Healthy Decisions for Medicine and Drug Use
(middle grades)
Activity and Lesson plan

Overview

A plan to facilitate a review and develop a deeper understanding of the use of medicine and drugs. Benefitial and detrimental effects on health and how influences impact the decisions people make about their use. Decisions often made subconsciously and emotionally without sufficient critical thinking.

Activities include the use of a six step decision making process, to make healthy decisions related to future medicine and drug use.

Background information:

This plan is designed for students who have prior knowledge in
1. goal setting, 2. anatomy, & 3. decision making. This knowledged may be gained with participation in these units:

  1. Mental Emotional Health Activities with goal setting
  2. Human Anatomy Unit Activities
  3. Decision making process and scenarios for healthy living unit

Big ideas, concepts, facts, and outcomes

Health standards

Big ideas and specific outcomes:

  • Standard 1 - Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.
  • Standard 2 - Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.
  • Standard 3 - Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information and products and services to enhance health.
  • Standard 4 - Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
  • Standard 5 - Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health.
  • Standard 6 - Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.
  • Standard 7 - Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce risks.
  • Standard 8 - Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.

Related concepts and facts

Big idea: Healthy medicine and drug choices are made with accurate information and a reasoned decision making process.

  • Medicines and drugs interact with the body in positive and negative ways.
  • Better decisions are made when accurate information about how the body works and how different medicines and drugs interact with it.
  • People make better decisions when they use accurate information and consider factual verifiable information for the positive and negative effects of medicine and drug use.
  • People make better decision when they understand and consider the positive and negative influences that effect their decision making.

Outcome

Use accurate verifiable information to consider health choices and influences when making decisions to use medicine and drugs.

Anatomy, medicine, and drug use.

Big ideas: Understanding human anatomy and the interactions different medicines and drugs have on the human body that enables us to individually or in collaboration with others to improve peoples quality of life.

Related concepts and facts

  • The more a person knows about anatomy, them self as an individual, and the different effects of what they put in their body, the better decisions they will make.
  • Medicine is a substance or preparation used to treat or prevent disease or other unhealthy or uncomfortable conditions.
  • Alcohol can harm the body, it effects the brain, impairs judgment, and causes poor decisions.
  • Drugs can have positive and negative effects on the body and a person's health.
  • Illegal drugs are substances a government has declared illegal for a person to possess or their possession is strictly controlled by a prescription. Meaning a person isn't allowed to have them without legal authority because of negative effects they have had on people: death, cancer, illness, addiction, impared reflexes and thinking.

Outcome

  1. Describe positive and negative effects different medicines and drugs have on the human body.
  2. Describe the process of how different medicines and drugs interact with different body systems, tissues, and cells that result in healthy and unhealthy consequences of their use.

Specific outcomes -

1.12.1 Predict how healthy behaviors can impact health status.
1.12.2 Describe the interrelationships of emotional, intellectual, physical, and social health with respect to medicine and drug use.
1.12.3 Analyze how environmental (social & physical effects) and personal health are interrelated.
1.12.4 Analyze how genetics and family history can impact personal health.
1.12.5 Propose ways to reduce or prevent injuries and health problems.
1.12.6 Analyze the relationship between access to health care and health status.
1.12.7 Compare and contrast the benefits of and barriers to practicing a variety of healthy behaviors as related to medicine and drug use.
1.12.8 Analyze personal susceptibility to injury, illness, or death if engaging in unhealthy behaviors related to medicine and drug use.
1.12.9 Analyze the potential severity of injury or illness if engaging in unhealthy behaviors.

Decision-making skills to enhance health.

Big ideas: It is important to know how to discover accurate varifiable information about different medicines and drugs to make good healthy decisions. Decision-making skills are necessary to identify, implement, and sustain health-enhancing behaviors. This includes essential steps needed to make healthy decisions applied to health, safety, and social issues to enable people to individually or in collaboration with others improve people's quality of life.

Related concepts and facts

  • Health and safety problems are related to decision making.
  • The better a person knows themself, the better decisions they will make.
  • Effective social skills improve communication and getting along with people.
  • Thinking about a problem before experiencing it helps make better decisions.
  • There are positive and negative consequences for all decisions.
  • There are positive and negative influences to consider when making decisions.

Outcome

  1. Describe the relationships between making good decisions and being healthy.
  2. Describe a decision making process that includes identification of a problem, alternative solutions with positive and negative consequences, and implementation suggestions.
  3. Describe positive and negative influences that impact decision making.
  4. Use a decision making process to make safe and healthy decisions that improve people's quality of life.

Specific outcomes -

2.12.1 Analyze how family influences the health of individuals.
2.12.2 Analyze how culture supports and challenges health beliefs, practices, and behaviors.
2.12.3 Analyze how peers influence healthy and unhealthy behaviors.
2.12.4 Evaluate how the school and community can impact personal health practice and behaviors.
2.12.5 Evaluate the effect of media on personal and family health.
2.12.6 Evaluate the impact of technology on personal, family, and community health.
2.12.7 Analyze how the perceptions of norms influence healthy and unhealthy behaviors.
2.12.8 Analyze the influence of personal values and beliefs on individual health practices and behaviors.
2.12.9 Analyze how some health risk behaviors can influence the likelihood of engaging in unhealthy behaviors.
2.12.10 Analyze how public health policies and government regulations can influence health promotion and disease prevention

3.12.1 Evaluate the validity of health information, products, and services.
3.12.2 Utilize resources from home, school, and community that provide valid health information.
3.12.3 Determine the accessibility of products and services that enhance health.
3.12.4 Determine when professional health services may be required.
3.12.5 Access valid and reliable health products and services.

4.12.1 Utilize skills for communicating effectively with family, peers, and others to enhance health.
4.12.2 Demonstrate refusal, negotiation, and collaboration skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
4.12.3 Demonstrate strategies to prevent, manage, or resolve interpersonal conflicts without harming self or others.
4.12.4 Demonstrate how to ask for and offer assistance to enhance the health of self and others.

5.12.1 Examine barriers that can hinder healthy decision making.
5.12.2 Determine the value of applying a thoughtful decision-making process in health-related situations.
5.12.3 Justify when individual or collaborative decision making is appropriate.
5.12.4 Generate alternatives to health-related issues or problems.
5.12.5 Predict the potential short and long term impact of each alternative on self and others.
5.12.6 Defend the healthy choice when making decisions.
5.12.7 Evaluate the effectiveness of health related decisions.

Pedagogical Overview

Activities Sequence to provide sufficient opportunities for students to achieve the targeted outcomes.

Make sure students have the prior knowledge identified in the background information.

  1. Activity 1 - Students Brainstorm from their prior knowledge about drugs.
  2. Focus student's attention by asking the overall focus question, then ask and discuss the sub focus questions and set learning goals.
  3. Activity 2 - Medicines and drugs and how they are classified.
  4. Activity 3 - Are medicines and drugs dangerous?
  5. Activity 4 - Drug and Medicine Investigations
  6. Activity 4a - Alcohol Investigation
  7. Activity 4b - Tobacco Investigation
  8. Activity 5 - Drug culture and media influences on medicine and drug use.
  9. Activity 6 - Decision making scenarios and case studies related to medicine and drug use ...
  10. Activity 7 - The Affects of Influence and Social Skills on Decision Making Related to Medicine and Drug Use
  11. Medicine and drug review
  12. Medicine drug review with answer key

Focus question

Unit focus question:

What kinds of decisions do people make related to medicines and drugs?

Sub focus questions:

  1. What are drugs?
  2. Are medicines drugs?
  3. How do people make decisions to use medicine and drugs?
  4. What influences their decisions?
  5. What different options are available when making decisions about medicine and drugs?
  6. How are options or choices determined?
  7. How are positive and negative consequences determined for the options?
  8. How are the options evaluated?

Resources and Materials

  1. Lab notes for activities | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 a b | 5 | 6 | 7 |
  2. Worksheet with Nine step decision making process
  3. Blank Worksheet for a 6 Step Decision Making Cycle
  4. Decision Making, Critical Thinking, and Change Processes
  5. Scenarios or case studies on substance use (alcohol, prescription drugs, illegal drug use)
  6. Medicine & Drug Effects on the Human Body - Fact Sheet,
  7. Classification of Drugs categories as sold - Fact Sheet,
  8. Medical Classification of Drugs - Fact Sheet, Anti-psychotics, stimulants, depressants, & hallucinogens (4)
  9. Lab notes human system diagram female,
  10. Lab notes human system diagram male,
  11. Delivery systems of medicine - Fact Sheet -
  12. Suggestions for Safe Use of Medicine - Fact Sheet -
  13. Tobacco - Fact Sheet -
  14. Alcohol - Fact Sheet -
  15. Inhalants - Fact Sheet -
  16. Marijuana - Fact Sheet -
  17. Circles of Influence
  18. Benefits for Not Using Drugs - Fact Sheet -
  19. Stopping Drug Use - Fact Sheet -
  20. Top Prescribed and Total Sales of Drugs - Fact Sheet -
  21. Media and Smoking - Fact Sheet -
  22. eCigarette Media - Fact Sheet -
  23. Vaccination - Fact Sheet -
  24. Role play scenarios: alcohol, marijuana, E-cigarettes, cigarettes, inhalents, & other
  25. Word bank
  26. Myths and Facts about Cigarettes, Alcohol, Marijuana Use
  27. References and additional resources

The Truth About Drugs materials from the Foundation for a Drug Free World. @ drugfreeworld.org. See overview in grey box below:

Overview of Lesson and Resources from The Truth About Drugs

Distributed by the Foundation for a Drug Free World. @ drugfreeworld.org.
On the DVD short videos are called Ads and the longer videos are linked as Chapters and Lessons.

  1. Lesson 1: Why is drug education necessary? Purpose is to find out what students already know about drugs and identify questions they have.
    1. Video - They Said /They Lied (1:03)
    2. The Truth about Drugs. A documentary where people describe their life experiences with drug use, the results, and the consequences. (7:53)
  2. Lesson 2: Drug culture. Purpose is to describe the drug culture.
    • Video - E (:30) Girl on ecstasy looking ill, sick ...
    • Video - Party All Night (:63) Girl on coke stumbles through party night ...
    • Video - Love Lost (:63) Said love me forever if smoked crack with him. Drug bust... arrest ...
    • Video - Medicine Chest (:63) Son, mom, overdose ...
    • Video - Focus (:34) Ritalin abuse to focus ... they lied.
  3. Lesson 3 Why do People Take Drugs?
    • Video - Popular Scenes that show non-cool behavior with audio that says: They said drugs would make you cool, they lied.(:50)
    • Video - Best High Scenes with girl screaming, throwing, using, hiding, alone, tired, struggle with mom. And ... They said heroin would be the best high... They lied. (1:05)
    • Video - Tripping Scenes of boy and violent and negative actions with Audio that has trippy quotes and says, They said acid would help me forget my problems ... They lied. (:35)
    • Video - One of the Guys Scenes guy drinking, staggering, sick, car wreck. Audio that says, They said that if I got drunk, I would be one of the guys ... They lied. (:35)
  4. Lesson 4: How Do Drugs Work and How do They Affect the Mind?
    • Video - Just Once Scenes of boy engaged in crime and running. They said I wouldn't get hooked after the first take... They lied. (:35)
    • Video - One Hit Scene with boy sniffing white powder, EMT, ambulance, death, parent. They said one hit wouldn't hurt... They lied. Get your kids the truth about drugs... (:48)
    • Video - Legal Highs Scenes ... They lied. (:35)
    • Video - Stay Up and Study Scene with kid in hoody robbing convenience store, police, ... They said meth would help me get through my exams... They lied. (:35)
    • Video - Sniffing Scene with girls playing soccer, gymnastics, swimming, wheel chair... They said sniffing glue was no big deal... They lied. (:35)
  5. Lessons 5-16: The Truth about ...
    • Lesson 5-Marijuana. Video, Gateway said weed wouldn't lead to ... lied (:35) & Video, Marijuana Flash different names on screen, describe how grown, processed, used, negative affect on goal oriented behavior, addicted to escape from everyday life, negative consequences: drop out, arrested, no jobs with drug test, car wreck, prison, felony, ruined chances, gateway drug to overcome tolerance, wish would have avoided it. (8:30),
    • Lesson 6-Alcohol. Video, One of the Guys see lesson 3. Video, Alcohol Flash different kinds of alcohol on screen, describe how processed, drug that is a depressant then stimulant, discuss how people started drinking, slowly became a problem, craving, physical need, dehydration, alcoholics tell negative stories that drinking had on their lives and their families. List physical problems: memory problems, brain, liver, stomach, ... wish would have avoided it, didn't think how much of a problem alcohol could be. (9:01)
    • Lesson 7-Synthetic Drugs. Video, Legal Highs see lesson 4. Video, Synthetic Drugs Flashes different kinds of Synthetic Drugs on screen, describe how processed and compound changed to avoid the law, people explain how started using them, cheap, easy, made in lab, why not... different users describe different problems they had, craving, physical need. Tell negative stories that use had on their lives and their families. List psychotic episodes, blackout, being sexually assaulted, died, suicide, car accidents, birth defects, flashbacks... Not worth risk of 100% addiction. One of those things you don't need to experience for yourself. (8:40)
    • Lesson 8-Ecstasy, Video E see lesson two. Video, Ecstasy Flashes different kinds of Ecstasy on screen, describe how processed and compound changes to avoid laws. Think recreational drug. Some cut with meth, LSD ... Users explain first use... Dolphin on it ... After use crash, depressed, need more, tolerance ... can't eat, drink, emotions all over the place, dehydrated, increased heart rate, death, jail, depressed, blacked out, brain damage, addiction, arrested, car wrecks, (9:30)
    • Lesson 9-Cocaine. Video, Party All Night See lesson 2. Video Cocaine Flashes different names for cocaine on screen, describe how processed and cut with drain cleaner. Use increases with addiction and cost increases beyond what can afford. Need it to do anything. Pain in nose, chill, shake, ache, shooting it, infection, paranoid, fight, robbery, death, memory problems, can never feel as good as before I used. Wasn't worth it... (7:45)
    • Lesson 10-Crack Cocaine. Video, Love Lost see lesson 2. Video, Crack Flashes different names for crack on screen, describe how processed and cut and used. Users experiences... after first use high wears off and immediately want more. Will do anything to get the feeling again. Crack house ... Sell self for sex. Avoid caring for children, Family affects, father had a heart attack trying to find me on streets ... (7:20)
    • Lesson 11-Crystal Meth & Methamphetamine. Video, Stay Up and Study see lesson 4. Video Meth Flashes different names for cocaine on screen, describe what looks like, how processed with different poisons and tons of toxic waste produced when making it. Users experiences, reasons they started, addiction from extreme high and need to remove negative feelings, hallucinations, self mutilation, arrested, mental hospital, robbery, apathy, memory loss, physical damage to body, if I would have known then what I know now... Not worth one night of ... for ... (8:05)
    • Lesson 12-Inhalants. Video, Sniffing see lesson 4. Video Inhalants Flashes different products and images used as inhalants. Body damage to brain cells from lack of oxygen, liver, kidneys, ... Don't know when too much. Describe methods of use. High very short so do again right away to maintain ... Pass out ... Don't remember, short breath, sick, light headed, headache, ears ringing, nauseous, ... Memory problems, lung damage, kidney, death, ... Thirty second hight for life long damage or death. (8:26)
    • Lesson 13-Heroin. Video, Best High see lesson 3. Video Inhalants Flashes different names for heroin. Shows poppy plant and describes production process and what it might be cut with. Describes use... Users describe when first used and how first use led to addiction to get rid of negative physical feelings to feel better. Users homeless, stole from parents, house raided and arrested, robbery, destroyed family, destroyed body, ... I had no idea ... If I had more information and would have listened and know what I know now ... No little kid grows up wanting to be a heroin addict. (6 :15).
    • Lesson 14-LSD. Video, Tripping see lesson 3. Video LSD. Flashes different names for LSD. Describes LSD as the drug that causes the most mind altering distorted experience. Tells it is made in a lab, shows different doses, and different ways of ingestion. Physical body aches and pains after use. Trip as experience that they couldn't wait to be over. Describe how some users ended up in mental hospital. Users describe flash backs. Users describe experience as playing Russian roulette with your life, because you never know if you are going to make it out. (8:35)
    • Lesson 15-Prescription drug abuse. Video, Focus see lesson 2. Video, Prescription Drugs. Flashes different names of prescription drugs. People think they are safe because they are prescribed by a Dr. Describes and shows four categories ... Abusers describe how they got started. Users who became addicted describe how they continued to get more and why they felt they needed them. Users describe lying to friends, parents, doctors to get more. Stealing, and other consequences of misuse and abuse. Memory loss, black-out, not knowing what doing or have done. Death ... Sellers make it sound like one time fun thing. If I would have known .... No one ever says it is going to make your family hate you, your girl friend hate you, life a living hell. (9:15)
    • Lesson 16-Pain killers. Video Medicine Chest see lesson 2. Video, Pain Killers. Flashes different names of pain killers and says made from opium. Show examples of different pain killers and describes different delivery systems. Users describe first use: prescribed by Dr., friend, found in medicine chest. Addicted when the affect wears off the body reacts with pain and desire for more. Will do anything to get it. Left home, family, ... arrested for forgery, fraud, theft, sleeping on street, ... Over dose, hospital, hang cuffed, family destroyed. Seems okay because it is from a doctor, but it can be a death sentence. Loss track of dreams and goals and maybe wake up ten years later. (7:20)
  6. Lesson 17 The final word. Video, The Final Word. Lifestyle fascinated me. One time, occasional happening, one time use, playing Russian roulette with your life. drugs mask your problems rather than facing with them, maybe angry, lonely, but when drug is gone, bigger problems begin. If I knew then what I know now, I would never... I had dreams and ... but lost 11 years... If I would have changed that one time, everything would have been different. (5:00. 3:30 with 1:30 credits for all videos).
  7. Lesson 18 Putting the truth about drugs to use

Scoring guides suggestions (rubric)

Medicine and drug classification (scoring guide)

Top level

  1. Includes topics that describe related groups of drugs and medicines. Topics include four drug categories (depressant, stimulant, anti-psychotics, & hallucinogens) and five medicine categories (Vaccines, Destroy infectious pathogens (antibiotics, antiviral, & fungicide), Anticancer, Gene therapy, & Change body chemistry). Include multiple examples for each category.
  2. Includes topics that describe related groups of drugs and medicines. Topics include all four drug categories (depressant, stimulant, anti-psychotics, & hallucinogens) and medicine categories (Vaccines, Destroy infectious pathogens (antibiotics, antiviral, & fungicide), Anticancer, Gene therapy, & Change body chemistry). Include an example for each category.
  3. Includes topics that describe related groups of drugs and medicines and specific examples.

Lower level

Decision making skills to enhance health (scoring guide)

  • Low level: Makes decisions subconsciously and emotionally or in a manner that believes will result in the best rewards personally or socially (parents, teachers, friends, ...).
  • Middle level: Makes decisions with a multiple step process that uses several appropriate steps for making decisions and excludes some that may be necessary to make better decisions.
  • Upper level: Makes decisions with a process that includes identification of a problem, alternative solutions with positive and negative consequences, and implementation suggestions. And describes benefits of a comprehensive decision making process.
  • Top level: Makes decisions with a process that includes focus on a process, accurate information, identification of a problem, analysis, generation of alternative options and choices with positive and negative consequences, implementation, and evaluation suggestions. And describes benefits of a comprehensive decision making process.

Social interactions in a conflict situation (scoring guide)

  • Low level: Social interations seem to be driven by subconscious emotional influences in a manner that suggests decisions are based on influences for immediate personal or social outcomes and rewards, without regard to individual rights, concern for conflict resolution, or use of applicable social skills.
  • Middle level: Social interations seem to recognize a conflict between subconscious influences and logical consequences while recognizing different ways to resolve conflict and attempt to solve problens with regard to individual rights of assertion and use of applicable social skills to make or accept a decision that most individuals can accept.
  • Upper level: Social interations recognize a conflict between subconscious influences and logical consequences and identify multiple ways to resolve conflict with respect to accept each person's individual rights or assertion, and use appropriate social skills when focusing on and stating the problem, analyzing the problem, stating alternative options and choices with positive and negative consequences, and communicating decisions that most individuals accept.

Scenario Activity Rubric with outcomes & scoring guide

Advocacy related outcomes ( 5 points)                               Total ______ / 100

  • Presented and advocated positive health choices
  • Presented and promoted information that was health-enhancing
  • Interacted with awareness of the audience
  • Encouraged others to make healthy choices
  • Demonstrated passion or conviction for the information presented

Goal Setting related outcomes ( 5 points)

  • Focused on the presentation as the goal
  • Created a work path that was realistic and attainable
  • Selected an effective strategy and plan to implement and achieve the goal
  • Monitored, evaluated, and reflected on the plan and its implementation and made adjustments as necessary

Communication related outcomes ( 50 points)

Presentation completed __ Data sheet completed __ Review completed __

  • Clear - presentation of ideas that were easy to understand
  • Precise - information was appropriate for the presentation
  • Reliable - consistent good quality information that can be trusted
  • Logical - ideas fit together without discrepancies and supported the conclusions
  • Relevant - idea or ideas that fit the purpose of the presentation
  • Consistent - idea or ideas are supported by observation, current research, or wisdom of practice. novel ideas are developed with plausible explanations.
  • Comprehensive - contains necessary and sufficient information and supporting information to communicate the idea or group of ideas and all their complexity and connectedness through multiple perspectives
  • Complexity includes explanations and examples of the functions of the system. ___
  • Unbiased - fair nonprejudicial presentation of information and all messages given

Group interactions

  • Interactions with group members assisted achievement of the appropriate goals.
  • Used appropriate listening skills
  • Distinguished between supported factual information and beliefs or emotional feelings by stating "I think" or "I feel" or using I statements
  • Used a respectful tone
  • Used appropriate body language
  • Supported their messages with research, logical reasoning, and meaningful explanations

Decision Making related outcomes (10 points)

Decisions for planning and presenting their presentation

  • Low level: Makes decisions subconsciously and emotionally or in a manner that believes will result in the best rewards personally or socially (parents, teachers, friends, ...). (7)
  • Middle level: Makes decisions with a multiple step process that uses several appropriate steps for making decisions and excludes some that may be necessary to make better decisions. (8)
  • Upper level: Makes decisions with a process that includes identification of a problem, alternative solutions with positive and negative consequences, and implementation suggestions. And describes benefits of a comprehensive decision making process. (9)
  • Top level: Makes decisions with a process that includes focus on a process, accurate information, identification of a problem, analysis, generation of alternative options and choices with positive and negative consequences, implementation, and evaluation suggestions. And describes benefits of a comprehensive decision making process. (10)

Analyzing Influences related outcomes ( 5 points)

  • Identified and analyzed personal influences and how they vary.
  • Identified social biases and influences that affected accuracy of information and decision making.
  • Interpreted how conditions and influences impact relationships and used this information to better make decisions, set goals, communicate, advocate for health, and achieve goals.

Accessing Information related outcomes ( 5 points)

Took steps to get valid health information and appropriate health services.

