Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Mental illness and drug addiction
Opioids controversial essay
Impact of drug abuse on family
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Mental illness and drug addiction
Drug and alcohol abuse affects men and women of all colors, religions, backgrounds, and ages in every corner of our country. We will cover the statistics on drugs and alcohol addictions and how certain drugs affect a person. Additionally we will cover how substance abuse affects a person’s family and community. Most importantly we will cover the treatment and prevention of substance abuse.
Statistics on Drug and Alcohol Addiction
In the United States, 2,500 youths between the ages of 12 to 17 will try a prescription drug for the first time. In the United States, more than 15 million people abuse prescription drugs, which is more than the combined number who reported abusing cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin. Prescription drug abuse causes the largest percentage of deaths from drug overdosing. Opioid painkillers were the most common drug, accounting for 38.2% of deaths in relation to overdosing. (World, 2006-2013)
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug use and Health, 23.5 million people 12 years of age and older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol abuse problem in 2009.In the year of 2009, it was reported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey that the illicit drug addiction rate has risen its highest level in the past eight years in the United States. (Centers, 2013)
In America, since 1980, the number of deaths related to drug overdoses has risen over 540 percent. Baltimore, Maryland has more individuals per capita living with a heroin addiction than any other state in the United States. Since 1990, the number of individuals who take prescription drugs illegally is believed to have risen by over 50...
... middle of paper ...
...also being designed to accommodate the needs of women who are pregnant or have children. The primary goal of the therapeutic communities is to focus on the re-socialization of the patient to a drug free, crime free lifestyle.
Individual’s progress through drug addiction treatment at various rates prohibiting creating a specified length of time for how long a client must stay in treatment. An appropriate time varies depending on the severity of the addiction. The steps to recovery are a long-term process and can take more than one attempt in seeking help. Within a treatment program, successful clinicians can establish a positive, therapeutic relationship with their patients. The clinician should ensure that a treatment plan is developed cooperatively with the person seeking treatment that the plan is followed, and that treatment expectations are clearly understood.
On the typical day, over 90 people will die at the hand of opioid abuse in America alone (National). In fact, as of 2014, nearly 2 million Americans were dependent and abusing opioids. The Opioid Crisis has affected America and its citizens in various ways, including health policy, health care, and the life in populous areas. Due to the mass dependence and mortality, the crisis has become an issue that must be resolved in all aspects.
The documentary states that over 27,000 deaths a year are due to overdose from heroin and other opioids. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 prescription pain relievers account for 20,101 overdose deaths, and 12,990 overdose deaths are related to heroin (Rudd et al., 2010-2015). The documentary’s investigation gives the history of how the heroin epidemic started, with a great focus on the hospice movement. We are presented with the idea that once someone is addicted to painkillers, the difficulty in obtaining the drug over a long period of time becomes too expensive and too difficult. This often leads people to use heroin. This idea is true as a 2014 survey found that 94% of respondents who were being treated for opioid addiction said they chose to use heroin because prescription opioids were “more expensive and harder to obtain (Cicero et al., 2014).” Four in five heroin users actually started out using prescription painkillers (Johns, 2013). This correlation between heroin and prescription painkiller use supports the idea presented in the documentary that “prescription opiates are heroin prep school.”
Almost one hundred years ago, prescription drugs like morphine were available at almost any general store. Women carried bottles of very addictive potent opiate based pain killers in their purse. Many individuals like Edgar Allen Poe died from such addictions. Since that time through various federal, state and local laws, drugs like morphine are now prescription drugs; however, this has not stopped the addiction to opiate based pain killers. Today’s society combats an ever increasing number of very deadly addictive drugs from designer drugs to narcotics to the less potent but equally destructive alcohol and marijuana. With all of these new and old drugs going in and out of vogue with addicts, it appears that the increase of misuse and abuse is founded greater in the prescription opiate based painkillers.
