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The causes and effect of taking drugs
Drawbacks of substance abuse
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Drugs cause an indescribable high, causing the imprisoned individual to be set free from their reality; however, that’s not only what drugs cause. About 200 million people around the world are drug users causing 250,000 deaths each year. Dependency on a drug then leads to a tolerance to the drug, and before the user knows it, they are addicted. Drugs are like a black hole that vacuums the user into a state of addiction which makes it even more difficult to escape and quit. However, addiction can also take place with any civilized human being. Caffeine, alcohol, and plastic surgery are just a few addictions that people let take over their lives. For someone to stop is quite brave due to several obstacles they are put through. The end of an addiction is not as easy as someone might think due to the user being immediately in a state of withdrawal which is a series of harsh symptoms that attack their vulnerable mind and body. Ironically, addictions are a never ending cycle that consumes the user, making it merely impossible to recover and live a close to civilized life. Before tolerance begins, the addiction needs to take place. Drug addiction relies on the user’s state of mind, morals they acquire, and the reason for even starting their drug use. There are over 20 million people in the United States alone using an illicit drug and over 100 billion dollars used in cost annually regarding health care, crime, and lost work productivity due to drugs. The drug of choice begins to be more important to the life around the user, family, financials, children, health, and happiness isn’t as important as the drug they are taking.The reasons for taking drugs are scattered all over the place. Some might take drugs to fit in, others might just ... ... middle of paper ... ... Science of Drug Abuse and Addiction. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. Stein, Jeannine. "200 Million People Use Illegal Drugs; What Is the Toll on Health?" Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 05 Jan. 2012. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. "Trends & Statistics." National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). N.p., Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. "Why Do People Do Drugs? & How Do Drugs Work? Foundation for a Drug Free World." Why Do People Do Drugs? & How Do Drugs Work? Foundation for a Drug Free World. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. Wikipedia contributors. "Drug tolerance." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. Wikipedia contributors. "Drug withdrawal." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Jan. 2014. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. "Withdrawal." Addictions and Recovery. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.
New York: New York, 2010. Print. The. Should the U.S. Continue Its War on Drugs? Opposing Views: Issues, Experts, Answers.
Zill, Oriana and Lowell Bergman. "Do the Math: Why the Illegal Drug Business is Thriving." org. 14 Nov 2001. 18 Nov 2001.
When societies finally become comfortable with reality, they begin to abandon the murderous laws that impede their growth. Currently, the social stigma and legislated morality regarding the use of illicit drugs yield perhaps the most destructive effects on American society. Drug laws have led to the removal of non-violent citizens from society- either directly by incarceration or indirectly by death - which is genocidal in quantity and essence. I base my support of the decriminalization of all drugs on a principle of human rights, but the horror and frustration with which I voice this support is based on practicality. The most tangible effect of the unfortunately labeled "Drug War" in the United States is a prison population larger than Russia's and China's, and an inestimable death toll that rivals the number of American casualties from any given war, disease or catastrophe.
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
Gerdes, Louise I., ed. At Issue: Legalizing Drugs. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc. 2001. Print.
In 2010, an estimated 23.5 million Americans were addicted to alcohol and/or drugs and needed treatment or supportive services (Partnership for drug free kids). Most people make the assumption that those that are addicted to a substance are just making poor choices. I will have to admit that I was one of those people that thought that it should be easy to quit something so toxic. It wasn 't until I did the research myself that I found addiction is actually a disease. It takes a lot more then willpower to just stop using something that a person 's brain has become so accustomed to. With all of the advances in science we now have a better idea of what leads to addiction. This doesn 't mean that poor choices and life decisions don 't attribute to addiction, but these causes increase the likelihood of an individual becoming addicted to a substance. The majority of individuals that abuse drugs or alcohol will admit to having a history of childhood trauma, alcoholics in the family, or drug use in their social circle.
Any comprehensive theory (model) of substance abuse has to answer several difficult questions: What environmental and social factors in an individual’s life cause them to start abusing a drug? What factors cause them to continue? What physiological mechanisms make a drug rewarding? What is addiction, behaviorally and physiologically, and why is it so hard to quit? These questions can be answered in the major theories (models) that are described below using an integrative approach that addresses the problem of substance abuse and addiction as an urgent but elusive goal (Kauffman & Poulin, 1996).
Drug addiction is more complicated than medicine thought in previous years. It’s not because someone is weak or unable to control themselves. They are chemical such a dopamine in the human body that makes the process difficult. The brain works in a neuropath way and drug interrupt the normal process which stops the frontal lobe to work as it should. Treatment isn’t done right and patients tend to repeat their habit after they get out of rehab. Psychological treatment is not as effective as chemical injection for dopamine to reward the brain. However, even after the treatment is complete, it will be a life struggle to stay away from drugs since the brain will always look for a simpler way to reward itself.
"New Data Show Rise in Prescription Drug Abuse." Targeted News Service (USA) 11 Apr. 2011,: NewsBank. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.
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.
The world has many different issues, and without them the world would be a perfect place. An issue that causes a lot of controversy is drug abuse. Though the world can never be a perfect place, humans still need to do our best to make in inhabitable as possible, and drugs cause a lot of harm towards humans. Therefore, it is my belief that the first thing that needs to be fixed should be drugs and their abuse. Many possible solutions to this problem exist.
So, it is clear that addiction is all around us and can attack anyone of us at any given time. Even studies conducted show that people neglect to speak around their dependency for two primary reasons. Foremost, because people do not comprehend, or they bear a total misconception to their addiction, that they do not realize that addictions can be critical to their overall wellness. Moreover, second, many people believe being an addict will never happen to them, but, in reality, most addictions start off as simple little habits. Such as starting with one drink after dinner and before you know it you are drinking several drinks a day. However, one does not opt to be addicted to a substance, because addictions are physical defects in the brain, a disease, and not one’s choice.
To begin with, the people who are addicted to drugs are hard to get rid of taking. Normally, a lot of people assumed that because of the lack of moral principles and willpower, the drug abusers cannot stop abusing through changing their behavior (NIH 2012). But in the real world, giving up abusing takes more than strongly will, because the ways of brain is changed by drugs that enhance the compulsive drug abuse. As a result, it is difficult of drug users to stop abusing the drugs.
Office of the National Drug Control Policy. "National Survey on Drug Use and Health." May 2008. Print. 26 March 2014.
There are many addictions in the world, and drug addiction is the biggest. People may experiment with the drug for many reasons. “If your drug use is causing problems in your life, then you likely have a drug abuse or addiction problem”.(Lawrence Robinson pg.1) Many people start out using drugs by peer pressure or out of their own curiosity. Stress, anxiety, lows self-esteem and depression could be another factor to start using drugs. The drug takes over your body and gives you a good feeling that many people tend to enjoy. The urge to use the drug can keep increasing rapidly after the first use. The urge can become so severe that your mind can find many other ways to deny the factor of addiction. Very few drug addicts can feel and realize when they have crossed the line with drugs. A drug addicts mind can build up a very large tolerance for the drug that they start to abandon the activities they used to do on a daily basis like showering, hobbies, socializing and even being associated with family members. The person with the addiction will continue to use the drug knowing that it is harming there body, but they don’t have any remorse. A drug addict will often try to hide their problem, so they can continue to use without anyone’s input. Family and friends may try to use preaching methods or tell the user that they need to stop using the drug. This method is not ...