  • Cited sources.
  • Evaluated the validity of sources.
  • Mentioned appropriate health resources for the problem.
  • Included specific types of help available for different needs.

Refusal Skills related outcomes ( 5 points)

  • Included the word "no" in any refusal response.
  • Provided an explanation of why in any refusal response.
  • Offered appropriate alternatives in place of the proposed activity that is being rejected.
  • Used body language that supported the communication of refusal.
  • Included a description of "moving on" from the situation.

Self-Management Skills related outcomes ( 5 points)

  • Included healthy behaviors and habits for a person to achieve healthy behaviors.
  • Identified protective behaviors (diet, exercise, first aid, seat belt usage, cell phone use, texting and driving, alcohol, drug use, risk management) to achieve a health in the system.
  • Described procedures for protective behaviors for their system (eat healthy, exercise, safe environments, avoid drug use and prescription drug abuse ...)

Conflict Resolution related outcomes ( 5 points)

  • Identified problems if they occurred
  • Invented options for the group's benefit
  • Agreed on a solution that benefited the group
  • Interactions to solve conflicts were:
    • Low level: Social interations seem to be driven by subconscious emotional influences in a manner that suggests decisions are based on influences for immediate personal or social outcomes and rewards, without regard to individual rights, concern for conflict resolution, or use of applicable social skills. (3)
    • Middle level: Social interations seem to recognize a conflict between subconscious influences and logical consequences while recognizing different ways to resolve conflict and attempt to solve problens with regard to individual rights of assertion and use of applicable social skills to make or accept a decision that most individuals can accept. (4)
    • Upper level: Social interations recognize a conflict between subconscious influences and logical consequences and identify multiple ways to resolve conflict with respect to accept each person's individual rights of assertion and use appropriate social skills when focusing on and stating the problem, analyzing the problem, stating alternative options and choices with positive and negative consequences, and communicating decisions that most individuals accept. (5)

Stress Management related outcomes ( 5 points)

  • Identified situations that caused stress
  • Demonstrated techniques to manage and reduce stress (talking about it, relaxation strategies, getting to work, not procrastinating ...)

The rubric was created based on the Healthy Practices Skills and Outcomes for a middle level health course, which were heavily influenced by the national health standards.

 

Lesson Plans

Activity 1 - Brainstorm students' prior knowledge about medicine and drugs and set goals.

Materials:

Focus questions:

  1. What are drugs?
  2. How do people make decisions to use medicines and drugs?
  3. What influences their decisions?
  4. What different options are available when making decisions about medicine and drugs?
  5. How are options or choices determined?
  6. How are positive and negative consequences determined for the options?
  7. How are the options evaluated?

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Review decision making procedures and relate to medicine and drugs.
  3. Facilitate students writing goals for what people need to know about medicine and drugs by using the focus questions.

Exploration

Activity: Brainstorm student's knowledge of medicine and drugs

  1. Review brainstorming guidelines.
  2. Have students brainstorm and write in their lab notes what they know about drugs.
  3. Focus question: What are drugs?
  4. After five or so minutes if a group hasn't included ideas about legal drugs and medicines move to each group and ask them to add that to their brainstorming.
  5. After alloted time is up, share results.
  6. This is exploration for students and you to review what they know. There is no need to evaluate the accuracy of what they have. That will come later.

Tie in decision making by asking and discussing the following questions. Main idea is to get students to recognize a decision making process is applied to make decision on drug and medicine use. The process they use can be weak or strong. It is their choice.

  1. How do people make decisions to use medicine and drugs? Do what their doctor or parents tell them to do. Go with their gut. React without thinking. Organize a process that follows a series of steps: Identify a problem, collect information, analyze the information, generate options or choices, consider consequences, make a decision, implement, evaluate.
  2. What influences their decisions? The knowledge or experience a person has that is telling or asking us to do something, emotions, past experiences, values, parents, friends, desire, rewards ...
  3. What different options are available when making decisions about medicine and drugs? Do what other people say, make a decision based on a logical process, consider what other authority figures suggest, seek help, listen to a friend's advice, research Online, ...
  4. How are options or choices determined? Brain storm, from past experiences, listening to what others suggest ...
  5. How are positive and negative consequences determined for the options?Brain storm, from past experiences, listening to what others suggest ...
  6. Do you have to experience something before making a decision about it? Depends on the experience. Tasting different foods that are not harmful is something that should be experienced before deciding not to eat different foods. Drinking to get drunk to see what a hangover feels like, not a good idea.
  7. How are the options evaluated? With the consequences, ethics, legal, moral, and values applied to consequences and risks.

Invention

Activity: Set goals for learning about medicine and drugs

Draw conclusion about what people need to know about medicine and drugs and set goals for learning:

Learning goals:

  1. Identify and describe kinds of medicine and drugs.
  2. Identify and describe beneficial and harmful use of medicine and drugs.
  3. Describe the process of how different medicines and drugs interact with different body systems, tissues, and cells that result in healthy and unhealthy consequences of medicine and drug use.
  4. Identify and describe ideas to know about drug education.
  5. Identify and describe influences that affect medicine and drug use.
  6. Describe drug culture and how it affects decision making.

 

Activity 2 - Medicines and drugs and how they are classified

Materials:

Focus questions:

  1. What are medicines?
  2. What are drugs?
  3. Are medicines drugs?
  4. How are they the same and different?
  5. Should you categorize drugs to include medicines or should the two be separate?
  6. How would you use what you know to categorize medicines and drugs?

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Facilitate student's understanding of medicines and drugs with three different classification systems and how medicines and drugs are delivered.

Scoring guide for medicine and drug classification

Top level

  1. Includes topics that describe related groups of drugs and medicines. Topics include four drug categories (depressant, stimulant, anti-psychotics, & hallucinogens) and five medicine categories (Vaccines, Destroy infectious pathogens (antibiotics, antiviral, & fungicide), Anticancer, Gene therapy, & Change body chemistry). Include multiple examples for each category.
  2. Includes topics that describe related groups of drugs and medicines. Topics include all four drug categories (depressant, stimulant, anti-psychotics, & hallucinogens) and medicine categories (Vaccines, Destroy infectious pathogens (antibiotics, antiviral, & fungicide), Anticancer, Gene therapy, & Change body chemistry). Include an example for each category.
  3. Includes topics that describe related groups of drugs and medicines and specific examples.

Lower level

Exploration

Activity: Medicine and drug classification

  1. Put students in groups. May want to have groups of three so later when they classify, each person could complete one of the three examples of classification (affects on body, selling categories, medical categories). Lab notes classification pages.
  2. Ask and discuss:
    • What are medicines?
    • Wha
      • drugs?
      • Are medicines drugs?
      • How are they the same and different?
      • Should you categorize drugs to include medicines or should the two be separate?
      • How would you use what you know to categorize medicines and drugs?

    Invention

    Activity: Develop a classification system to better understand medicine and drugs

    1. Provide students with the Lab notes that have three different possible categories, that match the fact sheets and explain their task is to review the fact sheets and create a map, web, or outline that classifies the information. They may use any or all of the three, but must decide on a system that will include a variety of medicines and drugs discussed in class. Such as (Antibiotics, Antidepressants, Anti-fungals, Anti-psychotics, Antitoxins, Antivirals, Allergy, Cancer treatment, Cannabis, Depressants, Hallucinogens, Pain, Stimulants, ... )
    2. Check for understanding of the fact sheets in the materials list. Encourage them to take notes and high-lighted information on the fact sheets and take enought time for students to develop a big idea for the three organizations before they decide on what to use for their map, web, or outline. Categorized by: 1. different affects on the body, 2. Medical classification by effects on central nervous system CNS, 3. alphabetical list by effects and how sold. (see examples below)
      • Medicines and drugs could be classified by the effect they have on the human body like the categories on the Medicine and Drug Affects on the Human Body Fact Sheet, Prevent disease, Destroy infectious pathogens, Destroy cancer cells, Gene therapy, and Change body chemistry. The first four categories are less complicated than the fifth category, change body chemistry.
      • Drugs are classified in the Medical profession as: Anti-psychotics, stimulants, depressants, & hallucinogens Fact Sheet,
      • Medicines and drugs can be classified as marketed by general affects and purposes Medicine and Drug Categories Fact Sheet, classes are listed alphabetically in 18 categories.
    3. Check for understanding of the classification and relate it to the assignment.
      • Classification systems students might create should explain how each class is different.
      • Medicines and drugs have multiple effects and can be included in multiple categories (note the overlapping in the Venn diagram in the medical classification of drugs).
      • It should also be noted that the general effects of different medicines and drugs are well known and do not vary from what is known and included on the fact sheets.
    • t are Some students may want to classifiy medicines and drugs by their delivery system. However, this way of classification has more overlap than in other systems and doesn't reference effects. While other classification systems are not unique (binary or black and white) it is best to reduce overlap when possible.
  1. Have students use the fact sheets on medicine and drugs to add detail to complete their classifications and add detail.
  2. Share classification systems.

 

Activity 3 - Are medicines and drugs dangerous?

Materials:

  1. Video - They Said /They Lied (1:03)
  2. The Truth about Drugs. A documentary where people describe their life experiences with drug use, the results, and the consequences. (7:53)
  3. Use the PSA videos for background information on why people take drugs:
    • Video - Popular Scenes that show non-cool behavior with audio that says: They said drugs would make you cool, they lied.(:50)
    • Video - Best High Scenes with girl screaming, throwing, using, hiding, alone, tired, struggle with mom. And ... They said heroin would be the best high... They lied. (1:05)
    • Video - Tripping Scenes of boy and violent and negative actions with Audio that has trippy quotes and says, They said acid would help me forget my problems ... They lied. (:35)
    • Video - One of the Guys Scenes guy drinking, staggering, sick, car wreck. Audio that says, They said that if I got drunk, I would be one of the guys ... They lied. (:35)
  4. Lab notes Are medicines and drugs dangerous? activity 3,
  5. Lab notes pages for classification of medicines and drugs,
  6. Medicine Affects on the Human Body - Fact Sheet,
  7. Medicine and Drug Categories as sold - Fact Sheet,
  8. Medical Classification of Drugs - Fact Sheet,
  9. Delivery Systems - Fact Sheet,
  10. Suggestions for Safe Use of Medicine - Fact Sheet,

Focus questions:

  1. When do medicines become dangerous?
  2. When are drugs dangerous?
  3. Why do people take or not take medicine and drugs?
  4. How do drugs affect your life?
  5. What is drug addiction?
  6. How does a person become addicted to a drug?
  7. How does addiction affect lives?
  8. How would you use information about drug use to help you?
  9. How does a drug culture affect medicine and drug use?

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Facilitate students understanding about the benefits and dangers of medicines and drugs.

Exploration

Activity: Dangers of medicines and drugs

Distribute the Lab notes Are medicines and drugs dangerous? for activity 3 with the following questions to students in pairs or small groups to discuss for 8-10 minutes, then bringing the class together to discuss them. Remember, exploration is to focus student's attention on the focus questions and assess their initial understandings. Wait until invention to guide their thinking with the presentation of facts.

  1. When do medicines become dangerous?
  2. When are drugs dangerous?
  3. Why do people take or not take medicine and drugs?
  4. How do drugs affect your life?
  5. What is drug addiction?
  6. How does a person become addicted to a drug?
  7. How does addiction affect lives?
  8. How would you use information about drug use to help you?
  9. How does a drug culture affect medicine and drug use?
  10. Find and describe an example that supports the following statement and suggest what the person might have done to solve the problem without abusing drugs: The consequences of drug abuse is always worse than the problem one is trying to solve.

Invention

Activity: Using information about drugs to make decisions

  1. Show and discuss each of the four PSA videos. For each ask: Do you think the information is accurate? On a scale of 1-10 rate how true you believe the information is. Discuss why they think so. and the specific ideas for each as follows:
    • Popular. Accuracy, rate, discuss, plus. What examples can you give that really make people cool and do not?
    • Best High. Accuracy, rate, discuss, plus. Do people take drugs to feel better? Think of a time that you felt really good. What happened to cause it?
    • Tripping. Accuracy, rate, discuss, plus. Do people take drugs to forget ...? Do you think it works?
    • One of the Guys. Accuracy, rate, discuss, plus. Do people take drugs to be accepted? Do you think it works?
  2. Read the section on why people take drugs in the book The Truth about Drugs. or watch the video, The Truth about Drugs. A documentary where people describe their life experiences with drug use, the results, and the consequences. (7:53)
  3. Review focus questions
    1. When do medicines become dangerous? Taken without or against Dr. directions or product instructions.
    2. When are drugs dangerous? Depends on the type of drug. Some can be dangerous the first time taken depending on the type of drug, dose, and when taken. Others may only be dangerous if taken without or against Dr. directions described in a perscription or product instructions. Others may not be dangerous at first, but as a tolerance develops, the user takes more to achieve a needed high, becomes addicted, and results in negative health affects.
    3. Why do people take or not take medicine and drugs? Take medicine / drugs to improve health. Sometimes don't take medicine, because of negative effects or fear of the unknown. Sometimes take drugs to feel better, be popular, get high, trip, be one of the guys, party...
    4. How do drugs affect your life? They can cure disease, make life better and the body healthier and they can cause addiction and kill you.
    5. What is drug addiction? a chronic, recurring brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is a brain disease because drugs change the brain; they change its structure and how it works.
    6. How does a person become addicted to a drug? Use drugs without being able to have self-control over the amount used.
    7. How does addiction affect lives? Addiction profoundly affects thinking and behavior. It affects every aspect of life, including the lives of friends and family.
    8. How would you use information about drug use to help you? To make better choices about how drugs can be used as medicines for good health and how to avoid drugs that may be harmful or addictive.
    9. How does a drug culture affect medicine and drug use?
  4. Video - They Said /They Lied (1:03)
  5. Find and describe an example that supports the following statement and suggest what the person might have done to solve the problem without abusing drugs:
    The consequences of drug abuse is always worse than the problem one is trying to solve.

 

Activity 4 - Investigation of Medicine and Drugs

Materials:

Focus questions:

How would you investigate and study different medicines and drugs?

  1. What medicine or drug would you like to investigate?
  2. How would you describe the medicine or drug?
  3. How does its categorization fit with the description?
  4. What are some examples? Chemical name, brand, or street name.
  5. What are its short and long term effects (positive and negative) on the body? Illustrate on a human system diagram in lab notes male or female.
  6. What did you learn from your investigation and how might you use it? Recommendations, Positive and negative results of use and its limitations.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. The investigations can be done with or without the whole class doing an investigation before groups are assigned to do a group or independent investigation and report. Possible whole class investigation samples might be: 4a alcohol investigation and 4b tobacco investigation.
  2. Put students in groups. May use the groups from previous activities or create new ones. Have students select, or assign them, a medicine or drug from the Medicine and drug categories fact sheet to investigate and report to the class or from the Fourteen Fact booklets available from drugfreeworld.org: The Truth About ... Alcohol, Cocaine, Crack cocaine, Crystal meth, Drugs, Ecstasy, Heroin, Inhalants, LSD, Marijuana, Painkillers, Prescription drug abuse, Ritalin Abuse, Synthetic Drugs; or what ever medicines or drugs you want students to investigate.
  3. Students can be responsible for all of the information presented in class, but only have to fill out (five or what ever number you or they decide) lab investigation sheets for each drug or medicine.
  4. Review general procedures for investigation.
  5. Investigate different medicines and drugs.

Exploration

Activity: Developing a procedure to investigate medicine and drugs

  1. How would you investigate and study different medicines and drugs?
  2. Ask what questions can be used to study different medicines and drugs.
  3. Create or provide a list of Focus questions to use as an investigation outline:
    1. What medicine or drug would you like to investigate?
    2. How would you describe the medicine or drug?
    3. How does its categorization fit with the description?
    4. What are some examples? Chemical name and brands or street names.
    5. What are its short and long term effects (positive and negative) on the body? Illustrate on a human system diagram (see materials).
    6. What did you learn from your investigation and how might you use it? Recommendations, Positive and negative results of use and its limitations.
  4. Review and approve Lab notes for activity 4 investigation report outline.
  5. Assign groups and select medicine and drug for each to investigate and report.

Invention

Activity: Investigate and report on different medicines and drugs

  1. Select, investigate and report ...
  2. Share and record information on different medicines and drugs.

 

Activity 4a - Alcohol Investigation

Materials:

Focus questions:

How would you investigate and study different medicines and drugs?

  1. What medicine or drug would you like to investigate?
  2. How would you describe the medicine or drug?
  3. How does its categorization fit with the description?
  4. What are some examples? Chemical name and brands or street names.
  5. What are its short and long term effects (positive and negative) on the body? Illustrate on a human system diagram (see materials).
  6. What did you learn from your investigation and how might you use it? Recommendations, Positive and negative results of use and its limitations.

Suggested procedure overviews:

  1. Review general procedures for investigation.
  2. Walk students through an investigation of alcohol as a drug.

Exploration

Activity: Developing a procedure to investigate alcohol

  1. Ask, How would you investigate and study different medicines and drugs?
  2. Tell students you are going to walk through a general investigation procedure to use to investigate different medicines and drugs and then use the procedure to do an investigation of alcohol as a drug together.
  3. Create or provide a list of Focus questions to use as an investigation outline:
    1. What is medicine or drug would you like to investigate?
    2. How would you describe the medicine or drug?
    3. How does its categorization fit with the description?
    4. What are some examples? Chemical name and brands or street names.
    5. What are its short and long term effects (positive and negative) on the body? Illustrate on the human system diagram.
    6. What did you learn from your investigation and how might you use it? Recommendations, Positive and negative results of use and its limitations.
  4. Review and approve lab notes for activity four general investigation outline.

Invention

Activity: Investigate and report on on alcohol as a drug

  1. Write alcohol on the top of the lab note sheet.
  2. Use the fact sheets to answer and record the answers to the following focus questions or outline categories:
    1. How would you describe alcohol? ethyl alcohol, or ethanol (C2H5OH) is the same in all alcoholic drinks, beer, wine, spirits (hard liquor).
    2. How does alcohol categorization fit with the description? depressant
    3. What are some examples of alcohol? beer, wine, spirits (hard liquor). Chemicals in alcohol (ethyl alcohol, or ethanol (C2H5OH) ) and brands or street names of alcohol. Budweiser, Miller, Jordan, Sutter Home, Sonoma-Cutrer, Silver Oak Wine Cellars, Absolut, Bacardi, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Chivas, Regal, Crown Royal, Grey Goose, ...
    4. What are the short and long term effects of alcohol (positive and negative) on the body? Illustrate on the human system diagram. Use one of the two diagrams in the lab notes; human system diagram female, human system diagram male, and have students write the different effects alcohol use has on different parts of the body and draw a line from the effect to the part of the body in the diagram it effects.
      • Central nervous system: thought processes are disrupted, memory damaged, thought slowed, judgment impaired, damage brain cells, reduce brain size, brain damage, lose of verbal skills, addiction.
      • Respiratory system: slows breathing rate and decreases efficiency of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange.
      • Cardiovascular system: increase blood pressure, increase heart rate, heart attack. Heart muscles become weak and the heart enlarges reducing its effectiveness. Larger amounts of alcohol decrease heart rate, blood pressure, heart rhythm and can be irregular.
      • Excretory system: liver damage cause by toxic chemicals when breaking down alcohol. Damaged cells are replaced with scar tissue and can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver failure and death. Increase urine production and cause dehydration.
      • Digestive system: increase acid production, cause nausea, vomiting, stomach and intestine lining damage, irritate ulcers, cause cancer. As alcohol consumption increases the organs in the digestive system are all negatively affected as alcohol interferes with normal distribution of chemicals, causing excessive build up of chemicals that can cause problems: esophagus, pancreas, gall bladder, ...
      • Skin, muscular, and skeletal system:
      • Immune system:
  3. What did you learn from your investigation and how might you use it? Accept any reasonable ideas. Recommendations, Positive and negative results of use and its limitations. Accept any reasonable ideas.
  4. Any final thoughts? Accept any reasonable ideas.
  5. Share and record information on different medicines and drugs.
  6. Review completed diagrams and discuss.

 

Activity 4b - Tobacco Investigation

Materials:

Focus questions:

How would you investigate and study different medicines and drugs?

  1. What medicine or drug would you like to investigate?
  2. How would you describe the medicine or drug?
  3. How does its categorization fit with the description?
  4. What are some examples? Chemical name and brands or street names.
  5. What are its short and long term effects (positive and negative) on the body? Illustrate on a human system diagram (see materials).
  6. What did you learn from your investigation and how might you use it? Recommendations, Positive and negative results of use and its limitations.

Suggested procedure overviews:

  1. Review general procedures for an investigation of medicines and drugs.
  2. Demonstrate an investigation of tobacco as a drug.

Exploration

Activity: Developing a procedure to investigate tobacco

  1. Ask, How would you investigate and study different medicines and drugs?
  2. Tell students you are going to walk through a general investigation procedure to use to investigate different medicines and drugs and then use the procedure to do an investigation of tobacco as a drug together.
  3. Create or provide a list of Focus questions to use as an investigation outline:
    1. What is medicine or drug would you like to investigate?
    2. How would you describe the medicine or drug?
    3. How does its categorization fit with the description?
    4. What are some examples? Chemical name and brands or street names.
    5. What are its short and long term effects (positive and negative) on the body? Illustrate on the human system diagram.
    6. What did you learn from your investigation and how might you use it? Recommendations, Positive and negative results of use and its limitations.
  4. Review and approve Lab notes for activity 4 investigation outline.

Invention

Activity: Investigate and report on on tobacco as a drug

  1. Write tobacco on the top of the lab note sheet.
  2. Use the fact sheets to answer and record the answers to the following focus questions or outline categories:
    1. How would you describe tobacco?
    2. How does tobacco's categorization fit with the description?
    3. What are some examples of tobacco? Chemicals in tobacco and brands or street names of tobacco.
    4. What are the short and long term effects on the body (both positive and negative)? Illustrate health effects on the human system diagram. Use one of the two diagrams in the lab notes; human system diagram female, human system diagram male, and have students write the different effects tobacco use has on different parts of the body and draw a line from the effect to the part of the body in the diagram it effects.
      • Central nervous system
      • Respiratory system
      • Cardiovascular system
      • Excretory system
      • Digestive system
      • Skin, muscular, and skeletal system
      • Immune system
    5. What are other risks of use: stress, emotional, social, accidents, conflict with family, school, and team codes, breaking federal and state laws.
  3. What did you learn from your investigation and how might you use it? Recommendations, Positive and negative results, other risks, and limitations.
  4. Any final thoughts?

Share and record information on different medicines and drugs.

Review completed diagrams and discuss.

 

Activity 5 Drug culture: Media bias & other influences on medicine and drug use.

Materials:

Focus questions:

  1. What is culture?
  2. What is a medicine and drug culture?
  3. What sources of influence are there for a person who makes choices for using or not using medicine, alcohol, tobacco, eCigarettes, and other drugs?
  4. What positive and negative influences are there for each source?

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understandings.
  2. Facilitate student understanding of culture, influences, and how they are used to make conscious and unconscious decisions in general and more specifically related to medicine and drugs.
  3. Extend student understanding to advertising in our culture and the influences it has on the decisions we make on our medicine and drug use and how to protect ourselves from negative influence.

