What is substance abuse and how does it manifest

You have a substance abuse when a person habitually consumes any substance in such a way that he is physically harmed, his soicial life degrades, his economy worsens, his familiy or near friends suffer or he comes in conflict with the law.

The reason for using the substance are the effects upon mental and sometimes physical feelings or functions the substance gives. The substance abused can give a decrease of bad feelings like sorrow, anxiety, tension or physical pain. The substance can also increase pleasurable feelings of mental or physial kind, like happiness, euphoria or even ecstasy.

But when the use of the substance get habitual, the good effects usually decrease and therefore gradually steadily greater doses are needed to give the fesired effect. The reason for this is that the body tries to ballance the nervous and hormonal functions and as effectively as possible tries to eliminate foreign substances from the organism. The body simply respond by blocking or decreasing the sites in the nervous system that the substance trigger, or by making the elimination system stronger.

Usually substance abuse is coupled with the phenomenon of addiction. When a person is addicted to some substance and tries to stop using it or is deprived of the susbstance, he gets so troublesome physical symptoms or mental plagues that he is strongly tempted to get a new dose. The phenomenon o needing steadily greater doses for the wanted effect is also a component in the addiction.

The temptation may be so graet that he is willing to spend all the money he has left or do a crime to get a new furnishment of the substance.

The abused substance will hurt the addicted person in a number of ways:

Usually the substance is directly harmfull for the nervous system. Since the substance stimulate changes in the nervous system, the mental capasities and capacities to controle bodily functions are reduced or disturbed. The substance can also trigger axaggerated processes in the brain that exhaust the brain cells, and lead to cell death or cell damage. Sume substances are also directly toxic to the nerve cells in certain in the concentration used. These nervous changes can in worst cases cause psycoses or dementia. The nervous system will however in most cases recover when the abuse ceases.

Abused substances are often toxic to body cells or disturbe body functions. They can lead to cell death and decrease cell growth and tissue healing. Since the substances have as strong effect upon nerve functions, they can disturbe the circulation of blood through the tissues and this will often lead to undernourishment of tisssues and tissue degradation. Soms sunstances also cause mutations or can cause development of cancer.

Substance abuse can also hurt the body indirectly, because all his interest will direct itself to getting the abused substance and to use the substance.

An addicted person will often loose interset in making good and healthy meals for himself and for eating at regular intervals. Often his money will be spent on the substance instead of good and enough food sources. Thereby his body will be depleted of important nutrients, or he will directly starve.

The immune system will often suffer from substance abuse. Some substances disturbe the immune mechanisms directly. Nutrient depletion will also make the immune system work less effectively.

The weakening of body and mind and the loss of interest for other things than the substance abuse often have grave social and echonomic consequences.

One of the consequences is neglect for family and children. Especially abuse of alchohol can also lead to violence against other family members. Typically the addicted person can be violent against those family members that are physically weaker. Both males and females can develop the habit of physical abuse. The degradation of skills and the loss of interest will often lead to unemployment or problems in business, leading to economic problems or economic collapse for the addicted person and his family.



How to get out of substance abuse

Any person can get out of substance abuse. Some person can actually make it with his own effort. Some will need substacial support from family and friends. Others will need professional help or help from self-help groups.

How much a person can manage by his own depends of the personality of the person, the degree of addiction, the physical damage done to his body and the social and economic damages from the abuse.

The first step to cease substance abuse realizing that one has an abuse problem or is developing such a problem. If one realizes that one is abusing substances before the abuse has become a serious health and social problem, it can be easy to come out of the habit.

Since the abuse often cause physical damage, it is important to rehabilitate the physical health at the same time as the habit is treated. Important factors for achieving this, is to begin eating enough of healthy food at regular intervals, and furnish the body with nutrients the body is depleted form.

A regular program of physical exercise vill also help.



About amphetamine and methamphetamine

Amphetamine is a central nervous stimulant. Methamphetamine is a very harmful synthetic stimulant drug that has a lot of the same effects and is similar chemically to amphetamines.

In its pure form is a white powder. Illegal qualities are often yellowish, moist and fetid. Methamphetamine has traditionally been produced in Asia and the United States. Products sold on the market may be aphetamine or methamphetamine or blendings of these compunds.

Metamfetamine powder have similar appearance as amphetamines. A special variation of the methamphetamine available appear as large, lump of ice-like crystals. This is usually called ice. It sold on the streets in Norway are often not pure amphetamines and / or methamphetamine, but may contain a variety of additives such as caffeine or sugar.


Amphetamine compared to methamphetamine

Methamphetamine is chemically closely related to amphetamine, and the effects of amphetamine and methamphetamine are very similar.

After ingestion, however, methamphetamine go any into the central nervous system faster than amphetamine because it is more fat soluble. For this reason one needs a lower dose to achieve the same effect. In addition, one knows that some of the methamphetamine consumed, will be converted in the body to amphetamine, so that the consumption of methamphetamine will be able to give a slightly prolonged intoxication similar to amphetamine.

Methamphetamine is more harmful than amphetamines.


