Dietary supplements are not considered drugs because they are not intended to prevent or treat diseases. Rather, these products are intended to maintain or improve health, and they may help you meet your daily requirements for essential vitamins and minerals. For example, calcium and vitamin D can help build strong bones. Learn more about taking supplements safely in the NIA article, Dietary Supplements for Older Adults.
A generic drug is a medication created to work the same way and have the same effects as an already marketed brand-name drug. Generic drugs and their brand-name equivalents contain the same active ingredients, which are the parts of the medicine that make it work. A generic drug is just as safe, and is of equal strength and quality, as a brand-name drug. You take a generic drug the same way as a brand-name drug. Generic drugs are usually less expensive than their brand-name counterparts, and they are more likely to be covered by health insurance.
Middle-Age Drug Use Can Be More Life-Threatening
Aging could possibly lead to social and physical changes that may increase vulnerability to substance misuse. Little is known about the effects of drugs and alcohol on the aging brain. However, older adults typically metabolize substances more slowly, and their brains can be more sensitive to drugs.3 One study suggests that people addicted to cocaine in their youth may have an accelerated age-related decline in temporal lobe gray matter and a smaller temporal lobe compared to control groups who do not use cocaine. This could make them more vulnerable to adverse consequences of cocaine use as they age.19
Chronic health conditions tend to develop as part of aging, and older adults are often prescribed more medicines than other age groups, leading to a higher rate of exposure to potentially addictive medications. One study of 3,000 adults aged 57-85 showed common mixing of prescription medicines, nonprescription drugs, and dietary supplements. More than 80% of participants used at least one prescription medication daily, with nearly half using more than five medications or supplements,5 putting at least 1 in 25 people in this age group at risk for a major drug-drug interaction.5
Other risks could include accidental misuse of prescription drugs, and possible worsening of existing mental health issues. For example, a 2019 study of patients over the age of 50 noted that more than 25% who misuse prescription opioids or benzodiazepines expressed suicidal ideation, compared to 2% who do not use them, underscoring the need for careful screening before prescribing these medications.6
An overdose occurs when a person uses enough of the drug to produce life-threatening symptoms or death. There are no reports of teens or adults dying from marijuana alone. However, some people who use marijuana can feel some very uncomfortable side effects, especially when using marijuana products with high THC levels. People have reported symptoms such as anxiety and paranoia, and in rare cases, an extreme psychotic reaction (which can include delusions and hallucinations) that can lead them to seek treatment in an emergency room.
Children who suffer from child traumatic stress are those who have been exposed to one or more traumas over the course of their lives and develop reactions that persist and affect their daily lives after the events have ended. Traumatic reactions can include a variety of responses, such as intense and ongoing emotional upset, depressive symptoms or anxiety, behavioral changes, difficulties with self-regulation, problems relating to others or forming attachments, regression or loss of previously acquired skills, attention and academic difficulties, nightmares, difficulty sleeping and eating, and physical symptoms, such as aches and pains. Older children may use drugs or alcohol, behave in risky ways, or engage in unhealthy sexual activity.
The reasons why epilepsy begins are different for people of different ages. But what is known is that the cause is undetermined for about half of all individuals with epilepsy, regardless of age. Children may be born with a defect in the structure of their brain or they may suffer a head injury or infection that causes their epilepsy. Severe head injury is the most common known cause in young adults. For middle-age individuals, strokes, tumors and injuries are more frequent catalysts. In people age 65 and older, stroke is the most common known cause, followed by degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Often, seizures do not begin immediately after a person has an injury to the brain. Instead, a seizure may occur many months later.
Responsive neurostimulation (RNS)The NeuroPace responsive neurostimulation (RNS) device was approved by the FDA in 2014 as a treatment for adults with partial-onset seizures with one or two seizure onset-zones, whose seizures have not been controlled with two or more antiepileptic drugs. Surgery involves placing a neurostimulator in the skull and connecting to two electrodes that are placed either on the surface or into the brain, in or around the area which is deemed to be the likely onset region for the seizure. The device records brain waves (EEG), and is trained by the epileptologist to detect the electrical signature of the seizure onset and then deliver an impulse which can stop the seizure. Data collected by the neurostimulator can by uploaded by the patient with the use of a hand-held wand to a secure web-based application which can be accessed by the epileptologist. This surgery is generally reserved for patients who are not a candidate for surgical resection, since the RNS improves seizure control but rarely stops seizures from occurring.
