Substance abuse can include any substance or substances such as alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, cigarettes etc. Any and all of these can become addictive to people very quickly. For years,
people believed that addiction was a willful vice that they do to themselves. For years is has been viewed as an individual problem instead of a social problem.
Americans today have many different views than 100 years ago about addiction, alcohol and drugs. In the early days of the 19th century, it was only a dream that a drug could save a life. Today drugs are used for specific treatments of specific diseases. However, they are also a multi billion-dollar business both legal and illegal that is not only saving millions of lives but also destroying millions of lives.
The first revolution of substances in the early 19th century brought diseases under control with the use of vaccines. These substances/vaccines helped convince the public that medicine was capable of producing drugs with powerful and selective benefits.
The second pharmacological revolution resulted from the introduction of sulfa drugs, penicillin and others. First effective during World War II, they were used as treatments for injuries and infections.
The third pharmacological revolution was the development of psychopharmacology that began in the 1950’s. This period saw the introduction of antipsychotic drugs for the treatment of major psychotic disorders. These drugs freed thousands of patients from long-term hospitalization. It helped restructure our approach to mental illnesses on several levels. Because of these advances in psychopharmacology, we came to except the notion that drugs can have powerful effects on our emotions and ...
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...ve Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention Treatment and Rehabilitation Act, the hearings and subsequent events related to alcoholism and addiction were not given much thought. “Hughes Act” named for Harold Hughes who got press attention because the press was much more interested in the Vietnam War.
Legislation established the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), which gives grants based on population to states for the treatment and prevention of alcoholism. Provides grants to public and private non –profit agencies to conduct demonstration projects, provide education for training of the treatment of alcoholism.
During this period, the “concept” of house or therapeutic community began to evolve. Programs like Synnanon in California and Daytop Village in New York started for drug addicts.
Statistics for alcohol consumption in Massachusetts
Medicine has come a long way from the Greek period. Theories composed of the four elements were used to explain the sick phenomenon that happens to our bodies. Many of the those theories are not relevant as of now. Medicine and remedies has begun with the Earth, providing all types of compounds and mixtures to meddle with. It began with what nature offered: natural lush of sprouts, flowers, trees, bushes, herbs, and more. And now, medicine has become expanded widely through the examinations of scientists and doctors to counter or lessen many types of diseases, poisons, and epidemic that are drawn to humans.
The center combines a safe housing environment with structured educational programs that incorporate the philosophies of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous is the original self help group founded on principles that provide support and encouragement for recovering alcoholics. New members are encouraged to work with a spon...
Most of these medical advances were a result and were an influence of World War I. Probably one of the most important medical advances was the discovery of penicillin in 1928 by a Scottish, microbiologist named Alexander Fleming, he had actually accidently discovered it, when he noticed that a bacteria culture he had been growing, had stopped, he realized that it had been contaminated by a rare form of mold called Penicillin and that it had killed the bacteria.
The human condition which is spoken about in Alcoholics Anonymous is the dichotomy of the life of the alcoholic. These alcoholics are not easy to categorize; they are not always a Dr Jekyll by day and Mr Hyde by night. Bill, who explains his life story in the first chapter, explains how he studied economics, business and law to join speculators on Wall Street. Up until this point, drinking had interfered in his life, but was not a continuous plague. Yet, over the course of time he becomes an alcoholic for a variety of reasons, like many individuals described throughout the book. The alcoholics described are not portrayed as unintelligent, unsuccessful or insignificant. They are men who have high positions, who are by turns "brilliant, fast-thinking, imaginative and likeable" (139). The conclusion of a prima facie inspection of these individuals would not include over indulgence of alcohol. But under the alcoholic influence these attributes worthy of note slowly atrophy and...
AA’s founder Bill Wilson asserted that alcoholism is a spiritual disease with only one cure., AA believes that the one and only cure is by following, and living by the 12 step program. Alcohol Anonymous 12-step program derived from this type of thinking and from the very beginning, new members are taught that they are absolutely powerless to alcohol, and that the only way for you to be cured is for “a power greater than yourself could restore you to sanity”. AA members separate themselves from the rest of society, and attribute their drinking problems to every other aspect of their lives. There is a list of contributing factors to an individual’s disease, published by Bill Wilson. The list is roughly 25 aspects of every alcoholic’s life but Alcohol is never listed because in Mr. Wilson’s eyes it’s not the alcohol that is the problem. Instead it is the individual that has become a victim to the alcohol.