Exploration

Activity identify culture and influence

Ask and let students discuss in groups the focus questions ... and record answers on Lab notes for Activity 5

  1. What is culture?
  2. What is a medicine and drug culture?
  3. What sources of influence are there for a person who makes choices for using or not using medicine, alcohol, tobacco, eCigarettes, and other drugs?
  4. What positive and negative influences are there for each source?
  5. How do we protect ourselves from negative influences?

Invention

Activity Define culture & influence & how they shape and affect people

Ask and discussion the focus questions ...

  1. Facilitate the creation of a definition of culture. The collection of intellectual, social, and technological ideas a group of people share.
  2. Identify and facilitate the creation of a list of subcultures that can shape and affect people.
    • How do different subcultures affect people? They help define how people act and behave in certain situations.
    • Do people talk about what they view online, wear, eat, drink, ... Yes. All communication is shaped by what we hear and view in positive and negative ways.
    • List some subcultures: library, sports, religion, school, ...
    • What do people who go to parties talk about after the party? Varies according to type of party. May or may not include references to medicine and drugs and how people acted.
    • Do people hang out in places that represent their culture? Yes.
    • Do subcultures shape and affect people? Yes.
  3. Tell students they will focus on a medicine and drug subcultures and how they influence people. Review that different cultures have common values, understandings, language, procedures, and activities they share when using or discussing the ideas they value.
  4. What kind of ideas, places, objects, actions, and values are associated with medicine and drug cultures?
    • Legal medicine cultures: Hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, prescriptions, magazines, websites, ... Value scientific experiment based information Homeopathic / herbal cultures? Whole foods stores, Natural grocers, some clinics, pharmacy section of stores, magazines, websites, ... Value tradition, folk, and home made remedies.
    • Drug - Alcohol: Convenience stores, signs, tee-shirts, hats, bars, restaurant, liquor stores, drinking games, ... Value feel good sedated relaxed state.
    • Drug - Smoking: Convenience stores, signs, tee-shirts, hats, bars, restaurant, liquor stores, ... Value temporary high feeling.
    • Drug - Illicit drugs (marajuanna/weed, heroin, coke, meth, psychadelic drugs, crack, and a designer-drug culture). Bright colored and fashionable clothing on TV shows and movies. Loud music with a strong beat, disco or rock genre. Party atmosphere with people dancing, talking, interacting socially. Being alone and shotting up or getting high... Value getting high from time to time to some who seek to get messed up with whatever they can get as often as they can.
    • Drug - illlegal prescription medicine ... May start with a need for better health and become addicted with a need to stay high, reduce pain, or other physical / emotional need.
  5. Review that culture describes groups of people: what makes them unique, what they value, what they do, and how they do it. It affects people in each culture and how people interact with other cultures. This effect is: influence. Influences come from within ourselves and from outside, social and physical objects. Influences are real and very powerful. They can be very hard to recognize and make it difficult to say no. Different sources of influence are identified in this Circles of influence diagram - Data Sheet.
  6. Tell students to look at the different sources and think of specific examples for some of them.
    • Social - Parents influences: say school and learning is important and help with homework, wake up and get to school on time. Complain about school, taxes, too much homework...
    • Media - Television influences you by showing previews of programs to encourage you to watch. New programs warn of severe weather alerts and predictions.
    • Personal influences are a combination of emotional responses and previous experiences acting on a current situtation. Need to be cared for and belong influence decisions to agree with or disagree with friends about ... (Later will discuss assertive responses and when they are appropriate and when to accept other people's assertions)
    • Objects - Clothes with sports teams, product pictures and logos.
  7. Now let's use the circles of influence to identify sources of influence a person uses to make choices for using or not using medicine (perscription drugs, vacinations, vitamins, herbal remedies, ...), alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Brainstorm ideas (Brainstorming guidelines) and add them to the partially completed Circle of influence diagram. Possible sources.
    • Social - Media - Advertisement: clothes with Logos, posters, signs, crafty objects that suggest a person values, uses, enjoys, or recommends the use of alcohol, tobacco, marajuana, or other drugs. Shirt with marajuana leaf. Drawings of wine or other alcohol containers.
    • Social - Family influences with Family rules such as:
      • No non prescribed substance use of anything at any time, no exceptions.
      • No non prescribed substance use, but can have the occasional drink on special family occasions.
      • No illicit drugs (includes alcohol, , tobacco, ecigarettes) or designer drug use ever.
      • Call us to come get you if you are in a situation where no one is in a condition to drive home safely, no matter what you have been doing.
      • If you want to try a drug, bring it home and try it here.
    • Social - Media - Advertisements, clothes that sports figures wear with Logos, NASCAR, ... suggest a person values, uses, enjoys, and recommends the product to others.
    • Social - Media - TV and Movies that depict positive use of drugs at parties by the majority of users and sometimes negative consquences when one person dies from an overdose or disagreement with a drug lord.
    • Social - Peer pressure when friends and classmates suggest going to a doctor for treatment when sick
    • Social - Peer pressure when friends and classmates talk about using alcohol and other drugs for personal enjoyment.
    • Social - Role Models by watching and reading about the behavior of actors and actresses in movies that suggest fun or demonstrate negative consequeneces.
    • Personal - Fear of physiological or psychological dependence if use pain pills so limit use of prescribed drugs and suffer pain and use less addictive alternative.
  8. Influences can be both positive and negative for each source. Take some of the influences you have identified, for medicine and drug use, and list them on the blank Circles of influence diagram and label them as positive (+) or negative (-) affects for each influence. Could have students label them on previous Circles of influence diagram if desired.
  9. Tie influences to peer pressure by having students answer and discuss an example of when they were influenced by peer pressure and what the results and consequences were. Example: doing or not doing homework ... and then watch and discuss Peer pressure and influence video (7:32). This is an introductory activity as influence and peer pressure will be incorporated in later activities.

Discovery

Activity Influence in advertisement of medicine and drugs

  1. Let's use what we learned about culture and influences and see how media influences people about medicine and drugs. Think of how many ads there are for medicine (Top selling prescribed drugs and the money they make fact sheet) and alcohol. Ads are powerful and effective influencers, a 30-second television commercial during the 2016 Superbowl cost $5 million and a single-page ad in one issue of Time or Newsweek magazines may cost as much as $240,000.
  2. To get their moneys worth advertisers are very good at focusing on positive desires and linking them to their product for better and worse. Desires like: popular, happy, sexy, wholesome, clean environment, tough, macho, independent, liberated, sexy, and rich are used to create a biased view to create a positive influence associated with their product. However, the purpose of medicine, alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs isn't to make you popular, rich or most of their other biased claims. Medicine resolves a health issue, alcohol makes you drunk, smoking ... , other drugs make ...
  3. Another example of bias is what is most available in our culture. For example if a person searches on Google, what are the results. Do Google and other internet searches yield a biased result that influence people positively or negatively? Look at the results of these two searches and discuss if they are biased, if so how, and what positive and negative consequences might result.
  4. They are biased in that the overwhelming majority of them show using tobacco and eCigarettes in a very positive way. The picture with the cigarette on a fishhook and a boy looking at it is the best example in the group that suggests tobacco use is detremental. Some of the other pictures could suggest negative aspects related to looks on faces... What examples might students suggest?

    The e Cigarette examples I believe are all positive. Suggesting a very biased view or what is available online or results of a Google image search of eCigarette use.

  5. Have students research (as homework) different ads on television, radio, billboards, magazines, Internet or websites and bring two examples they could use to identify influences, biases, and create a parody ad.
    Sample ads:
  6. Sample ad collections Or students could do searches for different kinds of ads. Three examples follow. However, be warned these are Dynamic Google searches and results will change with each search and some ads may be offensive to certain viewers.
    • Dynamic Google search: counter ads for alcohol (images) results will vary and some may be offensive to some viewers.
    • Dynamic Google search: Tv ads for alcohol (images) results will vary and some may be offensive to some viewers. May also click the video tab at the top for those results ...
    • Dynamic Google search: magazine ads for alcohol (images) results will varyand some may be offensive to some viewers.
  7. Have students get into groups, share the ads they brought and discuss how they may or may use ideas from them to create and present a parody ad. They can use one or more advertising method to demonstrate how ads are biased to influence people's decision making. For example: use the catch phrase: Sports and alcohol go together to create an ad with a sports figure giving a testimonial, hero endorsement, and attractive appeal to influence people to use and buy alcohol when viewing or participating in sports. Each group will present its parody ad to the class and ask classmates to identify the advertising methods used, how they are biased, and how they can influence people.
    Example of advertising methods / tricks :
    • Bandwagon, everyone is ... , join the gang / crowd
    • Negative option
    • Testimonial, hero endorsement
    • Transfer
    • Emphasis
    • Avoid the issues and spin
    • Unfinished comparison
    • Numerical claims
    • Independence
    • Guarantees
    • Bargain, save money, get rich quick;
    • Bargain appeals
    • Exploiting fears and misgivings
    • Scientific claims
    • Attractive appeal
    • Catch phrases and slogans
  8. Have students complete the following in their lab notes:
    • Research different ads on television, radio, billboards, magazines, Internet or websites and list examples you could use to create a parody (parody: a style with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect) ad.
    • Describe your parody ad and what its messages will be.
    • What advertising media do you want to use? (video, television, radio, billboards, magazines, Internet or websites).
    • What kinds of bias or advertising technique will be included? Possible examples: Bandwagon, everyone is ... , join the gang / crowd; Negative opinion; Testimonial, hero endorsement; Transfer; Emphasis; Avoid the issues and spin; Unfinished comparison; Numerical claims; Independence; Guarantees; Bargain, save money, get rich quick; Appeal to reason; Exploit fears and misgivings; Scientific claims; Attractive appeal; Catch phrases and slogans.
    • How is it biased?
    • How will it influence people?
    • What do you like about the ad?
    • What do you dislike about the ad?
  9. After each group presents their ad, Ask:
    • What do you like about the ad?
    • What do you dislike about the ad?
    • Briefly describe the ad and its messages.
    • What advertising methods were included?
    • How they are biased?
    • How did they influence people?

Discovery
Activity How do I protect myself from influence?

  1. Have students summarize the importance of knowing how influence and bias affect the information they are being given to make decisions about medicine, alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.
    • Some reasons it's important to know about influence and bias: To know and understand how a Doctor's medical prescription or family remedy will result in better health.
    • To know the truth about what friends and classmates talk about as cool use ...
    • To distinguish the truth between claims of what will make you feel good.
    • To distinguish the truth about claims of what will not hurt you.
    • Claim the in crowd use it.
    • Understand rebellion from parents or authority that forbids use of something as an influence.
    • To understand the need to fit in with a group: relatives, parents, siblings friends who use drugs (smoke, drink) is an influence to feel it’s okay to use it, too.
    • To understand to have a sip is an influence to get a person to begin to use ...
    • Understand media influences the use of alcohol by people who are sexy, tough, rugged, and sociable.
    • Unserstand media influences people that smoking is glamorous and for people who ar rugged, macho, empowered, and independent minded.
    • Understand the use of all drugs as something to do to party and be less lonely, depressed, bored, by having a drink ...
  2. Describe how to protect yourself from negative influences in general.
    • How can I have a greater influence on myself than an ad or other people who are trying to influence me? Know what product ads and other people want to achieve, investigate the accuracy of their claims, recognize influences, dismiss bias and negative inluence, and make a logical decision for your benefit.
    • How can I make my situation better? By being aware of different cultures and their infuences when making decisions.

*** Later activities will apply these ideas on influences with decision making about medicine and drugs in personal and social decision making situations. ***

 

Activity 6 - Decision making scenarios and case studies related to medicine and drug use ...

Materials:

Focus questions:

  • How would you decide if a person had a substance abuse problem?
  • How does substance abuse affect a person, family, and community?
  • What questions or procedure might help you make a decision as to whether a person had a substance abuse problem?

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Focus students attention and assess their understanding of the focus questions in small groups and have them briefly share with the class.
  2. Decide how many scenarios / case studies and which ones to share with the class. Can do one together as a class, then assign groups to analyze a scenario and report back to the class. Students can record in their lab notes: one done together as a class, one they prepare, and three others. Use Scenario scoring guide to evaluate.
  3. Decide whether to present each scenario one at a time or to assign one to each group to prepare simultaneously and then present to the class.
  4. Divide the class into groups, have each group read, answer the focus questions, and report to the class.

Exploration for each scenario

Activity: Read and discuss the problems related to substance use scenarios

  1. Review the focus questions in small groups.
    1. How would you decide if a person had a substance use problem?
    2. How does substance abuse affect a person, family, community?
    3. What questions or procedure might help you make a decision as to whether a person had a substance abuse problem? Hopefully students will remember and suggest the Six step process and generate questions related to the six steps to ask related to substance abuse. During the exploration, let students begin to focus on this and assess their understanding.Don't worry about their depth of ideas they can be developed during the invention that follows.
  2. Briefly let groups share with the class. Save teacher comments for invention that follows or just move into the invention.

Invention

Activity: Summarize the effects substances can have on family and community

  1. Share focus questions and discuss with the class.
    1. How would you decide if a person had a substance use problem?
      • First - Define substance abuse: Substance abuse is an unnecessary or misuse of a chemical (organic or inorganic). A continued use of alcohol, illegal drugs, or misuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs with negative consequences: hang-over, illness, problems at work, school, home, interpersonal relationships, legal, or physical risks.
        Could ask: Is there a difference between substance abuse and addiction?
        (Addiction is a chronic, recurring brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.)
        Is it possible to abuse a substance and not have an addiction?
        Is there a difference between, harmfully involved, dependent, and addicted?
      • Next list behaviors to identify if the behaviors indicate a situation described in the definition. such as missing commitments, lying, hiding alcohol or drugs, hang-over, illness, problems at work, school, home, interpersonal relationships, legal problems, physical risks, ...
    2. How does substance abuse affect a person, family, community? The list of behaviors can be added to later when the scenarios are shared.
      • Effects on families. List ideas about what happens in homes in when parents (mom, dad) older sibling, extended family (grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, .. ) abuse or become addicted.
      • Effects on communities. Spend money, cause mental stress to other citizens, don't contribute to doing their job, increased need of medical services, mental health, disturbances, bouncers in bars, security, increased police, jails, prisons, ...
    3. Share decison making procedures and questions and add depth to them as necessary to create a framework to analyze the scenarios / case studies.
    4. Use a decision making process like the Six step process and generate a procedure with questions related to substance abuse problems. Such as:
      1. Focus, problem, information, analysis
        • What might be the problem?
        • How is substance abuse defined? (information)
        • What is the behaviour of the person with the substance-use?
        • How does this behaviour affect their health and social interactions with others?
        • How does the behavior affect others in the family? (positive and negative consequences)
        • How does it affect his and other lives outside the home?
      2. Options, consequence, solutions, implementation, evaluation of implementation
        • What options does the person have?
        • What options does the family have to get help for the family member who is having substance-use problems?
        • What might get in the way or assist getting help? (positive and negative consequences of the options)
        • What characteristics are present to contribute to the proble
  2. Share questions and discuss in groups and as a class.
  3. Select and present a scenario / case studies on substance abuse and use the procedure along with the questions you developed to analyze the scenario as a class. Use Scenario scoring guide to evaluate.
    1. Focus, problem, information, analysis
      • Focus, problem...
      • Information & analysis
    2. Options, consequence, solutions, implementation, evaluation of implementation
      • Options and consequences of the options
      • Solution
      • Suggestions for implementation and evaluation of implementation
  4. Assign groups to a scenario and have each group analyze their scenario and prepare a report to give to the class.
  5. Share scenarios and have students record at least three in their lab notes.

 

Activity 7 - The Affects of Influence and Social Skills on Decision Making Related to Medicine and Drug Use

Materials:

Lab sheet 7, All materials in the unit and materials used in prior experiences.

Scoring guides:

Focus questions:

  1. How do people make decisions?
  2. What influences their decisions?
  3. What different options are available?
  4. How are options or choices determined?
  5. How are positive and negative consequences determined for the options?
  6. How are the options evaluated?
  7. How do you make decisions related to medicine, drug, tobacco and alcohol use? For yourself and others?
  8. How can the Six step Decision making cycle be used for making decisions on medicine and drug use and how to handle influence?

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Focus students attention and assess their understanding of the focus questions in small groups and have them briefly share with the class.
  2. Describe how the decision making process can be used in two ways:
    1. to decide on the effectiveness and safeness of a medicine or drug.
    2. to decide on what influences should be used or not used to make a healthy decision to use a medicine or drug and how to improve or maintain social status and positive social interactions.
  3. Explain the purpose of the lesson is learn how to understand what influences to use to make healthy decisions on medicine and maintain social status and positive social interactions.
  4. Review decision making process and apply it to analyze influences and social aspects of decision making for vaccination and pain medication.
  5. Introduce and practice social and personal skills for different substance use situations.
  6. Students prepare a script for a drug situation, present it in class, and evaluate it with a student presentation scoring guide.

Exploration

Activity Review decision making and relate it to medicine and drug use decisions

Ask and discussion each focus question relating their answers, when appropriate, to the decision making process. and what is substance abuse?

  1. How do people make decisions?
    • Go with their gut.
    • React without thinking.
    • Organize a process that follows a series of steps like 6 step process: Focus desire of a positive process, identify a problem, collect information, analyze the information, generate options or choices, consider consequences, make a decision, implement, evaluate.
  2. What influences their decisions?
    • emotions
    • past experiences
    • values
    • parents, friends
    • desires
    • rewards ...
  3. What are the different options available?
    • Make a decision based on a logical process,
    • do what an authority figure says (Doctor, law enforcement, parent, teacher),
    • seek help,
    • listen to a friend's advice, ...
  4. How are options or choices determined?
    • Brain storm,
    • recall from past experiences,
    • listening to what others suggest ...
  5. How are positive and negative consequences determined for the options?
    • Brain storm,
    • recall from past experiences,
    • listening to what others suggest ...
  6. How are the options evaluated?
    • Consider the consequences,
    • ethics,
    • legal,
    • moral, and
    • values applied to consequences and risks.
  7. How do you make decisions related to medicine, drug, tobacco and alcohol use? For yourself and others?
    • Try to use a logical process with emphasis on accurate information for a healthy lifestyle.
    • Recognize that personal feelings and emotional responses along with personal, social, and material influences have a big impact on decisions made.
  8. If a person feels sad, lonely, depressed, ... angry ... insecure ... bored ..., instead of drinking. Suggest what he or she can do.
    1. Focus on their personal goals and work to achieve one.
    2. Reflect on what you have done in the past for personal enjoyment and decide to do something that was enjoyable in the past.

Invention

Activity Apply a 6 step decision making process for medicine and drug use

1. Tell students the decision making process for making healthy medicine and drug decisions can be used in two important ways:

  1. Make a health decision based on information with respect to positive and negative physical and emotional effects. A fact based analysis on the health benefits and consequences for using or not using legal and illegal drugs. People use a decision making process to determine:
    • Medicine used as prescribed has health benefits.
    • Illegal drugs have detrimental health consequences.
    • Adult use of alcohol and legal marijuana is claimed, by some, to have physical and emotional health benefits.
    • The use of illegal drugs or drugs not prescribed by a physician by underage students is not healthy.
  2. Determine what influences: self, social, and objects are appropriate and what social skills are necessary to use to make and implement healthy decision that empower people in social situations.

2. The first type of decision making is the usual kind of decision making people think of when medicine and drug decisions are made. However, this activity focuses on controling influences (self, social, objects) and social aspects to make healthy decisions. If students are interested in an analysis of a decision on why vaccinations are healthy or when and how pain medicine is healthy, then a decision making process for it can be discussed and outlined.

3. If necessary review the decision making process, provide students a 6 Step Decision Making Cycle work sheet.

4. Use the 6 step decision making process for each situation: 1. Getting a vaccination & 2. What kind of pain medication and how much should be used ...

Vaccination scenario
Decision Steps to determine influences and empower people to make healthy decisions
in social situations
  1. Focus - Remember influences, biases, and other desires can cause a person to analyze information inaccurately so I must get ready to honestly collection and analize information related to a situation or problem to make a good decision.
    • Ask how you feel about the use of the medicine or drug (vaccination).
    • Convinve yourself to investigate without emotion (shots only hurt for awhile flu lasts days).
    • Just the facts about the use of a medicine or drug (vaccination).
  2. Problem or opportunity: A vaccination will increase my chances of being healthy. Or is it better stated as: Everyone should get vaccinated to maintain the public health.
  3. Information - Where can unbiased information be found that include positives and negatives about the medicine and drug?
    • A friend or family member says they never get the shot and they never get the flu.
    • A friend or family member says everytime they get the shot they get the flu.
    • A doctor recomments getting the shot.
    • What is the history about vaccinations? Vaccinations history & fact sheet
    • What does the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) say abou the Effectiveness of getting the flu vaccine.
    • Vaccinations are a social responsibility.
    • Effectiveness of a flu vaccine can vary, recent studies show getting a flu vaccine reduces flu illness 50% to 60% when circulating viruses are in the vaccine.
    • Flu can kill the young and elderly.
    • Being sick for a week isn't fun.
  4. Analysis - Why would a person, Doctor, drug company or other promote the use of their drug? Which information can be trusted? Are there reliable users whose story can be trusted. Are there more trusted stories that are positive or negative?
    • The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) should be one of the most trusted sources.
    • If seems most of the arguements for getting the flu vaccination are based on repeatable scientific facts.
    • Seems like many of the arguments for not getting the flu vaccination are based on personal antidotes, opinion, or false information.
  5. Options / choices - Are there bettter choices that don't involve the use of the medicine or drug to avoid the flu? What are they?
    • Avoid people with the flu or certain situations that provide unecessary exposure.
    • Wash hands, don't touch eyes, nose, mouth with dirty hands.
    • Exercise ...
    • Get the shot.
  6. Consequences - Identify positive and negative consequences for each choice or solution.
    • Either get the flu or not.
    • Sore arm for awhile.
    • Reduced risk of being sick.
    • The shot doesn't have a live virus so it is impossible to get sick from the shot.
    • Cost money? No free shot with insurance ...
    • Miss school
    • Miss practices, games, friends, and other social events
    • Infect other people if I get the flu
  7. Solutions - Select a solution. Get the vaccination. or Don't get the vaccination.
  8. Implementation - Use of medicine. Follow the advice of the Dr. and prescription directions. See Suggestions for Safe Use of Medicine - Fact Sheet. Use of drugs ... what are legal uses of drugs by minors? Go to ... and get the shot.
  9. Evaluation - Review use and health for immediate reactions and periodic reactions and responses three to four times daily at first and daily as implementation progresses. Arm was sore awhile, but didn't get the flu when others did.
Tooth extraction and pain pills.
Decision Steps based for personal, social, object influences
.
  1. Focus on wanting to make and implement a healthy decision based on factual and sound influences, not influences based on false information or illogical reasoning. Be open to rejecting influences (self, social, object) that encourage bad decisions and be assertive in your implementation of procedures to achieve healthy goals.
  2. Problem - Which pills to take after dental surgery and what amounts. After surgery the surgeon hands you a prescription for (could be one of: vicodin, percocet, or hydrocodone) and says if you have pain you can use these or you could take 2-3 (could be one of: Tylenol, Aleve, Motrin, or Ibuprofen) every six hours as needed for the pain. She says the important thing to know about pain is that it is more difficult to treat pain when it gets out of control, so taking pain medication when you first feel the pain starting works better to control pain than if the pain gets worse and maybe out of control. In the long run managing pain lets a person use less pain medication and keep the pain level stable.
  3. Information analysis of influences. Think about influences, biases, and other desires that might cause you to analyze information inaccurately and get ready for an honest collection and analysis of information related to the situation or problem.
    • Identify the influences.
      • Personal: Fear of pain. Fear of pain getting out of control. Fear of getting addicted to prescribed pain medicine.
      • Social: Dental surgeon recommendations for use of over the counter pain pills and prescription pain pills.
        Parents say it is okay to take some if you need it.
        Older sibling jokes about feeling good legally.

