Workplace Signs
Self Assesment Tool
Drug Facts
Drug addiction is a complex illness. The path to drug addiction begins with the act of taking drugs. Over time, a person's ability to choose not to take drugs is compromised. This in large part is a result of the effects of prolonged drug use on brain functioning, and thus on behavior. Addiction, therefore, is characterized by compulsive drug craving, seeking, and use that persist even in the face of negative consequences.
Alcoholism, also known as “alcohol dependence,” is a disease that includes four symptoms:
- Craving: A strong need, or compulsion, to drink.
- Loss of control: The inability to limit one’s drinking on any given occasion.
- Physical dependence: Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and
anxiety, occur when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking. - Tolerance: The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to “get high.”
How can you tell if someone is abusing or addicted to drugs and alcohol?
- Loss of motivation, energy.
- Unusual flare-ups, outbreaks of temper.
- Changes in sleep patterns.
- Excessive use of room deodorizers and incense.
- Changes in work or school attendance.
- Stealing from family, employer, or school.
- Deterioration of physical appearance and grooming.
- Loss of interest in activities.
- Sudden, uncaring attitudes and behavior.
- Secretive behavior involving friends, phone calls, activities and whereabouts.
If you or someone you know needs treatment please call the Nexus admissions department at 214.321.0156, ext. 3118 or email help@nexusrecovery.org.
Resource: Prevention Online (Prevline), a service of SAMHSA's NationalClearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI): http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/.
Workplace signs and symptoms
“One in three families has felt some impact of alcohol or other drugs, while one in ten persons suffers from alcohol or other drug addictions. Most companies recognize alcohol and other drug dependency as a major health problem, but are not aware that untreated addictions cost American businesses from $50 to $100 billion dollars annually. These costs become comprehensible when one considers that fully two-thirds of all drug abusers in America are in the workplace.”
Resource: The Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. For more information visit: http://www.gdcada.org/services/sair.htm.
Self-assessment tool
If you wonder about your alcohol use, you can quickly answer the following four questions for a short self-assessment:
- Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?
- Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
- Have you ever felt guilty about your drinking?
- Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning as an eye opener to steady your nerves
or get rid of a hangover?
If you answered yes to at least two of the above questions, you are at risk of having a problem with alcohol. There are other diagnostic tools available to help you further assess a problem with alcohol or drugs. To take a more detailed self-test about alcohol consumption click here: http://getfit.samhsa.gov/Alcohol/tests/default.aspx. For a self-assessment tool about drug use click here: http://getfit.samhsa.gov/Drugs/tests/default.aspx.
Alcohol
Alcoholism, also known as “alcohol dependence,” is a disease that includes four symptoms:
Craving: A strong need, or compulsion, to drink.
Loss of control: The inability to limit one’s drinking on any given occasion.
Physical dependence: Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety, occur when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking.
Tolerance: The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to “get high.”
People who are not alcoholic sometimes do not understand why an alcoholic can’t just “use a little willpower” to stop drinking. However, alcoholism has little to do with willpower. Alcoholics are in the grip of a powerful “craving,” or uncontrollable need, for alcohol that overrides their ability to stop drinking. This need can be as strong as the need for food or water.
Although some people are able to recover from alcoholism without help, the majority of alcoholics need assistance. With treatment and support, many individuals are able to stop drinking and rebuild their lives.
Many people wonder why some individuals can use alcohol without problems but others cannot. One important reason has to do with genetics. Scientists have found that having an alcoholic family member makes it more likely that if you choose to drink you too may develop alcoholism. Genes, however, are not the whole story. In fact, scientists now believe that certain factors in a person’s environment influence whether a person with a genetic risk for alcoholism ever develops the disease. A person’s risk for developing alcoholism can increase based on the person’s environment, including where and how he or she lives; family, friends, and culture; peer pressure; and even how easy it is to get alcohol.
Source: U.S .Department of Health and Human Services. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2001, January 1). Alcoholism: Getting the Facts (NIH Publication No. 96–4153)[Brochure]. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that dramatically affects the central nervous system. The drug is made easily in clandestine laboratories with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients. These factors combine to make methamphetamine a drug with high potential for widespread abuse.
Methamphetamine is commonly known as "speed," "meth," and "chalk." In its smoked form, it is often referred to as "ice," "crystal," "crank," and "glass." It is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol. The drug was developed early in this century from its parent drug, amphetamine, and was used originally in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers. Methamphetamine's chemical structure is similar to that of amphetamine, but it has more pronounced effects on the central nervous system. Like amphetamine, it causes increased activity, decreased appetite, and a general sense of well-being. The effects of methamphetamine can last 6 to 8 hours. After the initial "rush," there is typically a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to violent behavior.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2002, February 18). NIDA Research Report: Methamphetamine Abuse and Addiction Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Cocaine
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that directly affects the brain. Cocaine has been labeled the drug of the 1980s and '90s, because of its extensive popularity and use during this period. However, cocaine is not a new drug. In fact, it is one of the oldest known drugs. The pure chemical, cocaine hydrochloride, has been an abused substance for more than 100 years, and coca leaves, the source of cocaine, have been ingested for thousands of years.
Pure cocaine was first extracted from the leaf of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which grows primarily in Peru and Bolivia, in the mid-19th century. In the early 1900s, it became the main stimulant drug used in most of the tonics/elixirs that were developed to treat a wide variety of illnesses. Today, cocaine is a Schedule II drug, meaning that it has high potential for abuse, but can be administered by a doctor for legitimate medical uses, such as a local anesthetic for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries.
There are basically two chemical forms of cocaine: the hydrochloride salt and the "freebase." The hydrochloride salt, or powdered form of cocaine, dissolves in water and, when abused, can be taken intravenously (by vein) or intranasally (in the nose). Freebase refers to a compound that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride salt. The freebase form of cocaine is smokable.
Cocaine is generally sold on the street as a fine, white, crystalline powder, known as "coke," "C," "snow," "flake," or "blow." Street dealers generally dilute it with such inert substances as cornstarch, talcum powder, and/or sugar, or with such active drugs as procaine (a chemically-related local anesthetic) or with such other stimulants as amphetamines.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Department of Health and Human Services. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2002, February 18). NIDA Research Report - Cocaine Abuse and Addiction (PHD813, NIH Publication No. 99-4342) Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Heroin
Heroin is a highly addictive drug, and its use is a serious problem in America. Recent studies suggest a shift from injecting heroin to snorting or smoking because of increased purity and the misconception that these forms of use will not lead to addiction.
Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant. Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder. Street names for heroin include "smack," "H," "skag," and "junk." Other names may refer to types of heroin produced in a specific geographical area, such as "Mexican black tar."
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2002, September 24). NIDA InfoFacts: Heroin Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Marijuana
Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. You may hear marijuana called by street names such as pot, herb, weed, grass, boom, Mary Jane, gangster, or chronic. There are more than 200 slang terms for marijuana. Sinsemilla (sin-seh-me-yah; it's a Spanish word), hashish ("hash" for short), and hash oil are stronger forms of marijuana.
All forms of marijuana are mind-altering. In other words, they change how the brain works. They all contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the main active chemical in marijuana. They also contain more than 400 other chemicals. Marijuana’s effects on the user depend on its strength or potency, which is related to the amount of THC it contains. The THC content of marijuana has been increasing since the 1970s.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2001, March 13). Marijuana: Facts for TeensWashington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.