The Choice Of Drug Addiction

Drug addiction ruins lives. It alters a person's personality and attitude causing marriages to fall apart and families to experience great strain. It amounts to millions of dollars in lost time and productivity. And it also causes deaths and accidents.

Addiction is a disease that causes individuals to be compulsive and seek for substances in order to relieve craving. Addiction is commonly associated with drugs and is a great concern to the well beings of people around the world. The physiological and psychological effects of drug addiction can be deadly. Mood swings, hallucinations, and confusion are common physiology side effects, while psychological effects include inevitable depression, cravings, paranoia, and anxiety. By researching and gathering more data about substance addiction, it could lead to a decrease in the number of deaths associated to drug abuse and find healthier alternatives.

First of all, there is the Structural-Functional perspective way people view drug addiction as. The structural-functional perspective is the role the drugs do for the person or the weakening of the norms. It is the way they affect the person and what it does to them that makes them be addicted to drugs. For some people drugs relieves them. It takes them away from their problems from a while and they feel stress free and because of that feeling they receive from the drugs they like it and continue to take more and more. Those with this type of perspective well most likely disagree with this view of drug addiction and would want the problem to decrease.

Addiction: is it a disease or a choice? A disease can be described as “a disorder of structure or function that produces specific signs or symptoms, or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of a physical injury.” Knowing this, one can believe addiction is a disease. It is something that is done frequently, that usually does not end, just as a disease; it cannot cease on its own, because it requires some form of treatment. The big question regarding addiction is why people believe it to be a choice opposed to a disease.

Addiction is the same irrespective of whether the drug is alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, or nicotine. Every addictive substance induces pleasant states or relieves distress. Continue use of addictive substances induces adaptive changes in the brain that lead to tolerance, physical dependence, uncontrollable craving and, all too often, death. Dependence is at such a point that stopping is very difficult and causes severe physical and mental damage from withdrawal (William C. Shiel Jr, 2008). Individuals become homeless due to an addiction, but in other cases, people don't develop an addiction until after they start living on the

People feel that way towards addiction simply because the addicts consumption of the drugs were motivated behind the idea of being intoxicated. But anyways, I digress. Similar to other chronic, relapsing diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, drug addiction can be managed successfully. And, as with other chronic diseases, it is not uncommon for a person to relapse and begin abusing drugs again. Relapse, however, does not signal failure; but rather indicates that treatment should be reinstated, adjusted, or that an alternate treatment is needed to help the individual regain control and

Someone who abuses drugs may suffer negative consequences from using, as the addict does, but generally can and does stop when these consequences become too severe. The addict may be unable to stop, even after negative consequences, without medical and/or behavioral help. Says Steven Hyman, M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health, "An alcoholic taking a drink looks like anyone else engaged in that behavior, but what 's happening in his or her head is different.” He or she is in the grip of a powerful compulsion that may lead to a binge. (Firshein, Janet)

Drug addiction is a complex disease, even when the person is ready to quit, it may not be possible for it to happen. To fully comprehend drug addiction

Should the cause of addiction rely on people 's actions? These days, drugs can be found everywhere, and it may seem like everyone 's doing them. Lots of people are tempted by the excitement or escape that drugs seem to offer. But learning the facts about drugs can help one see the risks of chasing this excitement or escape. Several people argue whether drug addiction is a disease or a choice. Discussing this argument in hopes to have a better understanding as to why this topic is so controversial. For those on the other side of the argument they claim just the opposite. According to a source on the Internet entitled "Saint Jude Retreat House", alcoholism and drug addiction are not diseases because those types of behaviors can be avoided and there is help available to change these behaviors.To call addiction a disease and not a choice, evidence will need to show the flaws in calling addiction a choice, show how drugs of abuse work, how addiction fits into the disease model, identify what organ is primarily affected, and be able to recognize what the symptoms of drug addiction are. There are some very educated individuals who believe that addition is a behavior and that behaviors are a result of choices. According to Gene Heyman, a Harvard psychologist, drug addiction is a choice, not a disease. In his book, Addiction: A Disorder of Choice, Heyman states that "addiction is not a disease and that it is a pattern of persistent but

There are two central debates that often arise when speaking of addiction ; either addiction is a disease caused by the brain, or addiction is a matter of weak will. In comparison the disease model would take responsibility away from the addict and place it on biological reasoning ; the weak will model, would ultimately condemn the addict and place blame on the addicts decision making process and thus blame the addict for their behavior.

Drug addiction has been happening for thousands of years. It is commonly known that addiction to drugs is poor for your health. However, drug addiction can affect an addict, their family, and their communities. Drug addiction needs more awareness and treatment because it leads to homelessness, crime, and broken families.

Although it is true that for most people the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary, over time the changes in the brain caused by frequent drug abuse can impair a person's self-discipline and ability to make sound judgements, and at the same time create an intense impulse to take drugs. It is because of these alterations in the brain that it is so puzzling for a person to stop abusing drugs. Luckily, there are treatments that help people to neutralize addiction's powerful disruptive effects and regain control of their lives. Study shows that combining addiction treatment medications, when suitable, with behavioral therapy is the best way to ensure success for most patients. Treatment approaches that are custom-made to each patient's drug abuse patterns and any concurrent medical, psychiatric, and social problems can help achieve sustained recovery and a life without drugs.

Drug and alcohol addiction is a very serious and widespread problem in America, and across the globe. Drug addiction is a constant craving, seeking, and using of a substance, despite the negative consequences it may have on the addict or those around them. When drug use becomes more frequent, it is considered drug abuse. Once an individual’s drug abuse is can no longer be controlled, and they are using the drug to get through everyday life, it beomes an addiction. A person on drugs has an altered way of thinking, behaving, and perceiving. There are treatment facilities all over the world dedicated to help those suffering with drug addictions. All

According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, iIn 2013, a survey reported that an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged 12 or older had used an illegal drug in the past month. The first time someone uses a drug, it is usually voluntary. This first use is usually to mask certain emotions that they are currently going through. Repeated use can lead to changes in the brain that challenge an addict’s self control and interfere with their ability to resist the temptation of a drug, this addiction makes them feel better about themselves and forget about the problem they are dealing with at the time. According to the Mayo Clinic, drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a dependence on a legal or illegal drug or

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