The Nation's Drug Problem

1601 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How drug abuse affects society

Nation's Drug Problem (United States) Over the last couple of years, there has been increased concern over the effects of drugs on the health of Americans. This is mainly due to the increased use of drugs by most citizens, which has caused the government to spend a lot of money to curb this problem. One of the most abused drugs is alcohol, and American citizens are increasingly becoming addicted to it. It is also the most undesirable drug, as it costs the government over $200 billion in terms of productivity, health and crime-related costs (Office of National Drug Control Policy 2). Marijuana, which accounts for over $100 billion in costs, is the next most common drug after alcohol. Drug addiction is not only in adults, but also in underage individuals. This means, the entire population is affected. The increased indulgence in drug and substance abuse has been associated with several issues, among them one’s heredity and surroundings. Firstly, research on establishing the ideal connection between drugs abuse and genetics is still incomplete. This research may perhaps establish mechanisms that could prevent the problem from deteriorating. Unfavorable surroundings also greatly influence individuals to engage in drugs and substance abuse. When an individual lives in a drug prone area, there is a high possibility that he/she will indulge in substance abuse. Peer pressure in students and teenagers also lures them into substance abuse (Office of National Drug Control Policy 2). During this stage of human development, individuals tend to emulate and copy what others are doing and consider defiance as a good attribute. Using drugs, while associating them with achievement, causes young individuals to become addicted without even reali... ... middle of paper ... ... Deborah. Nation's Prescription Drug Abuse Problem Continues to Grow. Medscape Medical News. June 30, 2011. Web. 21 August 2011. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2007. Web. 21 August 2011. National Institute on Drug Abuse. NIDA InfoFacts: Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction. NIDA. March, 2011. Web. 21 August 2011. Office of National Drug Control Policy. The Economic Costs of Drug Abuse in the United States, 1992-2002. Executive Office of the President. 2004. Web. 21 August 2011. Open Society Foundations. Tackling Drug Addiction. n.p. 2011. Web. 21 August 2011. Rehm, James and Collins, Mathers. Global burden of disease and injury and economic cost attributable to alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders. Lancet. 373. 9682 (2009):2223–2233. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Temperance Movement and Opium

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...y, H. (2008). Drug use and abuse: a comprehensive introduction (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

    Read More

  • The Canada 's Drug Problem

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bruce K. Alexander’s essay “reframing Canada’s drug problem is about how the focus needs to be shifting from intervention to prevention

    Read More

  • America's War on Drugs: Policy and Problems

    4902 Words  | 10 Pages

    America's War on Drugs: Policy and Problems. In this paper I will evaluate America's War on Drugs. More specifically, I will outline our nation's general drug history and look critically at how Congress has influenced our current ineffective drug policy. Through this analysis, I hope to show that drug prohibition policies in the United States, for the most part, have failed.

    Read More

  • Drugs And Legalization

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    the only way to make money. Minimum wage salaries can not compare to the huge

    Read More

  • Tobacco Cessation Proposal And Summary

    1992 Words  | 4 Pages

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2013). Healthy people 2020 topics & objectives: Tobacco use. Viewed at http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/TopicsObjectives2020/ObjectivesList.aspx?topicid=41#286842 .

    Read More

  • How Drug Addiction Affects Health and Behavior

    1147 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sarafino, Edward P. "Substance Use and Abuse." Health Psychology: Biopsychosocial Interactions. 7th ed. New York: Wiley, 2012. 182-214. Print.

    Read More

  • Past and Current Trends of Drug Abuse in the United States

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Drug abuse has changed over the years due to the trends that Americans face from the encouragement of different cultures. The abuse of substances creates many health problems. The following will discuss the past and current trends of drug use and the effects these drugs have on the health of the individuals who abuse the drugs.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Alcohol Taxes

    489 Words  | 1 Pages

    Excessive alcohol consumption is a serious public health issue in the United States. It is responsible for the deaths of over 79,000 people annually. Despite massive efforts to combat alcohol abuse since the 1980s, binge drinking has continued to rise. It is especially prevalent amongst underage drinkers, who binge drink at a rate of 90%. Alcohol taxes to fix various issues have been used throughout the history of the United States.

