Persuasive Essay About Drug Abuse

Drug abuse and addiction are a problem in many different countries. Although it is such a widespread issue, most people go day to day without being affected by drug abuse or even thinking about it. However, no one is safe from addiction; it torments people of all races, ages, classes, and professions. "Prescription drug abuse causes the largest percentage of deaths from drug overdosing. Of the 22,400 drug overdose deaths in the US in 2005, opioid painkillers were the most commonly found drug, accounting for 38.2% of these deaths." Drug and alcohol abuse wreak disastrous effects on society. The illicit drug trade is estimated at $322 billion annually—greater than the Gross Domestic Product of 88 percent of the world’s nations." Drug addiction

Some people argue that drug addiction is a result of growing up in a bad area, where more crime takes place, however, this is not the case. Anyone can become addicted to drugs, and this disease does not discriminate. Before Miles was addicted to drugs, when I was probably the age of 10, I remember hearing my parents and their friends having a talk. A family down the street from us had been on the Dr. Phil show, and it was revealed that the eldest son was addicted to pain medication, and needed help. I did not know at that age that anyone like us could have a drug problem. At the time I thought it was only a problem for the people on t.v. and at the street corners begging for change. If only I knew the extent of the issues our family would come to face in the future with this exact issue back

Education is the most powerful tool when shaping society. I believe that prevention is always better than a cure. Communication between parents and children could open up communication within households. Children need to be taught about the dangers of drug addiction at a young age and become further aware so that they can avoid this issue in the future. A second method of decreasing drug abuse is through counseling and treatment. Getting confidential guidance and help is a powerful tool one could utilize to help with an addiction problem. Another way we can stop drug abuse is to stop it at the source. Imposing more effective laws to stop the influx of drugs from other countries, as well as increasing police manpower to stop dealers from not only obtaining the drugs but also from selling them. For example, the American crack epidemic of the 1980’s was caused by a majority of cocaine being shipped to the United States from the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. Not long after there was a huge supply of cocaine causing prices to drop as much as eighty percent. Drug dealers then converted the powder to crack and began selling it for much cheaper. If the Coast Guard wouls have placed stricter laws about shipments coming into America, the copious amounts of cocaine flooding the United States, and in return the crack epidemic, could have been