        Peers Not as applicable here as in other scenarios.
      • Objects white coat, office, stethescope, and other objects identified with Dr. and Pharmacist that suggest trust or fear of surgery and being ill.
    • Ask how you feel about the people involved. Trust everyone involved.
    • How they would feel about your saying yes or no. They would hope that I was making the appropriate decision to limit use of prescribed drugs and suffering pain to get well and not become addicted. Not letting a fear of physiological or psychological dependence stop me from using the pain pills. worry about me using them if I really didn't need them and getting addicted.
    • What you would feel like tomorrow or later .... Worried about making the right decision. Good and happey if pain free and didn't use prescribed pills. Anxious to use more prescribed pills to feel better.
    • How would your family, mentors, and other significant others feel about your use? Feel it was okay if necessary.
    • What affects these feelings. (What values, ethics, rules, laws...) Respect for Doctor's recommendations.
    • How would you feel different if other people were involved: Doctor, parent, brother, or sister? They were involved.
  4. Analysis - Review the influences and try to label them as positive and negative. Focus on the good things you get from resisting negative influence. Accept it is hard to resist influences to use drugs. Convince yourself you have a right to refuse. Recognize other people have the obligation to accept your decision to say no with no negative consequences. Decide pain has a purpose to maintain good health and needs to be reduced to get or stay health. Consider the use of over the counter medication (Ibuprofen) first, but if the pain or swelling increases you will use the prescription drug (...) as prescribed by the Dr. Consider how confident you are that your parents and others will accept your decision without pressuring you differently and if you may need to react more assertive for them to accept your decision.
  5. Options / choices - Yes or no. If no review and rehearse different ways to say no before actual implementation and how to be assertive. Probably will be no pressure on my decision more than asking if I am sure the pain is okay and ask if I don't need to use the prescription.
  6. Consequences - Identify consequences for different solutions.
    • Use as described, pain is managed, and get well.
    • Don't use, pain increases, and results in serious health problem.
    • Over use and develop a need or desire to continue use of pills.
  7. Solutions - Choose - to manage pain with the least amount of pills to manage pain at an acceptable level.
  8. Implementation - Consider how to implement the solution in a socially acceptable way. Consider how the influences will affect the success of implementing the solution in social situations and what skills you have learned that can be used to make the implementation more successful. Listening skills, I-statements and other verbal interactions that affect behavior, How to say no, How to give assertive responses, and How to accept a person being assertive.
  9. Evaluation - Review the good things you get from resisting influence ... Review bad things that happened when made a bad decision from not resisting influence. Satyed up too late and felt tired and out of it next day. Forgot wallet when left in a hurry. Left some clothes or other possession behind or didn't take on a trip. Got upset and yelled at someone for no particular reason. Stayed up to play game or watch a program and want to repeat the experience, but should get sleep. How compare to addiction?

The first time people use a decision process it takes a lot of time. However, the more times the process is used the quicker and easier it gets and the more similar situations are, the quicker and more efficient the process is.

These first two scenarios are light on social peer influence. Scenarios that follow will have more social or peer influence so before we get to them let's review or introduce some helpful ideas and skills to better implement and achieve your goals.

Be skeptical, know facts, check facts, understand falsehoods and exagerations of middle school student drug use
Activity

Procedure

  1. Ask students to estimate the percentage of 8th graders (number out of 100) who used each of the following last month.
  2. Get the facts about peers -

    • Smoked cigarettes in the last month:
      100-90-80-70-60-50-40-30-20-10-0
    • Used marijuana in the last month
      100-90-80-70-60-50-40-30-20-10-0
    • Used alcohol in the last month.
      100-90-80-70-60-50-40-30-20-10-0
    • Used inhalants in the last month.
      100-90-80-70-60-50-40-30-20-10-0
    1. Results:
      • 3.6% smoked cigarettes in the last month.
        3.6 out of 100 in a class of 25 is .9 or less than 1.
      • 6.5% used marijuana in the last month.
        6 .5 out of 100 in a class of 25 is 1.625 or less than 2.
      • 9.7% used alcohol in the last month.
        9.7 out of 100 in a class of 25 is 2.425 or less than 3.
      • 2.0% used inhalants in the last month.
        2 out of 100 in a class of 25 is .5 or less than 1.
        Source National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Monitoring the Future, 2015. ww.monitoringthefuture.org for annual updates.
    2. Discussion hints:
      • Present the correct percentages for 2015 in a matter of fact manner. Don't overemphaisize. Let the facts speak for themselves.
      • Make sure students understand how percentage relates to actual numbers. Use students to represent a class, say with 25 students, one-fourth of the 100. Divide the class with a group of 25 students, have 24 stand up to represent those who didn't smoke and leave one sitting who did. Then you could illustrate four more classes on the board to show four classes to show the percent as 100.
      • Later as summary and other times reinforce the larger number of non-users by saying: Just think of all the students who stood up to represent the percentage of kids who don’t smoke or drink. Remember, nonusers are in the majority.
      • If students question the accuracy of the survey data, agree with any reasonable response and respond with something similar: That’s possible, but the students surveyed were told how the collection of information would protect their confidentiality from parents and teachers. And there have been many surveys that have found similar results - so we can be pretty confident in these ...
    3. Why do people believe the numbers are much more? People and media talk about it and sensationalize it. It seems that way because we repeatedly see or hear about the same people using these drugs.

    Remind students you are looking at ideas and skills related to social situations and will have opportunities to use them later ...

    Know effective ways to say no

    1. Tell students you are going to review a procedure for saying no.
    2. Ask them to list ideas that could be used to say no.
    3. Make suggestions that support the idea that saying no, doesn't have to be negative. Ideas like: Saying no doesn't usually make people mad. You are saying no to a request to do something ... not to being a friend... Saying no doesn't mean I don't like you. It just means I don't want to do something.
    4. Use students ideas to write a procedure. Final procedure should include ideas like:
      Procedure for saying no: See also refusal skills
      1. Look at the person
      2. Use a calm tone.
      3. Thank them for wanting to include you.
      4. Say:
        • No, I’d rather not.
        • No, thanks.
        • Thanks, but no thanks.
        • Not me.
        • No way.
        • Not now (today, tonight).
        • Nah.
        • Forget it.
      5. May want to offer an explanation why you do not want to participate. (Drug related examples:
        • I don't do drugs.
        • I don't take chances.
        • It's illegal.
        • I don't want to feel like crap tomorrow.
        • Don't like the taste.
        • Don't want to hurt my lungs.
        • Don't want to disappoint my parents.
        • I want to be in control.
      6. Offer an alternative activity if you desire.
        • Food, appropriate drink.
        • Go for a walk or another public place: gym, bowling, dance, music, ...)
      7. If necessary continue to refuse to participate.
        • I said, no.
        • I don’t feel like it.
        • I really mean no. or
      8. Leave ... Walk away (I’ve got to go now. My friends are expecting me in ten minutes). Resistance can make you empowered and feel good. People who do not honor other's right to make an assertive response are not friends, they want to control others. Source
    5. Ask, What it can feel like to say no.
      Saying no doesn’t always make a person feel good. It can make you feel lonely, independent, or give you self respect because you have made your own decision based on what is healthy.
    6. Show the video: How I feel when I say no video (6:33) Discuss how the saying no procedure might have helped change the feelings the people had in the video.

    Remind student you are looking at ideas and skills related to social situations and will have opportunities to use them later ...

    Rights of assertion and ways to respond assertively

    Being assertive is related to freedom of speech. Everyones right to communicate to express their thoughts, feelings, and values openly and directly with consideration of the rights of others to do the same.
    This right of assertion relates historically to our:

    • Declaration of Independence (1776) claim of a right to: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
    • The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights (1791) right of: free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, right to peaceably assemble, and petition government to redress grievances.

    For a person to claim these rights it sometimes requires a person to be assertive, sometimes in a conflict situation. Remember there are four ways to handle a conflict situation: smoothing, win-lose, compromise, or withdraw. All may require an assertive response.

    Situations when assertive responses can be appropriate: Source: unodc.org page 38.

    • To make decisions
    • To be treated with respect
    • To refuse a request
    • To make a mistake
    • To change your mind
    • To take time to consider requests
    • To make reasonable requests
    • To hold personal opinions
    • To control your own destiny
    • To express your feelings

    Situation in which you should yield to an assertive response:

    • To allow others to make their decisions
    • To treat others with respect
    • To consider the feelings of others
    • To allow others to control their destiny
    • To respect the opinions of others
    • To not impose upon others
    • To allow others the courtesy to consider requests.
    • To act reasonably
    • To ensure mistakes do not harm others
    • To refuse courteously and assertively

Remind student you are looking at some ideas and skills to use in social situations and will have opportunities to practice them after ...

Discovery
Activity: Decision making solutions to deal with influences to use drugs

Remember, if a person is committed to not using drugs without a medical need, then the decision process isn't about the good and bad of drug use. It becomes a problem about how to resist negative influence. How to resolve a situation in a manner to will feel good now and in the future about myself, my health, respect for my self, and respect for other people.

Procedure Scenario 1
  1. View the first of two sets of videos, the problem situation: Lindsey meets a boy, who she thinks she likes, while talking at a movie theater and he pulls out cigarette and offers ...
    Source
    Project ALERT.
  2. Put students in groups and have them complete a 6 step decision sheet. Lab notes 7
  3. Mention to students that since they studied the consequences of drug use and they have used the decision making process, that the only new information to deal with is the influences in each scenario and the more they deal with different situations the better they will be in avoiding and handling different situations in the future.
  4. Review 6 step decision notes:
    1. Focus on goal of rejecting influences (self, social, object) that encourage bad decisions and be assertive to achieve her goal of not smoking.
    2. Problem - Recognize and cope with influences when offered to smoke that maintains a healthy lifestyle and desired social relaltionships.
    3. Information analysis of influences.
      Identify the influences. (How you feel about the people involved. How they would feel about your saying yes or no. What you would feel like tomorrow or later. How would your family, mentors, and other significant others feel about your use? What affects these feelings. (What values, ethics, rules, laws...) How would you feel different if other people were involved:
      • Personal: Desire to be friendly and make a friend. Have friendly feelings for Eric. Stress of being rejected.
      • Social: Make friends. Wanting to cooperate with others. Eric may be upset if refuse.
        Parents disapprove of smoking and would be disappointed.
        Peers Most disapprove of smoking and would be disappointed.
        Illegal for minors to smoke ...
      • Objects Pack of cigarettes looks exciting, thrill of danger.
    4. Analysis - Review the influences and try to label them as positive and negative. Focus on the good things you get from resisting negative influence. Accept it is hard to resist influences to use drugs. Convince yourself you have a right to refuse. Recognize other people have the obligation to accept your decision to say no with no negative consequences. Decide health is more important than friendship with a person that would not accept you decision (assertion).
    5. Options / choices - Yes or no. If no review and rehearse different ways to say no before actual implementation and how to be assertive. Probably will be no pressure on my decision more than asking if I am sure or may be follow up pressure. SEE multiple offers activity
    6. Consequences - Identify consequences for different solutions. He will accept your decision or not and friendship will grow or not.
    7. Solutions - Choose - ... What ever your decision is now isn't as important as what it will be if you are ever in a situation like this.
    8. Implementation - Did you consider how to implement the solution in a socially acceptable way. Consider how the influences will affect the success of implementing the solution in social situations and what skills you have learned that can be used to make the implementation more successful. Listening skills, I-statements and other verbal interactions that affect behavior, How to say no, How to give assertive responses, and How to accept a person being assertive... View video in next step to see different implemenations...
    9. Evaluation - Can't do when planning. Can do only after implementation. Evaluate different implementations in next step.
  5. Discuss
  6. View the follow-up possible solutions video.
  7. Ask if they think the students in the videos used good decision making skills?
  8. What did you like and not like and why...?
  9. Discuss how each character may have felt (Lindsey, Eric, Mike Diane) positive and negative, at different points in the scenario. (glad to be included, excited to smoke, not glad to be included, worried about smoking, worried about what may be in it (laced), worried about legal problems, relieved after saying no and ...) What influencs affected each response?
  10. Ask. Is saying no, a whimp solution?

Procedure

  1. View the initial situation Pot or not at game, video... in the next set of videos.
  2. Put students in groups and have them complete a 6 step decision sheet. Lab notes 7
  3. Review steps ...
    1. Focus on goal of not smoking and rejecting influences (self, social, object) that encourage bad decisions and be assertive to achieve the goal of not smoking.
    2. Problem - Recognize and cope with influences when offered to smoke that maintains a healthy lifestyle and desired social relaltionships.
    3. Information analysis of influences.
      Identify the influences. (How you feel about the people involved. How they would feel about your saying yes or no. What you would feel like tomorrow or later. How would your family, mentors, and other significant others feel about your use? What affects these feelings. (What values, ethics, rules, laws...) How would you feel different if other people were involved:
      • Personal: Desire to be friendly and makes friends. Have friendly feelings for Eric. Stress of being rejected. Desire to get high and have a good time.
      • Social: Make friends. Wanting to cooperate with others. May be upset if refuse.
        Parents disapprove of smoking and would be disappointed.
        Peers Most disapprove of smoking and would be disappointed.
        Illegal for minors to smoke ...
      • Objects Marijuana cigarette looks exciting, thrill of danger.
    4. Analysis - Review the influences and try to label them as positive and negative. Focus on the good things you get from resisting negative influence. Accept it is hard to resist influences to use drugs. Convince yourself you have a right to refuse. Recognize other people have the obligation to accept your decision to say no with no negative consequences. Decide health is more important than friendship with people who would not accept your decision (assertion).
    5. Options / choices - Yes or no. If no review and rehearse different ways to say no before actual implementation and how to be assertive. Probably will be no pressure on my decision more than asking if I am sure or may be follow up pressure. SEE next activity: multiple offers
    6. Consequences - Identify consequences for different solutions. People will accept your decision or not and friendships will grow or not. Use could lead to more use and consequnces. See consequnces of marijuana use.
    7. Solutions - Choose - ... What ever your decision is now isn't as important as what it will be if you are ever in a situation like this.
    8. Implementation - Did you consider how to implement the solution in a socially acceptable way. Consider how the influences will affect the success of implementing the solution in social situations and what skills you have learned that can be used to make the implementation more successful. Listening skills, I-statements and other verbal interactions that affect behavior, How to say no, How to give assertive responses, and How to accept a person being assertive... View video in next step to see different implemenations...
    9. Evaluation - Can't do when planning. Can do only after implementation. Evaluate different implementations in next step.
  4. Discuss
  5. View the follow-up video with possible solutions.
  6. Ask if they think the students in the videos used good decision making skills?
  7. What did you like and not like and why...?
  8. Discuss how each character may have felt (Tom, Jeff, Dave, Carl , Larry) positive and negative, at different points in the scenario. (glad to be included, excited to get high, not glad to be included, worried about getting high, worried about what may be in (laced), worried about legal ..., glad someone said no, worried about being first to say no, relieved not first to say no. ...) What influencs affect each response? ...
  9. Ask. Is saying no, a whimp solution?

Ask students if they noticed that the more they use a decision process, the quicker and easier it gets and the more experience they have with different situations, the quicker and more efficient the process is?

Activity - Practice NO with multiple offers

Let's use the procedure we developed for saying no and practice different ways to say no with stronger pressure.

Put students in groups of two or three. Have one or two students choose three offers from the lists below to make a six line script with three offers and three refusal responses in the following pattern:

Pattern:
First offer, a no response, follow-up or come-back, second no response, one more dig, last no response.

Add other appropriate ideas described in the saying no procedure developed by students earlier, let then rehearse their procedure, and then present to class.

Comment and discuss after each.

Sample multiple offers:

First Offers:

  • Do you want some?
  • Would you like some?
  • Let’s party.
  • How about it?
  • Here, take a hit.
  • Here, have one.
  • Want one?
  • Have a beer.
  • Let’s do some (weed/coke/speed).
  • I’ve got some great (weed/coke/speed). Want to join us and do some?
  • Here!
  • Try one of these - it’s great stuff.
  • Want a hit?
  • Want to get high?
  • Want to get loaded?
  • Nonverbal offer: Just pass it.

First follow-up come-back:

  • What’s the matter with you?
  • Don’t you smoke weed?
  • I thought you smoked.
  • Just one hit won’t hurt you.
  • Come on, have one.
  • What are you afraid of?
  • Don’t you drink?
  • Haven’t you ever smoked weed?
  • What’s with you?
  • You’re the only one who’s not drinking.
  • You’re not being very cool.
  • Are you out of it?
  • Why are you here if you don’t want to drink?
  • Everyone is drinking!
  • Don’t you want to party?
  • Don’t you know how?

One more dig:

  • Who told you that, your mom?
  • You’re not going to get cancer.
  • You’re not going to fit in if you don’t get high.
  • What’s wrong with a couple beers?
  • You’re going to ruin it for the rest of us if you don’t smoke.
  • One or two hits isn’t going to hurt you.
  • Do you really think smoking weed will make any difference?
  • The girls [guys] will think you’re strange if you don’t drink.
  • Are you going to make me smoke alone?
  • Why don’t you just stop breathing if you’re so scared of hurting your lungs?
  • Don’t you know how to do it?
  • his party will be boring if you don’t get high.
  • Are you afraid to let go?

Scenario with more social influence

Tell students they will have an opportunity to write a solution scenario using what they have learned.

Procedure

  1. Remember, if a person is committed to not using drugs without a medical need, then the decision process isn't about the good and bad of drug use. It becomes a problem about how to resist influence. How to resolve a situation in a manner so you will feel good now and in the future about yourself. Your health and respect for other people and their respect for you in the situation.
  2. This next video Party chrashers presents a situation (Three girls are watching videos and a group of friends arrive, enter, light up pot ... Source project alert).
  3. View the situation video and fill out a 6 step decision sheet. Lab notes 7
    1. Focus on goal of rejecting influences (self, social, object) and not smoking and being assertive for others not to smoke in her home.
    2. Problem - Recognize and cope with influences when offered to smoke that maintains a healthy lifestyle and desired social relaltionships.
    3. Information analysis of influences.
      Identify the influences. (How you feel about the people involved. How they would feel about your saying yes or no. What you would feel like tomorrow or later. How would your family, mentors, and other significant others feel about your use? What affects these feelings. (What values, ethics, rules, laws...) How would you feel different if other people were involved:
      • Personal: Desire to be friendly and make friends. Stress of being rejected. Desire to get high and have a good time.
      • Social: Make friends. Wanting to cooperate with others. May be upset if refuse.
        Parents disapprove of smoking and would be disappointed.
        Peers Most disapprove of smoking and would be disappointed.
        Illegal for minors to smoke ...
      • Objects Marijuana cigarette looks exciting, thrill of danger.
    4. Analysis - Review the influences and try to label them as positive and negative. Focus on the good things you get from resisting negative influence. Accept it is hard to resist influences to use drugs. Convince yourself you have a right to refuse. Recognize other people have the obligation to accept your decision to say no with no negative consequences. Decide health is more important than friendship with people who would not accept your decision (assertion).
    5. Options / choices - Yes or no. If no review and rehearse different ways to say no before actual implementation and how to be assertive. Probably will be no pressure on my decision more than asking if I am sure or may be follow up pressure. See previous activity: multiple offers
    6. Consequences - Identify consequences for different solutions. People will accept your decision or not and friendships will grow or not. Use could lead to more use and consequnces. See consequences of marijuana use.
    7. Solutions - Choose - ... What ever your decision is now isn't as important as what it will be if you are ever in a situation like this.
    8. Implementation - Did you consider how to implement the solution in a socially acceptable way. Consider how the influences will affect the success of implementing the solution in social situations and what skills you have learned that can be used to make the implementation more successful. Listening skills, I-statements and other verbal interactions that affect behavior, How to say no, How to give assertive responses, and How to accept a person being assertive... View video in next step to see different implemenations...
    9. Evaluation - Can't do when planning. Can do only after implementation. Evaluate different implementations in next step.
  4. Share scripts with class
  5. Discuss

Interview parents activity

Have students use the following questions to interview a parent or care giver.

Interview questions:

  1. When you were a teenager, was there peer pressure? YES - NO
  2. Was it related to school, clothes, drinking, dating?
  3. What was it about?
  4. When were you most worried about what your friends thought of you?
  5. How did you resist peer pressure when you were a teenager? What did you think, say, do ...
  6. What was your most embarrassing moment when you were a teenager?

Procedure

  1. Decide how you want students to share what they found. Most students will want to share something. A fairly quick way of sharing is to combine class sharing and small group (3 or 4) sharing.
  2. Start by asking how many parents said there was peer pressure? Any that said no?
  3. How many said it was related to school? clothes? drinking? dating?
  4. What are some examples of what it was about?
  5. Then switch to small groups and tell them to go around the group and share what they would like to share from the rest in the next 5 minutes.
  6. Bring the groups together and ask, What did you learn?

 

More scenarios for self, social, and object influences:

Review the videos and select scenarios to assign groups of students to write scripts.

  1. Decide on groups
  2. Assign scenarios
  3. Write scripts with different endings or takes with students switching roles for different takes.
  4. Practice in groups
  5. Role play in class
  6. Discuss

Remind students to review ideas previously discussed.

Can have them repeat with different ideas like during a video production with different Takes, 1, 2, ...

Use a lot of encouragement by pointing to ideas that would create a positive situation.

Final scenario. Procedure

  1. Select one of the unused scenarios. (Inhalents)
  2. Have students read or listen to a scenario.
  3. Let them review their Lab notes and Data Sheets for information to use to answer the following questions.
  4. List at least four reasons not to do...
  5. Remind them they don’t want to disrespect their friends, but they want to try to achieve 1. How to influence themself to say no, how to distract from drug use and engage in a more productive activity, and if that doesn't work, how to explain why others shouldn't use drugs, and if that doesn't work how to refuse and if necessary withdraw.
  6. Brainstorm
  7. Circulate
  8. Ask one person from each group to bring their list to you to display.
  9. Share all group’s lists
  10. Discuss
  11. Reinforce suitable reasons.

Summary

Review the three infuences (personal, social, objects) and relate them to a drug culture. Reviw that personal internal influences are not subtle, but strong and encourage drug use. Using what you have learned answer the following qeustions.

