Drug Addictions

Is drug addiction is a disease, not a choice? Or it is a choice and not a disease? Drug Addiction has become a serious issue in society today, with an increase in controversy leading towards the topic of whether drug addiction is a disease or a choice. Addiction and disease are two different things and understanding them is very important when it comes to drugs and how it affects the mind and body. Several people tend to jump the gun and think that drug addiction is a disease, when in fact it is a choice. Some scientists believe that that drug addiction is a disease and to an extent that it makes people powerless to control its prevalence, on the other hand some scientists believe that addiction is a choice and that people have

Drug and chemical abuse affect many families and that particular family that lives through a loved one who is an addict and the priority is to get help for the individual. In any intervention that involves drug addicts, a family's disposition is very important. Full recovery of any drug addict involves the restoration of the person's life as well as ensuring that those who are around the addict have the best ability when it comes to helping with abstinence which is a long-term goal. Abusers are often in denial or even believe that they are totally in control of their use of drugs

He assumes that drug addiction originated by younger years adversity in major cases; like many women who are addicted are victims of sexual assault in childhood years. Similar, he tells that males suffered “series of abandonment or severe physical and psychological abuse” (Maté 274) in childhood memory would easily be involved in addiction. According to Mate, drug addicts are usually in a state of unawareness; they can self-harm without feeling pain (274). Maté’s patient, Carl, thirty-six year-old native, angrily hurt himself with a knife as punishment for using cocaine (274). However, people misunderstand that addiction will not happen in families that raise children with a “secure nurturing home” (Maté 275). He argues that it still exists in those secure homes, even though they do not recognize it. In brief, Maté describes the mental factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression which are saddled “from family problem, or from outside circumstance” (274); this pressures can emotionally affect to the process of “endorphin-liberating interaction with their children” (Maté 275). He thinks children would rely on opiates to comfort their deepest emotions; it would be a best solution to escape their lonely world. For that reason, Maté confirms addicts usually blame themselves for “stupid decision” (Maté 275) after being suffered of drug starvation. In the last paragraph, Maté concludes his essay by stating “that is the great wound of all” (275),

Additionally, opioid medications are the primary cause for overdose deaths in the United States. According to the Weekly Standard, “In 2014, the most recent year for which we have measurements, 47,055 Americans died from drug-induced deaths, with almost 29,000 dying from opioids…” (2), a figure that includes illicit synthetics, heroin, and prescriptions. From 2015 to 2016 in Maryland, fentanyl deaths rose by 268 percent and heroin deaths by sixty eight percent. Fentanyl has contributed to this dramatic increase in OD deaths because of its potency and lethality. It only takes two milligrams of fentanyl to kill a human. In fact, a single kilogram of fentanyl is capable of killing 500,000 people (Murray, Blake, and Walters 2). More than 30,000 opioid deaths occurred for the first time ever in 2015, which is 5,000 more than in 2014. Since the 1990s, heroin deaths had not surpassed prescription opioids (oxycodone and hydrocodone) until now. In 2007, gun homicides outnumbered heroin deaths at a rate of five to one, however at the height of the epidemic, now heroin OD deaths outnumber gun homicides (Ingraham 2). It is obvious that these unprecedented levels of drug deaths are derived from the opioid epidemic and need immediate attention.

The non-fictional novel The Addict offers a current perspective through the author’s eyes, Michael Stein, into the trials and tribulations that one has to go through when being an opiate addict. The processes that addicts go through becomes instantly examinable, offering insight into how individuals become addicted and what they go through while trying to become rehabilitated. Lucy Fields is the main patient described by Michael Stein in this book. Lucy is addicted to Vicodin and has been addicted for a number of years. Despite many social stigmas associated around addicts, becoming addicted to anything does not happen in a short amount of time. The context in which a person is living, their socioeconomic status, their social support and perceived social support are all factors in becoming addicted or rehabilitated. Throughout the book Michael Stein speaks about multiple patients and refers to buprenorphine as the primary prescribed drug for opiate users, he also refers to methadone treatment. The effectiveness of buprenorphine was shown through the book and how it is, with the help of adequate social and medical support, a viable option with regards to treating opiate addiction.

The social effects of opiate addiction are felt by those who may have never even seen more than an image of heroin. For example; “In an early study, for example, Inciardi reported that a cohort of 239 male heroin addicts from Miami committed 80,644 criminal acts during the 12 months before being interviewed (Inciardi, 1979).”. (Strain and Stitzer, 2006) In part, this is due to the problems associated with the severe withdrawal symptoms that begin about 18 hours after the last use, and the result that addicts will do almost anything to avoid them. These include sweating, vomiting, insomnia, cold sweats, pain in the limbs, yawning, sneezing, severe bone and muscle aches, diarrhea, stomach cramps

