The effect of substance abuse on the developing adolescent brain
The adolescent brain is a complex entity. The introduction of drugs or mind-altering substances can have a substantial effect on adolescent brain development with long lasting impacts. Narcotics work by targeting, altering and interfering with brains the neurotransmitters. Such interference has been shown to increase addiction potential, which can permanently impair the still developing neural connections, and interfere with the adolescent’s intellectual development. In addition, choices associated with the continual misuse/abuse of become a significant part of the adolescent’s life. These repeated actions and false rewards caused by the pleasurable high becomes a habit, which can be interpreted by the brain as a necessary part of the person’s life.
The effect of healthy spiritual development on the likelihood of use/abuse/addiction in the adolescence
The myriad of issues that typically accompany adolescent drug abuse is typified by McBride’s findings that adolescent’s (particularly those whom have experienced some type of significant trauma or abuse) whom are already vulnerable due to the rapid changes in neuro-function “often have a profound sense of spiritual alienation and emptiness”. (McBride, 1998 p.24). However, the inverse relationship between devout spirituality and drug abuse among adolescent teens is well documented and promising. As roehbehan notes; “a strong sense of personal devotion is 65% protective against onset of heavy substance use in adolescence far exceeding the 10-30% found for social functioning and cognitive style”. (Roehlkepartian, et al., 2006 p.424)
Local new coverage of alcohol and/or drug-related stories involving adolescent.
The Washin...
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...at theses numbers are just deaths related to heroin and do not illustrated the increase in other drugs including alcohol marijuana and prescription medicine misuse/abuse. In fact region wide the use of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD and Ecstasy has risen since 2010. In addition, to abuse significant rises in the abuse of prescription painkillers in particular, Oxycontin, Vicodin, Percocet and Codeine.
Conclusion
The complexity of the adolescent brain can be further complicated by the abuse of narcotics and alcohol. The destructive effects of Narcotics on the adolescent brain can last the duration of the person’s life. This is alarming as recent studies indicate that drug and alcohol use amount=g adolescents is steadily climbing. However recent studies have also shown that a strong sense of spirituality can help to insulate adolescents from the dangers of drug abuse.
The documentary states that over 27,000 deaths a year are due to overdose from heroin and other opioids. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 prescription pain relievers account for 20,101 overdose deaths, and 12,990 overdose deaths are related to heroin (Rudd et al., 2010-2015). The documentary’s investigation gives the history of how the heroin epidemic started, with a great focus on the hospice movement. We are presented with the idea that once someone is addicted to painkillers, the difficulty in obtaining the drug over a long period of time becomes too expensive and too difficult. This often leads people to use heroin. This idea is true as a 2014 survey found that 94% of respondents who were being treated for opioid addiction said they chose to use heroin because prescription opioids were “more expensive and harder to obtain (Cicero et al., 2014).” Four in five heroin users actually started out using prescription painkillers (Johns, 2013). This correlation between heroin and prescription painkiller use supports the idea presented in the documentary that “prescription opiates are heroin prep school.”
The reason for the increased use of heroin are unclear currently but death rate and emergency room visits for heroin have grown to staggering rates there were 201,000 emergency room visits alone in 2008 and this is only for the lucky few that had friends kind enough to take them to seek help. There are thousands more that worst so lucky and remain unreported. Heroin has become such growing issue that Chattanooga Count has put out a put awareness campaign waring that there has been more death from heroin over dosing then vehicular manslaughter and homicide combine.
National research shows that the early initiation of substance use has been associated with alterations in brain functioning, ...
In the United States, opioid addiction rates have majorly increased . Between 2000-2015 more than half a million individuals have died from Opioid overdose, and nearly 5 million people have an opioid dependence which has become a serious problem. The Center for Disease control reports that there are 91 deaths daily due to opioid abuse. Taking opioids for long periods of time and in
Abuse and addiction have a relationship due to an adolescent being addicted to a substance that could be abused as well. Abuse and addiction studies have shown effects on the brain. Abuse and addiction can happen depending on a child's environment or who they hang out with. Sometimes children may see a parent using alcohol or substances and they think that since the parent does it, they should be ok to do it as well.
There are many biological factors that are involved with the addicted brain. "The addicted brain is distinctly different from the nonaddicted brain, as manifested by changes in brain metabolic activity, receptor availability, gene expression, and responsiveness to environmental cues." (2) In the brain, there are many changes that take place when drugs enter a person's blood stream. The pathway in the brain that the drugs take is first to the ventral tegmentum to the nucleus accumbens, and the drugs also go to the limbic system and the orbitofrontal cortex, which is called the mesolimbic reward system. The activation of this reward system seems to be the common element in what hooks drug users on drugs (2).
