7.ATOD.1 Understand the health risks associated with alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.

Transcription

1 Essential Standard 7.ATOD.1 Understand the health risks associated with alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. Clarifying Objective 7.ATOD.1.4 Explain how drug dependence and addiction create barriers to achieving personal goals. Materials Needed: One dark balloon 5-7 other light color balloons (different from the dark one) Magic marker Appendix 1 Copies of Drug Dependence Definitions PowerPoint: Your Brain on Drugs Appendix 2a Professions Appendix 2b Types of Drug Abuse Either Appendix 3 or 4a, b Only one appendix needed: Appendix 3 teacher copy of Drug Abuse and Addiction Truth or Myth Two index cards for each student, one of which is blue Appendix 4a Crossword Puzzle (copies for each student) Appendix 4b Crossword Puzzle answers for teacher Focus: Option 1 [Prepare balloons ahead of time.] The dark balloon is only partially blown up. All the light colored balloons should be blown up fully and with a magic marker have some aspect of the student s life written on it, e.g., friends, family, job, faith, sports, school, boyfriend, or girlfriend. Ask a group of five volunteers to come to the front of the room. They are to stand in a circle holding hands. They are to keep the balloons afloat without breaking the circle. They can use their feet, shoulders, elbows, heads, but cannot let go of the person beside them. The first balloon is a red or dark balloon that is only semi-full. Tell students: You are trying to keep this balloon in the air if at all possible! This balloon will be the hardest to keep up in the air and is the ONLY balloon they MUST keep in the air. When it hits the ground, the activity ends. The students start off with the dark balloon and it seems to be fairly easy. Then you throw another balloon, blown all the way up, into the circle. After a little bit, throw yet another full balloon in, then another. After three balloons, they will probably not be able to keep them all afloat and will let some hit the ground to keep the dark one up. Throw more light ones in. Eventually, the dark one hits the ground. Once the dark balloon hits the floor, tell students: The dark balloon represented an addictive drug such as crystal meth, heroin, or cocaine. The other balloons that I added 7.ATOD.1.4, page 1

2 NC School Health Training Center NC Association for the Advancement of Health Education for the group to keep in the air represented some aspect of the student s life: friends, family, job, faith, sports, school, boyfriend, or girlfriend. This activity is meant to represent the strength, problems, and devastation of addiction. In order to maintain a drug habit, (or keep the balloon afloat), the student will sacrifice all the really important things in their lives (all the other balloons). One loses control of their life. This quite accurately parallels real addiction. Ask the students who were watching if they thought it was hard or easy. Help students conclude that an addictive drug can take over a person s life and cause them to neglect all other responsibilities. Option 2 Ask students to create a Positive Personal Slogan, and then list the top one to three things they want to do when they are adults. This may be, but is not necessarily what they will do to earn their living. Refrain from using the words, What do you want to be when you grow up? It may be necessary for the teacher to go first, or present a few other student examples in order to get the class started. Examples: Positive Personal Slogan: Exercise, Eat Right, Keep Fit Adult goals: Go to college and become a member of the NBA Positive Personal Slogan: Learn to be a Greener me Adult goals: To be an environmental scientist Positive Personal Slogan: Exercise Kindness Adult goals: Climb Mount Everest, Visit Paris, Have my own modeling business. When students have had time to complete the task, ask for those who would volunteer to share their slogans and goals. -Ask if their goals tie to their future aspirations. -Ask them if they think doing drugs would impede their ability to reach these goals. How? - Keep the discussion focused on how important it is to remain in control if you are going to reach your goals. Review: Option 1 Share copies of the Drug Dependence Definitions in Appendix 1. Let the students have a few minutes to read them. Ask them if they understand the words Addiction and Habitual. 7.ATOD.1.4, page 2

3 NC School Health Training Center NC Association for the Advancement of Health Education Option 2 Click on The Films (upper right-hand corner). Select a video you would like to preview and click on it. Preview the video before showing it to your class. Statement of Objectives: In today s lesson, we are going to explore drug dependence and addiction and look at how they create barriers to achieving personal goals. Teacher Input: Option 1 Use the attached PowerPoint. It is divided into two sections: Parts of the Brain and Drugs. Option 2 Create your own information from the following sources and find a creative way to deliver the information to your class: Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction. Rights to print notes from the pamphlet are granted on the following web-site Above the Influence. At the bottom of the page, click on Get Drug Facts, then on the left side of the page, Select a drug. ment.htm. Discusses drug abuse and addiction, but is a great resource for many other health-related issues. Other useful sites: The websites listed below contain information pertaining to drug dependence and addiction, fact sheets for the assigned drugs and specific information about the dangers of drugs: - Sara s Quest, an interactive website with drug information After Option 1 or Option 2, ask: Is continued drug abuse a voluntary behavior? The initial decision to take drugs is mostly voluntary. However, when drug abuse takes over, a person's ability to exert self- 7.ATOD.1.4, page 3

