Drugs & Behaviour Course Introduction PDF

Dr. Michelle St. Pierre, R. Psych. Drugs & Behaviour  Land Acknowledgement We are gathered on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) peoples.  Who am I? Assistant professor at UVic 2023-2024 Post-Doctora...

Dr. Michelle St. Pierre, R. Psych. Drugs & Behaviour  Land Acknowledgement We are gathered on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) peoples.  Who am I? Assistant professor at UVic 2023-2024 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow @ UBC with Paul Stamets and Dr. Zach Walsh Published and presented widely on cannabis and psychedelic use and mental health Clinical psychologist (#2923) Ketamine-assisted therapy at EntheoMed Clinic Lead study therapist on COMPASS clinical trial of psilocybin for depression Private practice: anxiety, mood, OCD, trauma Trained in addictions treatment at UBC Problematic Substance Use Clinic Paul Stamets from Fantastic Fungi  Your turn! In groups of 2-3 Introduce yourself and share a summer break memory  How I teach Your success is my #1 priority – we both must show up equally! Kindness, compassion, high expectations (of myself and of you), and humour Respect is bi-directional We don’t have to agree to learn from each other – difference is the basis of learning and the essence of change Critical thinking and perspective taking are very important in this course and in life You will be different after you take this course My door is always (figuratively) open  Syllabus Almost all problems can be avoided If other problems arise, email me. Questions? – everyone has them. If by reading the syllabus and making you are thinking it, probably someone note of dates and requirements else is too! Evaluative components  Required-ish readings Drugs and Behavior: There will be a few questions on the An Introduction to Behavioral midterms and final drawn from these books Pharmacology, 8th and it may not be things that are explicitly $61.50 mentioned in the lectures.  Recommended learning strategies 1 2 3 4 Read chapter prior Participate in class Contact instructor Give feedback on to class discussion or TA via email or in what is helpful or office hours for not helpful additional questions  Subject matter… This course is unique This course is not strictly about addiction or harms Most of us have preconceived notions and strongly held beliefs about drugs Discussion Course progression  What is a drug? A substance that alters the physiology of the body but is not a food or nutrient. We will focus on psychoactive drugs o cross the blood-brain barrier o act upon the central nervous system o affect brain function o change perception, mood consciousness, cognition, behavior o used recreationally, entheogenically, medically  Basic Pharmacology Names of Drugs Chemical Name Generic Name Trade Name Street Name  Drug Names A drug’s chemical name reveals its chemical composition and molecular structure Pharmaceutical companies also may patent brand names, or trade names, for their product Generic drugs o contain same active ingredients as the original brand name drug o must be pharmacologically equivalent o naming convention (i.e., stem) Drug Names  Drug Names During development and marketing, pharma companies can patent a drug for a certain time so that no other company can sell it (~20-year period) Pharma company sells drug under the trade name, proprietary name, or brand name No other company can use that name E.g., the trade name for diazepam is Valium Once the patent expires, other companies can sell the drug Off-label use?  Drug Names Excipients  Drug Names Excipients Carrier medium o USA - selling 100 doses of pure LSD = minimum sentence < 1yr o 100 doses on paper = Min sentence two years, three months o 100 doses on sugar cubes = Min sentence > 15 years “..an almost unfathomable level of ignorance about drugs on the part of the policy maker…These are men and women who know nothing about drugs” - Eric Sterling - president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation and a former assistant counsel to the House Subcommittee on Crime.  Drug Names Sarafem Marketed by its manufacturer, Eli Lilly, for PMDD treatment after it acquired another patent--Prozac's patent was due to expire. Lilly spent more than $30 million promoting the drug