Long-Term Drug Addictions Effects By Lauren Brande

Some people might say that drugs can heal your health issues and make you feel “high” or happy for a non-permanent amount of time but drug abuse comes with many consequences. Drug abuse takes its toll on all Americans, regardless of whether you struggle with addiction in a personal manner, the emotional and financial impact effect stems throughout every town, community, and state. Drug abuse is not a good thing because it can cause health issues, make an impact on the rest of your life, and can cause problems within your career.
Abusing drugs can cause you to have health issues because it affects the lungs, heart, and sometimes even the brain. In the article Long-Term Drug Addictions Effects by Lauren Brande it claims that drug abuse can affect “The lungs. The respiratory system can suffer damage related to smoking or inhaling drugs, such as marijuana and crack cocaine. In addition to this kind of direct damage, drugs that slow a person's breathing, such as heroin or prescription opioids, can cause serious complications for the user.” (Brande)This quote shows that the lungs can be affected by drug abuse and it can cause serious health issues and can shorten your breath which can eventually lead to death.

From the same article it says that it can also affect “The heart.

Many drugs have the potential to cause cardiovascular issues, which can range from increased heart rate and blood pressure to aberrant cardiac rhythms and myocardial infarction (i.e., heart attack). Injection drug users are also at risk of collapsed veins and bacterial infections in the bloodstream or heart.”(Brande).This quote shows that the heart is affected by drugs in many ways and could make users have a heart attack. As you can see, drug abuse can affect multiple major parts of your body and can lead to death so they aren’t good for you and drugs shouldn’t be

legal.
Not only can it cause health issues, but Drug Abuse can also cause life long effects and cause you to suffer from it for the rest of your life. In the article Long-Term Drug Addictions Effects by Lauren Brande it states that “Sometimes, drug abuse can actually increase a user's risk of developing a mental disorder. For example, there is evidence that smoking marijuana during adolescence can increase a person's risk of psychosis during adulthood.”(Brande) This quote shows that if you smoke marijuana it can follow you for the rest of your life and eventually cause mental disorders. The article also says that substance abuse can cause “Depression. There is a clear association between substance abuse and depression, as well as other mood disorders. This relationship could be attributed to pre-existing depression that led to drug abuse or it could be that substance use caused changes in the brain that increased depressive symptoms.Some people use drugs to self-medicate symptoms of depression, but this only alleviates the symptoms while the user is high. It may even make depression symptoms worse when the user is working through withdrawal. Many drugs have a withdrawal syndrome that includes depression or other mood disturbances, which can complicate recovery.”(Brande) This quote shows that abusing the drugs you use can cause depression which is evidently hard to come out of once you get in it. As you can see, substance abuse can leave a mark on the rest of your life in multiple ways.
When people abuse drugs it can cause problems with your social life and at home with your family. In the article What to do if you think your child might be using drugs by the U.S. Department of Education it says “Regardless of how "cool" drugs may look, there is nothing glamorous about the reality of addiction, a miserable experience for the addict and everyone around him. Addiction causes an all-consuming craving for drugs, leading an otherwise responsible, caring person to destroy relationships, work, and family life.”(U.S. Department of Education).This quote shows that addiction and abusing drugs does not just affect the abuser but not to mention the people around them also. In the same article it states, “He's lost interest in hobbies, sports, and other favorite activities.”(U.S. Department of Education).This shows that he lost interest in activities outside of school which can cause him to lose relationships with some of his friends and even make it so he doesn’t meet any new friends. As you can see, doing drugs the wrong way can stump your relationships with all types of people, including the ones who are most important in your life.
These articles explain that drug abuse is not okay because it can cause all different issues. It can cause things like health issues, make an impact on the rest of your life, and can cause problems within your career.

Works Cited

“Long-Term Drug Addiction Effects.” DrugAbuse.com, 21 Nov. 2017, drugabuse.com/library/long-term-effects-of-addiction/.

Mann, Arnold. "Relationships matter: impact of parental, peer factors on teen, young adult substance abuse." National Institute on Drug Abuse Pamphlets, vol. 18, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2003, p. 11+. Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A165166546/AONE?u=nysl_nc_cchsl&sid=AONE&xid=10f4280a. Accessed 17 Apr. 2018.

"What to do if you think your child might be using drugs." Report by: U.S. Department
of Education, U.S. Department of Education, 2005, p. SSSSS25+. Academic
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A159504077/AONE?u=nysl_nc_cchsl&sid=AONE&xid=5dbb424c. Accessed 19 Apr. 2018.