The Drug Addiction Epidemic Of America Essay

There have been several news coverages on TV and social network about drug overdose of different cases recently and they have risen people’s concern about the problems of drug abuse national-wide. The drug abuse and opioid epidemic is not a new problem to the American society, actually it has been a serious problem for many years. So what is the situation of drug epidemic now, and how can we find effective ways to deal with this problem? A few writers who ponder this question are Nora D. Volkow, Dan Nolan and Chris Amico.

Volunteering and participating in service projects are two of the most rewarding activities in my opinion. Some people may find it was a hassle or only do it because they have to meet the minimum requirement for school or work. Helping others, for me, has always been somewhat second nature to me. Over many years of volunteering I believe I have developed qualities that will stick with me for life and benefit me in my career. As early as freshman year, in high school, I found myself looking for ways to give back. I started by looking for opportunities within school, where I came across the A+ tutoring program, and so my journey of giving back began. While tutoring, my patience for others really evolved, partly by choice and partly because

The fact that the United States treats drug use as a terrible crime instead of treating it as a physical problem or illness, and the drug problem is still not going away, shows that the United States is going about drug abuse all wrong. The United States has over 25% of the world's incarcerated population and over half of those are in prison for drug abuse/distribution. Other countries have decriminalized drugs and have seen an extremely positive difference in the drug abuse problem. Therapeutic drug treatments can be offered as an option to drug abusers so they feel safe and not afraid or angry of what is happening. The United States needs to find a new policy on drug abuse because the current policy has failed.

“According to a new study released by the World Health Organization, the U.S leads the world and takes the gold for the use of tobacco, pot, and cocaine, far outpacing other countries”(US Ranks #1). According to an article on alternet.org America abuses drugs worse than any other country. It is no secret that the United States’ economy is nearing an all time low. With the economy being nearly as bad as ever in the history of our country it is very concerning that our drug use is at an all time high. If a large percentage of United States citizens do not have jobs, cannot afford food, clothes, shelter, and the government is providing money for these people, where is the

thrown in as an option (Kramer et al., 2009). After implementing the restrictive sentences thousands of individuals were still rearrested; this method did not work unless the threat of going to prison was added (Horne et al., 2015). Treatment facilities that help drug offenders showed a link between drugs and crime that gave policy makers an opportunity to make mandatory minimum sentences, treatment sentencing, and various intervention programs a coping mechanism in the criminal justice system (Kramer et al., 2009). These alternatives did not solve the problem of drug abuse (Kramer et al., 2009). Rehabilitation centers may work to steady the drug addiction, but it may not always work for those who are dependent on drugs (Kramer et al., 2009)

In the past several decades, millions of people in America have become involved in illegal drugs, either through usage or through the importation, manufacture, sale and distribution of these illegal substances. According to United States Justice Department statistics, of the millions of Americans who use illegal drugs today, 2.7 million of these people are hard-core drug abusers. The hard-core drugs that enjoy the most popularity are crack, cocaine and heroin -- all of which are highly addictive. Addiction increases consumption and consumption increases the necessity to provide the drugs. It is an illegal example of a supply and demand scenario.

Since the early 1960’s there have been an alarming increase in drug use in the United States in 1962, four million Americans had tried an illegal drug. By 1999, that number had risen to a staggering 88.7 million, according to the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

Lack of help from the justice system for drug offenders remains an ongoing problem. Since the 1970’s, presidential administrations passed legislation that made it easier to imprison addicts but harder to help them. Drug users often enter the prison system, receive little to no help before release, and end up returning later for repeat offenses. Many in the justice system believe that, once the detoxification process occurs, inmates become sober and able to live productive lives. However, this rings false. The 2014 article by Chicago’s Loyola University’s Olson and Lurigio, “The long-term effects of prison based drug treatment and aftercare services and recidivism” states that “The foundations of sobriety consist of...comprehensive services...in

Addiction in America, it is a sad reality that we must pay more attention to. Not only does it destroy and kill lives, it also is hard to treat. When you are addicted for long periods of time, your dependency on it is like having to breath. Without "it" you will die. In America even marijuana which is debatably just as harmful as tobacco and alcohol, can put you in jail from from 1-5 years for possession and 10 to life for selling or growing. Now in some states it is legal for recreational use, so this topic has gained some attention where people in other states have already been in jail for a long time for doing what someone in another state is doing it without consequents. Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, etc. are much more addictive and have harsher punishments. These drugs have been proven that without proper treatment, people can become dependent on them again even after 5-10 years of being sober. In jail the treatment options are minimal, only in some rare cases have private prisons have had a decent rehabilitation success rate. Some states have federally funded rehabilitation sites where instead of jail time from a possession charge, they can go to these rehabs. These rehabs where established to treat individuals from addiction rather than jail time. Doing this was more ideal to lower the people from doing this again and is also very much more cost effective. In a review from the Justice Policy Institute in Maryland, the success rate of completed treatment of ADAA programs is

Americans today have many different views than 100 years ago about addiction, alcohol and drugs. In the early days of the 19th century, it was only a dream that a drug could save a life. Today drugs are used for specific treatments of specific diseases. However, they are also a multi billion-dollar business both legal and illegal that is not only saving

Drug addiction in America Is a problem. Specifically, when athletes and celebrities are setting a negative image for the younger generation to follow with the use of drugs or enhancements. Drug testing in professional sports should be continued in the U.S. Punishments should be enforced, and people caught using drugs in professional sports should be required to go to rehab.

Drug use in America is a major public health problem that impacts society on many levels, either directly or indirectly. Drugs take a tremendous toll on our communities and our families. It affects all of us, those who abuse these substances and those who don't. Many of America's top medical problems can be directly linked to drug abuse. Cancer, heart disease and HIV/AIDS are just a few. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drugs are involved in 10 to 22% of traffc accidents. At least half of individuals arrested for violent crimes like homicide and assault are under the influence of illicit drugs.

One out of ten Americans over twelve are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol and only eleven percent of those people get treated. Having an addict who is going through withdrawals while staying with you as they go through the process of trying to recover from the use of drugs that they use is not one of the best experiences to have while growing up. They go through different side effects from not using the drug. These side effects sometimes make it unbearable to be around them.

Drug use in America has been on the rise, drugs have been available for many years. The use of drugs in communities not only affect the drug user but it also affects families across the United States. Drug use has a way of making one dependent on a substance which can lead to many issues such as theft, theft usually plays an important role in funding a drug users habit when they are not able to hold a job or run out of money to sustain their unhealthy habit. Families are hurt by the user’s ability to be careless about their own situation and the situation of others that surround them, like children, parents or friends. Kids often act out in ways that are unhealthy for their future when growing up in such environments that lack the support

Over the recent years, we have seen a sharp incline of drug-related overdose here in Flordia. Although we have heard about some new and still developing preventative approaches, treatments, legislations and the possibility of drug consumption facilities here in Florida addiction is still a huge problem. Especially with stronger drugs such as fentanyl being used to cut heroin or sold as heroin. Furthermore, there 's a need to address the underlying issues from addiction such as depression, A.D.H.D, and chronic pain. Ultimately addiction can happen to anyone; a person does not just wake up one day and decide to do drugs. Something happens to them whether its an accident and the person is prescribed prescription drugs for pain, peer pressure or many other ways it can happen to anyone. Which is there is a need for strengthening interventions with the aim of reducing deaths caused by drug overdose in Florida