  1. What are some good things you get from resisting influence?
  2. Why is it hard to resist influences to use drugs?
  3. How can a person convince themself they have the right to refuse?
  4. People have an obligation to accept other people's decision to say no with no negative consequences. How can you convince people to do this?
  5. What are some bad things that happened when people make a bad decision from not resisting influence?
    • Stay up too late and felt tired and out of it next day. Forgot wallet when left in a hurry. Left some clothes or other possession behind or didn't take on a trip. Got upset and yelled at someone for no particular reason. Stayed up to play game or watch a program and want to repeat the experience, but should get sleep.
  6. How does not considering influences when making decisions compare to addiction?
  7. When a person feels sad, lonely, depressed, angry, insecure, bored ..... Instead of using substances, he or she can ....
  8. Why is it important to know and use a decision making process.

 

Lab Notes for activities

Activity 1 - Brainstorming: What are drugs?

Brainstorming rules
  • Accept all suggestions (no criticism).
  • Free wheeling or hitch-hiking is allowed and encouraged.
  • Generate a large number of ideas.
  • Combinations and improvements are sought.
  • Everyone says their idea out loud and each writes their own ideas.
  • The wilder the idea the better.

Materials

  1. Worksheet with Six step decision making process
  2. Blank Worksheet for a 6 Step Decision Making Cycle

Write, list, draw, all the ideas you can think of about drugs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. What are drugs?
  2.  

  3. How do people make decisions to use medicines and drugs?
  4.  

     

  5. What influences their decisions?
  6.  

     

  7. What different options are available when making decisions about medicine and drugs?
  8.  

     

  9. How are options or choices determined?
  10.  

     

  11. How are positive and negative consequences determined for the options?
  12.  

     

  13. How are the options evaluated?

 

Learning goals:

Activity 2 -Medicine and Drug Categories

Discussion questions:

  1. What are medicines?

     

     

     

  2. What are drugs?
  3.  

     

     

  4. Are medicines drugs?
  5.  

     

     

  6. How are they the same and different?
  7.  

     

     

  8. Should you categorize drugs to include medicines or should the two be separate?
  9.  

     

     

  10. How would you use what you know to categorize medicines and drugs?

 

 

 

Activity 2 -Medicine and Drug Categories (5) by Affects on Body

Prevent disease

 

 

 

Destroy infectious pathogens

 

 

 

Destroy cancer cells

 

 

 

Gene therapy

 

 

 

Change body chemistry

  • Stomach chemistry -

 

 

 

  • Blood chemistry -

 

 

 

  • Brain chemistry -

 

 

 

Activity 2 - Medicine and Drug Categories (18) as marketed

Antacids

 

 

Antibiotics

 

 

Antidepressants

 

 

 

Anti-fungals

 

 

 

Anti-inflammatory

 

 

 

Anti-psychotics

 

 

 

Antitoxins

 

 

 

Antivirals

 

 

 

Allergy

 

 

 

Cancer treatment

 

 

 

Cannabis

 

 

 

Depressants (sedatives)

 

 

 

Hallucinogens

 

 

 

Inhalants

 

 

 

Pain (analgesic from Greek - analgesia meaning not feel pain)

 

 

 

Stimulants

 

 


Synthetic drugs & Designer drugs

 

 

 

Vaccines

 

 

 

 

Activity 2 - Drug Medical Categories (4)

 

Venn Diagram for drugs and medicines

 

 

 

Activity 3 - Are medicines and drugs dangerous?

Write you thoughts for the following:

1. When do medicines become dangerous?

 

2. When are drugs dangerous?

 

3. Why do people take or not take medicine and drugs?

 

4. How do drugs affect your life?

 

5. What is drug addiction?

 

6. How does a person become addicted to a drug?

 

7. How does addiction affect lives?

 

8. How would you use information about drug use to help you?

 

9. How does a drug culture affect medicine and drug use?

 

On a scale of 1-10 rate how true you believe the information is in each video, then list a reason why you think it is.

  • Popular.
  • 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10

    Reason why

     

  • Best High.
  • 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10

    Reason why

     

  • Tripping. Accuracy, rate, discuss, plus.
  • 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10

    Reason why

     

  • One of the Guys.
  • 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10

    Reason why

     

List some behaviors you think make people cool?

 

List some behaviors that you think do not?

 

Do people take drugs to feel better?

Think of a time that you felt really good. What happened to cause it?

 

Do people take drugs to forget?

Do you think it works?

 

Do people take drugs to be accepted?

Do you think it works?

 

Find and describe an example that supports the following statement and suggest what the person might have done to solve the problem without abusing drugs: The consequences of drug abuse is always worse than the problem one is trying to solve.

 

 

Activity 4 - Investigation of

Description (Use categorization in description.)

 

 

Examples:

 

 

Effects on the body. (Include system diagram.)

Short term

 

 

 

Long term

 

 

 

Recommendations (Positive and negative results of use and limitations)

 

 

 

Final thoughts

 

 

Activity 4a - Investigation of Alcohol

Description (Use categorization in description.)

 

 

Examples:

 

 

Effects on the body. (Include system diagram.)

Short term

 

 

 

Long term

 

 

 

Recommendations (Positive and negative results of use and limitations)

 

 

 

Final thoughts

 

 

Activity 4b - Investigation of Tobacco

Description (Use categorization in description.)

 

 

Examples:

 

 

Effects on the body. (Include system diagram.)

Short term

 

 

 

Long term

 

 

 

Recommendations (Positive and negative results of use and limitations)

 

 

 

Final thoughts

 

 

Activity 5 - Influences on Drug Use and Decision Making

Explore Culture:

1. What is culture?

 

 

2. What is a medicine and drug culture?

 

 

3. What sources of influence are there for a person who makes choices for using or not using medicine, alcohol, tobacco, eCigarettes, and other drugs/

 

 

4. What positive and negative influences are there for each source?

 

 

5. How do we protect ourselves from negative influences?

 

 

 

Subcultures of medicine and drugs

  • How do different subcultures affect people?

 

  • Do people talk about what they view online, wear, eat, drink, ...

 

  • List some subcultures:

 

  • What do people who go to parties talk about after the party?

 

  • Do people hang out in places that represent their culture?

 

  • Do subcultures shape and affect people?

 

What kind of ideas, places, objects, actions, and values are associated with these cultures?

  • Legally medical cultures:


  • Drug - Alcohol:


  • Drug - Smoking:


  • Drug - Illicit drugs...


  • Drug - illlegal prescription medicine

Culture describes groups of people, what makes them unique, what they value, what they do, and how they do it. Another way to think about culture is how it affects people in a culture and people in other cultures. This effect is: influence. Different sources of influence are identified in the Circles of influence diagram - Data Sheet.

Look at the different sources and write some specific examples.

 

 

Identify sources of influence people use to make choices for using or not using medicine (perscription drugs, vacinations, vitamins, herbal, ...), alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and add them to the partially completed Circle of influence diagram below.

 

Sample Circles of influence

 

 

Take some of the influences you have identified, for medicine and drug use, and list them on the blank Circles of influence diagram and add positive (+) and negative (-) affects for each influence.

Blank circles of interest

 

 

Describe an example of when you were influenced by peer pressure.

 

What were the results and consequences?

 

 

Parody Ad

Background information

  1. See Bias definition, Circles of influences
  2. Media influences people. A 30-second 2016 Superbowl ad cost $5 million.
  3. Advertisers link positive desires to their product for better and worse. Desires like: popular, happy, sexy, wholesome, clean environment, tough, macho, independent, liberated, sexy, and rich are used to create a biased view to create a positive influence associated with their product.
  4. The purpose of medicine, alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs isn't to make you popular, rich or most of their other biased claims. Medicine resloves a health issue, alcohol sedates you and makes you drunk, smoking ... , other drugs make ...
  5. Discuss bias in the ads and the Google search results.
  6.  

 

Research different ads on television, radio, billboards, magazines, Internet or websites and list examples you could use to create a parody (parody: a style with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect) ad.

 

 

Describe your parody ad and what its messages will be.

 

 

What advertising media do you want to use? (video, television, radio, billboards, magazines, Internet or websites).

 

What kinds of bias or advertising technique will be included?

Possible examples: Bandwagon, everyone is ... , join the gang / crowd; Negative opinion; Testimonial, hero endorsement; Transfer; Emphasis; Avoid the issues and spin; Unfinished comparison; Numerical claims; Independence; Guarantees; Bargain, save money, get rich quick; Appeal to reason; Exploit fears and misgivings; Scientific claims; Attractive appeal; Catch phrases and slogans.

 

 

How is it biased?

 

 

How will it influence people?

 

 

What do you like about the ad?

 

 

What do you dislike about the ad?

 

 

Select a parody ad presented in class and complete the following for it.

Briefly describe the ad and its messages.

 

 

What do you like about the ad?

 

 

What do you dislike about the ad?

 

 

What advertising methods were included.

 

 

How is it biased?

 

 

How did it influence people?

 

 

Summarize the importance of knowing how influence and bias affects the information you are being given to make decisions about medicine and drug use.

 

 

Describe how to protect yourself from negative influences.

    • How can I have a greater influence on myself than an ad or other people who are trying to influence me?

     

     

    • How can I make my situation better?

 

Activity 6 - Decision Making

1. How would you decide if a person had a substance abuse problem?

 

 

 

 

2. How does substance abuse affect a person, family, and community?

 

 

 

 

3. What questions or procedure might help you make a decision as to whether a person had a substance abuse problem?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scenario/case studies analysis

Use your decision making process and questions you developed to analyze the situation.

  1. Focus, problem, information, analysis
    • Focus, problem...



    • Information & analysis






  2. Options, consequence, solutions, implementation, evaluation of implementation
    • Options and consequences of the options


    • Solution



    • Suggestions for implementation and evaluation of implementation




Select a scenario/case studies to analyze and present in class

Read the ....................................... scenario / case studies on substance abuse and use your decision making process and questions youe developed to analyze the situation.

  1. Focus, problem, information, analysis
    • Focus, problem...


    • Information & analysis




  2. Options, consequence, solutions, implementation, evaluation of implementation
    • Options and consequences of the options


    • Solution



    • Suggestions for implementation and evaluation of implementation

Class mates scenario presentation notes

1. Read the ....................................... scenario / case studies on substance abuse and use your decision making process and questions youe developed to analyze the situation.

  1. Focus, problem, information, analysis
    • Focus, problem...


    • Information & analysis




  2. Options, consequence, solutions, implementation, evaluation of implementation
    • Options and consequences of the options


    • Solution



    • Suggestions for implementation and evaluation of implementation



2. Read the ....................................... scenario / case studies on substance abuse and use your decision making process and questions youe developed to analyze the situation.

  1. Focus, problem, information, analysis
    • Focus, problem...


    • Information & analysis




  2. Options, consequence, solutions, implementation, evaluation of implementation
    • Options and consequences of the options


    • Solution



    • Suggestions for implementation and evaluation of implementation



3. Read the ....................................... scenario / case studies on substance abuse and use your decision making process and questions youe developed to analyze the situation.

  1. Focus, problem, information, analysis
    • Focus, problem...


    • Information & analysis




  2. Options, consequence, solutions, implementation, evaluation of implementation
    • Options and consequences of the options


    • Solution



    • Suggestions for implementation and evaluation of implementation

Activity: Summarize the effects substances can have on family and community

How is substance abuse defined?

 

 

What characteristics are usd to identify it?

 

 

How does substance abuse affect families?

 

 

How does substance abuse affect communities?

 

 

 

Activity 7 - Decision Making in a personal and social situation

1. How do people make decisions?

 

 

2. What influences their decisions?

 

 

3. What different options are available?

 

 

4. How are options or choices determined?

 

 

5. How are positive and negative consequences determined for the options?

 

 

6. How are the options evaluated?

 

 

7. How do you make decisions related to medicine, drug, tobacco and alcohol use? For yourself and others?

 

 

8. If a person feels sad, lonely, depressed, ... angry ... insecure ... bored ..., instead of drinking. Suggest what he or she can do.

Two kinds of decision making process for medicine and drug use:

The decision making process for making healthy medicine and drug decisions can be used in two important ways:

  1. Make a health decision based on information with respect to positive and negative physical and emotional effects. A fact based analysis on the health benefits and consequences for using or not using legal and illegal drugs. People use a decision making process to determine:
    • Medicine used as prescribed has health benefits.
    • Illegal drugs have detrimental health consequences.
    • Adult use of alcohol and legal marijuana is claimed, by some, to have physical and emotional health benefits.
    • The use of illegal drugs or drugs not prescribed by a physician by underage students is not healthy.
  2. Determine what influences: self, social, and objects are appropriate and what social skills are necessary to use to make and implement healthy decision that empower people in social situations.

Most decisions are usually thought of as type number one. However, this activity focuses on controling influences (self, social, objects) and social aspects to make healthy decisions.

Vaccination Scenario
Decision Steps to make healthy physical and emotional effects

1. Focus - Think about the influences, biases, and other desires that might cause you to analyze information inaccurately and get ready to for an honest collection and analysis of information related to the situation or problem.

 

 

2. Problem - Get a flu shot (vaccination) this year?

 

3. Information - Where can unbiased information be found that included positive and negatives about the medicine and drug? Vaccinations history & fact sheet

 

4. Analysis - Why would a person, Doctor, drug company or other promote the use of their drug? Which information can be trusted? Are there reliable users whose story can be trusted. Are there more trusted stories that are positive or negative?

 

 

5. Options / choices - Are there bettter choices that don't involve the use of the medicine or drug? What are they?

 

 

6. Consequences - Identify positive and negative consequences for each choice or solution.

 

 

7. Solutions - Select a solution.

 

8. Implementation - Use of medicine. Follow the advice of the Dr. and prescription directions. See Suggestions for Safe Use of Medicine - Fact Sheet. Use of drugs ... what are legal uses of drugs by minors?

 

9. Evaluation - Review use and health for immediate reactions and periodic reactions and responses three to four times daily at first and daily as implementation progresses.

 

 

 

Tooth extraction and pain pills.
Decision Steps based for personal, social, object influences
.

  1. Focus on wanting to make and implement a healthy decision based on reason and not negative influences and false information.
    Be open to rejecting influences (self, social, object) that encourage bad decisions and be assertive in your implementation of procedures to achieve healthy goals.

  2. Problem -



  3. Information analysis of influences. Think about influences, biases, and other desires that might cause you to analyze information inaccurately and get ready for an honest collection and analysis of information related to the situation or problem.
    • Identify the influences.
      • Personal:




      • Social:





      • Objects


    • Ask how you feel about the people involved.



    • How they would feel about your saying yes or no.



    • What you would feel like tomorrow or later ....



    • How would your family, mentors, and other significant others feel about your use?



    • What affects these feelings. (What values, ethics, rules, laws...)


    • How would you feel different if other people were involved: Doctor, parent, brother, or sister?



  4. Analysis - Review the influences and try to label them as positive and negative. Focus on the good things you get from resisting negative influence. Accept it is hard to resist influences to use drugs. Convince yourself you have a right to refuse. Recognize other people have the obligation to accept your decision to say no with no negative consequences.






  5. Options / choices - Yes or no. If no review and rehearse different ways to say no before actual implementation and how to be assertive.



  6. Consequences - Identify consequences for different solutions.




  7. Solutions - Choose -




  8. Implementation - Consider how to implement the solution in a socially acceptable way. Consider how the influences will affect the success of implementing the solution in social situations and what skills you have learned that can be used to make the implementation more successful. Listening skills, I-statements and other verbal interactions that affect behavior, How to say no, How to give assertive responses, and How to accept a person being assertive.
  9. Evaluation -




 

 

These first two scenarios are light on social peer influence. Scenarios that follow will have more social or peer influence so before we get to them let's review or introduce some helpful ideas and skills to better implement and achieve your goals.

Get the facts about peers -

Estimate the percentage of 8th graders (number out of 100) who used each of the following last month.

  • Smoked cigarettes in the last month:
    100 __ 90 __ 80 __ 70 __ 60 __ 50 __ 40 __ 30 __ 20 __ 10 __ 0
  • Used marijuana in the last month
    100 __ 90 __ 80 __ 70 __ 60 __ 50 __ 40 __ 30 __ 20 __ 10 __ 0
  • Used alcohol in the last month.
    100 __ 90 __ 80 __ 70 __ 60 __ 50 __ 40 __ 30 __ 20 __ 10 __ 0
  • Used inhalants in the last month.
    100 __ 90 __ 80 __ 70 __ 60 __ 50 __ 40 __ 30 __ 20 __ 10 __ 0

Why do people believe the numbers are much more?

 

Know effective ways to say no

List ideas that could be used to say no.

 

 

 

Procedure for saying no:

  1. Look at the person
  2. Use a calm tone.
  3. Thank them for wanting to include you.
  4. Say:





  5. May want to offer an explanation why you do not want to participate.




  6. Offer an alternative activity if you desire.




  7. If necessary continue to refuse to participate.



  8. Leave ... Walk away ...

 

 

What does it feel like to say no?

 

 

Remember we aare looking at ideas and skills to use in social situations and will have an opportunity to practice them later.

Know ways to respond assertively.

Everyone has a right to communicate: to express their thoughts, feelings, and values openly and directly with consideration of the rights of others to do the same.

This relates historically to our:

  • Declaration of Independence (1776) claim of a right to: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
  • The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights (1791) right of: free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, right to peaceably assemble, and petition government to redress grievances.

For a person to claim these rights it sometimes requires them to be assertive, sometimes in a conflict situation. Remember there are four ways to handle a conflict situation: smoothing, win-lose, compromise, or withdraw. All may require an assertive response.

Situations when assertive responses can be appropriate:

Source: unodc.org page 38.

  • To make decisions
  • To be treated with respect
  • To refuse a request
  • To make a mistake
  • To change your mind
  • To take time to consider requests
  • To make reasonable requests
  • To hold personal opinions
  • To control your own destiny
  • To express your feelings
Situation in which you should yield to an assertive response:
  • To allow others to make their decisions
  • To treat others with respect
  • To consider the feelings of others
  • To allow others to control their destiny
  • To respect the opinions of others
  • To not impose upon others
  • To allow others the courtesy to consider requests.
  • To act reasonably
  • To ensure mistakes do not harm others
  • To refuse courteously and assertively

Source: unodc.org/pdf/youthnet/handbook_school_english.pdf page 38.

Decision making scenario 1

Use the movie theatre scenario and complete the steps on how to make decisions based on influences.

  1. Focus on goal of rejecting influences (self, social, object) and not smoking and maintain friendly atmosphere.


  2. Problem - Recognize and cope with influences when offered to smoke that maintains a healthy lifestyle and desired social relaltionships.

  3. Information analysis of influences.
    Identify the influences. (How you feel about the people involved. How they would feel about your saying yes or no. What you would feel like tomorrow or later. How would your family, mentors, and other significant others feel about your use? What affects these feelings. (What values, ethics, rules, laws...) How would you feel different if other people were involved:
    • Personal:



    • Social:




    • Objects

  4. Analysis - Review the influences and try to label them as positive and negative. Focus on the good things you get from resisting negative influence. Accept it is hard to resist influences to use drugs. Convince yourself you have a right to refuse. Recognize other people have the obligation to accept your decision to say no with no negative consequences.



  5. Options / choices - Yes or no. If no review and rehearse different ways to say no before actual implementation and how to be assertive.



  6. Consequences - Identify consequences for different solutions.



  7. Solutions -



  8. Implementation - Did you consider how to implement the solution in a socially acceptable way. Consider how the influences will affect the success of implementing the solution in social situations and what skills you have learned that can be used to make the implementation more successful. Listening skills, I-statements and other verbal interactions that affect behavior, How to say no, How to give assertive responses, and How to accept a person being assertive... View video in next step to see different implemenations...





  9. Evaluation -



What new ideas did you get from the solutions video.

 

What did you like and not like and why...?

How do you think each character may have felt?

Lindsey,

 

Eric,

 

Mike

 

Diane

 

 

 

Is saying no, a whimp solution?

 

Decision making scenario 2

Use the after game scenario and complete the steps on how to make decisions based on influences.

  1. Focus on goal of


  2. Problem -


  3. Information analysis of influences.
    Identify the influences. (How you feel about the people involved. How they would feel about your saying yes or no. What you would feel like tomorrow or later. How would your family, mentors, and other significant others feel about your use? What affects these feelings. (What values, ethics, rules, laws...) How would you feel different if other people were involved:
    • Personal:



    • Social:




    • Objects

  4. Analysis - Review the influences and try to label them as positive and negative. Focus on the good things you get from resisting negative influence. Accept it is hard to resist influences to use drugs. Convince yourself you have a right to refuse. Recognize other people have the obligation to accept your decision to say no with no negative consequences.



  5. Options / choices - Yes or no. If no review and rehearse different ways to say no before actual implementation and how to be assertive.



  6. Consequences - Identify consequences for different solutions.



  7. Solutions -



  8. Implementation - Did you consider how to implement the solution in a socially acceptable way. Consider how the influences will affect the success of implementing the solution in social situations and what skills you have learned that can be used to make the implementation more successful. Listening skills, I-statements and other verbal interactions that affect behavior, How to say no, How to give assertive responses, and How to accept a person being assertive... View video in next step to see different implemenations...





  9. Evaluation -



What new ideas did you get from the solutions video.

 

What did you like and not like and why...?

How do you think each character may have felt?

Tom,

 

Jeff,

 

Dave

 

Carl

 

Larry

 

Did you notice your use of a decision making process is getting quicker and easier?

Activity - Practice NO with multiple offers

Use the procedure we developed for saying no to practice different ways to say no with stronger pressure.

Choose three offers, one from each of the three lists below and make a six line script with three offers and three refusal responses in the following pattern:

Pattern:
First offer, a no response, follow-up or come-back, second no response, one more dig, last no response.

Add other appropriate ideas from you saying no procedure and write your script:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments about scripts presented in class.

 

 

 

Sample multiple offers:

First Offers:

  • Do you want some?
  • Would you like some?
  • Let’s party.
  • How about it?
  • Here, take a hit.
  • Here, have one.
  • Want one?
  • Have a beer.
  • Let’s do some (weed/coke/speed).
  • I’ve got some great (weed/coke/speed). Want to join us and do some?
  • Here!
  • Try one of these - it’s great stuff.
  • Want a hit?
  • Want to get high?
  • Want to get loaded?
  • Nonverbal offer: Just pass it.

First follow-up come-back:

  • What’s the matter with you?
  • Don’t you smoke weed?
  • I thought you smoked.
  • Just one hit won’t hurt you.
  • Come on, have one.
  • What are you afraid of?
  • Don’t you drink?
  • Haven’t you ever smoked weed?
  • What’s with you?
  • You’re the only one who’s not drinking.
  • You’re not being very cool.
  • Are you out of it?
  • Why are you here if you don’t want to drink?
  • Everyone is drinking!
  • Don’t you want to party?
  • Don’t you know how?