The effects of amphetamine and methamphetamine

Ingestion of amphetamine and methamphetamine gives effect both on the central nervous system and elsewhere in the body. The effects of the following is described for amphetamine, also applies to methamphetamine:

The acute effects occur rapidly after ingestion and will subjectively set to disappear in a few hours.

Amfetamine intoxication is characterized by mental effects like elevated mood and increased psychomotor speed. Common symptoms and findings are high self-esteem, talkativity, restlessness, nervousness, dizziness and alertness and lack of sleep. Effects of increased risk-taking, reduced ability to concentrate on multiple tasks simultaneously and reduced critical sense implies an increased risk of serious accidents, for example in traffic.

Physical effects are increased heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate and temperature.

The stimulating effect on cardiac and vascular functions gives an increased risk of brain haemorrhage, heart attack and cardiac arrhythmias, which can lead to a fatal outcome. Such side effects on heart and vascular been reported even at low doses.

Amphetamine misuse often periodically with intensive use of frequently repeated doses several days. Such a period usually means very little sleep and eat. Additional consumption of amphetamines will ultimately not give noticeable effects, and it will follow a phase characterized by fatigue and a large need for sleep. In this phase one may experience depression, confusion, or paranoid psychosis (frightening delusions of being persecuted).

Chronic users appear often as anxious, sleepy and malnourished. Use of amphetamines over a long period can cause that the dose must be increased slightly to achieve the same individual experience of intoxication, in other words, a certain development of tolerance for some of the effects.

Some people in amphetamine intoxication dance of move continually for hours without eating, but with drinking large amounts of water during the activity, actually much larger that needed for the loss of water through the sleep. This can lead to too small levels of salts in the blood and then fluid can accumulate in the brain and make the brain swell, because water goes from places with low salt concentration to places with high salt concentration through osmosis . This can lead to a situations where the circulation in the brain ceases and then a fatal outcome.

After ingestion amphetamine can usually be detected one to two days in a blood sample and two to four days or more in a urine sample.



About nicotine

Amphetamine is an alcaloid. The molecule consists of a aromatic ring with 6 carbon atoms and one nitrogen molecule to a non-aromatic ring with 3 carbon atoms and two nitrogen molecules and a CH3-group connected to one of the nitrogen atoms in this ring.

Nocotine is found in the tobacco plant Nicotiana Tabacum.

When concumed by smoking nicotine very quicqly is distributed throughout the body. It takes only 7 seconds before it passes through the blood-brain-barrier into the brain. Nicotine takes a fairly long time to dissapear from the body againg. After two hours the concentration has decreased to the half.

Nicotine seems to increase the concentration of neurotransmittors in many connective points between nerve cells. Therefore it increases many activities in the brain, but also reduces some activities due to increased effects in connections that have an activity-reducing function. It increases the concentration of acetylcholine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, vasopressin, arginine, dopamine, autocrine agents, and beta-endorphin.

Tobacco is mostly consumed because of some pleasant and some good effects of nicotine that rize from the increased concentration of neurotrasmittors.

- Nicotine has the ability to increase the allertness and ability to concentrate on tasks and to omprove the memory functions.

- It also has the ability to calme negative emotions and tendencies like restlessness, anxiety and tension.

- Nicotine reduces appetite and increases the matabolism, which may be a good effect for people having weight problems.

- Nicotine may help against the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

The effects of nicotine to increase allertness and neural efficiency is highest by low doses, but the calming effects are gratest with higher doses of nicotine.

However nicotine also has negative effects or effects that can have an negative impact in certain situations.

- Nicotine is highly addictive and withdrawal of the substance causes several unpleasant effects which actually are the opposite of the good effects of nicotine. The reason for this is that the brain in nicotine addicts reguletes down that part of the neurotransmittor production that is not stimulated by nicotine. When nicotine is taken away, the levels of neurotransmittors will get lower than normal.

- Nicotine increases the production of hydrocloric acid in the stomach. For people with a normal or allready too high production of hydrocloric acid it will increase the chance of getting peptic ulcers.

- Nicotine makes muscle cells in the capilaries contract. These are the thin blood vessels that nourish the tissues with oxygen and nutrients. For people having a poor blood circulation this can cause tissue destruction and sores, especially in the limbs.

Nicotine is not the only substance in the tobacco that is able to cause damage. Other substances give the cancerogenous effect and the effect of increasing the accumulation of atherosclerotic plaque in the blood vessels. However, the effects of nicotine upon the blood vessels will increase the bad effects caused by the other substances.

Even though nicotine has some good effects, the bad effects will in most cases overwhelm the good ones, even if one uses pure nicotine and not nicotine through the use of tobacco.

If one consumes tobacco to get the good effects of nicotine, and especially if one smokes tobacco, there is no doubt that one will get more hurt and more pain than good effects from the habit in the long run.



About the herb Hoodia gordonii and the genus hoodia

Hoodia gordonii is an African succulent, or cactus-like, herb that can be used to reduce an excessive appetite.


