BIOLOGY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

NAME :- Jai Tomar

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude

to my teacher Mr. DK. JAMWAL as well as our principal
Mrs. SUNITA GUPTA madam who gave me the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic
TO STUDY ABOUT DRUGS , ADDICTION AND
SOLUTION, which also helped me in doing a lot of
Research and i came to know about so many new
things I am really thankful to them.
Secondly i would also like to thank my parents and
friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project
within the limited time frame.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

i. INTRODUCTION

ii. WHAT IS A DRUG

iii. CLASSIFICATION OF DRUGS

iv. EXAMPLES OF SOME HARMFULL DRUGS

v. WHAT IS ADDICTION/DRUG ADDICTION

vi. HOW DRUG ADDICTION BEGGINS

vii. SMOKING DRING AND USE OF DRUGS AMONG TEENS

viii. EFFECTS OF DRUGS

ix. HARM CAUSED BY DRUGS

x. TOBACCO

xi. ALCOHOL

xii. SOLUTION/CONCLUSION

xiii. REFERENCE
 “TO STUDY ABOUT DRUGS , ADDICTION
AND SOLUTION”

INTRODUCTION

Drug abuse, also called substance abuse or chemical

abuse, is a disorder that is characterized by a
destructive pattern of using a substance that leads to
significant problems or distress. Teens are increasingly
engaging in prescription drug abuse, particularly
narcotics (which are prescribed to relieve severe pain),
and stimulant medications, which treat conditions like
attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy.

Any substance, other than food, used in the prevention,

diagnosis, all aviation or treatment of a disease is called
a drug. Drug is also known as a medicine. Generally, the
term drugs applied to any stimulating or depressing
substance that can be habituating or addictive. A drug,
broadly speaking, can be categorized in many ways;
hard or soft, uppers or downers, addictive or non-
addictive, most harmful or least harmful, legal or illegal
CLASSIFICATION OF DRUGS

TYPE OF DRUG EFFECT EXAMPLES

1. Sedatives & Suppress CNS and give Barbiturates
tranquillizers feeling of calmness ,
relaxation and drowsiness
2. Opiate narcotics Suppresses brain activity Opium
and relaxes pain Morphine
Heroin
3. Stimulants Make a person more alert Caffeine
and active, it causes Cocaine
excitement
4. Hallucinogens Make a person more LSQ
wakeful ,precipitous Ganja
Chares
Hashish

Some Harmful Drugs

1. Heroin:
Commonly used as smack, Heroin is a white, odorless, bitter
crystalline compound. This is obtained by acetylation of
morphine which is extracted from latex of poppy plant Papaver somniferum. Generally
taken by snorting and injection, heroin is a depressant and slows down body function.
2. Meth :
Methamphetamines are stimulants, Someone using meth may experience a temporary
sense of heightened euphoria, alertness, and energy.
Methamphetamines are swallowed, inhaled, smoked, or injected into a vein.
Long-term use can bring on brain damage that causes problems with memory and body
movements, and can cause mood swings and violent behavior
3. Cocaine:
It is obtained from coca plant Erythroxylum coca, native to South America. It interferes
with the transport of the neuro-transmitter dopamine. Cocaine, commonly called coke or
crack is usually snorted. It has the potent stimulating action on central nervous system,
producing sense of euphoria and increased energy. Excessive dosage of cocaine causes
hallucinations.

4. LSD :
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is a synthetic chemical, made from a substance found
in ergot, which is a fungus that infects rye
When small doses are taken, it can produce mild changes in perception, mood and
thought. Larger doses may produce visual hallucinations and distortions of space and
time.
In its pure state, LSD is a white odorless crystalline substance.
5. WEED:
Marijuana is a mind-altering drug, produced by the Cannabis sativa plant.
a. The short-term effects of marijuana include:
Pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated
movement
b. The long-term effects of marijuana include:
Problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking and
problem-solving, and loss of coordination
 WHAT IS ADICTION?
An addiction is a chronic dysfunction of the brain system that involves reward,
motivation, and memory. It’s about the way your body craves a substance or behavior,
especially if it causes a compulsive or obsessive pursuit of “reward” and lack of concern
over consequences.
Someone experiencing an addiction will:
 be unable stay away from the substance or stop the addictive behavior
 display a lack of self-control
 have an increased desire for the substance or behavior
 dismiss how their behavior may be causing problems
 lack an emotional response

DRUG ADDICTION

Drug addiction is a disease that affects a person's brain and behavior and
leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medicine.
Substances such as alcohol, marijuana and nicotine also are considered drugs.
Drug addiction symptoms or behaviors include, among others:

 Feeling that you have to use the drug regularly — daily or

even several times a day

 Having intense urges for the drug that block out any other
thoughts
How drug addiction Begin?
There are many factors that lead people to drug addiction.
1. Curiosity: Frequent references to drugs by public media create curiosity for having a
personal experience of the drugs.
2. Friend’s pressure: Frequent appreciation of drug experience by friends allures others
to start the use of drugs.
3. Frustration and Depression: Some people start taking drugs to get relief from
frustration and depression.
4. Desire for More Work: Students sometimes take drugs to keep awake the whole night
to prepare for examination. It is not desirable as it may cause mental breakdown.
5. Looking for a Different World: A wrong notion that the drugs open up a new world
tempts some young pupils to start taking-drugs.
6. Relief from Pain: A prolonged use of pain-relieving drugs with physician’s advice at
times leads to addiction.
7. Family History: Children may take to drugs by seeing their elders in the family.
8. Excitement and Adventure: The young take to drugs to satisfy their instinct for
excitement and adventure.