One more dig:

  • Who told you that, your mom?
  • You’re not going to get cancer.
  • You’re not going to fit in if you don’t get high.
  • What’s wrong with a couple beers?
  • You’re going to ruin it for the rest of us if you don’t smoke.
  • One or two hits isn’t going to hurt you.
  • Do you really think smoking weed will make any difference?
  • The girls [guys] will think you’re strange if you don’t drink.
  • Are you going to make me smoke alone?
  • Why don’t you just stop breathing if you’re so scared of hurting your lungs?
  • Don’t you know how to do it?
  • his party will be boring if you don’t get high.
  • Are you afraid to let go?

 

Scenario with more social influence

View the video Party chrashers and complete the decision steps.

  1. Focus on goal


  2. Problem -


  3. Information analysis of influences.
    Identify the influences. (How you feel about the people involved. How they would feel about your saying yes or no. What you would feel like tomorrow or later. How would your family, mentors, and other significant others feel about your use? What affects these feelings. (What values, ethics, rules, laws...) How would you feel different if other people were involved:
    • Personal:


    • Social:




    • Objects

  4. Analysis - Review the influences and try to label them as positive and negative. Focus on the good things you get from resisting negative influence. Accept it is hard to resist influences to use drugs. Convince yourself you have a right to refuse. Recognize other people have the obligation to accept your decision to say no with no negative consequences.



  5. Options / choices - Yes or no. If no review and rehearse different ways to say no before actual implementation and how to be assertive.




  6. Consequences - Identify consequences for different solutions.




  7. Solutions - Choose - ...



  8. Implementation -






  9. Evaluation -


Use what you have learned and write a script for the scenario.

 

 

 

What did you learn?

 

 

Interview parents activity

  Use the following questions to interview a parent or care giver.

Interview parents:

  1. When you were a teenager, was there peer pressure? YES - NO

  2. Was it related to school, clothes, drinking, dating?




  3. What was it about?




  4. When were you most worried about what your friends thought of you?




  5. How did you resist peer pressure when you were a teenager? What did you think, say, do ...






  6. What was your most embarrassing moment when you were a teenager?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What did you learn?

 

More scenarios for self, social, and object influences:

Take your scenario and write a script with three different endings. If necessary review an ideas previously discussed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are three things you learned from watching the presentation of other groups scripts.

 

 

 

 

Final scenario. Procedure

Listen to a scenario.

Review your Lab notes and Data Sheets for information to use to answer the following questions.

List at least four reasons not to do...

1.

 

2.

 

3.

 

4.

 

 

You don’t want to disrespect your friends, but you want to try to achieve

How to influence yourself to say no,

 

 

 

How you might distract them from drug use and engage in a more productive activity.

 

 

 

How to explain why they shouldn't use ... ,

 

 

And if necessary how to refuse and withdraw.

 

 

Summary

What are some good things you get from resisting influence?

 

 

 

Why is it hard to resist influences to use drugs?

 

 

 

How can a person convince themself thy have the right to refuse?

 

 

 

People have an obligation to accept other people's decision to say no with no negative consequences. How can you convince people to do this?

 

 

 

What are some bad things that happened when people make a bad decision from not resisting influence?

 

 

 

How does not considering influences when making decisions compare to addiction?

 

 

When a person feels sad, lonely, depressed, angry, insecure, bored ..... Instead of using substances, he or she can ....

 

 

 

Why is it important to know and use a decision making process.

 

 

Fact Sheets

Medicine and Drug Categories by Affects on the Human Body - Fact sheet -

  1. Prevent disease, vaccines
  2. Destroy infectious pathogens (organisms) such as: bacteria (antibiotics), virus (antiviral), fungus (fungicide).
  3. Destroy cancer cells. Anticancer medicines are often given in combination, e.g. mitomycin, ifosfamide and cisplatin (MIC).
  4. Gene therapy personalized and prescribed based on the human genome and the patient's genome. Genes identified as not working in a healthy manner are replaced by introducing genes from a healthy patient, grown from stem cells, or created by another procedure. The healthy genes grow and replace the abnormal genes.
  5. Change body chemistry examples:
    • Blood chemistry - vitamins, minerals, amino-acids, herbal supplements, and other supplements. Provide the availability of these substances in the blood for cells to use as required for growth.
    • Blood chemistry - statins: reduce cholesterol levels. They inhibit production of the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which controls cholesterol production in the liver.
    • Blood chemistry - insulin: controls the metabolism of sugar.
    • Stomach chemistry - antacids neutralize stomach acid.
    • Brain chemistry - Ibuprofen blocks the production of prostaglandins (chemical produced and released in the brain in response to illness and injury that causes pain, inflammation, and fever) soon after a dose is taken.
    • Regulate brain chemistry - depressants, stimulants, ... treat mental and mood disorders: depression, schizophrenia,

Medicine and Drug Categories as sold - Fact Sheet -

Antacids

Used to treat stomach acid.

Examples:

Tums, Prevacid, Rolaids, Pepcid AC, ...

Antibiotics

Used to treat infections caused by bacteria. Antibiotics are grouped into families according to their similarities of the kinds of infections they are used to treat and similar reactions people have. For example if a person is allergic to an antibiotic, they will be allergic to all antibiotics from that family.

Families:

  • Penicillins. amoxicillin, ampicillin, benzathine, penicillin, benzylpencillin, dicloxacilllin, procaine, ... The penicillin family is effective for a variety of infections. They are widely available, cheap, and come in oral and injectable forms. However, they cause allergic reactions in many people. Their overuse on some bacteria has made that bacteria resistant to penicillins.
  • Macrolides: azithromycin, erythromycin, ... both examples have been commonly used, are widely available, and can treat many of the same infections as penicillin and doxycycline.
  • Tetracyclines: tetracycline and doxycycline both treat many different infections, are cheap and widely available.
  • Sulfas: sulfonamides, sulfamethoxazole, sulfisoxazole can treat many different kinds of infections, are cheap and widely available. However, they are less effective because some infections are resistant to them. They can cause allergic reactions.
  • Aminoglycosides: gentamicin, streptomycin, ... both are effective and strong, but can cause serious side effects and are only be given by injection.
  • Cephalosporins: ceftriaxone, cephalexin, ... both are newer, powerful drugs that treat many infections that have become resistant to the older antibiotics. They are often safer and have fewer side effects than the older antibiotics but can be expensive and hard to find.
  • Quinolones: ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, ... both are newer, powerful antibiotics. They are expensive and may be hard to find.

Treatment suggestions for antibiotics

  • Antibiotics are used too often and should only be used only when necessary.
  • Antibiotics kill some bacteria but not all. That is good and bad. Good because so the good bacteria can survive. Bad because some other organism, usually harmless, can grow out of control and cause problems like diarrhea and secondary infections, yeast, ...
  • Be aware some antibiotics cause serious side effects and allergic reactions.
  • Antibiotics if used when they are not or discontinued before a treatment is successful can allow bacteria to survive and some can develop a resistant to the antibiotics so the antibiotic will no longer work.

Antidepressants

Used to treat depression. See change body chemistry

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)

  • Rasagiline (Azilect),
  • Selegiline (Eldepryl, Zelapar),
  • Isocarboxazid (Marplan),
  • Phenelzine (Nardil), and
  • Tranylcypromine (Parnate).

Anti-fungals

Used to suppress and kill fungi, (athlete's foot, ringworm, yeast infections, Candida.

Fungal diseases are often caused by fungi that are common in the environment. Most fungi are not dangerous. Mild fungal skin diseases can look like a rash and are very common. Fungal diseases in the lungs are often similar to the flu. Fungal disease in the bloodstream is less common, but can be deadly.

Examples:

Anti-inflammatory

Is associated with redness, swelling, and pain.

Examples:

Aspirin,

Anti-psychotics

Used to treat psychosis such as schizophrenia, acute or severe states of mania, depression, paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, disordered thought, and bipolar disorder.

Examples:

Tranquilizers, see depressants

Antitoxins

Like vaccines prevent disease by neutralizing the effects of toxins (toxins produced by bacteria can cause the body problems) small amounts of a specific toxin can be injected into the body which stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies, which will make antitoxins to counteract the toxins.

Examples:

Antivirals

Used to fight viruses(influenza, common cold, cold sores, AIDS, HIV, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Ebola, Rabies, Small pox, Hantavirus, Denge, Rotavirus, ...). These medicines can suppress viruses, but not kill it.

Examples:

TamiFlu

Allergy

People can be allergic to medicines, foods, or things that are breathed in or touched. Itching, hives, rash, or sneezing can result and be moderate or severe. Severe can bring on allergic shock and be life-threatening if not treated. Medical treatments:

Examples:

  1. Antihistamines: diphenhydramine, hydroxyzing, promethazine. Reduce itch, sneezing, watery eyes, and nasal discharge. It blocks the bodies release of chemicals (histamines) by the immune system that cause an allergic response.
  2. Steroids: dexamethasone, hydrocortisone.
  3. Epinephrine or adrenaline. Epipens

Cancer treatment

Examples:

  • Chemotherapy adds chemicals the kill cancer cells.
  • Immunotherapy changes the chemistry to stimulate the body's immune system to fight cancer cells.

Cannabis

Cannabis is the scientific name for marijuana. The active ingredient in cannabis is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. They include cannabinoids and synthetics like dronabinol.

Depressants (sedatives)

Depressants slow (depress) the central nervous system (CNS) and slow brain functioning. They are used to treat insomnia and help people sleep (sedatives), reduce anxiety and help people relax (tranquilizers) and reduce pain (see also pain).

Examples:

  • Sedatives: Hypnotics, Alcohol, Barbiturates, Chloroform, Ether, Quaaludes, Methaqualone
  • Narcotic Analgesics: Codeine, Methodone Fentanyl, Morphine Heroin, Opium Hydrocodone, Oxycodone
  • Benzodiazepines: Alprazolahm, Diazepan (valium), Flunitrazepam, Temazepam, Lorazepam
  • Anti-anxiety tranquilizers: Valium, Librium, Xanax, Prozac, and Thorazine), GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyrate), Rohypnol and many anti-depressants (Zoloft, Paxil).
  • Phencyclidine: (PCP) and other chemically similar compounds inhibit pain by cutting off or dissociating the brain's perception of the pain. It was originally developed as an intravenous anesthetic but because of side effects: hallucination, delirium, and mania, it was discontinued for that use. In smaller amounts a person can feel distant, and detached from their surroundings. Numbness of the extremities, slurred speech, and loss of coordination accompanied by a sense of strength and invulnerability.
  • Narcotic Analgesics: relieve pain, induce euphoria and create mood changes in the user. Examples include Opium, Codeine, Heroin, Demerol, Darvon, Morphine, Methadone, Vicodin and OxyContin.

Designer drugs

See synthetic drugs

Hallucinogens

Drugs that cause people to see images, hear sounds, and feel sensations that seem real but do not exist and sometimes produce rapid, intense emotional swings.

The U.S. government does not recognize any legitimate medical use. However there are limited uses of hallucinogens with treatment of terminally ill patients (with psilocybin), addicts (12 step program), and disorders such as OCD.

See also Phenethylamines in stimulants.

Examples:

  • LSD, THC, Ecstasy, PCP (phencyclidine), MDMA (Ecstasy), Mushrooms (psilocybin), Peyote (mescaline) and other psychedelics.

Inhalants

While inhalation is a method to deliver medicine (see medicine delivery systems) Inhalants commonly refers to a category of substances that are thoughtof as drugs and misused. They include a wide variety of breathable substances that produce mind-altering results and effects.

Examples: Toluene, plastic cement, paint, gasoline, paint thinners, hair sprays and various anesthetic gases.

Pain (analgesic from Greek - analgesia meaning not feel pain)

Pain is a sign of a problem, injury or infection. Therefore, it is very important to treat the problem causing the pain. However, treatment can include medicines to ease pain. Some illness that cannot be cured, pain can be managed. Pain medication works when the medication interferes with the pain messages sent to the brain. Either at the site of the injury, in the spinal cord or in the brain.

Pain management:

  • Diagnose and treat the cause of the pain.
  • Begin with a weak pain medicine and increase strength if necessary.
  • Treatment should be given regularly so the pain doesn't return.
  • Try alternative ways to relieve pain: relaxation exercises, heat or cold ...

Examples:

  • Acetaminophen (in England it is Paracetamol) is available and inexpensive. It is a safe pain medicine and used to reduce fever. Not to be used with alcohol or to treat a hangover, or with liver or kidney problems. treats headaches, arthritis, and also to reduce fever instead of aspirin. Tylenol.
  • Acupuncture bagan in ancient China. It is a system of complementary medicine that inserts hair thick needles under the skin to alleviate pain and treat a variety of physical, mental, and emotional conditions.
  • Aspirin is available, cheap, lowers fever, relieves pain and inflammation in muscles and joints. In can irritate the stomach and should not be taken by people with stomach ulcers. It reduces blood clotting, so it should not be taken if the person is bleeding or before any surgery. Should not be taken by people under 20 with a fever as it can cause Reye's syndrome which is a life threatening brain and liver disease. It can also cause ringing in the ears.
  • Codeine is an opiate used for pain after surgery or an injury. Prolonged use can cause addiction.
  • Ibuprofen is available, more expensive than aspirin or paracetamol. It reduces muscle and joint pain, inflammation, and reduces fever. It is good to relieve arthritis pain. It can also irritate the stomach and cause bleeding problems. Do not take before surgery or by people with stomach ulcers.
  • Morphine is an opiate used for pain during the last stages of cancer or AIDS.
  • Tai Chi is a defensive martial art with health benefits to alleviate stress and anxiety with body poses and motion that promote serenity and inner peace.
  • Yoga is an ancient Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline (self-discipline and abstinence from all self indulgences). It includes breath control, simple meditation, and movement through a series of body poses to relax and maintain a healthy body.

Supporting research

Stimulants

Used to increase alertness, attention, improve athletic performance, weight loss, and improve mood. They accelerate the heart rate and elevate blood pressure and "speed-up" or over-stimulate the body.

Through the control of reuptake inhibitors that regulate the neurotransmitters norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenaline) through

  • Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (NRI, NERI)
  • Adrenergic reuptake inhibitor (ARI)
  • Norepinephrine transporter, NET).

Phenethylamine is a chemical produced naturally in the body. It can also be made in the laboratory. It is taken to improve athletic performance, depression, weight loss, and to improve mood and attention. It stimulates the body to make chemicals that regulate depression and other psychiatric conditions. People who don’t make enough phenethylamine naturally may be helped by taking phenethylamine as a supplement. However, too much causes side effects similar to the drug amphetamine.

Examples:

Phenethylamines are a broad range of compounds that share a common phenylethan-2-amine structure. They include the natureal neurotransmitters (Dopamine, Epinephrine) while some are psychoactive stimulants (Amphetamine), entactogens (MDMA), or hallucinogens. Most phenethylamines act as either central nervous system stimulants, or as hallucinogens. Stimulants mediate the actions of dopamine, norepinephrine and/or serotonin, mimicking the effects of traditional drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, and ecstasy.

Caffeine, Cocaine, Amphetamine, Crack, Methamphetamine (crank), MDEA, MDA, MDMA (Ecstasy)

Synthetic drugs & Designer drugs

While there are medicines that are chemically created or made drugs in this category do not include medicines. Drugs in this category refers to those created to be sold for profit under the false idea of being recreational. Most common synthetic drugs are referred to as Designer drugs that are a slightly chemically altered versions of an illegal drug created to get around current laws so they may be sold legally. Most common examples are bath salts and synthetic marijuana which are sold in stores and online as household items. However, methamphetamine MDA, Ecstasy(MDMA), and Molly are technically synthetic drugs because they are made from chemicals.

Examples:

Bath salts, synthetic marijuana, Spice / K2, N-bomb, LSD, MDEA, MDA, meth, XTC, Methylone, 2CB, DOM, Mescaline, Ecstasy (MDMA, Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, is a psychoactive drug used primarily as a recreational drug.)

Vaccines

Used to cause the body to produce antibodies and memory cells so the body can fight certain pathogens. Very weak or dead cells are injected into the body. See also Vaccination fact sheet.

Examples:

Polio, measles, rabies, rotavirus, pertussis, mumps, chicken pox, shingles, Human Papillomavirus, pneumonia, meningococcal, influenze,

Delivery Systems of Medicine - Fact Sheet -

Buccal or sublingual tablets or tissues are similar to tablets but are not swallowed. Buccal tablets or tissues are held in the cheek so that the mouth lining absorbs the active ingredient. Sublingual tablets or tissues are put underneath the tongue.

Capsule is where the active ingredient is in a powdery form inside a shell that dissolves slowly in the stomach. Some capsules can be taken apart so the ingredients can be mixed into a liquid or food. Some must be swallowed whole as the capsule or shell is made to delay the release of the medicine in the stomach or farther into the digestive system.

Drops are a combination of the active ingredient with a liquid. Applied to the affected area directly, eye, ear or nose.

Implants or patches is where the active ingredient in embedded into the patch and absorbed into the body through the skin.

Inhaler is when the active ingredient is released under pressure directly into the nose or mouth to apply the medicine to the nasal passages or lungs.

Injection is when the active ingredient is released: Subcutaneous (SC) injection under the surface of the skin. Intramuscular (IM) injection into the muscle. Intrathecal injection into the spinal fluid. Intravenous (IV) injection into the blood stream through a vein.

Liquid is a combination of the active ingredient with a liquid or syrup. Faster absorption rate, easier to administer to children. Coloring and sugar may be added.

Tablet is a combination of the active ingredient and other substances pressed into a round or oval solid shape. Easier to administer a predetermined amount to youth and adults.

Suppository is where the active ingredient is combined with other substances and pressed into an oval or elongated oval shape and inserted into the rectum.

Topical (creams, lotions or ointments) is where the active ingredient is in an oil or watery solution that makes it easier to apply onto the skin where it is absorbed.

Suggestions for Safe Use of Medicine - Fact Sheet -

  • Find what side effects the medicine has. Reactions other than the intended reactions. Can range from drowsiness to death.
  • Keep a list of your personal medications, the dosage, and when taken (prescribed drugs, nonprescription medicines, vitamins, amino acids, supplements, herbal supplements, home remedies, and special foods).
  • Take the entire prescribed amount of antibiotics.
  • Know what medicines cause you allergic reactions.
  • Know what foods, beverages, other medicines, or activities interact with the medicines you take.
  • Read the information provided with the medicine. The label and other pages included on or in the box or inserted by the pharmacist. Label must include:
    Prescription labels:
    • Instructions of how to take the medicine.
    • Doctor's name.
    • Patient's name.
    • Pharmacy's name and address.
    • Date the prescription was filled.
    • The number of refills permitted.
    • Prescription number.

      Over the counter labels:
    • Active ingredients
    • Inactive ingredients
    • Users conditions or symptoms the product treats
    • Warnings: side effects, interactions, when to talk to a doctor, keep away from children
    • Expiration date
    • Purpose: what the product is supposed to do.
    • Other information and directions
  • Ask questions about what you don't understand or think doesn't seem right.
  • Check all refills to make sure they are the same as prescribed, appearance, strength, and when to take them.
  • Show you understand by repeating information about your prescription back to your doctor or pharmacist.
  • If you're too ill to follow these suggestions, ask a friend or relative to help.
  • Be aware of interactions.
    • Tolerance is when the body has a smaller response to the same amount of medicine after repeated use of the medicine. Usually the body adapts to the continued presence of th medicine.
    • Withdrawal is a reaction that occurs when a medication or drug is suddenly stopped or the amount taken is decreased. Symptoms can include aches, chills, cramps, headaches, insomnia, nervousness, vomiting, ... that decrease in intensity with time.
    • Interactions
      • Additive interactions are when medicines are given together to treat multiple symptoms in a positive way, decongestant, cough medicine, antibiotic for a chest bacterial infection. Anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxant for joint pain.
      • Synergistic effect is when two or more medicines interact to increase the strength of each used alone.
      • Antagonistic interaction is when two or more medicines cancel or reduce the effect of each used alone.

Medical Classification of Drugs - Fact Sheet -
(Anti-psychotics, stimulants, depressants, & hallucinogens)

 

Drug classification 4 types map hell

Effects of ______________ on the Human Body - Fact Sheet -

 

Human body diagram

 

Effects of ______________ on the Human Body - Fact Sheet -

 

Human body diagram

 

Tobacco - Fact Sheet -

Tobacco smoked, (cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes) second hand smoke, chewed, dipped, contains harmful chemicals that can cause disease and addiction. The most recognized chemical among them is nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive drug, a stimulant that increases the action of the CNS (central nervous system), heart rate and other organisms. Tobacco smoke also includes tar, carbon monoxide, and other poisonous compounds.

  • Nicotine is addictive. It increases attention and alertness, respiration, blood pressure, and heart rates, cause the body to crave more of the drug, and can cause an irregular heart beat. Nicotine withdrawal can include symptoms: cravings for more, anxiety, headaches, nervousness, sleep disturbances, and trembling as soon as 30 minutes after use.
  • Tar, a sticky dark fluid, clogs tissue (cilia, alveoli, air sacs) in the respiratory system. Results in diseases like bronchitis, cancer, emphysema, heart disease, pneumonia, stroke, ...
  • Carbon monoxide is a colorless , odorless, and poisonous gas, in smoke. It deprives cells of oxygen and effects metabolism. Reduction of oxygen leads to heart-related and breathing problems. It also increases the risk of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), heart disease, high blood pressure, and other circulatory problems. The normal level of CO for a nonsmoker varies between 0 and 8 ppm (parts per million). A pack a day smoker can have around 20 ppm CO level. A two-pack-a-day is around 40 ppm. If a person stops smoking the CO level returns to normal in few days.
  • Smoking causes wrinkled skin, cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
  • Smoking also increases risk for tuberculosis, some eye diseases, and immune system problems, rheumatoid arthritis, and erectile dysfunction in males.
  • Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body: Bladder, Cervix, Colon and rectum (colorectal), Esophagus, Immune system (leukemia), Kidney, Ureter, Larynx, Liver, Pharynx (throat, tongue, soft palate, and tonsils), Pancreas, Stomach, Trachea (bronchus and lung)
  • Tobacco use dulls taste and appetite, yellows teeth, causes bad breath,
  • Cost to society and individuals. Cost of buying tobacco products, cost of medical care due to illness, and absence from work resulting in pay loss and unproductive days.
  • Legal consequences for minors. Fines. Suspension and expulsion from school and other activities.
  • Smoke is absorbed by different surfaces and leaves a lingering smell.
  • Smoking when pregnant passes nicotine and other harmful substances in the blood stream through the placenta and into the fetus. Therefore, providing the same risks to the child as to the mother. This can result in impaired growth, miscarriage, premature birth, low birth weight, and death. After birth the child is more likely to die of SIDS, have severe asthma, ear infections, and respiratory infections. These risks are increased if the newborn is exposed to second hand smoke.
  • Cigar smoke has more carbon monoxide, ammonia, nitrogen oxide, and nicotine than cigarette smoke. Those who don’t inhale, nicotine is absorbed rapidly through the lining of the lips, mouth, tongue, and throat. Cigar smoking has about the same chances of dying from cancer of the esophagus, oral cavity, and larynx and increases chances of dying from heart disease as cigarette smoking.
  • Smokeless tobacco is chewed, sucked on or sniffed in the nose. It is not a safe alternative to smoking as it is a more efficient way to get cancer causing chemicals into the bloodstream. Users have an increased risk of cancers of the mouth, esophagus, lung, liver, and pancreas and are at higher risk for heart disease and diabetes than non-users. It contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Users have higher rates of receding gums, tooth enamel erosion and discolored teeth, tooth decay, bad breath and loss of the sense of taste and smell.