Almost everybody on Long Island, and probably all around the world, has been prescribed a drug by a doctor before— whether it was to knock out a nasty virus, or relieve pain post injury or surgery. However, what many people don’t realize is that these drugs can have highly addictive qualities, and more and more people are becoming hooked, specifically teenagers. But when does harmlessly taking a prescription drug to alleviate pain take the turn into the downward spiral of abuse? The answer to that question would be when the user begins taking the drug for the “high” or good feelings brought along with it—certainly not what it was prescribed for (1). The amount of teens that abuse prescription medications has been rapidly increasing in recent
Substance abuse treatments are offered in a variety of ways. Some treatments can be done on an outpatient basis, while others may require a stay in a hospital or other facility. The two types of treatments are similar in nature. The main difference is that outpatient treatment is offered to those addicts that have circumstances or situations that will not allow them to get treatment in an inpatient rehabilitation program. Outpatient programs provide patients with more freedom of movement which allows them to maintain a regular commitment to family, work, and educational responsibilities. (Gifford, 2015). This service is also used for those that have already been a part of an inpatient rehabilitation program, yet still require some further support so they do not relapse. Both treatment types first seek to help the individual with their physical addiction and get them rehabilitated, and then focuses on the underlying causes of their addiction and help them deal with it to help prevent and avoid any relapse. Choosing which type of treatment is needed and which would best benefit the individual would need to be decided between the addict and their doctor or counselor. It is not a decision to be made lightly especially for those that need the extra care that an inpatient facility would
Substance abuse is the habitual use of mind altering substances (Substances). Addicts have a false or altered look on reality; they need help seeing what is wrong with the life style they are living. Nikki Sixx once said,” Addiction- When you can give something up at any time, as long as it’s next Tuesday!” Recovery is teaching a person to break old habits. Substance abuse counselors are very important, not only in the mental health field, but in society as well.
The consequences that follow the use of any drug are unfavorable. Although many individuals may see drug addiction as a mere lifestyle choice, it is a problem that many individuals suffer from and inevitably a growing issue that leaves major social and economic impacts.
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.
Nobody denies that every client and situation is unique, but there is a general layout out of a treatment plan that can be used thought out the facility to ensure success for the client. The first step in the treatment plan is to screen clients to determine if he/she meets the criteria of the facilities drug, or alcohol program. The facility will use the standard CAGE, of the Substance Abuse Subtitle Screening Inventory questioner as a screening tool. These two screening tools are consist of few questions and require only short answers to determine (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2012). These tools are easy to use and can be done by any qualified staff according to the ASAM. If more through information is needed then the client will go under an assessment.
It has become one of the major social problems of our day, leaving a great number of families and communities within our country devastated and without hope of recuperation for any of their afflicted members and loved ones. Growing to become a big social challenge affecting all aspects of the American society, addiction rates have escalated to enormous proportions within the country as reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Addiction has been described as a chronic brain disorder,” resulting from adaptations in the brain that leads to changes in behavior”, according to Dr. Nora Volkow, who also assert that it can be treated (NIDA 2006).
In America there is are an estimated 12.8 million Americans who use drugs. Out of the 12.8 million 6 percent of the population are kids ranging from 12 years of age and older. This number shows the number for people who have used drugs in the last 30 days. Th...
The rate of death due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. According to the Congressional Quarterly Transcription’s article "Rep. Joe Pitt Holds a Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse," opioid prescription drugs were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2010, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of heroin and cocaine. Prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes "condemn a patient to lifelong addiction," according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This problem not only affects the lives of those who overdose but it affects the communities as well due to the convenience of being able to find these items in drug stores and such. Not to mention the fact that the doctors who prescribe these opioids often tend to misuse them as well. Abusing these prescribed drugs can “destroy dreams and abort great destinies," and end the possibility of the abuser to have a positive impact in the community.
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...
Drug and alcohol abuse has become a worldwide epidemic within today’s society. The battle against drugs and alcohol is not going to diminish. Therefore, we as a society need to work together to address these problems while incorporating successful treatment plans and services for these individuals. The addiction to these substances does not only effect oneself, but can also have profound consequences for the children and families.
In conclusion, drug and alcohol abuse and misuse is a major part of American society. The battle to reduce the rampant use of drugs and alcohol is being fought everyday by America?s schools, families, and politicians. Their goal is simply stated but perhaps impossible to accomplish: to create a ?drug free? society(Duke and Gross 200).However, with the increased help of psychologists, sociologists, and medical officials, perhaps Americans will finally learn the evils which arise from the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Lives are ruined, dreams are shattered, and society loses many important people to alcoholism and drug abuse. Maybe if we are smart it will all stop.