Coffee and Caffeine-containing plants
- coffee strong stimulant
- may cause shakiness, headaches
- will cause dependence
Tea containing L-theanine which causes ” alert relaxation”
National drink of Brazil= guarana ( marketed as Zoom and Zing/ containining more caffeine than coffee)
Argentina: mate : from leaves of holly plants
chocolate: from cacao tree, its seeds are cocao beans, fat is cacoa butter, theobromine
Coca and Cocaine
not related to cocao/cocoa
Coca contains 14 drugs, most important of which is cocaine. Coca is a shrub, native to the hot, humid Andes.
Coca users put dried leaces in their mouth and work them into a large wad. They suck on the wad for thirty minutes, and spit out the residue. Must add a bit of alkali( lime) to enhance the effect
Coca contains 0.5 % of cocaine. While refined cocaine is 60% of drug. Snorting powder cocaine irritates the nose, smoking crack is bad for the lung. THe effect is short : 15 to 30 min. After which the users feel sluggish and unhappy
highly addictive such as that of cigarettes.
Amphetamines and related drugsr
synthetic drugs
structures resemble adrenalines and noagrenaline
effect resemble cocaine but longer lasting= 4 hours
more toxic than cocaine because the liver cannot detoxify effectively
types:
- Plain amphetamines( Benzedrine)
- Dextroamphetamine( Dexedrine)
- methamphetamine(Methedrine)
- methylphenidate( Ritalin)
- modafinil( Provigil)
- Adderall(combination of dextroamphetamine and methamphetamine) used for ADHD
explosive growthof methaphetamine: meth, crank. crystalline, smokable form= ” ice”, ” crystal”
hazardous: smoking and injecting
Look-alike drugs:
caffeine
ephdrine: produces more anxiety and less euphoria than meth
phenylpropanolamine(PPA): used to be in nasal decongestants
synephrine
Tobacco and Nicotine
most dangerous
tolerance for its toxicity develops in the matters of hours( whereas days or weeks for heroin and months for alcohol)
most addictive in the form of cigarrettes, equivalent to crack cocaine and ice
Smokers from cigarettes delivers concentrated nicotine to vital brain centres within a few seconds- faster than heroin injection reaching the brain.
Stimulants
Most common stimulant neurotransmitter= noradrenaline/ norepinephrine which is an endogenous chemical which structure resembles that of hormone adrenaline produced by adrenal gland
Stimulant drugs work by causing nerve fibres to release noreadrenaline and other stimulating neurotransmitters. End result= release of more stimulating neurotransmitters
It makes people feel wakeful alert and often happy
heart beats faster, blood pressure rise.
fingertips and tips ofnose becomes cold
laxative effect
some of these effects are mediated by the sympathetic system( chemical messenger= noradrenaline) which cause the adrenaline secretion by adrenal gland.