Reason people say they use tobacco: Why did I start & stop video (7:07)

  • Helps them relax.
  • Helps them to think clearly
  • Keeps them from gaining weight.
  • E-cigarettes are safer than regular cigarettes.
  • E-cigarettes are a good way to quit smoking.
  • Friends use tobacco or E-cigarettes (peer pressure)
  • Makes them cool, sophisticated
  • want to rebel.
  • Parents did.
  • Addicted.
  • Were curiosity and now like it or gives them pleasure.

Reasons people say the do not use tobacco:

  • Hurts your health (lung cancer, lung disease, heart attacks, heart disease)
  • Do worse in physical activities (dance, exercise, sports)
  • Bad breath, smelly clothes, and hair.
  • Don't want to be addicted to it.
  • Don't want to cause trouble with family, at school.
  • Don't want to harms others with secondhand smoke.
  • Don't want yellow teeth.
  • Wrinkled skin.
  • It’s illegal for minors.
  • Smokeless tobacco don't want an increased risk of cancer (mouth, esophagus, lung, liver, and pancreas).
  • Don't want a higher risk for heart disease and diabetes than non-users.
  • Don't want to eb addicted to it.
  • Don't want dental problems (receding gums, tooth enamel erosion, discoloration, teeth, tooth decay, bad breath, and loss of both the senses of taste and smell.)

 

Alcohol - Fact Sheet -

Alcohol (beer, wine, spirits) can cause disease and addiction. The chemical in all alcoholic drinks is ethyl alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is an addictive drug, a depressant that decreases the action of the CNS (central nervous system), heart rate and other organisms. Alcohol is metabolized in the liver and consumption of large amounts can damage the liver.

In spite of all this many people enjoy alcohol's depressing influence and it plays a vital role in many of society's traditions and practices.

  • Alcohol is ethyl alcohol, or ethanol (C2H5OH) is the same in all alcoholic drinks, beer, wine, spirits (hard liquor).
  • Ethyl alcohol is a source of energy, with about 7 calories per gram.
  • One drink beer, wine, spirits (hard liquor) contain 14 grams of alcohol or 98 calories (7 calories / gram of alcohol * 14 grams of alcohol / drink = 98 calories / drink).
  • Alcohol is deceptive, in that it passes through the body rapidly, before the drinker is aware of the number of drinks they have had.
  • When alcohol is drunk, 25% of it is absorbed straight into the bloodstream in the stomach and the rest is absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine. While it is absorbed fairly rapidly, the absorption rate depends on several factors. See Alcohol absorption next.
  • Alcohol absorption rate depends on the amount of food in the stomach (more food slower absorption), if the drink is carbonated (more fizz, the alcohol is absorbed more quickly than no fizz), and the concentration of alcohol in the drink (greater concentration absorbs faster), body size (bigger body lower rate), gender (relates to body size), and if on other medication or drugs.
  • About 98% of alcohol is processed in the liver, the rest is eliminated in the urine, breathing, or sweat.
  • The alcohol in one standard drink takes the average person about 10 hours to process. Alcohol not processed increases the blood alcohol level.
  • There are two ways the liver processes alcohol. Most alcohol is broken down in a process that uses several enzymes. First, the enzyme ADH (alcohol dehydrogenase) metabolizes the alcohol into acetaldehyde (CH3CHO), which is broken down into acetate by another enzyme, (aldehyde dehydrogenase). Acetate is metabolized, into acetyl- CoA, which is broken down by the citric acid cycle to produce ATP the body's form of energy. Remember when energy is used, carbon dioxide and water are produced as waste.
  • For small amounts of alcohol the process works well, as the acetaldehyde is broken down before it causes to much damage. However, there are two problems if the acetaldehyde level increases. First, it will damage the liver and leak into the bloodstream and damage other parts of the body. Second, large amounts of alcohol quickly uses the liver's stores of glutathione. This causes acetaldehyde to build up faster until the liver makes more glutathione. As the toxin acetaldehyde increases it damages tissue, causes headaches, vomiting, and hangovers. The second way alcohol is processed is less common and uses a different set of liver enzymes. It is used only when there are very high levels of blood alcohol. It is called the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system.
  • For weight watchers the way alcohol is processed is a problem as body fat doesn't get used until after all the acetate is gone. See below, (How alcohol doesn't make fat.)
  • How does alcohol make fat? Mostly it doesn't. Very little alcohol is turned into fat. The idea that alcohol automatically turns into fat or gives you a beer belly is mistaken. The big bottom line is: alcohol is the first fuel to be used. It will be used with carbohydrates, fats and proteins available in the digestion process, stopping any fat-burning process that may have been happening before drinking. The result is the carbohydrates, fats and proteins not metabolized are stored as fat. Therefore, it is the calories that count. Alcohol suppresses fat oxidation and adds calories to your diet, messes with your hormones and can stimulate appetite. Appetite, which leads to more calories consumed. That’s where the fat comes from. If you count the calories in the alcohol (98 per drink) and the calories from the food consumed before, during, and after drinking, and if you compensate for all of the above accordingly and they combine for your average meal, you won’t get fat. Just remember: alcohol calories are empty. That means they only count for calories. They have no nutrients so they are empty or add nothing to the nutrients needed on a daily basis. A person on a fat loss program is on a low calorie diet, so a persons on a 1500 daily calorie diet, probably does not want to use 300 calories on alcoholic drinks. Leaving less for healthy food, fiber and muscle building protein.
  • Alcohol has very little nutritional value which leaves a craving for other foods while drinking.
  • Alcohol also causes the formation of damaging molecules known as reactive oxygen species (ROS), and a change in the reduction-oxidation (or redox) state of liver cells. Chronic alcohol consumption and alcohol metabolism are strongly linked to several pathological consequences and tissue damage.
  • Alcohol causes inflammation of the stomach, pancreas, and intestines which impairs the digestion of food and its absorption into the bloodstream.
  • Acetaldehyde (the oxidation product) interferes with vitamin use.
  • Alcohol is most destructive as the liver detoxifies it.
  • Alcohol Lowers Testosterone.
  • Alcohol is a depressant. It effects the brain, diminished performance, impairs judgment, causes poor decisions, leads to addiction, and can harm the body, diabetes, liver disease.
  • Intoxification research in not conclusive, but the following ideas are supported: Slow reaction, slurred speech, and memory loss are probably caused by ethanol molecules attaching to the glutamate receptors in the brain, which disrupts and slows the flow and transfer of signals. Also, ethanol attaches to GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptors. GABA receptors normally slow brain activity. However, when ethanol attaches, instead of GABA, it slows the brain activity even more. While alcohol is a depressant it also stimulates the production of dopamine and endorphins, chemicals of pleasure. Research is still searching for the mechanism involved here, however this would link to the addictive aspect of alcohol. The more alcohol in the bloodstream, the more of the brain it affects. As the amount of alcohol in the blood stream increases the brain continues to slow which can induce sleep, cause lose of consciousness, and cause death. Source
  • Alcohol use is linked to an increase in car crashes, homicides, suicides, drownings, neglect, abuse, social isolation, violent activity, fights, assault, battery, robbery, sexual activity, contraction of sexual diseases (STD), sexual assault, rape and decrease in economic productivity, decrease in financial independence, loss of employment, suspension from school, and limited attainment of goals. Alcohol impairs judgment, lowers inhibitions, and can cause a person to ignore values that would normally stop them from making poor decisions and cause them to make better decisions.
  • Alcoholism is a disease in which a person is physically or psychologically dependent on alcohol.

Reason some people say they use alcohol:

  • Friends do it (peer pressure).
  • Parents use it.
  • Curiosity
  • Rebellion
  • Escape problems, responsibility
  • Cope with emotions (insecure, anger, loneliness, frustration).
  • To get rid of feelings such as (anger, shyness).
  • To get high/drunk.
  • To make problems go away.
  • They are influenced into thinking it will make them cool, sophisticated, and glamorous.
  • Think it iis an acceptable easy way to feel good.
  • To relax.
  • Dependence/addiction

Reason some people say they do not use alcohol:

  • Costs too much.
  • Hurts their health.
  • Do worse in physical activities (dance, sports).
  • Can’t think clearly.
  • Lose control of actions and thoughts.
  • Can’t drive safely.✓
  • May cause addiction.
  • Doesn't solve problems.
  • Can cause family turmoil.
  • Can cause trouble at school and with coaches.
  • Illegal

 

Inhalants - Fact Sheet -

Inhalant 1. a medical preparation for inhaling (inhale means to breathe in). 2. a solvent (liquid in which chemicals are disolved) or other material that produces a vapor that can be inhaled when using certain chemicals. 3. a chemical abused by some people that changes their physical being and alters their mood, their state of consciousness, causes hallucinations, or causes dizziness or a high feeling.

Volatile is a substance that evaporates or turns to a gas at normal rooom temperatures.

Affect on mind

Inhalant abuse can cause damage to the parts of the brain that control thinking, moving, seeing, and hearing. Cognitive abnormalities can range from mild impairment to severe dementia.

Affect on body

Inhaled chemicals are rapidly absorbed through the lungs into the bloodstream and quickly distributed to the brain and other organs. Nearly all inhalants produce effects similar to anesthetics, which slow down the body’s function. Depending on the degree of abuse, the user can experience slight stimulation, feeling of less inhibition or loss of consciousness. Within minutes of inhalation, the user experiences intoxication along with other effects similar to those produced by alcohol. These effects may include slurred speech, an inability to coordinate movements, euphoria, and dizziness. After heavy use of inhalants, abusers may feel drowsy for several hours and experience a lingering headache. Additional symptoms exhibited by long-term inhalant abusers include: weight loss, muscle weakness, disorientation, inattentiveness, lack of coordination, irritability, depression, and damage to the nervous system and other organs. Some of the damaging effects to the body may be at least partially reversible when inhalant abuse is stopped; however, many of the effects from prolonged abuse are irreversible. Prolonged sniffing of the highly concentrated chemicals in solvents or aerosol sprays can induce irregular and rapid heart rhythms and lead to heart failure and death within minutes. Source: drug enforcement administration

Anatomy of inhalation

Breathing gases, other than oxygen, and chemicals into your body will: 1. deprive your body of oxygen and 2. introduce chemicals into the body. Chemicals that can ranage from theraputic scents, that have little affect on oxygen levels or introduce unhealthy or poisonous chemicals (finger nail polish, cleaning chemicals, spray paint, glue, ) that can permanently damage the body and cause death.

Gases or fumes with chemicals enter the blood stream directly through the lungs with no dilution or filtering.

This is much more dangerous than with drugs and alcohol, which are swallowed, undergo digestion, enter the bloodstream, and go to the liver before the bloodstream takes them to the cells in the body.

Immediately after entering the lungs chemicals in vapors enter the blood stream and quickly arrive at the brain, the heart and all other parts of the body. Therefore, poisonouos chemicals that enter the body this way can be more dangerous than eating or drinking poison. Both ways poison enters the body and can cause cell and organ damage that may result in death.

Gases, that may not have chemicals that interact with the body negatively, can still be fatal if inhaled in place of oxygen, which is essential for the body to use energy (metabolism), without which cells begin to die within minutes without oxygen. This happens with carbon monoxide poisoning, environments with too much carbon dioxide, methane, breathing too much helium, or laughing gas.

Why Inhalants?

  • People are unaware and uninformed of the severe dangers
  • They are fairly inexpensive
  • Are easily available
  • Legal in states that do not have inhalant abuse laws
  • Desire to experience hallucinations, dizziness, or a feeling of high
  • Unaware of the risk for harm
  • A rapid progression to the high

Safety precautions when using volatile substances

  • Check with an adult for proper use and possible supervision.
  • Use nontoxic products if available.
  • Read and follow all directions.
  • If possible, use the product outside.
  • Keep your face away from the surface where the product is being used.
  • Provide ventilation: open windows, use a fan.
  • Take frequent fresh air breaks.
  • Keep product off skin.
  • Take fresh air breaks.
  • Wear a respirator rated for the product being used.
  • Properly clean up and disposal of brushes, rags, sponges, and the product after use.
  • Safely store product as described on the label and away from children.

Marijuana - Fact Sheet -

Marijuana is a mind -altering (psychoactive) drug from the Cannabis sativa plant. It contains over 400 chemicals. Two main compounds are THC and CBD.

THC (delta -9- tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main chemical ingredient that produces the psychoactive effect (creates a high). It binds to CB1 receptors in the brain to create a euphoric effect. Medical effects: Increase appetite. Relaxes some arteries. Alters growth and function of some immune cells. Reduces inflammation. Reduces multiple sclerosis pain and spasms. Improves sleep quality and duration for some people.

CBD (cannabidiol) is a non-psychoactive (doesn’t create a high) chemical. It does not bind with CB1 or CB2 receptors and can hinder THC’s effects when used together. It does activate serotonin receptors and has been shown to have positive effects on the reduction of pain and anxiety. Medical effects include: Reduce anxiety & pain; positive effects on cancer related nausea, vomiting, pain, and appetite. Aids irritable bowel syndrome. Epilepsy reduce convulsions. Relaxes some arteries. Alters growth and function of some immune cells. Reduces inflammation. Reduces multiple sclerosis pain and spasms. Reduces psychotic symptoms with Parkinson’s disease and Schizophrenia. Increases alertness.

Marijuana is a dry, shredded green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves from the Cannabis sativa plant.

Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette (joint) or in a pipe or bong. It is also smoked in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana, sometimes in combination with another drug. It can also be mixed with foods or brewed as a tea.

When smoked, the THC passes from the lungs and into the bloodstream and throughout the body. In the brain, the THC connects with receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Receptors affected are in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinate movement.

Short -term effects of marijuana include problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking and problem-solving, and loss of coordination. The effect of marijuana on perception and coordination are responsible for serious impairments in driving abilities and increased risk of accidents.

Long -term chronic marijuana use is associated with Amotivational Syndrome, characterized by apathy, impairment of judgment, memory and concentration, and loss of motivation, ambition and interest in the pursuit of personal goals. High doses can result in mental confusion, panic reactions and hallucinations. Researchers have also found an association between marijuana use and an increased risk of depression; an increased risk and earlier onset of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, especially for teens that have a genetic predisposition.

Physical effects from marijuana use may include sedation, blood shot eyes, increased heart rate, coughing from lung irritation, increased appetite, and decreased blood pressure. Like tobacco smokers, marijuana smokers experience serious health problems such as bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchial asthma.

Extended use may cause suppression of the immune system. Because marijuana contains toxins and carcinogens, marijuana smokers increase their risk of cancer of the head, neck, lungs and respiratory track. Withdrawal from chronic use of high doses of marijuana causes physical signs including headache, shakiness, sweating, stomach pains and nausea, as well as behavioral signs including restlessness, irritability, sleep difficulties and decreased appetite. Source

Circles of Influence

 

Circles of Influence

Reasons:

For using ....

  • Medical needs.
  • Friends do it (peer pressure).
  • Parents do it.
  • Don’t want to be left out or different than other people
  • Others are doing it.
  • Party with ...
  • To look cool, older, mature, sophisticated.
  • Make more creative, happy, feel good,
  • To be more independent.
  • To impress someone.
  • Rebel against parents, society, ...
  • To relax.
  • To relieve stress, anxiety, worries, depression, anger, .
  • To have fun.
  • Curiosity
  • Bored
  • Because it’s there.

For not using ...

  • Makes you feel bad after using.
  • It’s bad for your health.
  • Cost too much. Want to use money for other things.
  • You lose coordination, stamina, breath, ability, slows reflexes when: exercise, dance, play, play sports,
  • Don't want to get into trouble.
  • Don't want to disappoint your parents.
  • It’s a bad habit.
  • Don't want to hang with others that get into trouble.

Benefits for Not Using Drugs - Fact Sheet -

Physical health

  • Look good
  • Whiter teeth, Fresh breath, Healthy teeth and gums
  • Fewer wrinkles
  • Physically fit, easier to get around, exercise, dance, sports, ...
  • Less sickness, headache, colds, flu, ...
  • Breathe easier run farther and faster
  • No hacking cough
  • Live longer
  • No chemical dependency
  • Healthier

Mental emotional health

  • Feel good
  • Relaxed and less stress
  • Self control to make your own decisions
  • Be your own person
  • Feel good about being yourself
  • Live your values
  • No chemical dependency
  • Can tell the truth, don’t have to lie about use
  • Respect others
  • Save money
  • Better memory, remember things
  • Better able to communicate
  • Not have to worry about purity of drugs or drugs origins
  • Free from worry of bad trips, overdose, addiction, permanent mental damage, and dying

Social health

  • Recognize sources of negative influences and are able to cope with them
  • Recognize that the majority of teens don't use drugs
  • Have a larger group of peers with which to socialize
  • Don't lose friends
  • Trouble free, from drugs, in social, school, home, and work experiences.
  • Fewer regrets about poor judgment
  • Cope with emotions and problems
  • Make your own decisions
  • Be your own person
  • Better social interactions because you feel good and are more healthy
  • Respect others and others respect you
  • Better able to cope with other people's experiences and emotions
  • Hang with people who admire being in control and living their values
  • Hang with people who are are not dependendent on chemicals
  • Don’t have to lie
  • Less chance of an accident and hurting others
  • No bad trips or passing out

Stopping Drug Use - Fact Sheet -

How do people stop using?

  • Just stop: Cold turkey, Say no video
  • Get help from parents and peers
  • Work with a friend or other person to stop together
  • Get treatment
  • Participate in other actitivities: exercise, talk to others, visit family, eat, talk to friends, breathe deeply
  • Reduce usage over time and then stop
  • Stop several times before stopping altogether
  • Don't stop, but set limits and keep to them.

How to help someone else, peer, friend, or parent to stop

  • Moral support or encouragement
  • Tell people you care for them. Want them to be healthy.
  • Provide encouragement.
  • Provide him or her with reliable information on its affects.
  • Geet information from Al-Anon or other similar organizations.
  • Go with them to a professional counselor.
  • Provide information about treatment programs.
  • Say you love him or her and are afraid he or she will die.

Top Prescribed and Total Sales of Drugs - Fact Sheet -

May 8, 2015. The thyroid drug Synthroid was the nation’s most-prescribed medication and Humira, which treats arthritis and a variety of other conditions, had the highest sales from April 2014 through March 2015. Source

The top 10 medications by number of monthly prescriptions are:

  1. Synthroid (levothyroxine), 21.5 million
  2. Crestor (rosuvastatin), 21.4 million
  3. Ventolin HFA (albuterol), 18.2 million
  4. Nexium (esomeprazole), 15.2 million
  5. Advair Diskus (fluticasone), 13.7 million
  6. Lantus Solostar (insulin glargine), 10.9 million
  7. Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine), 10.4 million
  8. Lyrica (pregabalin), 10.0 million
  9. Spiriva Handihaler (tiotropium), 9.6 million
  10. Januvia (sitagliptin), 9.1 million

The top 10 meds by sales are:

  1. Humira (adalimumab), $8.2 billion
  2. Abilify (aripiprazole), $7.9 billion
  3. Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), $6.9 billion
  4. Crestor (rosuvastatin), $5.9 billion
  5. Enbrel (etanercept), $5.9 billion
  6. Harvoni (ledipasvir and sofosbuvir), $5.3 billion
  7. Nexium (esomeprazole), $5.3 billion
  8. Advair Diskus (fluticasone), $4.7 billion
  9. Lantus Solostar (insulin glargine), $4.7 billion
  10. Remicade (infliximab), $4.6 billion

See the complete list of the top 100 in each category on Medscape.

Vaccination fact sheet

Vaccines contain an antigen, dead pathogen, live weakened pathogen, or different pathogen, and mRNA. All when given stimulate the production of antibodies in lymph nodes to provide immunity for a disease.

Without a vaccine, an infectious disease can become an epidemic, plague, or pandemic depending on how hardy the disease is, how susceptible a host is, and how difficult the conditions are for infection.

Variables for these include: immunity of the population, the virus’s or microbe’s ability to infect many organism, the amount of the microbe needed for each infection, the manner of transmission (transmission chain) environmental condition necessary for the organism, spacial geography of infection, the organism's ability to replicate, its ability to enter cells, its ability to move through the body tissues, the host’s immune response, the strength of antibodies, the antibodies longevity, evolution rate of the microbe, other animal reservoirs, and the severity and scale of infection (time of infection, time of contagion, recovery time, waning immunity, and time to reinfection).

Vaccines are available for these diseases: Small pox, rabies, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, tuberculosis, polio, Human papillomavirus (HPV) (causes cancer in the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus and throat, rotavirus, shingles, flu, meningitis B.
Zika virus vaccines in development.

List showing the history of diseases and the effects of vaccinations to reduce infection.

Small pox and the history of vaccinations

  • Smallpox (variola virus) was responsible for an estimated 300–500 million deaths during the 1900's alone. In 1967, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 15 million people contracted the disease and two million died that year. Source
  • Small pox was known and reported in ancient histories that those who survived were immune from future infection of the disease. Some also knew infection with cowpox conferred immunity to smallpox. This led to reasoning that a person could be infected to achieve immunity. Inoculation was created to achieve this with the insertion of live smallpox or cowpox viruses under the skin of individuals to make them immune to smallpox.
  • 1721 in Boston, Onesimus, a slave from West African explained an inoculation procedure of inserting live small pox viruses under the skin to Rev. Cotton Mather who was only able to convince Dr. Zabdiel Boylston to use the procedure. The process was lauded by some and criticized by others.
  • 1764 a smallpox epidemic in Massachusetts caused Susanna Adams to insist her son, John Adams, be inoculated. He was inoculated in Boston by Dr. Joseph Warren and was a life long advocate for smallpox innoculations.
  • 1764 in Salisbury, Connecticut on a summer Sunday, Dr. Thomas Young made an incison in Ethan Allen's arm, inserted a thread soaked with pus, from another person infected with small pox, bandaged the cut, and then Ethan downed another shot of rum. More unusual than the procedure was the fact that it was illegal and Allen committed the crime in broad daylight after which he was denied permission to be innoculated by selectmen of Salisbury.
  • Innoculation was no small matter, patients prepared themselves days ahead of time, and were often sick for weeks afterwards as the inoculation put the smallpox virus into the person. However, the illness was usually less than getting the disease naturally. With 1-2% resulting in complications and possibly death as compared to 33% who died from smallpox, who weren't innoculated and caught it in the normal manner.
  • 1766 - Jefferson at 23 traveled to Philadelphia to be innoculated.
  • 1768 - Russian Empress Catherine the Great invited English Dr. Thomas Dinsdale to Russia to inoculate her and her teenage son. Making her the first monarch to be inoculated against smallpox. She later encourages inoculation across her empire. In 1781 she reinvites him to inoculate her grandsons.
  • In 1775 Abigail Adams had herself and her children inoculated. Her son Charles Francis Adams developed a pox illness days after the inoculation and was unconscious and delirious for 48 hours.
  • In 1776, American soldiers, in their campaign to take Canada, are significantly reduced in numbers, due to a smallpox epidemic and are unable to take Quebec. The British troops are  apparently inoculated. Washington who is commander of the American forces, receives a letter from Dr. Benjamin Rush, who recommends inoculation for all his soldiers, which is achieved by 1777.
  • Many people believe protection could be achieved through inoculation. However, Edward Jenner was the first to systematically experiment and communicate his results publicly. On May 14, 1796, he inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps with matter from cowpox lesions. James developed a mild fever and discomfort in his armpit. Nine days later he felt cold and had lost his appetite, but on the next day he was much better. In July 1796, Jenner inoculated the boy again, this time with matter from a fresh smallpox lesion. No disease developed and Jenner concluded that protection was complete.
  • 1803 First global vaccination campaign.
  • 1853 England passed a law requiring small pox vaccinations with a cowpox vaccine.
  • 1902 a small pox outbreak in Cambridge MA prompted the citizens to pass a law that required all residents to be vaccinated for small pox. Henning Jacobson refused and the city took him to court. In 1905 the case went all the way to the Supreme Court that ruled states could pass compulsory laws to protect the public health.
  • Tetanus toxoid is licensed as part of DT (diphtheria) childhood vaccine.
  • 1971 First combined vaccine MMR - measles, mumps, & rubella is licensed.
  • 1980 after years of vaccination the WHO (World Health Organization) declared smallpox eradicated.
  • 1990 WHO (World Health Organization) decides to destroy all smallpox stocks. All stocks were destroyed except for those in Russia and the United States.
  • 2001 Vaccines have a higher approval rating in the United States than the most popular stars at the time (Dolly Parton, Tom Hanks, & Dr. Seuss). And 93% Republicans and 97% Democrats believe they are effective.
  • 2002 Eckard Wimmer creates variola virus (polio virus) from scratch.
  • 2005 DTaP vaccine for three deadly diseases caused by bacteria: diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough (pertussis) was approved for those 11 and older. Later a vaccine was approved for younger children.
  • 2016 A team create the extinct horsepox virus from DNA fragments ordered online and delivered in the mail.

