Causes and Effects of Drug Abuse

Addictions to opiates, and opiate derivatives, are some of the most prevalent and long-standing drug abuse issues known. These abuses have also contributed to other social problems such as the spread of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C due to needle injection being a popular method of delivery. In the 1960s, methadone, a synthetic opiate substitute, was introduced as the preferred medical treatment for opiate abuse and addiction and remains so today. Reduction of disease distribution is only one of its heralded benefits. Methadone is commonly used in management of withdrawal symptoms related to addiction to heroin and other opiate drugs, both prescription and non-prescription. According to Plater-Zyberk, Varenburt, Daiter, and Worster (2012), as well as nearly all other researchers, methadone is a safe, effective, and beneficial treatment when taken in a supervised methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). However, there are growing issues with illicit

Gowing, L. R., Ali, R. L., Allsop, S., Marsden, J., Turf, E. E., West, R., and Witton, J. (2015), Global statistics on addictive behaviours: 2014 status report. Addiction, 110, 904–919.

There is a basic model that helps create a prognosis on possible substance abuse disorders. This goes from exposure of the substance use, to substance dependence. The basic premise is that cultural and psychological influences the beginning use of substances. As psychological stressors are associated with the substance, then it leads to substance abuse. The biological and psychological influences will lead to substance dependence. Paul and Alex have followed this model, with Alex as the one with the likely prognosis.

While becoming a drug addict is a lifestyle choice and influenced by personal discipline, taking

Background Information: When she was 14 years old, she had a rough childhood experience. She was living from home to home and also working in brothels, where she worked as a cleaning woman and a prostitute, and eventually being raped. She quits that job because that wasn’t something she was willing to do. She always dreamed of being a singer. She applied to a Harlem Club, which was looking for dancers, but instead they hired her to be a singer paying her a night. Her singing name was Billie Holliday. There, she met Louis McKay, who she later fell in love with. Throughout her singing career. Throughout her career, she was a very strong black woman, but she had problems with a substance abuse such as heroin, she always

The use of narcotics in America is on a steady rise, Opioids such as Heroin being the deadliest. It’s categorized as a “Schedule 1,” meaning a high potential for abuse, along with severe psychological and physical dependence.

Illicit drugs are drugs that the government consider to be too dangerous for the community, and the use of illegal drugs has been an overarching issue that has inflicted a plethora of costs upon society. The environment is subject to detrimental harm due to unregulated drug production. Furthermore, the money spent on law enforcement leads back to the tax-payer dollar and in addition to lost human productivity, amount to enormous amounts of money essentially wasted. Lastly, the public is at great risk of transmitting and contracting deadly diseases. Although illicit drug use is associated with several other costs to society, the environmental, financial and public health costs are the most significant, and will be discussed in this paper.

This essay will tackle the topic of substance use disorder as a psychology topic. The film that will be reviewed for the topic is 28 Days. This is a film written by Susannah Grant and written by Betty Thomas. The film stars Sandra Bullock as a columnist for a New York newspaper (Thomas). In the film, Bullock acts as Gwen Cummings, an alcoholic forced to attend rehab for 28 days. This is because of her escapades of the day that ended up with her crushing a stolen wedding limo into a house (Thomas). The film explores substance use disorder through the eyes and life of Cummings and the people she meets in the rehab. It also explores the challenges they go through in trying to get clean. This essay will show how substance abuse and its related disorder is being portrayed in the film.

I feel that some of the warning signs and symptoms of drug use is when someone starts to neglect any of their responsibilities, they don’t care about anything like dying or getting into trouble, and they cannot maintain a relationship as well as start to have family problems. Furthermore, some of the things that they value start to come up missing because they are trying to find extra money to pay for their drugs. There is also the sign of them acting differently when they are high and not high because of the effects the drugs have on them and because of this they may start stealing things from their family and anywhere else they can take from.

Addiction is the reliance on a routine. There are many addictive stages. Addiction, as it comes along, becomes a way of life. The persistent use of the substance causes to the user serious physical or psychological problems and dysfunctions in major areas of his or her life. The drug user continues to use substances and the compulsive behavior despite the harmful consequences, and tries to systematically avoid responsibility and reality, while he or she tends to isolate himself/herself from others because of guilt and pain (Angres, & Bettinardi-Angres, 2008). All these characteristics led to the conclusion that drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use. It is considered as a brain disease because drugs change the structure of the brain, and how it works. Every drug affects different systems of the brain. For example, in the case of cocaine, as the brain is adapted in the presence of the specific drug, brain regions responsible for judgment, decision-making, learning, and memory begin to physically change, making certain behaviors “hard-wired.” In some brain regions, connections between neurons are pruned back. In others, neurons form more connections. (Martin, 2000) These brain changes can be long-lasting and can lead to the harmful behaviors seen in people who abuse drugs.

What kind of effect on the human body heroin has? Heroin is extremely addictive, so once someone begins using, it is not easy to give up. Through taking excessively or using for a long time, addicts will be affected both physically and mentally.　If the worst comes to worst, they will die. Once a person becomes addicted to heroin, seeking and using the drug becomes their primary purpose in life. They forget what the true pleasure of living is.

According to Timothy Wilens MD, there is “data indicating that 1 in 10 adolescents has a SUD [substance use disorder] . . . Roughly 80% experienced onset before age 25 years” (Wilens). With this large number of teens abusing drugs, the question of what the effects and consequences of drug abuse as a teen are becomes relevant. Specifically, identifying what the effects and consequences of teen drug abuse are through a scientific lense is important because drugs affect the body, brain, and its chemical balances.

Specific Purpose: To inform the audience about the drug abuse in the United States both throughout history and currently.

Every day on the news there are all kinds of reports. Crime reports are a major part of today's events. Almost every day there are posts about crimes. The level of crime has risen immensely in every corner of the world. People have tried to understand the causes of crime, but if we look around the world we can see that many of the crimes are caused by people who abuse drugs and alcohol, people who think negatively towards others, and poverty.

Drug abuse is one of the top issues defying the country today particularly among the teenagers. Occurrences of drug and alcohol abuse and related anti-social behavior have massively expanded lately. This has become a matter of concern to the government, parents and teachers. Teens regularly try different things with an assortment of activities and substances. Unfortunately, this experimentation can prompt substance misuse and addiction. Measurements demonstrate that drug abuse is a developing issue among teenagers. Drugs should be forbidden all over the world because for teenagers it destroys their social life. On the other hand, many teenagers believe that it should remain because it helps them to cover from painful memories in their past. Despite the many causes and effects of drug abuse, two of the main causes are Lack of parent to child communication and low self-esteem and two of the main effects are Health problems and Behavioral problems.