VICE AND DRUG

EDUCATION AND
CONTROL
The Nature of Drugs
 What are drugs?

A drug is a chemical substance used as a

medicine or in making medicines which
affects the body and mind and have potential
for abuse.
 Two major divisions of drugs:
Legal drugs
■ refer to the drug where it is legally permitted
by the government’s law for such medical
purposes.
■ In medicinal purposes, the ingredients are
active to treat and cure people of disease.
Illegal drugs
■ are chemicals that a person is not allowed by
law to have. They are often addictive. Such
drugs that are illegal by the country generate
stimulants.
 Category of Drugs

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.
Over – the- Counter Drugs
■ These are non – prescription medicine, which may be purchased
from any pharmacy or drugstore without, written authorization
from a doctor.
■ They are use to treat minor and short term illnesses.
 Two forms of Drugs

■ Natural Drugs – includes natural plant leaves,

flowering tops, resin, hashish, opium, and Marijuana.

■ Synthetic/Artificial Drugs – produced by

clandestine laboratories which include those drugs
that are controlled by law because they are used in
the medical practice.
 Physiology of Drugs
How Drugs Work?
1. Minimal dose  amount needed to treat or heal that is, the smallest
amount of a drug that will produce a therapeutic effect.
2. Maximal dose  largest amount of a drug that will produce a desired
therapeutic effect without any accompanying symptoms of toxicity.
3. Toxic dose  amount of drug that produces untoward effects or
symptoms.
4. Abusive dose  amount needed to produce the side effects and
action desired by the individual who improperly uses it.
5. Lethal dose  the amount of drug that will cause death.
 How Drugs are administered?
1. Oral
■ this is the safest and most convenient and economical
route whenever possible.
2. Injection
■ this form of drug administration offers a faster response
than the oral method. It makes use of a needle or other
device to deliver the drugs directly into the body tissue
and blood circulation.
 How Drugs are administered?
3. Inhalation
■ this route makes use of gaseous and volatile drugs, which are
inhaled and absorbed rapidly through the mucous of the
respiratory tract.
4. Topical
■ This refers to the application of drugs directly to a body site such
as the skin and the mucous membrane.
5. Iontophoresis
■ the introduction of drugs into the deeper layers of the skin by the
use of special type of electro current for local effect.
 What are some Medical uses of Drugs?
1. Analgesics - are drugs that relieve pain.
2. Antibiotics - are drugs that combat or control infectious
organism.
3. Antipyretics - those that can lower body temperature or
fever due to infection.
4. Antihistamines - those that control or combat allergic
reactions.
5. Contraceptives - drugs that prevent the meeting of the egg cell
and sperm cell or prevent the ovary from releasing egg cells.
 What are some Medical uses of Drugs?
6. Decongestants - those that relieve congestion of the nasal
passages.
7. Expectorants - those that can ease the expulsion of mucus and
phlegm from the lungs and the throat.
8. Laxatives - those that stimulate defecation and encourage
bowel movement.
9. Sedatives and Tranquilizer - are those that can calm and quiet
the nerves and relieve anxiety without causing depression and
clouding of the mind.
10. Vitamins - those substances necessary for normal growth and
development and proper functioning of the body.
 Dangerous drugs

refer to the broad categories or classes of

controlled substances. Controlled substances
are generally grouped according to
pharmacological classifications, effects and as
to their legal criteria.
Thank you….