Smoking, Drinking and Use of Drugs

Smoking and drinking and use of drugs frequently or regularly are
social diseases. Young people take to these habits for fun, show off or
curiosity, as an adventure or feeling of freedom, or as a gesture of
defiance against the elders who themselves indulge in these activities but
check the youngsters. Temporary escape from the life problems and
mental relaxation felt on taking the drugs in the beginning increase
people’s interest in them. Soon they become habitual and find in difficult
to leave. The daily dose to get the desired effect increases with time.
EFFECTS OF DRUGS
Short-Term Effects
• Loss of appetite
• Increased heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature
• Contracted blood vessels
• Increased rate of breathing
• Dilated pupils
• Disturbed sleep patterns
• Nausea
• Hyperstimulation
• Bizarre, erratic, sometimes violent behavior
• Hallucinations, hyperexcitability, irritability
• Tactile hallucination that creates the illusion of bugs burrowing under the skin
• Intense euphoria
• Anxiety and paranoia
• Depression
• Intense drug craving
• Panic and psychosis
• Convulsions, seizures and sudden death from high doses (even one time)

Long-Term Effects
• Permanent damage to blood vessels of ear and brain, high blood pressure,
leading to heart attacks, strokes and death
• Liver, kidney and lung damage
• Respiratory failure
• Infectious diseases and abscesses if injected
• Malnutrition, weight loss
• Auditory and tactile hallucinations
• Sexual problems, reproductive damage and infertility (for both men and
women)
• Disorientation, apathy, confused exhaustion
• Irritability and mood disturbances
• Increased frequency of risky behavior
• Delirium or psychosis
• Severe depression
• Tolerance and addiction
(even after just one use)
Tobacco
Sources:
It is a native of South Africa, where the Red Indian first started smoking. Now the
tobacco plant has spread the world over. It has large, quote to Lancelot leaves and
terminal clusters of tubular, white or pink flowers.
Modes of Use:
Tobacco is used for smoking, chewing and snuffing. Its main stimulating component is
poisonous volatile alkaid nicotine, which causes addiction. Nicotine synthesis occurs in
the roots of the plant but it is stored in the leaves. The leaves contain 2 to 8% nicotine.
Inhaling tobacco smoke from cigars, cigarettes, biddies, pipes and hubble-bubble is
called smoking. Cigar is a roll of tobacco leaf. Cigarette is cut tobacco wrapped in paper.
Bidi is tobacco wrapped. In a piece of leaf. Tobacco smoke is drawn directly from pipe
and through water is hubble-bubble. Smoking may give some temporary relief to the
strained nerves but in the long run it proves a dangerous health hazard. The quantity of
nicotine contained in one cigar may prove fatal if injected intravenously into a person.
When smoked only 10% of the smoke is inhaled. Hence, no immediate ill effect is
observed. Smokers may develop a physiological craving for nicotine and then they
cannot give up smoking.

Effect of Nicotine:
Nicotine is a low concentration.
(i) Stimulates conduction of nerve impulses.
(ii) Relaxes the muscles.
(iii) Releases adrenaline, increasing heart beat rate and pressure.
(iv) Increased blood pressure due to smoking chances the risk of heart diseases.
(v) Retards fetal growth in expecting mothers

Alcohol
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol,
Ethanol is a centrally-acting drug with a depressant effect. Beer is an alcoholic beverage
and thus has the same harmful effects as other kinds of alcohol, depending on the
quantity consumed.
Reasons for Drinking:
• Psychological factors are curiosity, poor stress
control, escape from reality, poor impulse control, low self – esteem, positive attitudes
towards alcohol, to get rid of problems, to overcome loneliness, relief from tension and
to gain courage.
• Social factors are peer pressure, modeling, easy availability of alcohol in the market,
party culture, family environment (Parent/s drinking alcohol), lack of family support, to
keep up social norms and to show their masculinity.
• Biological factors are genetic vulnerability like family history of alcoholism in parents
or near relatives and to get sleep.

Health Problems:
Alcohol can damage every system of our body.
Gastro intestinal system (stomach and intestines): Increased acid secretion leading to
acidity, ulcers, gastritis, and cancer
Liver : Hepatitis, jaundice and vomiting of blood due to cirrhosis of liver, liver cancer,
acute liver failure.
Pancreas : Pancreatic damage due to inflammation of pancreas and acute pancreatitis
leading to sudden death.
Central nervous system: (brain and spinal cord): Permanent damage of brain resulting in
memory disturbances, other nervous problems, fits and mental illnesses.
Cardio vascular system: High blood pressure, increased tendency to heart attacks,
enlargement of the heart.
Hangovers: Excessive drinking can lead to hangovers, thus causing problems like
headache, nausea, vomit and body aches.
Weight gain: alcohol consumption in larger quantities can lead to weight gain, because
alcoholic beverages are usually high in calories.
Weak immune system: alcohol consumption makes your immune system weak, thus
making your body more susceptible to infections.
Cancer: alcohol when consumed in excessive quantities puts you at a higher risk of
developing cancer
Fetal alcohol syndrome: Drinking alcohol in pregnancy may cause the Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome (physical abnormalities, growth retardation and developmental delay).

SOULUTION
What quitting drugs feels like

When you reduce or quit using drugs your body goes through a detoxification
process (detox) or withdrawal.

Symptoms vary between people, and between drugs, and range from mild to
serious. They can last from a few days to a few weeks — it's different for every
person — but they are temporary.

Here are the ways to prevent substance abuse:

 Understand how substance abuse develops.
 Avoid Temptation and Peer Pressure.
 Seek help for mental illness.
 Examine the risk factors.
 Keep a well-balanced life.
Reference

1. Comprehensive Laboratory Manual In Biology

2. Biology Text Book– NCERT
3. http://www.wikipedia.org/