    Read More

  • The Dangers of Alcohol and Alcoholism

    3315 Words  | 7 Pages

    “For every family that is impacted by drugs, there are another 10 to 15 families impacted by alcohol abuse. It's a pretty big deal. We have a tendency to only look at part of the puzzle.” (Kevin Lewis). As a society we tend to categorize the severity of addiction in a way that drugs are the most dangerous and alcohol being just a problem. Because alcohol addiction can be a slow progressive disease many people don’t see it in the same light as drug addiction. An addiction to drugs is seen as being a more deadly and dangerous issue then that of alcohol because a drug addiction can happen more quickly and can kill more quickly. Alcohol is something that is easy to obtain, something that is found at almost every restaurant. People with an alcohol addiction can not hide from alcohol as easy as a drug addict. Approximately 7 million Americans suffer from alcohol abuse and another 7 million suffer from alcoholism. (Haisong 6) The dangers of alcohol affect everyone from children with alcoholic parents, to teenagers who abuse alcohol, then to citizens who are terrorized by drunk drivers.

    Read More

  • The drug control policy of the United States

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    The current situation of drug control in the United States is imperfect and inadequate. Millions of men and women, both young and old, are affected by illicit drug use. It costs the United States about $6,123 every second because of drug use and its consequences (Office). Moreover, 90 percent of all adults with a substance use disorder started using under the age of 18 and half under the age of 15. Children who first smoke marijuana under the age of 14 are five times more likely to abuse drugs as adults than those who first use marijuana at age 18. Finally, the children of alcoholics are four times more likely to develop problems with alcohol (Prevent). Current legislation that has to do with the United States’ drug control policy is the Controlled Substances Act, which regulates the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances (Shannon). In 1966, Congress passed the Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act also known as the NARA. This legislati...

    Read More

  • Drug Addiction In The United States

    540 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are 23.5 million Americans who are addicted to either alcohol or drugs. That is an estimate of one in every ten Americans over the age of twelve (“Drug Free”). Drug and alcohol addiction are probably two of the most commonly known addiction problems in the United States, if not in the world. Addictions involving drugs and alcohol can end in death. According to the Center for Disease

    Read More

  • Addiction in Adolescents

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    Everitt, B. Robbins, T. (1999) Drug addiction: bad habits add up. Macmillian Magazines, volume 389, pg 567-570.

    Read More

  • Substance Abuse Social Problem Essay

    1792 Words  | 4 Pages

    Perhaps most substance abuse starts in the teen years when young people are susceptible to pressure from their peers. One of the main concerns when dealing with substance abuse is the long term problems with substance such as addiction, dependency and tolerance. The physical state of an individual, who is addicted to a substance, will deteriorate over a long period of time. This is due to the chemicals that are being put into an individual body. One of the most important aspects of the effect of substance abuse on society includes ill health, disease, sickness, and in many cases death. The impact of substance abuse not only affects individuals who abuse substances but it affects our economy. Our government resources are negatively impacted by individual who abuse substances. According to (Lagliaro 2004) the implication of drug users extend far beyond the user, often damaging their relationships with their family, community, and health workers, volunteer and wider

    Read More

  • Teenagers and Drug Abuse

    1622 Words  | 4 Pages

    It has been discovered that most people who struggle with drug addiction began experimenting with drugs in their teens. Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy (Bauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives them.

    Read More

  • The Never Ending Drug War

    5184 Words  | 11 Pages

    Narcotics, guns and violence, the powerful elements of the never ending war. All these elements are part of the campaign to rid the world of the disaster that drugs so ferociously have inflicted upon America. The war, created by The United States’ demand and government circumstances, has been fighting drug lords and opportunists. The United States has for the past three decades declared that it is in a full fledged attack against drugs and the violence it fosters. For decades billions and billons of dollars have been justified through the infamous War on Drugs. The drug problem has not stopped. The money and military activity have not been enough, and the “urban problem,” has not been solved. It is that our governments do not have the strategic smarts to solve the problem? The United States has the largest demand of drugs in the world. While other countries also face the drug problem, The United States has spent the most and its effectiveness is questionable. Today’s “War on Drugs,” is merely the justification to the apprehension of many U.S. interest enemies and has been a loop hole to exploit many developing countries in South and Central America. The commerce that the narcotics create transcends the social, economic, political and cultural aspects. The corruption that the United States is trying to fight will not end as long as the organized corruption and demand in the United States is in existence.

    Read More

More about The Nation's Drug Problem

Open Document