Essay on Drugs

Heroin, a powerful narcotic, acts upon the brain as a painkiller, increasing physical addiction and ongoing emotional dependence (Schaffer Library of…). Heroin has many challenging and highly risky effects on the user, all the more hazardous if overdosing is present. This extremely dangerous drug, heroin, will never cease being used, but may cease the existence of an individual.

The United States has the world's highest incarceration rate. With five percent of the world's population, our country houses nearly twenty-five percent of the world's reported prisoners. Currently there are approximately two million people in American prisons or jails. Since 1984 the prison population for drug offenders has risen from ten percent to now over thirty percent of the total prison population. Federal prisons were estimated to hold 179,204 sentenced inmates in 2007; 95,446 for drug offenses. State prisons held a total of 1,296,700 inmates in 2005; 253,300 for drug offenses. Sixty percent of the drug offenders in prisons are nonviolent and were purely in prison because of drug offenses (Drug War Facts). The question then arises,

pleasurable to people are held on to dearly. No one wants to miss something that feels

In order to understand drug and alcohol use, it is important to be clear about what we mean by the terms ‘drugs’ and ‘alcohol. Alcohol is a legal, sedative drug, which changes the way we think, feel and do. It can make you more relaxed or it can take away your judgment. For most countries, like Canada, it is legal for adults over 18 years to buy and drink. There are many different types of alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine and spirits (whiskey, vodka, gin etc.). Drugs are chemicals which, when taken into our bodies, alters normal bodily function, resulting any psychological and behavioral change. Some drugs are legal, such as caffeine, tobacco/nicotine and alcohol. Other drugs like cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and heroin are illegal. Legal drugs also include medicines that are available over the counter at a chemist or prescribed by a doctor. A person can misuse these drugs by taking them in a way, which they are not supposed to be used or in amounts not prescribed by their doctor.

There have been numerous attempts historically to control and address issues related to substance use. Methods have been aimed at ways to eliminate the actual distribution, illegal sales and use of a span of substances. These methods date back in to the 1800’s and include some of the psychoactive substances that are now in epidemic problems in many states. The methods put in place in history have not been adequate to address the identified issues. Heroin is a substance where there has been a rise in use, addiction, and overdose.

     Our society has found itself directly in the middle of a transcontinental drug surge. An estimated 23 million of the world’s population regularly take illicit drugs, and the Drug Enforcement Administration estimated that 13.6 million of those who habitually used illegal drugs in 1998 were Americans. Even in our current everyday motions of life and productivity, we have set the path for self-destruction. “We awake to the kick of caffeine, soothe our nerves with tobacco, ease our tension headaches with aspirin, wind down the day with alcohol, and swallow an antihistamine to help us sleep – all perfectly legal, respectable, and even expected (“Drug Abuse” 195).”

As I start my Human Services degree, I have become acutely aware of the issues that face the community that I serve in my current position at the Soldier and Family Assistance Center. I have also seen how these issues can carry over into my personal life. In this paper, I will discuss Substance Abuse (alcohol) and how it is becoming a prevalent issue in our communities and our way of life. Substance Abuse has become a major problem, as we discovered that there is a connection between substance abuse, child neglect and abuse, and poverty rates. For many years, concerns about substance abuse has been prevalent in communities and at many levels of government.

This is a movie about a mother named Sara Goldfarb played by Ellen Burstyn, her son and only child Harry played by Jared Leto, his best friend Tyrone C. Love played by Marlon Wayans, and Harry’s girlfriend Marion Silver played by Jennifer Connelly.

Why would somebody be willing to put themselves in a harmful situation by taking dangerous illegal substances? There are many reasons people turn to drugs; some people choose to use drugs because of family issues, others want to fit in, and some people simply just want to experiment it. Regardless of the reasons, taking drugs can lead to drug addiction.

It is believed that certain drugs have an impact on users that make them want to continue to use and try harder drugs. There is said to be an order to which people use drugs because of the gateway drug theory. People think that most adolescents usually start out with alcohol or tobacco which is then a gateway to trying illegal drugs, such as marijuana, that causes them to then try a harsher drug like heroin or cocaine. In the article, it states how many people agree that “in vulnerable individuals, particularly teenagers, some drugs are likely to be a way to future addiction because the drugs play such a role in the adolescent’s development” (Gateway 429). This article shows that people think there is a connection between adolescents using alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana that makes them take the risk of moving onto cocaine and other illegal drugs. This is not true and there is no order in which teenagers begin to use drugs that will automatically compel them to attempt harsher drugs. An individual is highly likely to seek harder drugs because of certain factors in their life, not due to the impact of the drug on them. These factors could include stress in school where the student is pushed to maintain a good GPA. They could also be in a situation of peer pressure among their friends, where everyone around them is trying and using drugs so they feel the need to keep up with the social standard of belonging in the group. Another one could be the living situation of the

The accessibility to drugs has become increasable easy for individuals to become addictive or unintentional overdose. Most noticeable of addictive drugs within last decades has been heroin and prescription drugs. Lately heroin has become the drug of choice although is listed as extremely dangerous. Between the years of 2000 and 2013 the increase of drug-poisoning deaths due to heroin is insurmountable. In fact, according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, there are several viable reasoning for these deaths—the availability of heroin in it purist form, and users switching from prescription drugs (opioids--control dosages) to heroin in rare form. As researchers, the medical field, the government officials, and society search for answer to the heroin and opioid epidemic which is taking the world by storm. It is equally important to educate people on the history of Heroin and how it came to exist; how heroin entered into the medical field; the backlash heroin and opioid have on society; and the preventive measures taken to decrease the heroin and opioid epidemic.

About one in every two violent crimes is committed by someone who is under the influence of illegal drugs. To some of these people it was the right thing to do for them to get money or drugs. Living with an addiction will change someone’s identity for the worst. An Addiction is a strong and (or) harmful need to regularly have something or do something, and Identity is the morals, values, and beliefs that make a person different from others. The addiction to hard drugs degrades the addict’s morals, values, and relationships which results in a more aggressive, and desperate identity. These Hard drugs are substances that lead to physical addiction. Most countries do not allow people to make, sell or use some of them, other than for medical purposes. Specifically methamphetamines and heroin are the central drugs for the definition. Typical use leads to aggressive behavior in people who are otherwise passive or have calm behavior

drug makes us feel very good, we tend to want to take that drug again

The long lasting effects on drugs can be destructive. Once you’ve become hooked on drugs they can make you do things you never thought would happen. It always starts out just wanting to try it to see what it does to you, but usually once you’ve started it becomes a habit. A habit that you start having no control over, and before you know it you’ve lost everything that was important to you. People I know have become victims to drugs and it is sad to see the outcome from choosing drugs to rule your life. Because of drug use, people hurt their family emotionally and financially, start stealing or committing crimes to provide for their habit, and it can also negatively influence their children. Drugs not only effect

During anesthesia, there is a great amount of drugs used to suppress the pain that would occur to the body. There are some common drugs that are used. Alcohol, Aspirin, Lidocaine, Morphine, Ketamine, and Succinylcholine are all used during anesthesia. Each is used to interrupt the pain signals during surgeries. Without these medications, the body would not be able to withstand such trauma occurring to perform the procedure fully.