Many individuals who become dependent on illicit drugs eventually seek treatment. The Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) provides information regarding the demographics and substance abuse patterns of treatment admissions to state-licensed treatment facilities for drug dependence. In 2007, there were approximately 1.8 million admissions to state-licensed treatment facilities for illicit drug dependence or abuse. The highest percentage of admissions reported opiates as the primary drug of choice (31%, primarily heroin) followed by marijuana/hashish (27%), cocaine (22%), and stimulants (13%). Although approaches to treatment vary by drug, more than half of the admissions were to ambulatory (outpatient, intensive outpatient, and detox) facilities rather than residential facilities. (SeeTable B2 in Appendix B for data on admissions for specific drugs.)
Since the first drug court became operational in Miami in 1989, the number of drug courts has grown each year, and such courts now exist in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and Indian Country. As of July 2009, there were 2,038 active drug court programs and 226 in the planning stages. Research has shown that drug courts are associated with reduced recidivism by participants and result in cost savings. For instance, a 2006 study of nine California drug courts showed that drug court graduates had recidivism rates of 17 percent, while a comparison group who did not participate in drug court had recidivism rates of 41 percent. A study of the drug court in Portland, Oregon, found that the program reduced crime by 30 percent over 5 years and saved the county more than $79 million over 10 years. With success stories abundant, drug courts have gained approval at the local, state, and federal levels.
The most recent annual data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) show that 12.2 percent of more than 14 million arrests in 2008 were for drug violations, the most common arrest crime category. The proportion of total drug arrests has increased over the past 20 years: in 1987, only 7.4 percent of all arrests were for drug violations. Approximately 4 percent of all homicides in 2008 were drug-related, a percentage that has not changed significantly over the same 20-year period.
The drug-crime link is also reflected in arrestee data. In 2008, the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) II program found that the median percentage of male arrestees who tested positive in the 10 ADAM II cities for any of 10 drugs, including cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, opioids, and phencyclidine (PCP), was 67.6 percent, down slightly from 69.2 percent in 2007. Other data reflect the link as well. In 2002, a BJS survey found that 68 percent of jail inmates were dependent on or abusing drugs and alcohol and that 55 percent had used illicit drugs during the month before their offense. In 2004, a similar BJS self-report survey identified the drug-crime link more precisely: 17 percent of state prisoners and 18 percent of federal prisoners had committed their most recent offense to acquire money to buy drugs. Property and drug offenders were more likely than violent and public-order offenders to commit crimes for drug money.
The approximately one-quarter of offenders in state and local correctional facilities and the more than half of offenders in federal facilities incarcerated on drug-related charges represent an estimated 620,000 individuals who are not in the workforce. The cost of their incarceration therefore has two components: keeping them behind bars and the results of their nonproductivity while they are there.
4.Nonmedical use of prescription-type psychotherapeutics includes the nonmedical use of pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives but excludes over-the-counter drugs.5.DAWN defines drug-related deaths as deaths that are natural or accidental with drug involvement, deaths involving homicide by drug, and deaths with drug involvement when the manner of death denoted by the medical examiner is "could not be determined."6.Data include alcohol dependence or alcohol abuse.7.The research also included antibiotics, steroids, and more than 100 pharmaceuticals.
MARIJUANA - The concentration of THC in marijuana varies greatly, ranging from 1% to 9%. THC is a fat soluble substance and can remain in the lungs, liver, reproductive organs and brain tissue for up to 3 weeks. Smoking or ingesting marijuana can relax a person and elevate his/her mood. This can be followed by drowsiness and sedation. Other effects include heightened sensory awareness, euphoria, altered perceptions and feeling hungry ("the munchies"). High concentrations of THC may produce a more hallucinogenic response. The effects of marijuana may vary based on: expectations of the user; social setting; prior experience of the user; genetic vulnerability of the user (marijuana use may aggravate underlying mental health issues); method of use (inhaled or ingested). Discomforts associated with smoking marijuana include dry mouth, dry eyes, increased heart rate, and visible signs of intoxication such as bloodshot eyes and puffy eyelids. Other problems include impaired memory and ability to learn; difficulty thinking and problem solving; anxiety attacks or feelings of paranoia; impaired muscle coordination and judgment; increased susceptibility to infections; dangerous impairment of driving skills. Combining marijuana and other drugs, including alcohol and prescription drugs, can cause unwanted reactions and/or increase the impact of both substances. Marijuana has addictive properties and about 10-14% of users will become dependent. Tolerance to marijuana develops rapidly. Physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms from marijuana include irritability, restlessness, insomnia, nausea and intense dreams. Warning signs of dependence are: more frequent use; needing more and more to get the same effect; spending time thinking about using marijuana; spending more money than you have on it; missing class or failing to finish assignments because of marijuana; making new friends who do it and neglecting old friends who don't; finding it's hard to be happy without it. 2ff7e9595c
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