The Consequences Of Substance Abuse

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

The social problem of addiction is quite prevalent in our society. Many individuals from all different ethnic problems have turned to drugs at some point in their life. Substance use disorder can have compelling ramifications on the health of the abuser, their family and even the communities they live in. In 2012, around 23.1 million Americans aged 12 and older needed treatment for substance use (SAMHSA, 2014). The rate of people that have abused substances ranging from alcohol, pills, Marijuana, Heroin and cocaine etc. has escalated greatly over the years.Many teenagers or even adults aren 't aware of the treatment options and/or they don 't have the necessary funding to receive it. This problem can continue to grow and cause a huge strain on the countries economy

Thousands of years ago, humans first started drinking wine, then later on in around 4000 B.C. narcotics were used, but during the 19th century is when the active substances in drugs were found. Many of these substances were given over the counter and weren 't regulated, which meant that people could easily obtain substances such as morphine, cocaine, landuam, and many others. During the early 1900s, an estimate of about 250,000 people were abusing a substance within the United States. Substance abuse is a serious problem which can affect one 's physical and psychological capabilities, their relationships, and also their daily life overall. Overusing a substance may lead to addiction, which can be hard to overcome, but it 's not impossible.

Too often, addiction goes untreated: According to SAMHSA 's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 23.2 million persons (9.4 percent of the U.S. population) aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem in 2007. Of these individuals, 2.4 million (10.4 percent of those who needed treatment) received treatment at a specialty facility (i.e., hospital, drug or alcohol rehabilitation or mental health center). Thus, 20.8 million persons (8.4 percent of the population aged 12 or older) needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem but did not receive it. These estimates are similar to

Not only does the substance abuser need help so do you, even if you don’t think so at the time. Help, education, and support is needed for everyone involved enabling them a way to find healthy methods to overcome the negativity of the disease. In this paper I will discuss the concerns we should have when dealing with substance abuse.

Binge drinking is encouraged now teens are at risk of making unhealthier decisions. Mischievous behaviors begin with cutting class, shoplifting, and lying to parents. "Stated simply, adolescent decision making is a complex and multiply determined phenomenon" (Dustin Albert & Laurence Steinberg, Temple University, Judgment and Decision Making In Adolescence, 21(1) 211).

Substance abuse can be very detrimental to an individual’s life. According to the World Health Organization, substance abuse is defined as, “the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs” (2015). It does not matter what type of substance a person abuses, any one of them can alter one’s perception, judgement, and physical control, which leads a person being destructive in the future. If a person is fully dependent on a substance, by the time they withdraw it can cause a lot of issues such as, vomiting, shakiness, constantly worrying, hallucinating, and much more. Abusing any type of substance can start at any age but it usually begins early in childhood. Many children who are placed in foster

America has been battling drug and alcohol addiction for over a century. I personally have battled drug addiction for more than 7 years. I was considered a young and bright girl, with the world at her fingertips, only to wake up one day homeless and broken in an abandoned building wondering “how did I end up here?”. I had brief periods of self-controlled abstinence, but I always seemed to end up exactly where I was before, if not in a worse predicament. My addiction was insidious and perpetually lurking. Every day the behavior I engaged in increased my chance of overdose or contracting a deadly disease. Looking back, I almost welcomed death. My perspective was so bleak, I was so filled with shame, and my family had ceased all contact while

Drugs and Alcohol are a very bad for you and can lead to serious consequences. Some of the consequences are addiction, jail, brain damage, cancer, liver damage, and even death. Gateway drugs lead to serious hardcore drugs. The main gateway drugs are cigarettes, tobacco, and alcohol. Addiction is something that is very easy to get and hard to get rid of.

In the last year alone 27 million people (in the United States) reported abusing illegal substances/prescription drugs, while 66 million reported binge drinking. Despite these astounding numbers so much stigma and misinformation surrounds substance abuse and seeking help. Millions of families are suffering, addiction wrecking homes and relationships throughout the country. With 31% of all children removed from their home due to substance abuse as recently as 2012, it is important for the future of these children that the social institution of the family be fixed. Social support for substance abusers should be a forefront considering the detrimental effects on the family. The importance of this support is proven through the devastating effects

Substance abuse occurs when an individual continues using the substance regardless of the negative cognitive, physical, social, or behavioral, and commonly mood related symptoms. These may include trouble with decision making, a deteriorating physical condition, a compulsive control, social withdrawal, or irritability and anger outbursts (Fox, T. Oliver, G, & Ellis S, 2013). If the substance abuse is caught in time before it turns into an addiction, then the many physical complications that the substances have the potential of causing will be lessened or non-existent. Several drugs including marijuana are consumed by smoking, and put abusers at increased risk of bronchitis, lung and upper airway cancers and chronic cough

The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.

Opiate abuse in the United States is an epidemic. It is argued whether addiction is being handled correctly, and if the amount of resources for combating addiction should be increased. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “The number of past-year heroin users in the United States nearly doubled between 2005 and 2012, from 380,000 to 670,000” (2014). This nation-wide increase of heroin abusers leads to another issue: how to treat them. One method of treatment is giving them another medication to treat the cravings, it is called an agonist medication. One of the more prominent of these medications is buprenorphine, brand name Suboxone or Subutex. It is known as a partial receptor because its effects on opioid receptors is

people use drugs or alcohol to cope, and by doing this are also negatively impacting the lives of their children and families. Children grow up around alcohol and drugs and many times are more susceptible to using them. Lehmann (2015) writes, “In most cases, the self-destructive behaviour exists because the client is having a difficult time dealing with the pain of remembering the past, or trying to survive an abusive situation now” (para. 10). The children of residential school survivors also endured severe trauma by watching their parents cope with severe trauma. Children who attended residential schools did not get the kindness, care or love that they deserved. They grew up not knowing what parenting was supposed to look like or how to raise a child. Florence (2016) states, “Children grew up not understanding why their parents were suffering from depression, addictions, and other problems” (p. 91). Another issue that people suffering with addiction faces, is the process of becoming sober. This process is incredibly difficult, especially when a person is dealing with trauma and has a family they need to take care of. It is shown that many people will quit an addiction but end suffering from a completely different addiction because the root cause of the addiction was never truly looked at or taken care of. Florence (2016) also states, “Some are still addicted to alcohol and drugs, but many have dealt with addictions only to find themselves caught by another addiction called

We all know people who have used or been around substances during their lifetime. We can even categorize these people as the person who is having a good time at a party, or the person who is a drunk and or drug dealer. It also doesn’t come as a shock to us when we find out these people taking the substances too far are now in rehab. But what distinguishes this fine line between the person socializing at a party to the person withdrawing in rehab? As certain substances are generally known to create an addiction leading to abusive behavior, why do certain people feel the need to dedicate their lives to these substances knowing the potential outcome? Many factors play into the prevalence of substance abuse in a person’s life. From the moment a person is born into this world, social experiences and interactions start molding that person into the individual they predominantly are classified as. With that being said, researchers have found that traumatic experiences and dysfunction endured at a young age is highly correlated with the abuse of substances later in life. Trauma may include the child enduring any type of abuse, or neglect and a breakage in bonds with others to cause negative emotions that predominantly lead to posttraumatic stress disorder. The fist point to be viewed is how trauma endured at a young age impacts a child, which then leads to PTSD and statistical data providing differences between gender and drugs along with the prevalence between childhood abuse