Pick Your Poison

Mescaline

Mescaline is a hallucinogen. It is the principal active ingredient of the peyote plant, a cactus. In order to produce the hallucinogenic feeling, “buttons” located at the top of the plant can be cut, dried and chewed, or it can be done synthetically. Street terms for this drug are Mesc, Buttons, Cactus, and Peyote. Mescaline is taken orally and can last up to 12 hours (DAODAS).  Possible effects of the drug include but are not limited to illusions/hallucinogens, psychosis, sweating, increased heart rate and blood pressure, nausea, and impaired coordination. If a user overdoses on mescaline they are likely to experience longer lasting and more intense effects, and possibly death. There are no medical uses for this drug (DAODAS).

     

Mescaline has been used by natives in northern Mexico and southwestern United States for religious purposes. Natives, however, do not abuse this drug and so any study done on them cannot be used to fully understand the effects that mescaline has on abusers (NIDA drugabuse.gov). For abusers and addicts of hallucinogens there are no concrete treatments. Treatment for intoxication and withdrawal usually included some form of sedative, often to help with aggressive behavior.  Some medications can be used for addiction treatment to calm the mind and body while going through withdrawal. Therapies are also common to help the patient get past the need or desire for drugs to alter their mind (Recovery Connection).

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As shown in the chart above, mescaline is a Schedule I drug in the U.S. This means that there is no medical use for it, it is unsafe to use even under medical watch, and it has strong potential for abuse (DEA Diversion Control). Other Drugs that fall under Schedule I are heroin, marijuana, and ecstasy.

The affect that mescaline has on family and society is troublesome. This drug, while being used and while going through withdrawal, can cause very aggressive behavior and severe medical complications. It is not widely used compared to other hallucinogens but it can still have a very negative affect on the community and society. It has high potential for abuse, making this drug very dangerous for anyone who uses it as well as anyone who comes into contact with the user. 

References

Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services. Retrieved from                 http://www.daodas.state.sc.us/profile_peyote-mescaline.asp

National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved from            http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/hallucinogens-lsd-peyote-psilocybin-pcp

Recovery Connection. Retrieved from

http://www.recoveryconnection.org/hallucinogen-addictioin- treatment-withdrawal/

U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from        http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/index.html#define

Habits

According to dictionary.com a habit is "an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary". In some ways habits have similar qualities to addictions. As an experiment to get a feel for addiction treatment, I am to choose a habit I possess and try to change that specific behavior. The behavior that I want to change is nail biting. This is a habit I have had for as long as I can remember. For a while, the only time I would bite my nails was when I was nervous or anxious. Over time it developed into a natural behavior and now I bite my nails without even realizing it.

In the past I have tried numerous times to stop this habit but it never lasted more than 2 or 3 weeks. I have tried painting my nails, using special polish meant for this purpose, and having family and friends urge me to stop. I even tried making it a competition with my cousin to give me more motivation but none of these attempts worked in the long-term. This time I am going to try all of the above. I want to completely stop this behavior. On a scale from 0-10 (10 being the most dedicated) I would rank myself at 8 on dedication to this experiment. Starting Saturday I am going to start painting my nails with the specific polish and my friends are going to do their best to keep me from biting my nails. I definitely think having my friends and family involved is important because half of the time I don’t realize I am biting my nails so I need others to watch for it as well. 

Week 1:

This first week of changing my behavior of biting my nails has proved successful. I have used all of the techniques I had planned on using (nail polish specific for this problem, regular nail polish, and help from friends) and it has worked. Thanks to my roommates there are post-it notes all over my room saying “don’t bite your nails” and they have been helpful. Although I have done well so far, the hardest part is still to come.  I have given it up in the past for a few weeks so I know I can do it again. It’s giving it up for good that will be the problem.

           Week 2:

 Two weeks into quitting nail biting and I am still successful. It is getting harder, but I have still succeeding in stopping all together. I have come close to slipping up a few times but friends have stopped me. The problem with changing this behavior is that I do not realize when I am doing it. The horribly tasting nail polish helps with this, as do my friends staying on the lookout. I also catch myself picking at my nails rather than biting them which is not good either. I don’t know how I can change my plan to accommodate this as well but I will continue brain storming. Over all changing this behavior is very helpful. When I used to bite my nails they would often get so short that it hurt, sometimes they would even bleed. I am very happy to say that this is not the case anymore. I only hope that I can keep it up.

 Week 3:

I am still doing well with giving up nail biting. However, I have noticed myself being more tempted this week. I have not been painting my nails as often so I think that is part of my problem but I have also been more stressed out this week. Since stress and nerves are what started my habit, I think those are going to be the hardest times to stop. The best thing I can do is keep painting my nails and maybe find something else to do when I am stressed or nervous such as gum chewing. I think this is the longest I have ever gone without biting my nails so I hope that is a good sign that I can change this behavior for good!

Week 4:

This week has been a little more difficult for me. Stress has been building up and so have my nerves. I haven't been keeping up with painting my nails and today I caved in. The second I started biting my nails I realized what I was doing and I made myself stop. It was very difficult to do and giving in that one time made it a lot more difficult to stop myself later in the day. I have repainted my nails and I hope it helps. It is definitely important that I stay on top of this because it is clear that I am still not able to change this behavior without some help. On a positive note, I am happy that I recognized my behavior the second I started biting my nail. In the past I didn't even realize I was doing it until someone told me. I think this is a great sign and I hope I keep improving.

