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Consequences of drug abuse an essay
Consequences of drug abuse an essay
Negative effects of drug abuse
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Narcotic Parents Drugs are a very beneficial thing to mankind. Through prescriptions and medicated substances, many people have lived longer their ancestors 100 years ago would had with the same ailment. However, no matter what there are always those who abuse the system. Narcotics, or drugs used to effect mood and behavior and sold for nonmedical purposes (as stated by Google), are a heavy pressing matter from local law enforcement to the president himself. Parents all across the globe are hooked onto one form of substance or another, and this causes a serious problem. Yes, the parents are effected obviously by the side effects from these illegal drugs, but their children are an overlooked casualty. Teenagers and young ones alike are negatively affected from parental drug abuse, and with drug use on the rise, generations to come can be damaged beyond repair without a proper solution. The heavy misuse of opioids and other illegal substances undoubtedly has negative health …show more content…
Of course, sickness and death of their parents puts avoidable hardships in an offspring life, but there is so much more before those irreversible diseases kick in. Obsession to a drug can cause rifts in spouse’s relationships, and bring about a split up or divorce. Whilst the parents become evidently depressed, so do their children. Also narcotics such as marijuana can enter a young one’s body through second hand smoke, and cause unforeseeable health problems in the future such as asthma or cancer. Withdrawal from drugs can cause a parent to become violent, which leads to child abuse. Also, children who witness drugs being taken within their home from a young age get the idea that it is okay, and turn to a life of them from their teenage years forward (How Children Are Affected). It is evident that even without using them one’s self, a child can be severely damaged from their guardians abusing
Drugs have been a part of society since time began, although the drugs may have been in many different forms, and ingested in many different ways it still played a part in our history. Many people have lost their lives to drugs, and many have benefited from them as well.
The documentary “The Medicated Child” gave me a lot of insight into the lives of children diagnosed with bipolar disorder. When we hear and learn about bipolar disorder, we do not normally think of children. However, there are many children diagnosed with bipolar disorder ranging from all ages. As we saw in the documentary, bipolar disorder can be very hard on both the child and the family, so finding a cure that is effective and safe is important. The video also highlighted how little research there has been on the effectiveness of antidepressants on children.
...livery, low birth weight, growth defects and most importantly, drug withdrawal. Marijuana and cigarette smoking can lead to early miscarriage, low birth weight and other health issues including asthma. All illegal drugs will effect the healthy development of the child in the future years. A child may suffer from the strains of withdrawal, show developmental delays, as well as behavioural and learning disabilities.
The war on drugs in our culture is a continuous action that is swiftly lessening our society. This has been going on for roughly 10-15 years and has yet to slow down in any way. Drugs continue to be a problem for the obvious reason that certain people abuse them in a way that can lead to ultimate harm on such a person. These drugs do not just consist of street drugs (marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy), but prescription medications as well. Although there are some instances where drugs are being used by subjects excessively, there has been medical research to prove that some of these drugs have made a successful impact on certain disorders and diseases.
Substance addiction is becoming an epidemic. While some people can quit using a substance without any help, most people need help to their recovery. Narcotics anonymous is an important support group for our society. There are many different narcotic anonymous programs to join that have meetings throughout the week. The members of the support group all share one thing in common, they suffer from different types of chemical dependency. Members help each other because they have the same problems and worries that everyone in the room has. Though they may be struggling with different stages in their life, for the most part, they all relate to what each is going through. Just as AA, NA focuses on the 12-step program. The members of
Drug use as well as drug abuse is on a constant rise. There is a wide spread misunderstanding about drugs. Many believe a drug is something that the government has said is illegal to use or consume. However this is not entirely true. A drug is any chemical you take that affects the way your body works. Alcohol, caffeine, aspirin and nicotine are all drugs. A drug must be able to pass from your body into your brain. Once inside your brain, drugs can change the messages your brain cells are sending to each other, and to the rest of your body. They do this by interfering with your brain's own chemical signals, I will discuss this further later on in the paper.
