Substance Abuse And Addiction : Critical Health, Social And Economic Problems

The consequences that follow the use of any drug are unfavorable. Although many individuals may see drug addiction as a mere lifestyle choice, it is a problem that many individuals suffer from and inevitably a growing issue that leaves major social and economic impacts.

“Addiction and Substance Abuse.” Issues & Controversies. Infobase Learning, 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 20 July 2016. infobaselearning.com. The argument is about the “War on Drugs” and if it is working. One side of the argument thinks that by not funding the “War on Drugs” drugs would become uncontrolled. They believe that by stopping the war on drugs it would cost a lot more money in lost productivity and crime rate. They state that rehabilitation can occur while the person in in jail, and it should not substitute their punishment. While the other side believes that though we have thrown billions of dollars into this war on drugs it has shown no improvement whatsoever. They believe that by legalizing drugs the government can better regulate

Substance abuse is the habitual use of mind altering substances (Substances). Addicts have a false or altered look on reality; they need help seeing what is wrong with the life style they are living. Nikki Sixx once said,” Addiction- When you can give something up at any time, as long as it’s next Tuesday!” Recovery is teaching a person to break old habits. Substance abuse counselors are very important, not only in the mental health field, but in society as well.

Substance abuse is a very current problem in the United States. Opiate addiction is a particularly difficult problem in the State of Vermont where the abuse of prescription opioids has created addictions for many individuals. The problem of substance abuse has severe repercussions that may encompass severe dependence and overdose.1 Substance abuse is an epidemic that cannot be ignored. However, the combined forces of over-prescription, addiction and subsequent unemployment may mean that coverage for treatment for opioid addiction is not guaranteed even with increased Medicaid access through the Affordable care Act (ACA).

Basic neurobiological research has improved our understanding of the biological and genetic causes of addiction. These findings have helped establish addiction as a biological brain disease that is chronic and relapsing in nature (Leshner, 1997). As the central nervous system is considered to be the communication pathway to the entire body with the brain being its control mechanism. The brain processes sensory information from throughout the body, guides muscle movement and locomotion, regulates a multitude of bodily functions, forms thoughts and feelings, modulates perception and moods, and essentially controls all behavior (Leshner, 1997). The body and brain then become defendant on this stimuli, as the body and brain adjust to the rewards of receiving this type of sensation. This is where the substance abuse and addiction problems

He is the best nurse on the floor. Everyone admires him – patients, fellow nurses, doctors, administration. He works extra shifts in the emergency department, sometimes as often as six shifts per week despite chronic back pain. What about the seasoned staff nurse? You notice a change in her. She is moody, appears dazed, and is making mistakes frequently. She is late and unkempt, and is not as social as she once was. While one may be quick to assume substance use from the second nurse, in reality, the first nurse is just as likely to be working while impaired. Substance use disorders can – and do – have a very serious impact on the nursing community. Determining, labeling, and reporting a substance use problem is not always easy. This is why, when entering the nursing workforce, it is important to have a working knowledge and understanding of substance use. This includes familiarity with risk factors and signs of substance use, as well as knowing how to seek help for oneself or a colleague. With an awareness of the implications of substance use on nursing, new nurses may be better equipped to take action against this ever-present occupational hazard (NCSBN, 2011).

As the use of illegal drugs and alcohol continues, substance abuse across America has become a very serious social problem. It is mental illness that has an effect on different races, classes and genders. The affects of substance abuse has caused countless of people to feel heartache and develop feelings of hopelessness. With alcohol and drugs readily available through prescription or on the streets (Butler,2010), it is obvious why many are acquiring addictive patterns to these accessible substances, and that the continual abuse of these substances has a severe long-term effect. Characteristics such as age, gender, race, socio-economic class, sexual orientation, different social groups, and geographical location are contributing factors

Hart is an Associate Professor of Psychology in both the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at Columbia University, and Director of the Residential Studies and Methamphetamine Research Laboratories at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. A major focus of Dr. Hart’s research is to understand complex interactions between drugs of abuse and the neurobiology and environmental factors that mediate human behavior and physiology (Hart. Dr., 2013) I chose this article because it talks about the education individuals and addicts need to know about drugs and I feel like this article and the education that it offers would also help loved ones of addicts and addict their selves get educated. This article offers education on drugs and addiction and I think it would be good for my

This learner believes that behavior and addiction should be accepted as the same as addiction to substances. Working in a substance abuse recovery program has allowed this learner to understand addiction as a behavior. Many individuals have a substance abuse addiction and issues because of their behavior. They have made a choice to use substances and their behavior has taken over their life. Overall, this learner believes that all addictions are just as important as a substance abuse addiction. In fact, it should not be considered the same type of illness despite of it being a food, sex, or even gambling addiction. However, the addictions have to be treated differently based on the type and the individuals. According Smith (2012), “Developing brain science brain science has set the

The reading begins with two different accounts written by anonymous students at the Union College in Barbourville, KY; in these stories, both these individuals shared their personal experiences on how it’s like to live in poverty. In the first story the author goes into detail on how poverty has affected their social standing within society, which in turn affects who they hang out with and how they are treated by the public at large. She gives a personal anecdote of this when sharing about an incident where she got into a fight with another girl over a remark the latter had made, while both were at fault the poorer of the two received a five-day suspension, while the other wasn’t punished at all, it wasn’t until after she returned to school did she learn that the other girl’s father donated large amounts of money to the school. The second experience details the correlation of drug life and poverty, growing up surrounded by drugs and alcohol it wasn’t difficult for the author to get into that lifestyle and before she was buying and selling drugs for profit. Her and her husband attempted to make a normal living, but found it difficult to impossible to do due to limited employment opportunities, without much choice they went back to growing and selling marijuana in order to support themselves

A vulnerable population are people that have specific characteristics, or risk factors, that increase the probability of developing health problems (Harkness & DeMarco, 2012, p.103). A Vulnerable is important because anyone can become a part of this population. One is going to be describing the characteristics of substance abusers. Next, give the common health issue and needs. Then, give specific resources that Peoria have to offer. Finally, how substance abuse relates to Healthy People 2020. Overall, this will give one an overview of the vulnerable population such as substance abusers.

In a study published by the Journal of Neuroscience, these scientists reports that they believed they had identified the neuron in the brain that caused alcoholism and other addictions. If this finding can be verified and proven, it could send shock waves through the world that could eliminate alcoholism and addiction forever.

Through this study, the researchers found that addiction-centered faculty were more likely to be found in clinical programs with grants and training clinics. They also found that 46% of all clinical programs offered no addiction training at all. It was found that around the same amount of PhD and PsyD programs offered a specialized clinical site in addictive behaviors or substance abuse. In the PhD programs, the programs with APCS memberships were more likely to have at least one addiction focused faculty member. Programs located in the five largest cities which includes New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Dallas and Chicago are just as unlikely to offer treatment clinics with addiction training as the other programs. The authors correlated the grants, faculty and clinics over fourteen years through seven data points. From 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2013, there was no significant change in the percentages and amounts. The authors claim that the “representation of addiction training has remained fairly stable from 1999 through 2013” (691).

Substance abuse is one of the most detrimental social problems found in all societies. It has been the leading cause for generational breakdowns of families and communities, and is probably the most controversial social problem when developing corrective solutions. Substance abuse can be defined as the chemical dependence, or pattern of usage of both legal and illegal substances, that has adverse physical, psychological, and psychomotor effects on the human body. The use of substances does not always have to be a drug, but can also be anything taken into the body that can cause a mood-altering effect, such as inhalants or solvents. Additionally, substance abuse has many different faces and is the one social problem that crosses all

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