Drug Use History and Effects

Leaarning Objectives

• Students will gain a basic understanding of drugs, including their definition, types, and effects on the body.
• Students will understand the history of drugs, local and international trends in the illegal drug trade.
• Students will identify the top 10 most commonly used illegal drugs worldwide and the routes used to sell them in the Philippines and abroad.

A Brief History of Drug Use

• Humans have used various drugs and intoxicating substances for thousands of years.
• Consumption of wine dates back to the early Egyptians.
• Use of narcotics dates back to 4000 BCE.
• Marijuana use in China for medicinal purposes dates back to 2737 BCE.
• Extracting active substances from drugs for human consumption began in the 19th century.
• Substances like laudanum, morphine, and cocaine were unregulated and freely prescribed by physicians.
• These were available through patent medicines and sold by various methods like traveling salesmen, drugstores, and mail-order.
• Morphine use surged during the American Civil War.
• Opium dens became widespread around the early 1900s

Motivations for Drug Use

• People use drugs for relaxation, stress relief, increased energy levels, peer pressure, pain relief, escapism, increased self-esteem, and recreation purposes.
• Stimulants are used for alertness in jobs.
• Cocaine is used for a feeling of excitement.
• Anabolic steroids are used to increase muscle mass by athletes and body builders.

Worldwide Trends in Illegal Drug Production and Trafficking

• Drug use rates in Asia (amphetamine-type stimulants) are low compared to global averages, but a notable number of users exist.
• These trends include new market spaces and transport methods being used to engage in drug trafficking.

Bheir an quiz seo beachd air eachdraidh na drogaichean, a' toirt a-steach an cleachdadh agus na buaidhean a th' aca air a' bhodhaig. Thèid dhut ceann-latha a thighinn coimhead air na drogaichean as miosa a thathas a' cleachdadh air feadh an t-saoghail. Gheibh thu eòlas air rathaidean reic nam drogaichean cuideachd.