There are many issues drug addicts or substance abusers face and of the biggest is treatment. I intend to obtain a degree in Human Services with a focus on Substance Abuse. There is a great need in our country today and having had some experience with how the system works, addicts need to have treatment readily available. Understanding what drives an addict to use will help facilitate treatment.
Imagine laying on the floor in your own pool of sweat—miserable, your mind bouncing off the walls while the cloud of your darkest thoughts looms over you. Teeth chattering anxiously, waiting to receive the next second, minute, hour of painless bliss. This—this is the life of an addict; does this horror appear to be a choice or more like a disease haunting the mind of the user? Despite the fact a choice was needed to initiate the result, addiction itself is a debilitating disease NOT a choice due to initial influences and anatomical changes to the brain.
Meet Aaron Short. A 26 year old average male who lives with his beloved mother, father and little sister in Hoppers Crossing. Young and in love. Making plans for the future. As perfect as this life sounds, Aaron’s happiness is not so clear cut. In August 2015, Aaron experienced a tragic relapse in his addiction to heroin. It was this drug that took Aaron’s life in a fatal overdose later that month. What is even more heartbreaking is that Aaron is not alone. Aaron joins thousands of other Melbournians who are stuck in hopeless drug addictions, with limited resources available to save their lives. So what can be done even begin to tackle such a problematic and sensitive issue? It starts with a trial. A trial for a supervised drug injecting room in Melbourne. As concerning as this may sound, if we want to save the lives of helpless victims, reduce criminal activity and protect our community, we must keep an open mind and unite as a community to urge the government to introduce a trial.
Drug addiction is something many of us don’t encounter every day. Addiction has, plagued every society across the world, and continues to do so today. It has led to the decimation of towns, cities, and countries; yet we know little about what factors influence addiction. In the past it used to be viewed as a very simple almost binary process, that process being, if someone uses drugs they will become addicted. This idea was challenged and many began to believe that there were much deeper factors at play beyond the pharmacological properties of substances. It pushed us to question what aspects of society, culture, or biology leads people to substance abuse. It wanted to further analyze what factors turn some people from occasional recreational
Drug addiction is a complex problem in society today. Addiction is a condition that extremely affects the person’s mind and body. Addiction also has wide sweeping effects on that person’s social connection and functioning. Unfortunately, many addicts don’t realize the social influence of their addiction until much of their functioning has greatly deteriorated.
Some drugs that American's were first introduced to were morphine, opium, cocaine, and heroin. Most drug users think that getting high makes them feel good without the burden of reality. Individuals may feel pressured or confused when taking drugs, which is not uncommon. When using drugs you might think it’s just short-term and that it seems harmless to experiment with different drugs, however, it actually harms an individual in the long run. The body carves the poisons that drugs are made of and the way it makes you feel. Drugs negatively impact relationships, mental and physical health, and your life in general. Drug use is a choice at the beginning, but later becomes a problem because it turns into an addiction. It's important to understand the effects of drug use to your body, brain, and
It is often hard for the general population to understand what it takes to be a drug addict, or how an individual chooses to undergo such a lifestyle. However, addiction is similar to many other diseases that can occur in the human body. Addiction usually is not a choice, but a disease that takes over an individual’s sense of control. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him or her”
The U.S Drug War, it has been talked about greatly by politicians, and spoken about countless times in the news, however, the majority of people do not fully grasp the entirety of this subject, let alone its inner workings. Like the fact that this is not a recent issue, this war, which some people think has just been going on for the past few decades, actually started about a century ago. When people barely noticed the severity of the problem. Even now in the present, people still do not know the situation such as, how the current policies have not worked and the damage that has been done to the nation. The U.S. Government should rethink how it comes up with its drug policies.
Through research and professional first hand account I will explain how the “War” on drugs has been a detrimental not only to drug users but the American society as a whole, and has ruined the lives of American people. While not having any effect on the use of illicit drugs or the flow of illicit drugs into America.
The National probation on drugs dubbed “the war on drugs” is a failure in almost every sense of the imagination, as it has only led to economic problems such as increased taxes on prisons and increased police activity. It has also put a much higher demand on drugs, and as a result, has increased drug activity. As stated by economist Milton Friedman in an interview with award winning drug reporter Randy Paige, the United States alone spends tens of billions of dollars a day on minor drug arrests. Another problem with the war on drugs is that despite the heavy cost of imprisonment among citizens, people still continue to use drugs, in fact, according to Dr. Michael Lowenstein the medical
Since the 1960s, State and federal law enforcement have become more focused into putting an end to drug use. Each year, crimes related to drug use has increased, making the government spend tens of billions of dollars arresting, convicting, and jailing drug users. Because of this ongoing problem, the government can’t help but to wonder “will this ever end?” and “Should we stop fighting?” With these questions being raised about a problem so conflicted, The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branch have different views and opinions regarding the Drug War’s Standpoint.
"The War on Drugs" is an American term commonly applied to a campaign of prohibition of drugs, military aid, and military intervention, with the stated aim being to reduce the illegal drug trade. Nixon declared the war on drugs in 1971. the war on drugs wasn't meant to make America safer or more productive. It was meant to mute President Richard Nixon's toughest critics, to criminalize black people and so-called anti-war hippies.
Today, drug abuse has become a controversial subject where various individuals have different views. Substance abuse is a substantial dilemma among people and easily spread in schools, work environments, and even in homes. Drug abuse starts in utterly reasons, but can begin in adolescence with peer pressure or friends using them, family environment that has violent, physical, or emotional abuse, and inherited genetics with mental health conditions as depression, anxiety, or ADHD (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). Drugs become misuse whether it’s in recreational, narcotics or alcohol. According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, Substance abuse is accountable for and involvement in nearly 60,000 deaths annually in the United
A Roswell college student with a 3.7 grade-point average blows her tuition on drugs and is arrested for forging prescriptions. Drug-free: 390 days. An Alpharetta mom so amped up on meth she spent eight hours cleaning her oven with Q-tips. Now drug-free: 311 days. An Atlanta man so fixated on his next hit that he "literally walked over a dead body one day to get to the dope man's porch." Drug- free: 290 days. The reason I chose this topic, is because these 3 people have been clear of drugs for AT LEAST 290 days. Now the reasoning is because there is now drug rehabs helping people stop taking drugs. But the problem is, there’s not enough, I want to make sure as I'm growing up i’m surrounded by responsible people (Not saying I don’t want to live a perfect little life with NO mistakes, because mistakes happen, I just want it to be a mistake that doesn’t repeat itself). And the thing is, these people aren’t bad at all, they’re just addicted, and I want to help solve what we can do to help. Why do people take drugs? How easy is it to be addicted to drugs? What can we as a society solve drug addictions? This problem can be solved, it’s very simple actually. All we have to do is keep making drugs Illegal and keep making more and more rehabs, I mean above is evidence that it actually WORKS so all we need to do is make sure there is plenty of room to keep solving the issue.
Addiction is a choice and by classifying addiction as a disease, we are just enabling drug addicts to take no responsibility for their own actions in their lives. By labeling addiction as a medical condition it creates a false assumption that addicts have no control over their own behavior. People become addicts because of their behavior, not their brain chemistry. The disease concept is so popular because it gives people an easy way out; if they inherited their addiction they can’t be responsible for their own behavior. The disease model of addiction is flawed for a number of reasons; first, most people who take drugs do not become addicted, but may take drugs for a period of time, then stop when they choose to do so. Many well respected professors and scientist claim addiction is a scapegoat behavior that has been incorrectly identified as a physical or mental illness, an addict is only a victim of bad science and misguided policy.