There are numerous reasons, yet too many to discuss in this essay, but for the sack of the reader only a few will be mentioned. One is the medical profession; drug addicts don’t realize the damage done to their brains with long term use and the way it alters brain functionality which brings mental illness into the equation. (qtd The Real Drug Abusers). (136). The turn in research processes has now brought forth the claims that drug addiction is a disease. Drug abuse and mental illness are now on the same plane. More research is needed to make the connection more apparent. Second, Stigma is another reason for lack of rehabilitation patients. Those individuals that believe a drug addict is this way because of choice, make an addict feel unworthy. They feel rejected by their family and loved ones and it keeps them from coming close in order to try and get help. Shame, disgrace, dishonor, and humiliation, leaves them in a state of nowhere to go. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse: CASA) reported out a third reason and a crucial one, why addicts don’t get treatment; and it

When people picture a drug addict, many individuals may see the same picture of a dirty, disgusting, maybe even homeless, individual that has no place in this world. While addicts like this do exist, the wide spread of the current opiate addiction crisis has completely changed the worlds perception. The word opiate is a wide spread term for a group of narcotics that cause sedation, respiratory failure, and if used excessively, can result in death. However, their high potential for addiction has resulted in what some parts of the world have declared as a public health crisis. With the over-prescribing of painkillers and the increased availability and lowered price of heroin on the streets, opiate addictions and overdoses have increased dramatically;

Beautiful Boy, a painful, personal story of the battle he tried to fight with and alongside his son. His book became an international best-seller and made David Sheff one of the country’s most prominent voices on addiction — not as a doctor, an addict or an academic expert, but as a father (Sheff, 2013). I chose this source because it is an article about other treatment options, rather than drug treatment facilities and it speaks about the experience this young man and his parents went through during his addiction. I think this article would be good for my community and for change because it lets others on the outside see what individuals go through with this

Heroin and its subsequent misuse has been a contentious issue plaguing society for decades. With the advent of the internet, it is becoming more difficult to curtail many of the illegal activities individuals engage in regards to drug use. Heroin in particular is very pervasive in the United States as it is a drug that is highly addictive. In America, drugs are becoming a very serious issue as immigrants enter into the country illegally carrying the drug with them. Heroin, although mainly created in Afghanistan and China, is often brought to the United States illegally from Latin countries. By entering into the country these individuals provide drugs and other narcotics to disseminate among the masses. Even more troublesome, it seems that little is being done to help prevent the influence of drugs within American society (Eric, 2008). According to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use, the number of current heroin users increased from 153,000 in 2007 to 213,000 in 2008. One issue that is especially interesting is substance abuse among many young individuals and how that affects HIV rates within the American population. Many individuals are not concerned with drug use among the young population. It is my contention however, that drug use among the young has a profound impact on the society in which we live in.

Many people cope with drug use, abuse, and many inmates who have been convicted on drug offenses deal with addiction as well. The United States has the leading amount of people within the prison system and most are for drug offenses nevertheless, many of those people contend with drug addiction. Drug addiction is a disease that so many cope with; it is reliance on a substance and for whatever reason the addiction continues to take over one’s life and choices. Drug abusers can sometimes see a means to an end when it comes to their drug addiction, whether its alcohol, a hardcore drug like heroin or cocaine, or prescription medication the person will do what it takes to feed their addiction. People have their reasons for why they need to do drugs, it could be to escape their own reality, a coping mechanism, or it could be just because it makes them feel good. Sometimes that need can surpass a person’s better judgement leading to criminal acts being committed because they need to

Whip let these issues get the best of him and realized when things had to come to an end. Whip tried to control his addictions 7 days before his testimony and he failed himself. When things like this happens that’s when drug addiction camp comes a long and rehab. He was sentenced to jail time and over the year he had become sober. He had to face the truth in order for him to actually help himself.

Ring, Ring, Ring… every time I hear that sound in the middle of the night, I am terrified to answer my phone; I am waiting for the call where someone says “Andy has died from an overdose.” Andy is my stepbrother, he has been battling his heroin addiction since we were fifteen years old, and I have seen firsthand how this disease can rip a family apart. Andy’s addiction has inflicted such tremendous stress and hurt on my parents and watching them try to help him recover from this addiction is heartbreaking. It is heartbreaking because I am powerless to help heal our family; I would not wish this pain on my worst enemy, because my stepbrother’s addiction has been one of the greatest trials of my own life.

They speed up the action of the brain. They make people feel more alert, more confident and less tired.

Drug addiction is one of society 's biggest problems and it is rampant among teenagers and young adults and one of the most abused drugs is marijuana. Cannabis sativa or marijuana usually grows throughout tropical and temperate climates and then plant 's stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds are then dried. What attracts to most users is the mind altering effect these parts produce which is addictive to some extent. It is usually smoked as cigarette, or in a pipe. It is also smoked in blunts, in which cigars will be emptied of tobacco and refill with marijuana or sometimes it is combined with another drug. It can also be brewed as tea or mixed in food. Hashis is a more concentrated, resinous form which is sticky black liquid, hash oil. The