Drug And Alcohol Abuse

A guide to the techniques and analysis of clinical data. Each of the seventeen sections begins with a drawing and biographical sketch of a seminal contributor to the discipline. After an introduction and historical survey of clinical methods, the next fifteen sections are organized by body system. Each contains clinical data items from the history, physical examination, and laboratory investigations that are generally included in a comprehensive patient evaluation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

All across the United States, individuals, families, communities, and health care systems are struggling to cope with substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders. Substance misuse and substance use disorders have devastating effects, disrupt the future plans of too many young people, and all too often, end lives prematurely and tragically. Substance misuse is a major public health challenge and a priority for our nation to address. The effects of substance use are cumulative and costly for our society, placing burdens on workplaces, the health care system, families, states, and communities. The Report discusses opportunities to bring substance use disorder treatment and mainstream health care systems into alignment so that they can address a person's overall health, rather than a substance misuse or a physical health condition alone or in isolation. It also provides suggestions and recommendations for action that everyone-individuals, families, community leaders, law enforcement, health care professionals, policymakers, and researchers-can take to prevent substance misuse and reduce its consequences.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

It is generally acknowledged that the most cost-effective means of curtailing alcohol and drug abuse is prevention. Providing interventions to at-risk individuals before they develop serious problems with substance use is the most important component of the "war on drugs." Fortunately, the past decade has seen a dramatic increase in the quantity and quality of scientific research on those areas crucial to the advancement of prevention science. This book compiles a tremendous amount of information about prevention which has accumulated in recent years. Documenting these accomplishments and setting the stage for future efforts comprise the focus of this book. Prevention and Societal Impact of Drug and Alcohol Abuse is divided into four parts. Part I contains introductory chapters addressing current issues in prevention science and characteristics of abusable substances. Part II includes chapters on the historical contexts of substance abuse and the deleterious health consequences of alcohol and other drugs. Part III focuses on the impact of drug and alcohol abuse on society. Included are chapters on alcohol and drug abuse and driving, infectious illness, disability, managed care, the criminal justice system and adolescents and adults, sale and distribution, the media, and community responses. Part IV consists of chapters on prevention in specific settings and with certain populations.

This volume reviews a range of empirically supported approaches to prevention and treatment of adolescent substance use problems. The focus is on motivationally based brief interventions that can be delivered in a variety of contexts, that address key developmental considerations, and that draw on cutting-edge knowledge on addictive behavior change. From expert contributors, coverage encompasses alcohol skills training; integrative behavioral and family therapy; motivational interviewing; interventions for dually diagnosed youth; Internet-based education, prevention, and treatment; and applications to HIV prevention. The volume is extensively referenced and includes numerous clinical illustrations and vignettes.

The essential newly-expanded reference that needs to be on the desk of every health care professional who encounters substance abusers. Handbook of the Medical Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Second Edition is the newly-updated classic reference text that provides even more detailed and expanded information on the pharmacological, toxicological, and neuropsychological consequences of alcohol and drug abuse. Eight new chapters of crucial information have been added. Written by leading experts in the fields of medical physiology, psychopharmacology, and neuropsychology, this valuable resource provides the detailed alcohol and drug information health professionals in all fields need to know. Handbook of the Medical Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Second Edition greatly expands on the expert information provided in the first edition. This text provides reviews of the cardiovascular, neurological, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, psychological, and hepatic effects of commonly abused drugs. The book also provides in-depth explanations of the mechanisms by which these psychoactive drugs exert their biobehavioral effects as well as current thinking about—and definitions of—abuse, dependence, and alcohol/drug use. The Handbook of the Medical Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Second Edition includes vital information on: alcohol, including definitions of alcohol use, abuse, and dependence the relationship between alcohol and accidental injuries, alcohol’s effect on skeletal and major organ systems, and its effect on risk factors for certain cancers effects of alcohol and other drugs on neuropsychological function the effects of alcohol on neuron signaling, neurotransmitter function, and alcoholic brain damage and cognitive dysfunction fetal alcohol effects chronic effects of marijuana use on psychological and physical health, including a fair and balanced discussion of the medical marijuana issue the consequences of opiate abuse and methadone pharmacotherapy, including a comparison of the effects of methadone and heroin on organ systems cocaine’s history, the various forms of the drug, and the adverse effects of cocaine on cardiovascular, neurologic, and pulmonary systems the medical consequences of inhalants ranging from benzene to xylene the prenatal effects of nicotine, cocaine, marijuana, and opiates terminology that appears in the current literature on alcohol New topics in the Handbook of the Medical Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Second Edition include chapters discussing: chemical dependency in psychiatric patients medical consequences of steroids OTC medications hallucinogens health effects of tobacco, nicotine, and exposure to tobacco smoke interactions of alcohol with other drugs and other medications periodontal effects of alcohol and drug abuse in the oral cavity imaging studies of structural brain changes The Handbook of the Medical Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Second Edition is an invaluable resource for physicians, scientists, nurses, psychologists, and alcohol and drug counselors.

This volume is intended for clinicians, researchers, residents, and students. The range is wide and the depth considerable for all the topics covered in the treatment of this timely and relevant subject. This book may serve equally well as a general introduction and a scholarly reference. Ultimately, it is designed to serve those patients suffering from abuse of and addiction to drugs and alcohol. The content and organization of the book flow from general concepts of abuse and addiction to specific details of the pharmacology of alcohol and drugs. Special chapters on topics not found in most other books, such as pharmacology of drug-drug interactions, abstinence, and prevention, are included. This book is written especially for the clinician interested in the pharma cology of alcohol and drugs of abuse and addiction. The pharmacology is integrated into a conceptual approach to diagnosis and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse and addiction. The form and style are didactic, critical as well as straightforward in presentation. Literature references from recent clinical research and basic research provide the foundation for the chapters throughout the book. Be cause the book is written by a clinician-researcher, the information is readily adaptable to clinical problems and research ideas. I would like to express my deep appreciation to Susan Newsom and Darlene Tucci for their invaluable technical assistance. Norman S. Miller vii Contents Preface ....................................................... vii CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Pharmacological Effects of Alcohol and Drugs and Addiction on the Brain and Behavior .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 1 . . . . . .