However, before the specific outcomes of Congressional influence and policy impact can be evaluated it becomes important to first review the general history and current situation of drugs today. Our present drug laws were first enacted at the beginning of the century. At the time, recreational use of narcotics was not a major social issue. The first regulatory legislation was for the purpose of standardizing the manufacturing and purity of pharmaceutical products. Shortly after, the first criminal laws were enacted which addressed opium products and cocaine. Although some states had prohibited the recreational use of marijuana, there was no federal criminal legislation until 1937. By contrast, the use of alcohol and its legality was a major social issue in United States in the early 20th century. This temperance movement culminated in the prohibition of alcohol from 1920 to 1933. Recreational drug use, particularly heroin, became more prevalent among the urban poor during the early ?60s. Because of the high cost of heroin and its uncertain purity, its use was associated with crime and frequent overdoses.
Robinson, David. From Drinking to Alcoholism: A Social Commentary. London: John Wiley and Sons, 1976.
This idea sounded ideal, especially with the discovery of psychotropic medication, but it eventually led to an increase in repres...
Substance abuse and addiction have become a social problem that afflicts millions of individuals and disrupts the lives of their families and friends. Just one example reveals the extent of the problem: in the United States each year, more women and men die of smoking related lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined (Kola & Kruszynski, 2010). In addition to the personal impact of so much illness and early death, there are dire social costs: huge expenses for medical and social services; millions of hours lost in the workplace; elevated rates of crime associated with illicit drugs; and scores of children who are damaged by their parents’ substance abuse behavior (Lee, 2010). This paper will look at the different theories used in understanding drug abuse and addiction as well as how it can be prevented and treated.
Alcohol and Alcoholism is a big part in our society, which should be recognized and dealt with.
Block, Marvin A. Alcoholism: Its Facets and Phases. The John Day Company, New York, 1962, 1965. (Pages 145-153)
... stricter policies about drinking on college campuses throughout the nation. The most well known group, Alcoholic Anonymous, was founded in 1935 by Wilson and Smith in Akron, Ohio. The purpose was to anonymously treat users and allow them to confide and share their feelings with others in a similar position or willing to help.
Drug abuse dates as far back as the Biblical era, so it is not a new phenomenon. “The emotional and social damage and the devastation linked to drugs and their use is immeasurable.” The ripple of subversive and detrimental consequences from alcoholism, drug addictions, and addictive behavior is appalling. Among the long list of effects is lost productivity, anxiety, depression, increased crime rate, probable incarceration, frequent illness, and premature death. The limitless consequences include the destruction to personal development, relationships, and families (Henderson 1-2). “Understandably, Americans consider drug abuse to be one of the most serious problems” in the fabric of society. And although “addiction is the result of voluntary drug use, addiction is no longer voluntary behavior, it’s uncontrollable behavior,” says Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Torr 12-13).
Abuse can cause countless medical problems to the body. A person who is addicted will continue to stimulate themselves regardless if they are aware of the negative chain reactions. Once addicted, it becomes difficult to stop due to how the body has become dependent. Health will be harmed the more a stimulant is used. Health effects include: cardiovascular disease, strokes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, lung disease, mental disease, birth defects. Mental health is what keeps a person in the right mind to make better decisions and have better control in life. Drugs have the ability to change mood and behavior. If drugs have affected the brain already, the desire increases which changes mental health. Some may not realize that they have been affected their health negatively. “A person who abuses drugs may not realize they have a problem until pronounced effects of drug abuse are seen, often physically. While drug abuse effects on the body vary depending on the drug used, all drug abuse negatively impacts one 's health (Addictions Community). Since drugs create many health issues, treatment is not a simple task. Treatments are hard to obtain and addictions often go
The term alcoholism came around the mid-eighteenth century in Sweden. Alcoholism was used to depict someone in a condition of constant alcohol intoxication that was characterized by harsh bodily pathology and interruption of social functioning. Before alcoholism became a widely known term, other famous expressions were drunkard, intemperance, barrel fever, dipsomania, and a couple others. Alcoholism became a popular term and used in the American profession around the nineteenth century. First in American literature and then moved on to Medical Records and the Quarterly Journal of Inebriety (White 36). The organization of Alcoholics Anonymous happened to use the word alcoholism a lot which made the term even more popular, after the prohibition.