Botannical facts:

All the plants in the genus hoodia have thick leaves that are tightly fixed to the thick stem and the leaves typically have thorns in the tip. The plants therefore resamble cactus and are somtimes called cactus even though they are not related to cacti.
br> Hoodia gordonii is botanically classified as such: Division: Magnoliophyta, Class: Magnoliopsida, Order: Gentianales, Family: Apocynaceae, Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae, Tribe: Stapeliae, Genus: Hoodia

The herb has many stems reaching upwards from the root. The stems can be up to 1 m high. The stems are rich in water, and the stems are full of round, cylindical redish leaves also rich in water. It has big flowers with the petals grown together.

The plant is edible, but tastes bitterly.

Habitat and growth condition: The herb grows in the Khalahari dessert in south Africa. This is a very dry, sunny and warm habitat, and it is difficult for the plant to grow under other conditions. Also the plan needs that type of soil found in Khalahari dessert.


Effective substances

The herb contains the steroidal glycoside called P57 that gives the appetie suppresing effect. The component is a clycoside, a combination of carbohydrate units with other types of molecule, with the scientific name 3-O-[ß-D-thevetopyranosyl-(1 -> 4)-ß-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1 -> 4)-ß-D-cymaropyranosyl]-12ß-O - tigloyloxy-14-hydroxy-14ß-pregn-5-en-20-one.


Medical effects of Hoodia Gordonii

P57 in hoodia gives the same signal to the appetite centre in the brain as glucose, and thus the appetite centre interpretes the glucose level to be high like after a good meal, and shuts down the feeling of hunger.

The herb also makes the energy in the body more easily avilable for use, and gives a feeling of higher energy level. Then one manages to be active a longer time without eating. When doing so one uses the energy depots reciding in the body for the activity and that is fat.

In 15 days time, the effect of appetite suppressing has reach an effective level.

The substance p57 also inhibits the secretion of gastric acid in the stomach. This may be useful for some persons having too much gastric acid, but there are not any scientific results of the usefulness of this effect.

There are also claims that Hoodia gordonii helps against depression and have aphrodisiac properties. These claims have not been investigated, so they are uncertain.

The studies of the medical effects of the plant are so far not very thorrough. The deciscion of using products derived form the plant for weight reduction and eventual other purposes must therefore mainly be taken on what one knows from the traditional use of the plan.


Harvesting and preparation

The plan must be at least 5 years old and have had flowers to contain the working substances and be harvested. Because the plant is rare and threatened by extinction. The collection of the plant is therefore regulated. The herb is by now also grown in plantations. It is nearly impossible to grow the plants in habitats that have differets soil and climate condition fom those found in the Khalahari dessert.

The plant must be at least 5 years old an have had flowers to be used. Ectracts are made, and these extracts are used in herbal medicines.

Side effects: Hoodia gordonii also suppresses thirst. People taking the herb should be aware of this, and remember to drink enough. No other side effects has been found, but the drug has not been in use long enough to surely rule out all side effects or interactions with other drugs. Therefore people taking other drugs should be cautious. Persons having diabetes should also be cautious, because the drug may cause the glucose level in the blood of diabetics to drop dangerously low.


Traditional uses The San tribe (Khoisan) has for centuries been using the herb to suppress the hunger when they performed long hunting trips where they did not have any supply of food.

Uses in modern herbal drugs

The herb is used in modern supplements to help loose weight.

The modern history of the drug: In1996 the South African council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) arranged a specific study of the plant. During the analysis they isolated a substance called P57AS3 (P57).

They concludeed that this substance was the effector which simulates the brain to believe there is already a sufficiently high blood sugar levels. "P 57" is , as was allreadt suggested by layman, for once, no opiate and produces no euphoric states.

The license for the development and worldwide marketing of the appetite depressant, was sold the following year to the British Ecological pharmaceutical company Phytopharm. A preliminary study of this small company with 18 participants gave promising results. The Hoodia extract was able to obviously reduce appetite significantly without side effects. The U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer sensed a billion dollar business and took over in 2001 for 32 million U.S. dollars, the license rights. The story of the Hoodia produced one year later global headlines.

The San tribe succeded in a subsequent law suit aided by the organisation WIMSA, the Working Group on indigenous minorities in southern Africa and WIMSA, and the South African human rights lawyer Roger Chennels to win a small part of the futur profits, just 0.003%, of the profit gained by marketing of the products derived from the herb by Pfizer / Phytopharm. It was rated internationally as a historic victory for an indigenous minority. Once the drug "P 57" came on the market, of which some 100,000 are still alive Khoi-San will receive dividends.

New headlines came whith the conglomerate Pfizer's official explanation that he dissolve his department for natural products, are in the same year retired from business and returned his license to the small British company Phytopharm.

This company made an licensing agreement in December 2004 with the British-Dutch consumer goods group Unilever for joint exploration of the Hoodia plant completed.

From 2005, further studies on "P 57" are under work to find other uses of the substance P57 than that for appetite reduction. Researchers also hope to gain a new product for diabetics.

To this day no further study has come out, except a single, non-placebo-controlled study in rats.

Hoodia gordonii (Illustration from www.wikipedia.org )