Substance abuse consists of a vast range of destructive effects on its users, the people surrounding that individual and also society in its entirety. The repercussions of substance abuse has adverse consequences on families, such as finances and emotion turmoil. The abuser is likely to use all available resources to support the addiction they have developed, and disregarding other priorities and leaving them neglected. Due to the altered mental state of these individuals, it is not uncommon for them to initiate tendencies of violence and cruelty towards their family members which can occasionally enable a spouse to take on an unsound role to preserve their relationship. Unfortunately, children of parents who are substance abusers become a higher risk of experiencing physical and emotional trauma and possibly repeating the cycles. Substance abuse impacts society tremendously from every direction. The cost for enforcing drug laws and policies is a very expensive and extensive process, all ranging from street level enforcement, correctional facilities, as well as rehabilitation problems. Crime has always been associated with drugs in a large spectrum scaling from petty crime to more organized affiliations that wish to control drug trades. The violence and crime that these people create seriously disrupt our society and the citizen that abide by the law. Abusing drugs or alcohol is essentially allowing your body to be poisoned slowly over time and has a tremendously impact on multiple areas of one's health and wellness. These long-term abusers have an increased the risk of numerous ailments ranging from heart, liver, lung disease to nerve or brain damage. Substance abuse is seen as one of the most ubiquitous issues facing our nati... ... middle of paper ... ...be overcome with perseverance and hard work. Although costly, I believe that it can achieve significant prevention results with adolescents who are considered at highest risk because of multiple risk factors. Family bonds and parenting are crucial parts of a child's life. Parents should be able to provide important guidance through words and actions about the use of drugs or alcohol. According to the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), "the more often parents interact and talk with the children about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs, the less likely it will be for their children to experiment with them." If parents can establish and maintain good communication with their children, be a positive role model, get involved in their lives, and make clear rules and enforce them consistently, it can discourage them from getting started with drugs or alcohol.
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Show MoreDrug 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.
Before being capable of fighting the use of drugs and alchol, one must come to an understanding of why some people use drugs. The decision to ultimately use drugs is influenced mainly in childhood. Whether in a poor ?ghetto? neighborhood, or in a middle-class suburb, all children are vulnerable to the abuse of drugs. Most high-risk children are effected by personal and family circumstances (Falco 51). If a child?s parents are substance abusers, then it is a fairly safe prediction that the child will abuse drugs later in life. Also, early-life experiments with drugs greatly increases the chance of abuse later in life. Academic problems, and rebellious, anti-social behavior in elementary school are also linked to drug problems, in addition to truancy, delinquency, and ear...
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.
Substance abuse is a mental disorder that has numerous negative effects to everyone involved. When a person has an addiction they turn into someone different, their brain chemistry is changed and brain cells are lost. From a nursing standpoint there are many things we must consider when caring for a person who has an addiction.
Law enforcement personnel put their lives at risk every day, they see horrific crimes, and endure tragedies. Faced with significant pressures and continuous anxieties, emotions in officers may build up and lead to harmful behaviors if not dealt with properly (Maslach 1979). Warning signs of destructive behaviors for police officers include, unexpected changes in behavior, erratic work habits, increased sick days for trivial ailments, scattered thoughts, and excessive worrying (Territo, Vetter, 1981). These warning signs may lead to substance abuse and suicide (Territo, Vetter, 1981). “Police department officials have reported informally that as many as 25 percent of the officers in their respective departments have serious alcohol problems (Territo, Vetter, 1981).” According to Blackmore (1987) 10 percent of police officers have drug problems. Substance abuse not only affects the officer, but also directly affects their family. The effects of substance abuse on offspring were studied in an experiment, which concluded that all of the children of the respective parents had higher rates of conduct disorder and depression (Merikangas, Dierker, & Szatmari, 1998). Being addicted to any substance that alters a person’s state of mind, behavior or mood influences children negatively. As a child, seeing a parent dependent on drugs or alcohol displays a false pathway in life and may increase the child’s likelihood to become addicted to alcohol or drugs later on in their life. Not only is addiction a bad influence, it also causes distance in family relationships. A mother and father are portrayed as role models and caregivers, therefore it is important for a law enforcement officer to not only protect the community but also his or her own
Since family structures are taking on various forms, families have become more complex and evolving from the traditional nuclear family to single parent families, stepfamilies, foster families, and multigenerational families. When a family member abuses substances, the effects on the family may differ depending on the structure. Extended family members may experience feelings of abandonment, anxiety, fear, anger, concern, embarrassment, or guilt; they may wish to ignore or cut ties with the person abusing substances. Effects on families may continue for generations. Neighbors, friends, and coworkers also experience the effects of substance abuse since the person who abuses substances often is unreliable.
