The Acceleration of Addictiveness
What hard liquor, cigarettes, heroin, and crack have in common is that they 're all more concentrated forms of less addictive predecessors. Most if not all the things we describe as addictive are. And the scary thing is the process that created them is accelerating. We wouldn 't want to stop it. It 's the same process that cures diseases: technological progress. Technological progress means making things do more of what we want. When the thing we want is something we want to want, we consider technological progress good. If some new technique makes solar cells x% more efficient, that seems strictly better. When progress concentrates something we don 't want to want—when it transforms opium into heroin—it
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A lot of the change was due to legislation, of course, but the legislation couldn 't have happened if customs hadn 't already changed. It took a while though—on the order of 100 years. And unless the rate at which social antibodies evolve can increase to match the accelerating rate at which technological progress throws off new addictions, we 'll be increasingly unable to rely on customs to protect us. Unless we mass produce social customs. I suspect the recent resurgence of evangelical Christianity in the US is partly a reaction to drugs. In desperation people reach for the sledgehammer; if their kids won 't listen to them, maybe they 'll listen to God. But that solution has broader consequences than just getting kids to say no to drugs. You end up saying no to science as well. I worry we may be heading for a future in which only a few people plot their own itinerary through no-land, while everyone else books a package tour. Or worse still, has one booked for them by the government. Unless we want to be canaries in the coal mine of each new addiction—the people whose sad example becomes a lesson to future generations—we 'll have to figure out for ourselves what to avoid and how. It will actually become a reasonable strategy (or a more reasonable strategy) to suspect everything. In fact, even
The availalbility of getting these items increases the chances of addiction through the instance that a person can get whenever they want it. Lauren Slater writes, "Availability increases exposure, exposure increases addiction (173)." Basically, availabality the exposure of the material whether it's a drug, beer, or a cigarette, increases the chances of addiction. If a person is able to purchase a pack of cigarettes in a matter of minutes or less,
There is no question about it – addiction is a problem. It’s talked about constantly on the news, social media, and even in our own homes. Considering the statistics, that’s not surprising; as of 2012, an estimated 22 million people over the age of 12 are addicted to drugs or alcohol (Friedman 387). The criminalization of the disease of addiction overloads our legal system, disrupts the lives of many families, and limits the success of those who could otherwise be productive members of society. The good news is that there are many different forms of treatment available, so recovery is possible for everyone. We need to
At a present time, drug addiction is the condition of being unable to stop taking illegal harmful
As mentioned before, the medicalization of many diseases in America has lead to the introduction of novel prescription medications, jobs, and explanations for strange behaviors. Using the example of ADD, many pharmaceutical companies revenues increased due to the number of prescriptions prescribed for Adderall etc., not to mention physician’s income for prescribing each medication. Parents can now easily explain to teachers why their kid cannot pay close enough attention for long periods of time and have a quick fix for the exceptionally hyperactive child. These same concepts apply to the medicalization of addiction. Physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and rehab centers profit from the disease concept and the addict in withdrawal. Family and friends have an easier time accepting and explaining a medical condition instead of a loved one that has changed because of drug use. Also, the user themselves has many more resources in today’s society in comparison to being criminalized. Truthfully, only the user that does not seek or want treatment seems to not
Technology has allowed us to gain greater insight into the effects that these substances have on the body, and the research largely affected the ways in which I thought about addiction. The largest influencer on my opinions on addiction were the arguments originating in the research on neurobiology, with my interest focusing largely on neurotransmitters and processes such as the down-regulation of receptor sites in response to the overproduction or inhibited reuptake of certain neurotransmitters (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). To me it would make sense that these actions would encourage the user to continue using whatever substance caused the changes to happen in the first place. In their article arguing for medication-assisted therapy for inmates in the criminal justice system, Bruce and Schleifer (2008) summarized my ideas surrounding addiction: “In essence, the overwhelming physical and psychological reward that comes from heroin derails a neurobiological system designed to preserve the individual” (p. 18). Rather than being limited just to heroin, this was my opinion on all addicting psychoactive
Addiction is complex and is often misunderstood; However, many individuals and medical professionals are now referring to addiction as a disease, not just a poor decision that is made by an individual. Addiction is a problem that spirals out of control and has the potential to absorb every thought and action while wreaking havoc on the body. According to Narcotics Anonymous, “...it is our fellowship's collective experience and understanding that addiction is, in fact, a disease. (What is Addiction?, NA, 2015)”
Firstly, many people argue for the legalization of hard drugs, even though drugs are addictive and stop people from being happy. According to Volkow’s article in addictscience.com, hard “drugs significantly overstimulate dopamine and cause long-lasting changes in the brain’s Limbic system. This over-stimulation has a cost; it depletes dopamine pathways long after the last dose”. (addictscience.com). The chemical released is called dopamine and it is a stimulate pleasure in the brain and with the usage of hard drugs dopamine gets released in large quantities, but gradually the pleasure experienced by the dopamine begins to fade. With the dopamine fading the user has to rely on a higher dosage of the hard drug to get the same effect that was experienced during the first high.
Since the creation of drugs, its abuse and addiction became a taboo. As technology advanced into the 21st century, an impetus in civilization created the allure of drugs, which became propagated and popularized into modern society. Consequently, its Achilles heel created a social epidemic which threatened their innocence. Therefore, the conundrum of this phenomenon caused challenges for the addict, society, and treatment providers. Nonetheless, as problem arises, solutions await its discovery; and, as new and innovated ideas emerged, there are precipitate and modern challenges when getting individuals into addiction treatment.
Once addiction sets in, certain behaviors quickly develop to sustain the need for more and more drugs to get the same effect, and ultimately just to stop the
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.
Planet earth has seven different continents. On these continents, there are different countries, within these countries there are several different states and territories. In these territories, there are various cities, and each city or town has its own society and culture. Much has changed over time, heaps of these changes are material changes like technology, transportation, and fashion. Then, there have also been non-materialistic changes such as societal norms (women’s rights, gay marriage, racial equality). One matter which has not changed throughout history is the use of substances and their addictions. The use of different types of substances has increased over time and now there persist numerous different types of addictive drugs from
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,
Addiction is a severe problem facing millions of people every year. People can become addicted to many things, but the main problem revolves around alcohol and illegal drugs. These substances change the brain’s structure to need more and more of it, which in turn makes the addict focus on the substance instead of their everyday life. Addiction is problematic because people are gaining access to more and more substances that be extremely harmful to their bodies, it is very hard to recover from, and it is becoming more available to younger people whose brains are more susceptible to them than adults. Although addiction is classified as a disease, there is a debate over whether it is the choice of the addict to stay on the substance or a
Addiction as a whole is an epidemic which has grown rapidly in recent years, 23.5 million Americans are addicted to alcohol and drugs (HBO, USA Today, The Gallup Poll, 2006). Approximately 46 Americans died per day in 2010 from drug overdoses (Jones, 2013). Addiction in its many forms is a habitual and debilitating disease which affects not only the addict but the loved ones around them. There is no solid answer as to why an addict is an addict nor pertaining to the selection of who becomes addicted and who does not, however, scientists are making profound advancements. The vast majority of medical practitioners acknowledge that
our so-called ‘moral’ pursuit of a ‘drug-free’ society, we have only achieved its opposite state where