Drug Use : An Overview

Page 7 notes

Page 7 Definitions and Overview• Drug use affects:• Every age group• Every racial/ethnic group• Every SES (socio-economic status)• Every geographic division• http://www.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2k11Results/NSDUHresults2

011.pdf

• The Cost of Drugs in the U.S.• Americans spent $100 billion to $150 billion a year on illicit drugs• Americans consume greater than 60% of the world’s illicit drugs• Drug offenders account for over 50% of all inmates in federal

prisons• College students spend over $4 billion annually for alcohol• Tobacco & nicotine kill us at a rate of 300,000 a year…more than all

of the drugs combined!

Definitions and Overview• Revolutionary Uses of Drugs• Vaccines: (19th century):

– Small pox, diphtheria, polio, whooping cough, measles, chicken pox, mumps, tetanus (preventable)

• Antibiotics: (1940’s)• Sulfa drugs, penicillin (treat infections) • Psychopharmacology: (1950’s)

– Anti-psychotic drugs • Oral Contraceptives: (1950’s)• Contributed to the sexual revolution

Definitions and Overview

Drug Use Risk Factors• Early use • Using alone• Peer pressure • Parental approval • Perceived adult use • Little religious commitment