Course Overview: Drug
Identification and Recognition: Depressants, Antidepressants and Inhalants, an eLearning course in a series of Drug Identification
modules, explores commonly abused depressants, sedatives, antidepressants, and
inhalants. The other courses in this series include Stimulants, The Opioid Crisis in America, Hallucinogens, and Dissociative Anesthetics.
As reported by the US Surgeon General in 2015, 1.5 million
Americans aged 12 or older reported misusing sedatives in the past year.
Furthermore, 6.1 million individuals reported misusing tranquilizers such as
Xanax®. Especially concerning, many of these individuals mix sedatives and/or
tranquilizers with alcohol, a depressant in its own right. This risky behavior
increases the potential for overdose which can occur when critical areas in the
brain that control breathing, heart rate, and body temperature stop
functioning.
The learning modules
explore current trends relating to these substances, examine side effects and
symptoms of abuse, discuss the synergistic effects of depressants mixed with
alcohol, and review common and household items used for inhalant properties. Key
topics in this course include muscle relaxers, GHB, solvents, interactions with
alcohol, and the growing use among younger populations.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify commonly abused depressants, sedatives,
antidepressants, and inhalants
- Discuss the current trends relating to these
substances
- Summarize the side effects and/or symptoms of
abuse for depressants, antidepressants, sedatives, and inhalants
- Describe the synergistic effect that occurs when
depressants are mixed with alcohol
- Identify the household and other common items
that are used for their inhalant properties
Target Audience: Law enforcement, criminal justice
professionals, service providers, corrections professionals, court system
personnel, social workers, behavioral health/treatment providers, and other
community stakeholders.
Cooperative Partners: This tuition-free online
training was developed by the National
Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College and was
originally supported by cooperative agreement 2017-CK-WXK-007 by the U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).
Learning Hours: 1
hour including the pre-test and post-test.
Is this POST approved in my state?
