Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The causes and effect of taking drugs
Drawbacks of substance abuse
Advantage And Disadvantage Of Drug Usage
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The causes and effect of taking drugs
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.
Web. The Web. The Web. 05 Mar. 2011. http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-the-us-continue-its-war-on-drugs. The "Race and the Drug War." 2011.
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.
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.
Zill, Oriana and Lowell Bergman. "Do the Math: Why the Illegal Drug Business is Thriving." org. 14 Nov 2001. 18 Nov 2001.
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.
"New Data Show Rise in Prescription Drug Abuse." Targeted News Service (USA) 11 Apr. 2011,: NewsBank. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.
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 abuse is part of everyday life, most of us know someone who is or was abusing drug at some point. A way to simplify a difficult time in our life, we find an exit in a product that numbs our brain to the surrounding. People find addiction through drugs, activities and action that creates chemical reaction within our bodies. Whether you love jumping off the empire state building or inject yourself with a drug, you are looking for a high that your body enjoys. The body creates chemicals which stop our self-control. According to the CDC website, “Deaths from drug overdose have been rising steadily over the past two decades and have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States.” (Birnbaum HG, web).
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.
"Where Do Drugs Come From?" Where Do Drugs Come From? Fitzroy Legal Services, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2013. http://www.vicdrugguide.org.au/handbook/ch01s02.php
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.
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.
Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.
Office of the National Drug Control Policy. "National Survey on Drug Use and Health." May 2008. Print. 26 March 2014.