Drug Abuse And Addiction - NIH Office of Science Education

9. (Optional) A person does not become addicted to drugs after oneepisode of abuse, but a person can die as a result of one episode ofdrug abuse. The drugs can act on the brain or other body systemswith a lethal outcome, such as by suppressing respiration. If you wantto modify the game to add this scenario, insert the jokers into eachpile of choice cards and have the students play the game a fourthtime. If a student draws a joker, the game is over for that student.If you decide to do this optional modification to the game, make surethat students understand that the joker does not indicate addiction.The joker would, perhaps, represent a batch of drugs that contain alethal contami nant that would cause some body organ to fail and, thus,cause the person using them to die. Another person, for example, takesa large enough dose of opioids to completely inhibit the neurons inthe brain that control respira tion; those neurons no longer stimulatethe lungs to contract, causing death. Sometimes a drug can produce afatal response for unknown reasons; it could be due to a mutation in agene that reduces the body’s ability to metabolize a drug, leading to anincreased, possibly toxic, level of the drug in the body.Activity 4: Environmental, Behavioral, and SocialInfluences on Drug Abuse and AddictionNote to teachers: This activity, as described in the following steps,is designed as a class discussion. An alternative approach is to haveindividual students write their answers to the questions and thendiscuss the questions as a class.1. Display a transparency of Master 4.5, Who Is Addicted?, showing onlythe top section (to the first horizontal line). Ask students to answerthe question.Students may respond differently to the question about who is addictedto morphine. At this stage, any answer is acceptable if the student canexplain the reasoning underlying his or her answer. Some studentswill say that Chris is addicted because of the higher dose of morphinebeing taken over a longer period of time. Some students will say Patbecause this could be a larger dose than what Chris is taking (if Chrisis at 50 mg per day). Stu dents could also believe that both individualsare addicted because of their continued drug abuse. Conversely,students could respond that possibly neither one is addicted and moreinformation is needed before a judgment could be made.Content Standard C:An individual’s mood andbehavior may be modifiedby substances.Content Standard F:Personal choice concern ingfitness and health involvesmultiple factors.2. Reveal the next section on Master 4.5 (to the next horizontal line).Again have students answer the question and discuss the responses.Students may respond in a variety of ways. Answers could involveaspects of genetics, dose, or even random chance.111Student Lesson 4