Polio

  • Polio is determined contagious by Ivar Wickham in 1905. In 1908 Karl Lansdteiner and Erwin Popper identifies the polio virus. In 1935 two teams test a polio vaccine but neither are successful and both teams infect and kill some test subjects. In 1951 Jonas Salk, developes and produces an inactive polio vaccine that is 80-90% effective. In 1960 Albert Sabin licenses an oral polio vaccine.
  • In 1952 the United States had 57,879 cases of polio. In 1955 a polio vaccine is approved. In 1964 there are 122 cases. According to the CDC there has not been a case of polio that originated in the United States since 1979. Polio is declared eradicated in the Americas on Sep. 29, 1994. However, in 2015 there are 74 cases reported in the entire world. Source
  • In 2015 type 3 Polio joins wild type 2 as being declared eradicated. Type 1 is still in the population with 94 cases reported in the first half of 2019.

Flu

  • 412 BCE Hippocrates wrote about what appears to be the first recorded flu epidemic in history.
  • The WHO finds only two Influenza A viruses and two Influenza B clades are currently causing disease in humans. With 16 subtypes of influenza A viruses in other organisms, 14 in birds and two in bats. Six of which can jump to humans and possible create a pandemic. A seasonal influenza (flu) vaccine is designed to protect against three or four flu viruses, which is decided based on what research suggests are likely to cause illness in the coming flu season.
    • Influenza A viruses are classified based on their two most abundant surface proteins: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). Of which there are 16 H and 9 N that infect avian species.
  • An influenza (Spanish flu H1N1) pandemic from 1918-1919. It was the deadliest in modern history. It infected around 500 million people worldwide (one-third of Earth's present population) killing between 20-50 million. First case identified in Kansas at a U.S. Army infirmary. The story of how this epidemic changed the world is in Pale Rider.
  • CDC (Centers for Disease Control) Source for effectiveness of flu vaccine
Flu efficacy chart

Events related to the Anti vax movement

  • Andrew Wakefield wanted to prove a link between MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and autism so he falsified his data to support his desired false claim that MMR vaccinations can be linked to symptoms related to autism and published falsified data and conclusions in 1998 in the British medical journal, Lancet. His report included no mention of thimerosal or mercury compounds. Source
  • This falsified report along with other factors increased the number of people who refused vaccinations for themselves and their children.
  • In 1999 all thimerosal was removed from vaccines given to infants and children below six years old, except some formulations of flu vaccine in multi-dose vials. Single dose flu vaccine with out thimerosal is also available.

Measles

  • Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus that only infects humans.
  • The first case was about 700 BCE. The measles virus's closest relative is a cattle pathogen (rinderpest morbillivirus) It is believed measles evolved from it and infected humans as more crowded into cities.
  • In 1980, before widespread vaccination, measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year.
  • Roald Dahl's daughter, Olivia, died from measles in 1962. Read his essay Measles a Dangerous Illness.
  • In 2000 a CDC study declared measles eliminated in America. In 2011 there were more than 600 cases reported.
  • In 2015 there were 134,200 measles deaths globally. That is about 367 deaths every day or 15 deaths every hour. Source
  • A 2016 study showed that when a non vaccinated person contracts measles and survives, the infection suppresses their immune system for up to three years making them susceptible to other deadly diseases increasing their chances of death from those other diseases than children who were vaccinated with MMR.

Measles cases graph

  • 2017 there were at least 110, 000 measle deaths.
  • 2019 research suggests the measles virus is even more harmful than previously thought. Two investigations into a recent measles outbreak in the Netherlands, reveales the virus deletes parts of the immune system’s memory, much like wiping a hard drive, which leaves patients vulnerable to other infections, bacterias, pathogens, and diseases. Source
  • H. Cody Meissner says "Measles is the most contagious virus we know about," Each virus is about 5 microns, smaller than a red blood cell and can be airborne and contagious for two hours. It will infect 90% of nonvaccinated people who breathe it or touch an infected surface. Complications after can include miscarriages severe diarrhea, ear infection, pneumonia, and encepalitis. Doctors say 95% of people need to be vaccinated to get a herd immunity and prevent outbreaks. Source Discover. Measles Returns Jan/Feb 2020 by Linda Marsa

Zika

  • 1947 Identify Zika in rhesus monkeys in Uganda
  • 1952 First human cases of Zika found in Uganda and Tanzania
  • 2007 73% of residents of Yap, Pacific Island become infected with Zika
  • 2015 First cases in Brazil, Cabo Verde Island, and six other Central and South American countries.
  • 2015 Virus is found to pass into the fetus of pregnant mothers
  • 2016 Zika is connected to babies born with microcephaly.
  • 2016 Brazil reported 3 893 cases of microcephaly and 49 deaths related to Zika.
  • 2016 Cases of Zika reported in south Florida.
  • 2016 Travel warnings are issued.
  • 2016 Zika is found to be transferred sexually.

Coronaviruses - SARS, MERS, CoV-2 (covid-19)

Covid family history

  • The COVID-19 vaccination contains an mRNA that teaches human cells how to make copies of the COVID spike protein. If you are exposed to the real virus later, your body will recognize it and know how to fight it off. After the mRNA delivers the instructions, your cells break it down and get rid of it. The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine contains another ingredient called an adjuvant. It helps the immune system respond better to that spike protein.

 

Factors that effect vaccination use:

  • Fear of needles.
  • Fear of putting something into your body.
  • Fear the vaccine will cause the infection from which it is supposed to protect.
  • Concern of getting another illness or a disease (autism...).
  • Belief that if a few people don’t get vaccinated it won’t make a difference for the rest of the people.
  • Fear the increase in the number of vaccines given could create a problem as the total number of antigens (load) being given to young children is increased with each inoculation.
  • Fear the vaccine is contaminated. Know mercury can cause serious harm to the body.
    • May or may not consider different mercury compounds.
    • Vaccines for adults and some multiple dose flu vaccine for children have thimerosal which breaks down into ethyl mercury (C9H9HgNaO2S) which is different than methylmercury (CH3Hg). Ethyl mercury is broken down by the body and removed from the blood more quickly than methylmercury.
    • Methylmercury is created in the environment from the metal, mercury. Most often it enters a body when fish or other contaminated food is eaten. High amounts of methylmercury can harm the nervous system and is retained longer than ethylmercury. The United States has federal guidelines to limit methylmercury in the environment and food. Everyone is exposed to some methylmercury during their lifetime.
  • Fear of Thimerosal in vaccine
    • In 1928 a multiple use vial of diphtheria vaccine was contaminated with bacteria and 12 children out of 21, who were injected with it, died. In 1930 to avoid bacterial and fungal contamination thimerosal (organic mercurial antiseptic C9H9HgNaO2S) was added to all vaccines. Seventy years of its use prevented bacteria and fungus contamination in vaccines.
  • Desire to stay healthy.
  • Ability to weigh probabilities and accept the better option.
  • Know that better vaccine engineering has decreased the antigen load in each shot. For example: the whooping cough vaccine had 3,000 different antigens in 1991. Today it has no more than five and is as effective and easier on the immune system.
  • Want to obey the laws.
  • Desire to protect self and others from preventable disease.

Vaccination routes

Vaccines are prescribed as nasal sprays (intranasal vaccine) or injections (intramuscular vaccine). Each have advantages and disadvantages as illustrated below.

Nasal sprays prevent infection and reduce virus shedding, while intramuscular prevents lung infections but not nasal infections or virus shedding.

Vaccination routes

 

Lymph node with vaccine

Lymph system

After injection or inhalation, vaccines flow throughout the body and enter the lymph system. Inside the lymph system they flow into lymph nodes and enter the subcapsular sinus (SCS). Inside some will enter the B cell follicles, and be recognized as a vaccine antigen, which will activate B cells to make protective antibodies. Those that don't make it to the B cell follicle, will be broken down by the protease and will not provide protection.

The science behind masks & lockdowns & how to protect from future pandemics

PUBLIC HEALTH

Wearing masks, social distancing, and other measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic were effective at slowing viral spread, according to a comprehensive report released last week by the Royal Society.

It describes hundreds of observational studies and a limited number of randomized trials of six nonpharmaceutical interventions, including contact tracing, indoor ventilation, travel restrictions, and public health messaging, used around the world.

All were found to help prevent transmission, with social distancing, including lockdowns, coming out on top. The usefulness of travel restrictions varied, with quarantining policies implemented early in the pandemic scoring higher than pretravel screening of passengers for high temperatures or other symptoms.

The report recommends that to prepare for future pandemics, researchers should collect data about other effects of such interventions, including impacts on people's income and mental health.

Source: Science September 1, 2023

Information on how to administer and injection

Shot information

Source Science April 2017

Media and Smoking - Fact Sheet -

The following pictures are the first sixteen pictures retrieved from a Google search: media influence on smoking , that had an image of a person with a cigarette (8/29/2016). How many imply positive messages and how many negative. Which ones?

smoking images

Extension : Google search: e cigarette smoking and the results are even more startling.

eCigarette Media - Fact Sheet

Sample Google search: eCigarette smoking Results of first 42 images retrieved on 8/29/2016.

Any negative????

eCigarette smoking Google search

 

Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it. Stephan B. Leacock

 

Role play scenarios:

Alcohol - Party

It’s Friday night. You and your friends are planning to go to the movies. When you get to your best friend’s house, the group has already decided to skip the movies and have a party instead. Someone has brought beer, and several people are drinking. No one pressures you to drink or even offers you anything, but you feel like maybe you should drink. What are the personal influences (+ & -) inside your head saying? What are the social and object influences (+ & -) affecting your thinking? What is your solution? What do you do, say, and think to implement your solution?

Alcohol - Fight with parents

It’s Friday night, and there’s a great party about to happen. You just had a fight with your parents. They have given you a really early curfew, and they won’t let you stay out even an extra half hour. You are really angry! When you get to the party, you think, “Maybe I’ll just get smashed and show them.” No one pressures you to drink, but you are angry and hurt and you think, “Getting smashed might make things better.” What are the personal influences (+ & -) inside your head saying? What are the social and object influences (+ & -) affecting your thinkng? What is your solution? What do you do, say, and think to implement your solution?

Alcohol - Home with brother or sister and new game

It’s Friday night and you have just bought a new video game you have been looking forward to playing since you heard it was being released. Your older brother or sister is excited about the game too and come to join in and offers you a drink while you are playing. Your parents are not there and are not expected to be there until early morning. No one pressures you to drink, but you think, why not. What are the personal influences (+ & -) inside your head saying? What are the social and object influences (+ & -) affecting your thinkng? What is your solution? What do you do, say, and think to implement your solution?

Alcohol - alone and bored

It’s the weekend; it’s raining, and you’re stuck in the house. Your parents and sister are out for the afternoon. You’re bored. You think, “Maybe I should have a beer. Getting buzzed would make this day less boring.” What are the personal influences (+ & -) inside your head saying? What are the social and object influences (+ & -) affecting your thinkng? What is your solution? What do you do, say, and think to implement your solution?

Cigarettes - Older teens

You are at home alone with your older sister. There’s a knock at the door. You open it and find two of your sister’s friends standing there. They come in and start talking to your sister. You want to be included but feel left out. One of them pulls out some cigarettes, and they all light up. No one offers you any. You think, “Maybe if I smoked, they would include me in their conversation.” What are the personal influences (+ & -) inside your head saying? What are the social and object influences (+ & -) affecting your thinkng? What is your solution? What do you do, say, and think to implement your solution?

E-cigarettes - curiosity

It’s a rainy day. You and your friend are both disappointed that the game you were going to was called off. You’re bored and go into the kitchen to see what there is to eat. You notice an e-cigarette in a drawer. You begin to wonder what it’s like to smoke an e-cigarette. What are the personal influences (+ & -) inside your head saying? What are the social and object influences (+ & -) affecting your thinkng? What is your solution? What do you do, say, and think to implement your solution?

Cigarettes - encounter

You are at an outdoor concert, looking around. Some of your friends are there too and text you to come hang out with them. When you get near, you see that they are smoking cigarettes. No one offers you a cigarette, but you begin to feel left out. You think, “Maybe I should ask one of them for a cigarette so that I’ll feel more a part of the group.” What are the personal influences (+ & -) inside your head saying? What are the social and object influences (+ & -) affecting your thinkng? What is your solution? What do you do, say, and think to implement your solution?

Marijuana - Alone and bored

It’s Saturday afternoon, and you’re alone with nothing to do. Suddenly, you remember that your older brother, who is away at college, left a stash of marijuana in his room. You think, “Getting high will certainly make the afternoon less boring.” What are the personal influences (+ & -) inside your head saying? What are the social and object influences (+ & -) affecting your thinkng? What is your solution? What do you do, say, and think to implement your solution?

Marijuana - party

You are online with several friends and everyone decides to meet at the park. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun. Suddenly, people start talking about bringing weed and getting high. You think that you will be pressured to smoke marijuana, if you go. No one has offered you any, but you think to yourself, “Maybe I should just go and try it.” What are the personal influences (+ & -) inside your head saying? What are the social and object influences (+ & -) affecting your thinkng? What is your solution? What do you do, say, and think to implement your solution?

Inhalents - feel good

Two of your very good friends come to you and tell you they want to try sniffing because they heard that it makes you feel good. You are worried and want to convince them NOT to. What would you say to be convincing.

 

Other medicine and drug use situations .

  • Doctor is prescribing medicine for ...
  • Parent suggest you can have a sip of alcohol.
  • If a person is ill should they use a homeopathic remedy or go to a medical center?
  • What should be your, family rules :
  • What if hanging out with friends where alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs are available. Instead of using substances, he or she can .... exercise, listen to music, call a friend, watch television, read a book,

 

References

Word bank

Addiction is a chronic, recurring brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is a brain disease because drugs change the brain; they change its structure and how it works. All addictive drugs increase dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), which mediates rewards and strengthen connections between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and medium spiny receptors for dopamine .

Advertisement is a public notice or announcement that promotes a product, service, or event.

Alcoholic is a person who has a physical desire to consume alcohol without the ability to control how much they drink. It can be a physical compulsion combined with a mental obsession that can happen at anytime. The alcoholic does not know when nor how to stop drinking. It is an illness or disease with strong genetic ties. Also can be defined as when drinking interferes with his or her family, school, work, or social life. Of all the people who drink alcohol, one out of every ten will become an alcoholic.

Warning signs :

  • Drinking negatively impacts school, work, or social life. Hang over, sick, absent, incomplete and poor work.
  • Use alcohol to deal with difficult or stressful situations or feelings.
  • Repeatedly drink to relieve shyness, fear, or anger.
  • Drink after waking up.
  • Repeatedly drink alone.
  • Need a drink at the same time every day.
  • Memory loss because of drinking.
  • Emotional change when drinking (feel better, moody, irritable ...).

Bias 1: an unfair comparison of one thing, person, or group to another 2: a known or unknown tendency or preference for a particular idea, brand, result, or perspective that interferes with being impartial, unprejudiced, or objective when making a decision. 3: unfairly support one idea or side against another.

Ways bias can be used to influence decision making .

  • With limited options or omission. Selections that offer one point of view by omitting alternatives. Offering only positive consequences and not negative.
  • Placement Information given first or reported on the first page, or beginning of a television or radio newscasts.
  • Use of photos, word selection in captions, camera angles, color, choice of shots.
  • Use of names and titles. Mr. Mrs, Dr. ex-con, terrorist, freedom fighter, ...
  • Use of numbers and statistics to make something a disaster report A hundred injured in air crash rather than only minor injuries in air crash .
  • Selection of information source. A reporter, eyewitness, police, fire official, executive, elected or appointed government officials.
  • Word choice and tone. Use of positive or negative words or words with a particular connotation. Riots, demonstrations, sit-ins, ribbon cuttings, speeches, ceremonies, gathering.

Binge drinking consuming 4 (women) / 5 (men) or more drinks within two hours.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a federal agency in Atlanta, Georgia that tracks and investigates public health concerns and supports health through promotion, prevention and preparation activities to improve overall public health.

Culture is the total of a groups goods, tools, ideas, beliefs, values, ideas about time, and roles that people communicate, share, and teach to each other. See iceberg model of culture .

Depressant a drug that slows the CNS (central nervous system).

Depression is a mental state or prolonged feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, sadness, despair, apathy, and discouragement. Different than grief, which is caused by a real personal loss.

Drug therapy is the use of drugs to treat medical disorders.

Drug addiction therapy is discussion and interventions with professionals intended to guide and help addicted individuals stop compulsive drug use.

Emotions are signals that effect how you feel and can consciously an unconsciously cause body reactions and behaviors.

Empathy is the ability to imagine and understand how someone else feels.

Family - Grand parents, parents, brothers & sisters, aunts & uncles, cousins

Family therapy is when family members meets with a professional therapist to learn how to communicate better, understand each other, and seek solutions for problems in positive ways that bring the family together rather than tear them apart.

Group therapy is when a group of people with a similar situation or problem meet regularly with a professional therapist to discuss ways to cope and live happy and productive lives.

Drug overdose an amount larger than the prescribed or recommended dose. Large doses of prescribed or unprescribed medicines and drugs can lead to addiction and death.

Family

  • Adoptive family is parent or parents and one or more adopted children. May also include biological children.
  • Blended family is married parents and children who can include children of the parents, but also include children from previous marriages.
  • Extended family is parents and children who live in a kinship group and function as a nuclear family. May include various relatives: grandparents, cousins, aunts & uncles, in-laws, or close friends, and colleagues.
  • Foster home is a household in which a child is raised by someone other than its natural or adoptive parent. There may also be other children who may be the parents biological children, blended, adopted or also under foster care.
  • Single-parent family is one parent has custody or total care for one or more children. Caused by divorce, separation, or death.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) a group of alcohol related birth defects. More information .

Illegal drugs are any chemical substance that is illegal for a person of any age to possess, manufacture, buy, or sell.

Influence the power of people, objects, and ideas to effect their behaviors and choices they make that determine their health, character, development, and all other aspects of their lives and others lives.

Intoxication an abnormal state where the body progressively loses physical and mental control. See alcohol data sheet .

Manipulate is a dishonest unfair way to influence or control other people. The following are ways to manipulate

  • Threaten is an action that indicates violence, injury, or punishment will result in retaliation if a specific action is or isn't completed.
  • Blackmail is an action that indicates violence or a payment will result as a consequence if a specific action is or isn't completed.
  • Reward is the act of allowing a favorable action or giving a favorable object as consequence if a specific action is or isn't completed.
  • Coerce is the act of with holding a favorable action or favorable object or using a threat or harm if a specific action is or isn't completed.
  • Mock or tease is the act of physical and verbal actions used to influence a person until a specific action is or isn't done.
  • Guilt trip is the act of physical and verbal blame used to influence a person to perform or not to perform a specific action.
  • Bargain is the act of negotiating with a person to influence them to perform or refrain from performing a specific action.
  • Flatter is the act of saying positive things to a person to influence them to perform or refrain from performing a specific action.
  • Bribe is the act of promising money or a favorable act if a person performs or refrains from performing a specific task.

Media is all the different ways together of mass communication: Internet, web sites, television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, ...

Medicine is a substance or preparation used to treat or prevent disease or other unhealthy or uncomfortable conditions.

Peer pressure the positive and negative influence same age people have on each other.

Personal needs - necessities, food, water, air, safe environment, social needs, physiological dependence, psychological dependence,

Physiological dependence is a condition in which a substance is needed by the user.

Psychological dependence is a state in which a person believes a drug or something else is needed in order to feel good or to function normally.

Rush is a sudden surge of energy, pleasure, or dizziness sensed after the use of a drug. It varies in strength and length of duration depending on the kind of drug, tolerance for the drug, and the amount used.

SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) formerly students against drunk driving. Purpose to help teens be positive role models and abstain from drinking, drug use and driving impaired. MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), The Partnership for a Drug Free America, NCADD (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence), Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA).

Substance abuse is an unnecessary or misuse of a chemical (organic or inorganic). A continued use of alcohol, illegal drugs, or misuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs with negative consequences: hang-over, illness, problems at work, school, home, interpersonal relationships, legal, or physical risks.

Excuses to go with NO.

  • I don’t want to.
  • I’m not into that.
  • Mom would kill me. Mom's find out everything eventually and when my mom finds out she will tell yours.
  • I am driving.
  • I need to go. I’ve got to help ____ (mom) with something.
  • I’m supposed to meet ______ in a few minutes.
  • I don’t have time for ___ .
  • I’d be suspended from the team.
  • I’ve got better things to do with my life.
  • I am loopy enough without it.
  • That stuff makes me sick.
  • No way. I think you just want me to get in trouble.
  • No way I want to change MIP, DUI, DWI.
  • Why would you do that? Haven’t you heard about kids in the news who overdose and die from doing that? I couldn't do that to my parents.
  • You’re crazy! Go ahead if you want to take a chance and kill yourself.
  • I'd rather hang loose than hangover.
  • It's never as much fun as it looks in the media.
  • Bring your own beverage. No thanks I already have ...

 

Additional resources

Home : health

 

Top

Dr. Robert Sweetland's notes
homeofbob.com & thehob.net