CDI 7 – VICE AND DRUG EDUCATION AND
CONTROL proper medicinal supervision is called the non-
LESSON TWO
NATURE AND PHYSIOLOGY OF DRUGS
Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the learner
should be able to a) recall the possible outcome
of self-medication syndrome b) define drug and
distinguished drugs according to origin c)
provide an example of a prescriptive drug with
the receipt of a physician.
Concepts: Drug Abuse starts from a compulsion
state followed by tolerance until the person is
hooked to the drug use, that is, he will be
physically addicted to the drug being used then
latter on psychological dependent to it.
A. WHAT ARE DRUGS?
A drug, as defined, is a substance used
as a medicine or in making medicines, which
affects the body and mind and have potential for
abuse. Without an advice or prescription from a
physician, drugs can be harmful.
Hundreds of pure chemicals have been
developed from plants and put into pills,
capsules or liquid medicines. There are also two
forms of drugs, natural and synthetic/artificial.
The natural drugs include natural plant leaves,
flowering tops, resin, hashish, opium, and
marijuana, while the synthetic drugs are
produced by clandestine laboratories which
include those drugs that are controlled by law
because they are used in the medical practice.
Physicians prescribe them and are purchased in
the legitimate outlets like drugstores.
Drugs also help the human body and
mind to function better during illness. But drugs
have to be taken correctly in order to do these
things. The wrong drug or the wrong amount of
the right one can make illness, worse, destroy
blood cells, damage the body and many cause
death. For this reason, most drugs can be legally
purchased only with doctor’s written order called
prescription. Only a medical doctor can
prescribe medical drugs. These prescribed
drugs could be dangerous and must be used
with care and according to the doctor’s
prescription.
The practice of taking drugs without
medical use of drugs or drug abuse.
The Prescriptive Drugs
These are drugs requiring written
authorization from a doctor to allow a purchase.
They are prescribed according to the individual’s
age, weight and height and should not be taken
by anyone else. It is a personal requirements
and self-medication that should be strictly
avoided. The pharmacist should never allow the
consumer to request them knowingly without
first consulting a doctor.
Once again strict emphasis of following
directions needs to be stated. In addition to
dosage, the physician indicates both when and
for how long the medicine should be taken.
Theses directions are intended to safeguard the
patient from needlessly treating himself after his
illness has been brought under control or from
prematurely stopping a drug because he thinks
he s well. Since the chemistry of the body is
subtle and variable, only a physician should have
the responsibility of prescribing and directing
the use of drugs in the treatment of illnesses.
The Over-the-Counter Drugs (OTC)
The OTC drugs are non-prescription
medicines, which may be purchased from any
pharmacy or drugstore without written
authorization from a doctor. They are used to
treat minor and short-term illness and any
persistent condition should be immediately
referred to a physician. It should be strongly
emphasized that “directions” be closely followed
and all precautions necessarily taken to avoid
complications.
OTC drugs are used for the prevention
and symptomatic relief of minor ailments. The
precautions that must be observed when
dispensing OTCs are the following:
1. The correct drug with the correct drug
content is given to the correct patient in
the correct dosage form;
2. The pharmacist must counsel the
patient to make sure that he/she takes
drugs correctly; and
 3. The pharmacist must be aware of and
know about the possible toxicity’s
possessed by the OTC drugs to avoid
food/drug incompatibilities and
overdoses.
OTCs must be used properly in order to:
1. Avoid the dispensing of OTC to known
identified habitual drug users.
2. Avoid complications, this is done by
inquiring from the buyer of the drug as
to identity of the patient, the patient’s
age and other information such as
pregnancy, hypertension, etc. and
3. Counseling the patient so as to avoid
the “self-medication” syndrome by
inquiring about the buyer’s source of
information about the drug.
What is “Self-Medication Syndrome”?
The “self-medication” syndrome is found
in users and would be users of drugs whose
sources of information are people or literature
ither than doctors, pharmacists and health
workers. These could be members of the family,
relatives and/or neighbors, all of whom may
have previously used the drug for their specific
disease or disorder. Self-medication may work
against the good of the user because it can lead
to intoxication and other adverse reactions.
The possible outcomes of self-
medication are:
1. Adverse reaction towards the drug, such
as allergies which may be mild or
severe.
2. Possible non-response of the patient to
the drug effectively due to incorrect drug
usage.
3. Possible drug toxicities, through
overdose which may lead to severe
reactions such as nausea, vomiting,
rashes, etc.
4. Possible habit-forming characteristics
due to periodic use of the drugs even
when such are no longer needed.
fluids of the body. Similar to normal body
chemicals, a drug enters a cell and participates
in a few steps of the normal sequence of a
cellular process. Thus, drugs may later, interfere
with or replace chemicals of normal cellular life,
hopefully for the betterment of the person. The
actual action of a particular drug depends on its
chemical make-up.
When two drugs are taken together or
within a few hours of each other they may
interact with unexpected results. This is one
reason a physician should always know the
names of all drugs one is using. A dose of a drug
is the amount taken at one time. The doses
taken become an extremely important part of
drug abuse. The amount of drug in a dose can
be described as:
1. Minimal dose – the amount needed to
treat or heal, that is, the smallest
amount of a drug that will produce a
therapeutic effect.
2. Maximal dose – the largest amount of a
drug that will produce a therapeutic
effect, without any accompanying
symptoms of toxicity.
3. Toxic dose – the amount of drug that
produces untoward effects or
symptoms of poisoning.
4. Abusive dose – the amount needed to
produce the side effects and action
desired by an individual who improperly
uses it.
5. Lethal dose – the amount of drug that
will cause death.
Prepared by: MR. DANIEL M. SARMIENTO
Faculty, CCJE

B. THE PHYSIOLOGY OF DRUGS

How Drug Works?

Most drugs act within a cell, rather than

on the surface of a cell or in the extra-cellular