Thesis Statement On Drug Addiction

Most people do not completely know the definition of drug use and addiction, or the treatments that can be provided to stop it. The National Institute on Drug Abuse defines addiction as “addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences.” (National Institute on Drug Abuse). This definition gives an accurate representation of what addiction is, and how it can be such a serious problem. As given by the definition, addiction is a chronic disease, and when you have an addiction it is extremely difficult to quit. “Drug addiction is a complex disease”. It later goes on to state that “brain changes can be persistent, which is why drug addiction is considered a “relapsing” disease.” (National Institute on Drug Abuse). This shows why people

3. Avoid Temptations and Peer Pressure. You may have heard the expression, “You’re only as good as the company you keep,” and in reality, that statement is true. If you have friends or family members who pressure you to use alcohol or drugs, avoid them. Make new friends who practice healthier habits, who do well in school, who are motivated at work and who have goals.

My informative essay will discuss the unfortunate and accidental path of becoming a heroin addict. Heroin is an opiate that contains the same components as narcotic pain medications. There are people in this world that become dependent on opiates and strongly feel they can’t live without them. Pain medications are the number one source that links them to heroin use.

Many people believe the misconception that an addiction is a moral problem and not a disease. To better understand the reasons why an additicition is in fact a disease; I will identify several types of addictions, and the problems associated with them. I will examine reasons why certain people are more susceptible for developing an addiction. Also, I will determine why many addicts deny their problems and many recovery methods addicts use to fight their illness. Researching these issues, will help aid my claim that addiction is a disease.

Over the last few days at Providence Crosstown Clinic, I have gained a tremendous amount of insight into the field of addiction and substance use disorder. Crosstown Clinic is an addictions treatment clinic with an interdisciplinary team that cares for over seventy clients with substance-use disorder. Clients come into the clinic three times a day and are given either DEM (diacetylmorphine) or HME (hydromorphine). DEM is an addictive drug derived from opium that produces an intense euphoria, also known as “high”; whereas, hydromorphone is a synthetic narcotic analgesic, similar to morphine and heroin. During the first few days, I have learned Crosstown clinic began as a study to assess long-term opioid medications effectiveness, also known as the SALOME trail, to test whether hydromorphone, a licensed medication, is as good as diacetylmorphine, the active ingredient of heroin, at assisting people who suffer from chronic opioid addiction and who are not benefiting sufficiently from other treatments. I was told by the clinic nurse that the test found that hydromorphone is almost the same as DEM; however, clients prefer DEM better since it gives them a longer “high”. I have yet to work with clients with substance use disorder, and I am excited to learn more about alcohol and substance use like alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and amphetamines.

Currently, prescription drug addiction is the most serious problem among all the other drug addictions that exists. Several researches have shown us that, addiction to any drug whether legal or ill-legal, is a brain disease which can be treated efficiently. But similar kind of treatment is not apt for all the individuals who suffer from prescription drug addiction. Prescription drug addiction is not at all different from addiction to some other substances or from alcoholism. However, for medical reasons, no one is prescribed to take cocaine or alcohol.

Widespread enthusiasm for the disease model, however, has led to willingness to overlook the facts. Addiction has very little in common with diseases. It is a group of behaviors, not an illness on its own. It cannot be explained by any disease process. Perhaps worst of all, calling addiction a "disease" interferes with exploring or accepting new understandings of the nature of addiction.

Addiction has a significant influence when the individual consumes a substance and employs in an activity that can be gratifying and the extended utilization becomes compelling and disrupts with the activities of daily living, obligations, comparatively, performance in the job, relationships, or health. Individuals who utilize various medications used in substance abuse may not be apprehensive of their demeanor; they may not be cognizant that their actions are disorderly and precipitating complications for themselves and the people around them Psychology Today (2015). A lot of drugs are addicting. Addiction is a lingering, recurring condition indicated by besetting drug pursuing and utilized in defiance of negative ramifications and by resilient distortion in the brain. Individuals who are addicted have robust yearning for the drug, making it laborious to cease usage. Medications used in substance abuse heightens the danger to injury or fatality from narcotized driving or defiling conditions such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and Hepatitis from perilous sexual habits or

Although some people argue for the legalization of drugs, addiction to these substances has caused a huge increase in violent crimes in the home, at school, and on the street. Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to create compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behavior. This is a false and uneducated belief. Drug abuse may start as a social problem or social escape but one the addiction has taken ahold of a person

Drug/alcohol addiction is classified as a chronic illness that is characterized by an uncontrollable craving for these substances along with associated unfavorable seeking habits and is often accompanied by devastating health consequences. Addiction is an illness with many dimensions and disrupts both the physical and psychological aspects of an addict's life. Thus, addiction treatment integrates many components related to specific aspects of the drug/alcohol addiction.

Most people are addicted to something, somewhere. The type of addiction usually missed by people is the one related to prescription drugs. The main question here is why and how do people get addicted to these medicines. Stress, personal problems and lack of knowledge are the main reasons for getting addicted. Doctors and pharmacists play a major role in responsibilities toward this issue. Ensuring physician awareness and providing patient education could lessen prescription medication addiction.

Over the last decades, addiction has been debated as an immoral, and deliberate choice wrecking the lives of the addicted and those around them. However, public health organizations, doctors, rehabs, and twelve step fellowships call it a disease. A disease that can occur in anyone's lives. It attacks our politicians, entertainers, family, friends, and ourselves. A debilitating disease that takes addicts well-beings, self-control, and even their lives. In the last few years research has shown scientific evidence of changes in the brain structure and function that parallel substance abuse. Genetics studies reveal heritable traits that predispose people to addiction. Addiction is a progressive, relapsing disease that requires intensive treatment,

The disease model: This theory states that an individual who abuses drugs requires medical treatment rather than moral punishment or exhortation. This theory also justifies spending money to research substance abuse in the same way that money is spent to research other diseases. However, usually the term disease is reserved for a state in which we can identify an abnormal biochemical or physical condition. No abnormal biochemical or physical condition has been found in the case of substance addiction, although mounting evidence suggests that some individuals are genetically predisposed to addiction more so than others. Nevertheless, this theory continues to appeal to researchers, and an intensive effort is always being made to identify the physiological “switch” that establishes addiction after exposure to a drug (Lee, 2010).

These treatments could be given on out-patient basis, in-patient basis or on short-term or long-term residential basis. There are variety of professionals are giving service for drug addiction treatment. These professional are physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, rehab counselors, social workers, nurses, etc..

“Addiction is a brain disease expressed in the form of compulsive behavior,” says by Alan Leshner in his article, “Addiction Is a Brain Disease” featured in the book Drug Abuse: Opposing Viewpoints. Addiction has a variety of meanings depending on what your viewpoint of addiction. According to dictionary.com, the concrete definition of the word addiction is, “the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.” Basically various doctors and therapist consider addiction to be a genetic disorder. “Provocative, controversial, unquestionably incomplete, the dopamine hypothesis provides a basic framework