Drugs and alcohol have been used for medical and recreational purposes throughout history. With advancement of technology it has become easier and easier to access these substances. It is not only illegal drugs but prescription drugs that are being misused and wreaking havoc across the world. Even with billions of dollars being paid out to stop the war on drugs, the problem persists. People from all walks of life have been affected by drugs or are becoming drug addicts themselves. One particular group afflicted by the misuse of these substances is the children of drug addicted parents. According to Cattapan and Grimwade, “Drug use seen in one generation affects the lives of the next”. Children with one or both parents on drugs face huge disadvantages. They suffer from physical abuse, and emotional trauma with lifelong effects and their family unit is torn apart. Social institutions are being overloaded with the need to help or relocate these children.
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 impacts the users and the people involved in their life. Beyond the harmful consequences to health, finances, and occupation; children of addicted parents are perhaps the most affected. Growing up with and addict can mean having to handle varies unethical situations. For instance, not being their parent’s main priority. Their relationship with their drug of choice surpasses the bond they share with their kids. Likewise, living without established rules or any form of guidance. Their so undependable that the child has to find ways to fend for oneself and take on responsibilities normally performed by the parent. Furthermore, parental addiction can cause the children to live in constant fear because it’s uncertain what mood the parent will be in at any given time. What happens if the parent decides to get sober and start acting like a parent?
Over 24 million United States residents 12 and older are facing drug addiction, but shockingly only 10 percent will obtain help from an expert facility (“Substance Abuse and Mental Health”). Abuse and addiction negatively effects the addict along with humanity. An estimated $600 billion is spent annually as a result of substance abuse. As surprising as this number may be, it does not explain the depth of damaging public health and safety implications of drug addiction, essentially there may be child abuse, domestic violence, and loss of employment (“Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction”). Addicts face critical health complications, monetary problems, ruined families, illnesses, or even death. As an addict falls further into their addiction, they will lose control of their drug usage, and most times exhibit harm to themselves and others (“Drug Abuse Ruins Lives”). Drug abuse takes a major toll on the addict, their family and on work relationships; on the other hand, there are numerous of people who have dealt with substance abuse overcame their situation and used it as motivation.
According to one source, “Teens who consistently learn about the risks of drugs from their parents are up to fifty percent less likely to use drugs than those who don’t” (11 facts). This matters because when teenagers are more aware of the risk, they are less likely to use drugs, knowing what the causes are. Teenagers are known to put a great deal of energy into things they enjoy. According to a well-known source, “Research shows that teens put a great deal of energy into concealing drug and alcohol use” (Look for signs). This means, if the teenager enjoys using drugs, they are going to put as much energy as it takes to get these drugs.
When one member of a family is involve in the misuse of drugs, the whole family is affect irrespective of whether the drug abuser is a senior or junior. As a result, the relationship between family members is affected negatively; therefore, the family may end up being dysfunctional (Barnard, 2007).
Furthermore the children of families that are chemically dependent are more likely to development negative psychological and physiological effects. In a recent reading by Scott Russell sanders he recalls some of the mental traumas associated with such abuse of having a family member that was chemically dependent on alcohol. “When drunk, our father was clearly in his wrong mind. He became a stranger, as fearful to us as any graveyard lunatic, not quite frothing at the mouth but fierce enough, quick-tempered, explosive; or else he grew maudlin and weepy, which frightened us nearly as much”(Norton
One last reason is the drug users would hurt their family if they cannot have access to take the drugs for a long time. The drug users’ family is easy to occur loss of employment, the family the disintegration of family, domestic violence especially child abuse (NIH 2012). And the children are easy to addict the drugs if the parents are drug users, because the children gain genetic feature from parents (LIVESTRONG.COM
Throughout history, drugs have been nothing but a social problem, a burden per say. From Edgar Allen Poe smoking opium in an attempt to make his poetry more creative, to Vietnam soldiers coming back from the war addicted to heroin. Narcotics was not a serious issue at the time, only a small handful of people were actually doing the drugs, and they were just simply looked down upon. It was not until the late nineteen sixties when recreational drug use became fashionable among young, white, middle class American citizens, that the United States Government “put it’s foot down”. (pbs.com)