Week 5:

The past few weeks have gone pretty well. I had one bad slip up where I started biting my nails because of stress and I had a difficult time stopping. Nobody around me knew about my attempting and giving it up so I did not have the help of friends yelling at me. I was very angry with myself afterwards but then I realized that being mad wouldn't help so I began focusing on getting a good streak back. So far so good. Hopefully I won't "relapse" again.

Week 6:

This week was a little more difficult. With break coming up I have been very stressed out trying to get my work done. I bit my nails a couple of times and it was very difficult to stop. Once I had the chance I filed them and repainted them to prevent me from doing it again. I told my friends and family and they said they would help keep a closer watch for me. I thought that if I had been doing well for so long then I would have to put as much effort in but now I know it is a long term effort.

Week 7:

This week has not been good for my behavior change. I have bit my nails on multiple occasions, even to the point where they are so short they hurt. Part of it might be stress but nothing this week has been much more stressful than the typical work load. I think my biggest problem is that I am getting too comfortable with the progress I was making so I did not put in as much effort to keep up the change. I need to get back into the routine of constantly working to change this habit if I want to give it up for good... which I really really do. I need to repaint my nails and come up with a way to remind myself throughout the day to stop biting them.

Week 8:

This was a bed week for me. I have not taken any of my steps I mentioned previously to get back on track. I wouldn't say that I've given up completely (I'm still better off than I was before) but I has definitely slid down on my priority list. In order to really succeed in changing this habit I need to be fully focused. I really do want to change this habit an I plan to get back on track asap. When an addict tries to get treatment, recovery must be the number one priority. When family, work and other things get in the way it makes the recovery process much harder. I guess this is a much more severe version of my problem now. 


Week 9:

This week was much better. I have not caved into my bad habit of biting my nails at all. I was definitely more focused than the previous couple of weeks and it paid off. I re-painted my nails and paid close attention to my actions. When completing the readings for this week I found it difficult to connect my habit to an addiction. There are not differences in my habit based off of gender, race, age, etc. as there can be with addiction and addiction treatment. 



Cocaine

History

Cocaine is a very addictive drug. It gives the user a lot of energy and it usually makes them happy and overly confident. Using cocaine can cause a number of severe side effects such as heart attacks, strokes, and seizures. It goes by the street names coke, snow, flake, and blow (USA.gov).

Cocaine use can date back over 1000 years with the Amara Indians of Peru. Medical problems with it, however, did not come around until the late 1800’s. The reason there were no complications with the drug in South America was because it was used in the form of a chewing leaf. In this form only a small amount of cocaine will reach the brain and therefore will prevent health issues. In Europe during the 1860’s there was a similar situation with wine. The French government had regulations for wine and the amount of alcohol and cocaine that was permitted to be in it. This kept the intake amount very low. Because of this restriction, medical complications due to cocaine did not arise until the 1880’s (Karch).

In 1884 cocaine use significantly increased because of Sigmund Freud and Karl Koller. Freud published a paper, “On Coca,” discussing his view on cocaine (heretical.com). This piece explained Freud’s belief that cocaine could be used to treat many medical conditions. A few months later Koller did tests to reveal that cocaine was a local anesthetic for eye surgery (Karch). The amount of cocaine being produced sky rocketed but coca leaves lose a lot of the content of cocaine when travelling. To fix this set back in shipping a major cocaine producer discovered a way to make semi-refined cocaine. After this, cocaine was much cheaper and easier to ship. The manufacturing of syringes also contributed to the rise in cocaine use and abuse (Karch).

In the 1980’s, America had a large outbreak of cocaine production and abuse. It is possible that this was because ‘crack’ cocaine was not as expensive at powdered cocaine but this has not been proven. Smoking ‘crack’ cocaine has a larger effect on the brain than using it in any other form. Prices are still declining. To this day South America is producing the most about of cocaine with South East Asia as the runner up (Karch).

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My Thoughts

While researching cocaine I came across quite a few surprises. It was interesting to learn that cocaine was used in wine but was not considered dangerous. I was also surprised that Freud played a huge part in the increased use of cocaine. The price is still declining which most likely means that cocaine is becoming more and more available. At this rate the problem with cocaine abuse and addiction will only get worse. My fear is that there will not be any way to put a stop to it.

Government Influences

Government has had a strong influence on substance abuse from the beginning. The French Government placed a restriction on the about allowed in wine in the 1860’s. Today the U.S. government still plays a large role in substance use and abuse. “Trafficking 500 grams of powder cocaine draws the same 5-year sentence as trafficking in 5 grams of crack” (Van Wormer). There are many laws against illegal drugs. Some are designed to prevent the incoming of drugs while others raise consequences for drug users. Much effort has been put in to stop these crimes but if substance abuse is going to be stopped it is clear that more needs to be done. 

Refrences

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1297313/

http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/cocaine

Van Wormer, Katherine & Davis, Diane. Addiction Treatment.

Intro blog

Why did you choose to take this course? 
I have recently decided to take on the human services minor. After looking through all my possibilities, this class caught my eye as the most interesting as well as most agreeable with my schedule. My interest in taking this class is very high because, although I am not sure exactly what I want to do when I graduate, learning about addiction could assist me in the workplace as well as in my personal life.

By the end of the course, what do you want to know?
I have a strong interest in how addiction affects different age groups. By the end of this course I would like to have a good understanding of how addiction differs with various generations and if age affects the approach one must take in order to treat their addiction.