       • Arguments for
         • Athletes can make their own decisions
         • Sport is not fair anyway, different training facilities etc
     • Some illegal, some prescribed
     • All banned from sporting bodies
   • The overall impact of legal drugs is
     • Much greater than the impact of illegal drugs
       • More people use them
     • Have negative effects on economy and society

4. Effects of drugs

   • Change body chemistry
     • Results in
       • Becoming addicted
   • If addicts do not take the drug they have
     • Withdrawal symptoms