The article “Adolescent Brain Development and Underage Drinking in the United States: Identifying Risks of Alcohol Use in College Populations” written by Marisa Silveri, PhD, aims to emphasize the the negative behavioral consequences with underage alcohol use. Silveri is a highly decorated professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who has been studying the neurobiology of brain development and consequences of alcohol and drug abuse using preclinical and clinical models for two decades. Her substantial background in psychology and neurobiology make her a highly credible source, and improves the author’s chance of making the point really stick. The article is easy to follow, and split up in subcategories that each cover a specific point the author is trying to make. Professor Silveri, with great credibility, uses logic and also emotional appeal to effectively convince the reader that alcohol use affects the brain negatively, and the importance to discourage the excessive consumption of alcohol by adolescents.
The most commonly abused substances are Nicotine, Inhalants, Alcohol, Cocaine, Amphetamines, Prescription medications, Heroin, Ecstasy and Marijuana. 1a(National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2011) Initially, a person may find themselves using substances voluntarily and with confidence that they will be able to dictate their personal use. However, over the period of time that drug use is repeated, changes are taking place throughout the brain, whether it is functionally or structurally. Drugs contain chemicals that enter the communication system of the brain and disturb the way in which nerve cells would typically send, receive, and process information. The chemicals within these drugs will cause a disruption to the communication system by either imitating the brain’s natural chemical messengers or by over-stimulating the brains “reward system” by sending mass amounts of dopamine. As an individual prolongs his or her use of these substances, they may develop an addiction.
The exposure of drug use and its influence is distinct between the age groups of those in their early childhood, middle, adolescent and adult years. In the early years of childhood, it is essential to keep clear of anything related to drugs since it can affect an individual’s learning, mental health and behaviour throughout their lifetime. The period of adolescence is probably the most sensitive one as behaviour during these years is highly predictive of later drug abuse (Guo J, Hawkins JD, Hill KG, Abbott RD. Childhood and adolescent predictors of alcohol abuse and dependence in young adulthood. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 2001;62(6):754-762.). This may be because they spend more time with their peers as well as being prone to hormonal changes, shift in sleep cycle and their cognitive maturation is still developing (Source: Tarter RE. Etiology of adolescent substance abuse: a developmental perspective. American Journal on Addictions 2002; 11:171-191.) The combination of factors highlights the importance of harm reduction at this time. Even though drugs and its abuse is most likely to be prevailed through an individual’s lifetime, their age, especially their early childhood experiences, significantly impacts this
The rate of death due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. According to the Congressional Quarterly Transcription’s article "Rep. Joe Pitt Holds a Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse," opioid prescription drugs were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2010, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of heroin and cocaine. Prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes "condemn a patient to lifelong addiction," according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This problem not only affects the lives of those who overdose but it affects the communities as well due to the convenience of being able to find these items in drug stores and such. Not to mention the fact that the doctors who prescribe these opioids often tend to misuse them as well. Abusing these prescribed drugs can “destroy dreams and abort great destinies," and end the possibility of the abuser to have a positive impact in the community.
The use of drugs and mind-alternating substances has been a part of society for decades. The ‘high’ that people attain from the use of such substances is very attractive and exciting however, the effects of this use are minimized. Particularly for youth, a group of individuals who are seeking independence and experimentation, drug use represents the balance between taking risks and taking responsibility for one’s actions. However, the developmental processes of adolescents are known to not encompass the maturity required to fully think through such decisions. As such, the use of a ‘smaller-scale’ drug like marijuana is even more minimized. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what the risks of using marijuana are for youths, why they are the most affected, how this problem has progressed over the last three decades, and what preventative measures and treatment options are in place. It will also discuss what schools, parents, and government agencies could be doing to help improve the issue, and the impact that this issue is having on society.
The more we practice an activity, the more neurons develop in order to fine-tune that activity, causing addictive behaviors to be detrimental. Adolescence in particular can be easily influenced by abusing a drug or multiple drugs. I believe this happens because teens often lack education, live in an environment where drugs are readily available, are peer-pressured, and the lack of proper growth of the frontal lobe. Many factors contribute to adolescence experimenting with drugs. As a side from being a child, the adolescence stage is of great importance.
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.
In Saint Louis especially, there is an ongoing epidemic of drug use, especially with heroin. In the recent years, the usage and overdose rates of heroin and other opiates have unfortunately skyrocketed Jim Shroba, a special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in St. Louis has noticed a direct increase of heroin users over the recent years. He says after Mexican cartels planted their own opium poppy fields and producing more of their own heroin instead of just transporting the Colombian
addictions have negative effects on the life of a teenager. Many of these effects are