4 NC School Health Training Center NC Association for the Advancement of Health Education control can become seriously impaired. Brain imaging studies from drug-addicted individuals show physical changes in areas of the brain that are critical to judgment, decision-making, learning and memory, and behavior control. Scientists believe that these changes alter the way the brain works, and may help explain the compulsive and destructive behaviors of addiction. Source: Drug addiction is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain in structure and in function. For most people, the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary, but over time drug abuse can cause changes to the brain that impairs a person's selfcontrol and ability to make sound decisions, while sending intense impulses to take drugs. Guided Practice: Print off one copy of Appendices 2a, b. Cut each Profession and each Drug into slips of paper. Label baskets or envelopes so that Professions and Drugs are separated. Divide the class into groups of three or four (there are only 11 sets of Professions/Drugs). Allow each group to choose one Profession and one Drug. Ask students to develop a story about the individual they chose and how the drug has impacted his/her life. If students experience difficulty beginning, suggest that they write about A day in the life of whatever profession they chose, incorporating the drug usage. Independent Practice: Option 1 Drug Abuse and Addiction Truth or Myth: Give each student a blue card and another color index card. Write true blue on the board. I am going to read statements about drug abuse and addiction. If you think the statement is true, then raise the blue card, if you think it is a myth, (false statement), then hold up the other color card. Use the Drug Abuse and Addiction Truth or Myth handout (Appendix 3). Option 2 Allow students to work in groups of two to complete the crossword puzzle found in Appendix 4a. [Answer Key in Appendix 4b.] Closure: You did a good job assessing the barriers in life that occur when one chooses to take drugs. I can see that you understand that in order to achieve life s goals, you must stay in control. 7.ATOD.1.4, page 4

5 Drug Dependence Definitions Drug dependence includes: Habituation or addiction to the use of a drug or chemical substance, with or without physical dependence. Physical dependence is characterized by a withdrawal syndrome. Sometimes the terms drug dependence and addiction are defined as if they are the same: Drug dependence (addiction) is compulsive use of a substance despite negative consequences that can be severe. 7.ATOD.1.4, Appendix 1

6 Professions Airline Pilot Surgeon General Contractor (building construction) Telephone repair person Firefighter High school band director District court judge Full-time stay-at-home parent of young children Supervisor of the city s water treatment plant Pharmacist Computer technician (large company) 7.ATOD.1.4, Appendix 2a

7 Type of Drug Abuse Alcohol abuser Inhalants abuser Heavy smoker Long-time user of marijuana Methamphetamine addict Heroin addict Anabolic steroid abuser Cocaine addict Long-time user of chewing (spit) tobacco Codeine cough syrup abuser 7.ATOD.1.4, Appendix 2b

8 Drug Dependence and Addiction: Truth or Myth 1) Drug addiction is a voluntary behavior. Myth: A person starts out as an occasional drug user, and that is a voluntary decision. But as times passes, something happens, and that person goes from being a voluntary drug user to being a compulsive drug user. Why? Because over time, continued use of addictive drugs changes your brain -- at times in dramatic, toxic ways, at others in more subtle ways, but virtually always in ways that result in compulsive and even uncontrollable drug use. 2) Weak people are the ones who become addicted to drugs. Myth: Drug addiction is a brain disease. Every type of drug abused has its own individual mechanism for changing how the brain functions. But regardless of which drug a person is addicted to, many of the effects it has on the brain are similar: they range from changes in the molecules and cells that make up the brain, to mood changes, to changes in memory processes and in such motor skills as walking and talking. These changes have a huge influence on all aspects of a person's behavior. The drug becomes the single most powerful motivator in a drug abuser's existence. He or she will do almost anything for the drug. This comes about because drug use has changed the individual's brain and its functioning in critical ways. 3) It's too late for me to quit smoking. The damage is done. Myth: It's never too late. Bluntly put, the only time it's too late to quit smoking is when you're six feet under. When you quit smoking, the benefits begin within 20 minutes of your last cigarette, and continue to grow for years. 4) You have to want drug treatment for it to be effective. Myth: Virtually no one wants drug treatment. Two of the primary reasons people seek drug treatment are because the court ordered them to do so, or because loved ones urged them to seek treatment. Many scientific studies have shown convincingly that those who enter drug treatment programs in which they face "high pressure" to confront and attempt to surmount their addiction do comparatively better in treatment, regardless of the reason they sought treatment in the first place. 5) People addicted to one drug are addicted to all drugs. Myth: While this sometimes occurs, most people who are dependent on a drug may be dependent on one or two drugs, but not all. This is probably due to how each drug "matches up" with the person's brain chemistry. 6) Treatment for drug addiction is multi-faceted. Truth: Like many other illnesses, drug addiction typically is a chronic disorder. To be sure, some people can quit drug use "cold turkey," or they can quit after receiving treatment just one time at a rehabilitation facility. But most of those who abuse drugs require longer-term treatment and, in many instances, repeated treatments. There is no "one size fits all" form of drug treatment, much less a magic bullet that suddenly will cure addiction. Different people have different drug abuse-related problems. They respond very differently to similar forms of treatment, even when they're abusing the same drug. As a result, drug addicts need an array of treatments and services tailored to address their unique needs. 7) Relapse can happen without warning. Myth: Relapse never happens without warning. The road to relapse always starts in our minds. Unhealthy thoughts of smoking are normal as a person moves through recovery from nicotine addiction, but left unchecked, they can spell trouble. It's been said that humans have upwards of 60,000 thoughts on a daily basis. Much of what we tell ourselves is negative and selfdefeating. We're often our own worst critics. 7.ATOD.1.4, Appendix 3

9 7.ATOD.1.4, Appendix 4a

10 7.ATOD.1.4, Appendix 4b