“Our kids have to understand that drinking underage is a poor decision that could drastically affect their chances to achieve the goals they 've set.” - Tony Cardenas
Many addictive substances are consumed widely, with little regulation, meaning they affect millions or even billions of people. Not to mention the destructive effects of substance addiction for individuals. People can lose their relationships, their jobs, and their freedom to an addiction. Addictions often lead to death. Understanding addiction, how it happens, and how it can be treated can save people’s lives. Unlike many other addictive substances, alcohol is relatively inexpensive, with some beers costing about as much as soft drinks. (In comparison, in 2012, the average price of cocaine per gram in 2012 was $185.) Alcohol is also the most widely used psychoactive drug after caffeine, even by people who wouldn’t call themselves drug users
Drug addiction, whether illegal substance or alcohol, robs an individual of their mental capacity, friends, family, and life, in the most tragic cases. The lack of inhibition a person feels under the influence of alcohol is depressing, literally, their potential to lead a full productive life. A deadly stimulant that seduces with a high that infects the person’s mind and one’s life, meth shows no mercy. Rehabilitation, employment, family definitely help the recovering substance addict, but the years wasted on drugs can never be relived. Please contact us for help a loved one needs today. Children need parents, family is the greatest resource.
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).
The crippling effects of alcoholism and drug dependency are not confined to the addict alone. The family suffers, physically and emotionally, and it is the children who are the most disastrous victims. Frequently neglected and abused, they lack the maturity to combat the terrifying destructiveness of the addict’s behavior. As adults these individuals may become compulsively attracted to the same lifestyle as their parents, excessive alcohol and drug abuse, destructive relationships, antisocial behavior, and find themselves in an infinite loop of feelings of emptiness, futility, and despair. Behind the appearance of calm and success, Adult Children of Alcoholics often bear a sad, melancholy and haunted look that betrays their quietest confidence. In the chilling silence of the darkest nights of their souls, they yearn for intimacy: their greatest longing, and deepest fear. Their creeping terror lives as the child of years of emotional, and sometimes physical, family violence.
A Gallup poll found that 1 in 3 Americans are have been affected by alcoholism in their family (Jones). However, these family members are not treated with scorn and contempt like drug addicts, but instead are met with compassion and sympathy. The difference between the two is the stigma attached to drug users as “junkies” and “criminals”. For any substantive change to take place in our society, there must be a fundamental change in the way Americans view drug users and drug addicts. The objective of drug policy should be to put these drug users in a position where they can help uplift their community, rather than seeking to uplift these communities through removal of drug users. The manner in which we attempt to uplift drug users can take form in a multitude of policy approaches. This change is likely to be a slow, gradual one that requires undoing much of what people believe of drug dealers. However, we should celebrate and recognize where promoters of these approaches succeed. Cities like New Haven and Shreveport should be looked at as standards for the rest of the country to follow in effective harm reducing strategies that humanize drug addicts, and still tamp down on crime. With continued success in cities like these, there is a hope that the war on drugs will soon come to an
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...
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.
Heroin addicts become addicted to the drug at such a young age. Teenagers start experiencing the drug around their high school years. Those students often go to parties that don’t just contain underage drinking but hardcore drugs. Teenagers are sucked into trying the drug at most high school parties, that lead into them being addicted to heroin. Heroin is one of the most top rated peer pressured drug. Most teenagers only try the drug at the parties that they go to, but the more and more parties they go to the more they will start to crave it on a daily basis and become addicted to it. They start to crave the drug when they aren’t at the parties, they are either at home or at school waiting to feel the rush that heroin gave them. Teenagers don’t