Life Skills Development/Unit One/Drug Education/Lesson

The beginning of an overdose .....

What are Drugs?

A drug is a substance, such as a pharmaceutical product, used in or on the surface of the body to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease, or to otherwise affect the structure or function of the body. It is usually synthesized outside of an organism, but introduced into an organism to produce its action. That is, when taken into the organisms’ body, it will produce some effects or alter some bodily functions (such as relieving symptoms, curing diseases or used as preventive medicine or any other purposes).

Note that natural endogenous bio-chemicals (such as hormones) can bind to the same receptor in the cell, producing the same effect as a drug. Thus, drug is merely an artificial definition that distinguishes whether that molecule is synthesized within an organism or outside an organism. For instance, insulin is a hormone that is synthesized in the body; it is considered as a hormone when it is synthesized by the pancreas inside the body, but if it is introduced into the body from outside, it is considered as a drug.

It is a substance which is not food, and which, when ingested, affects the functioning of the mind, or the body, or both. However, under the philosophy of Chinese medicine, food is also considered a drug as it affects particular parts of body and cures some diseases. Thus, food does satisfy the above definition of drug so long as ingestion of it would alter some bodily functions.

What is Drug Education?

A useful definition of drug education is the acquisition of knowledge, understanding and skills and exploration of attitudes and values which facilitate people to be able to make informed decisions about their own, and other person’s, use of drugs.

An educational approach focuses on provision of accurate and balanced information. It accepts that there are different views about drug use and encourages young people to explore a range of views, to develop their own opinions and also to challenge stereotypes. In terms of skill development an educational approach helps young people develop a range of relevant personal and social skills so they can make their own, informed decisions about their own, and other people’s, drug use.

Activity

List five (5) types of drugs both legal and illegal in the state of Trinidad and Tobago and illustrate the full natural affects that are caused by each drug. When you are finished attempt to find 1-3 positive qualities of the illegal drugs and 1-3 negative qualities of the legal drugs. “Effective drug education should reflect an understanding of characteristics of the individual, the social context, the drug, and the interrelationship of these factors.” Discuss the mentioned factors in a situation about an individual abusing the use of a common drug. Picture yourself as an alcoholic or substance abuser recovering from a harmful drug use. Can there be an alternative substance or methods used to achieve a similar affect from drugs and alcohol? Find methods of abstinence that are used, common or unconventional, and highlight their benefits and disadvantages.

Portfolio Contents

1. Notes on class and panel discussions
2. Illustrations and writing based on research on personal action plan
3. Illustrations, writing and diagrams based on research on the community action plan
4. Summary based on info gathering on the facts, causes, effects and solutions of the each drug discussed.
5. Brochures and other illustrative materials that convinced others to abstain from drug use.

Unit summary

In this unit you learned to label the legal and illegal drugs and the effects when they are used correctly. You have acquired the resources to handle situations when confronted with an individual obsessed with the use of illicit drugs. You have built awareness about the various types of drugs that can be harmful to the body and way to counteract the addictive nature that they may hold. You should have acquired the knowledge to differentiate the stereotypes and myths surrounding this sensitive matter.

Checklists of Performance Task

1. Summary of Information researched

	RUBRIC of performance criteria	V. Well Done	Well Done	OK	Not Ok- Will redo by ….
1.	I wrote two statements on how use of alcohol impacts on the quality of users’ life
2.	I wrote two statements on how use of cigarettes impact on the quality of users’ life
3.	I wrote two statements on how use of cocaine impacts on the quality of users’ life

	RUBRIC of performance criteria	V. Well Done	Well Done	OK	Not Ok- Will redo by ….
1.	I designed one poster/brochure on appropriate life style choices

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