This lesson addresses the harmful effects of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs on a young person's body. It also covers the primary reasons why students try illicit drugs.
Examines the relationship between drugs, politics, and society in cross-cultural perspective; use of mind-altering and habit-forming substances by "traditional societies"; the development of a global trade in sugar, opium, and cocaine with the rise of capitalism; and the use and abuse of alcohol, LSD, and Prozac in the US. Finishes by looking at the war on drugs, shifting attitudes to tobacco, and by evaluating America's drug laws.
Provides an introduction to global tobacco control. Presents the health and economic burden of tobacco use worldwide and highlights practical approaches to tobacco prevention, control, surveillance, and evaluation. Examines transnational tobacco control issues, including the following: the interpretation and packaging of epidemiologic evidence for policy makers, the determinants of tobacco addiction, the economics of global tobacco control, tobacco industry strategies, legal foundations for regulation, and basic surveillance and evaluation methods using lectures, case-studies, and discussion.
Students will research the laws around tobacco of another part of the world and write a brief narrative from the perspective living in the environment created by those regulations.
Students will research the laws relating to tobacco in their own and other jurisdictions, debating the most effective approaches.
Anabolic steroids are artificial versions of a hormone that's in all of us -- testosterone. Some people take anabolic steroid pills or injections to try to build muscle faster. But these steroids also have other effects. They can cause changes in the brain and body that increase risks for illness and they may affect moods.
Hand out this "damage diagram" activity and help kids understand the big picture about steroids' side effects.
Try this activity to get the brain going and the discussion flowing. In this activity, first present the students with a list to memorize (on whiteboard or flip chart). Tell the students they have 1 minute only to memorize the list. Then, after 1 minute, take the list away. Have the students write down as many as they can remember. Have them call them out and write them on the board. Ask them how many they got correct. Use this activity as a lead-in to the discussion that follows about the brain and addiction.
These games extend uponand reinforce the lessons in the Mind Over Matter series. Students can test their knowledge with the nine games on this site.
Cocaine is made from the leaf of the coca plant. It often comes in the form of a white powder that some people inhale through their nose. Another form of cocaine, known as crack, can be smoked. Cocaine changes the way the brain works by changing the way nerve cells communicate.
Find out how much your students know or don't know about ecstasy. Have them try this quiz.
Teach your children/students the connection between drugs and HIV infection.
Hallucinogens powerfully affect the brain, distorting the way our five senses work and changing our impressions of time and space. When people use these drugs a lot they may have a hard time concentrating, communicating, or telling the difference between reality and illusion.
Maybe you haven't heard of inhalants, but you probably come across them pretty often. Hair spray, gasoline, spray paint -- they are all inhalants, and so are lots of other everyday products. Many inhalants have a strong smell. That's why they're called inhalants: Some people inhale the vapors on purpose. Why would anyone do this? Because the chemicals in these vapors can change the way the brain works, and those changes can make people feel very happy for a short time. But inhalants can also do harm.
Students will learn how the chemicals in inhalants can change how the brain and body work by finding their match.
You may have heard it called pot, weed, grass, ganja or skunk, but marijuana by any other name is still a drug that affects the brain. Did you know marijuana can cause some people to lose focus on events around them? It makes others more aware of their physical sensations, and it has still more effects on other people. All these different changes are caused by chemicals that affect the brain. More than 400 chemicals are in the average marijuana plant. When smoked, heat produces even more of them!
A friend on "weed" is a friend in need-of your kids' knowledge. Download and discuss this email-writing activity.
Methamphetamine is a powerful drug. It acts by changing how the brain works. It also speeds up many functions in the body. Methamphetamine has a chemical structure that is similar to another drug called amphetamine that I explore in my magazine on stimulants. Methamphetamine can cause lots of harmful things, including inability to sleep, paranoia, aggressiveness, and hallucinations.
Opiates are made from opium, which comes from the poppy plant. They can have important medical benefitsŃthey're powerful painkillers, they are sometimes prescribed to control severe diarrhea, and they can also be found in cough medicine. Maybe you've heard of drugs called Vicodin, morphine or codeine. These are examples of opiates. When used properly for medical purposes, they can be very helpful. Opiates used without a doctor's prescription or in ways other than how they are prescribed, can be dangerous and addictive.
Doctors decide how much of a drug to give a person based on that personŐs age, size, and medical history. By doing so, doctors oversee the safe and proper use of prescription drugs. Abuse is when someone takes a prescription drug without a doctorŐs prescription or in a way or amount that is different from what was prescribed. Abuse of prescription drugs can have serious and harmful health effects, including poisoning and even death.
