The subject of drug abuse can be difficult for most. Many people struggle with drug
abuse and know someone that is fighting addiction or dependency. Many people who know
someone try to help them but sometimes the user is afraid of withdrawals because they know that
they have to go through stages that can be harmful or vehement. There are many places that can
treat people for drug abuse and they can help them recover and change their way of life so that
they can have a new start and so they can change for a better life. During Ken Adelman’s
interview he asked a series of questions about abuse of drugs. One of the questions he asked was,
“What's the worst type of addiction--alcohol, prescription drugs, or narcotics?” (Adelman). I
think that addiction is caused because someone does not feel like they can live without it, almost
like an enslavement. Turns out that that is what addiction actually is, it is actually someone not
feeling the urge to change because they feel worse without it. The actual answer to the question
was answered by Babette Wise and he answered that “They're equally bad. Drug use involves
more legal problems. We're seeing more prescription-drug addiction. We need to educate doctors
better. We're doing that at Georgetown. Yesterday I taught second-year psychiatry residents
about addiction. The best way to teach this is by bringing in a highly functional alcoholic or
addict who's been okay for a few years. After she tells her story, the residents say "Wow! “We
send our entire first-year medical-school class--some 165 students--to AA meetings around town.
The best way for future doctors to learn about the disease is from the real experts. And those are
found at AA meetings. What work...
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...nother being is going through the same thing and when they
succeed they realize that they can do the same and that they can change and find a calling in life.
A lot of public speakers who talk about abuse of drugs and addiction were once addicts
themselves, or they actually know the effects of the dangers and they want people to not have to
be a state of denial. Drugs can harm someone’s wellbeing and cause them to not see the good in
things that they had once seen as fun or enjoyable.
Works Cited
"Official Foundation for a Drug-Free World Website, Prescription Drug Abuse." Official Foundation for a Drug-Free World Website, Prescription Drug Abuse. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
"Prescription Drugs." NIDA for Teens. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
"TakingITGlobal – Inspire, Inform, Involve." Dangers of Drug Abuse Among Youth. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
It is not uncommon to view drug addiction as a problem that is created and maintained by the drug addicts. Most of
Brent Q. Hafen ed, Drug Abuse: Psychology, Sociology, Pharmacology. (Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1973).
Drugs and Behavior, Rebecca Schilit and Edith Lisansky Gomberg, Page 62, SAGE Publications, Inc.- 1991
A drug refers to a substance that when taken, alters the way an individual 's body functions. There are different categories of drugs, and that include inhalants such as glues, stimulants such as the crystal meth and cocaine and the depressants such as Valium. Drug abuse refers to the pattern of behavior in which an individual consumes drugs in quantities and methods that are hazardous to both himself and his environment. It is a consequential effect of drug usage. Addiction, on the other hand, refers to a disorder to which an individual compulsively uses drugs that in the end alter the functioning of the brain. People use drugs for various reasons. For some take in drugs is out of curiosity, as a result of peer influence or as
According to President Barak Obama there are over 20 million Americans who struggle with substance abuse. (OBAMA, B. 2014). Although addiction is rampant in the United States there are intervention programs available for those who are seeking out recovery. Researchers explain that addiction is a
National Institute on Drug Abuse (2009). Preventing Drug Abuse: The Best Strategy . Retrieved October 21, 2011, from http://www.nida.nih.gov/scienceofaddiction/strategy.html
Substance abuse is not a subject to be taken lightly. It is classified as the overconsumption
Main Point: What defines an addiction? According to Psychology Today, “Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance…. or engages in an activity….that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health.” This can range anywhere from drug use to eating disorders, to gambling, to even texting in today’s generation. Shocking to say the least, especially when most people do not even know they are addicted or are an addict until they realize this definition.
Drugs cause an overall disturbance in a subjects’ physiological, psychological and emotional health. “At the individual level, drug abuse creates health hazards for the user, affecting the educational and general development of youths in particular” (“Fresh Challenge”). In youth specifically, drug abuse can be triggered by factors such as: a parent’s abusive behavior, poor social skills, family history of alcoholism or substance abuse, the divorce of parents or guardians, poverty, the death of a loved one, or even because they are being bullied at school (“Drugs, brains, and behavior”) .
Drug abuse and addiction are issues that affect people everywhere. However, these issues are usually treated as criminal activity rather than issues of public health. There is a conflict over whether addiction related to drug abuse is a disease or a choice. Addiction as a choice suggests that drug abusers are completely responsible for their actions, while addiction as a disease suggests that drug abusers need help in order to break their cycle of addiction. There is a lot of evidence that suggests that addiction is a disease, and should be treated rather than punished. Drug addiction is a disease because: some people are more likely to suffer from addiction due to their genes, drug abuse brought on by addictive behavior changes the brain and worsens the addiction, and the environment a person lives in can cause the person to relapse because addiction can so strongly affect a person.
Drug abuse has been a hot topic for our society due to how stimulants interfere with health, prosperity, and the lives of others in all nations. All drugs have the potential to be misapplied, whether obtained by prescription, over the counter, or illegally. Drug abuse is a despicable disease that affects many helpless people. Majority of those who are beset with this disease go untreated due to health insurance companies who neglect and discriminate this issue. As an outcome of missed opportunities of treatments, abusers become homeless, very ill, or even worst, death.
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.
The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.
Drug abuse and addiction not only has negative effects in the lives of the people involved, but also in the lives of their close relatives, friends and immediate society. It leads to disintegration, failure in school, loss of employment and violence. Although intake of drugs is a voluntary and conscious decision initially, continuous intake of drugs changes the brain and challenges the self-control of the “addicted person” and inhibits the ability to resist extreme desire for drug intake.
Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.