The Drug Of Drug And Alcohol Abuse Essay

The United States has the world's highest incarceration rate. With five percent of the world's population, our country houses nearly twenty-five percent of the world's reported prisoners. Currently there are approximately two million people in American prisons or jails. Since 1984 the prison population for drug offenders has risen from ten percent to now over thirty percent of the total prison population. Federal prisons were estimated to hold 179,204 sentenced inmates in 2007; 95,446 for drug offenses. State prisons held a total of 1,296,700 inmates in 2005; 253,300 for drug offenses. Sixty percent of the drug offenders in prisons are nonviolent and were purely in prison because of drug offenses (Drug War Facts). The question then arises,

Countries all over the world are dealing with a rise of drug use and drug-related public health concerns. Many nations adopt vaguely similar methods of battling the “War on Drugs”, from strict border control to harsh criminal punishments for drug-related offenders, violent or not. Even with these efforts put in place, many places are not seeing the desired results. Drug use is mainly treated like a crime, and that may be the problem. Countries that have concerns with rising drug use among their citizens should follow Portugal in decriminalizing the possession and use of small quantities of all illicit drugs.

Substance abuse disorders are common in our society. It is a disorder that each one of us will most likely experience through a family member, friend, or our self. I felt very drawn to this topic due to the fact that I have a family that has background of substance abuse and I myself have battle the demon. Not until I struggled with my own addiction did I become more tolerable and understanding to those that have a substance abuse disorder. Substance abuse is not something anyone wants to have; it is a disorder that takes control of a person’s life. It is a beast that tears a person apart; from their being to the lives of their loved ones. This disorder is not biased in anyway; rich or poor, male or female, employed or unemployed, young or

In order to understand drug and alcohol use, it is important to be clear about what we mean by the terms ‘drugs’ and ‘alcohol. Alcohol is a legal, sedative drug, which changes the way we think, feel and do. It can make you more relaxed or it can take away your judgment. For most countries, like Canada, it is legal for adults over 18 years to buy and drink. There are many different types of alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine and spirits (whiskey, vodka, gin etc.). Drugs are chemicals which, when taken into our bodies, alters normal bodily function, resulting any psychological and behavioral change. Some drugs are legal, such as caffeine, tobacco/nicotine and alcohol. Other drugs like cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and heroin are illegal. Legal drugs also include medicines that are available over the counter at a chemist or prescribed by a doctor. A person can misuse these drugs by taking them in a way, which they are not supposed to be used or in amounts not prescribed by their doctor.

The movie, Requiem for a Dream (Selby & Mansell, 2000) exposes the multiple faces of addiction. Addiction can change a person’s identity and therefore, impacts each person differently. This movie explores the life of four addicts who push the boundaries of their own lives leaving the viewer to wonder, how far will they go to use drugs? The focus of this paper is on what addiction looks like for the character, Harry Goldfarb.

Drug abuse is on the rise. While the use of drugs like cocaine and heroin is in a state of decline in certain parts of the world, prescription drugs abuse is on the rise (UNODC, 2013). Prescription drugs that were prescribed with the intention to do well are now one of the leading causes of self-harm. Drug abuse has no gender or social class, it can affect people regardless of social status and wealth, and now more than ever we need to understand the reason behind the abuse. What psychological factors could cause an individual to abuse drugs in the first place? In this research essay, I will discuss how each one of the major school of psychology perspectives could attempt to explain a

In the United States of America, we, the people value several things, some of which

Substance misuse behaviour is the use of psychoactive substances in a manner that is harmful to the drug user, which often leads to addiction and thus the perpetuation of the substance misuse behaviour itself, the resulting substance dependence is a facet of substance misuse behaviour characterised by a strong desire to continually take the drug in uncontrolled manner, which leads to withdrawal symptoms once the dosage of the drug is discontinued (Koob, Sanna & Bloom, 1998). This disorder has its roots in both neurobiological and social processes (Galizio & Maisto, 2013), this essay will critically discuss both the biological and social catalysts in which substance misuse initiates and leads to substance misuse behaviour, with reference to the psychopharmacology of individual substances, biological processes as well as specific examples of social and psychosocial theories.

Substance abuse and addiction have become a social problem that afflicts millions of individuals and disrupts the lives of their families and friends. Just one example reveals the extent of the problem: in the United States each year, more women and men die of smoking related lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined (Kola & Kruszynski, 2010). In addition to the personal impact of so much illness and early death, there are dire social costs: huge expenses for medical and social services; millions of hours lost in the workplace; elevated rates of crime associated with illicit drugs; and scores of children who are damaged by their parents’ substance abuse behavior (Lee, 2010). This paper will look at

The aim of this assignment is to explain about the drug Heroin, its addiction, describing its short and long term effects. Which are illustrated in diagrams below and to give a better understanding of the drug. This topic of discussion has taken an interest as Heroin addiction is on the rise in Longford and it has led to the fatality of one person of whom I went to school with due to a Heroin overdose.

If I were an advisor to the Governor of Missouri, the issue I would encourage him to address is the manufacture of drugs and the use of drugs and alcohol throughout our state. The advice I would give him is to impose stiffer penalties for those who manufacture drugs and focus on prevention, and, most importantly, rehabilitation, of those who abuse alcohol or drugs.According to the Missouri Department of Mental Health, alcohol and drug abuse affects more than 259,000 Missourians and another 800,000 who are family members of substance abusers. That is roughly 20% of Missourians who are affected. Intoxication by the means of drugs and alcohol contribute to a great percentage of deaths statewide from burns, fires, homicides, assaults,

Alcohol abuse is a serious problem, driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs is an even bigger problem that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Abusing either one of these substances can lead to the death of you or the death of someone else or even cause a major change in their life like Jacqueline’s story, her whole life has been changed because of another person’s ignorance and carelessness. Therefore, you should know the facts about drug and alcohol abuse before you do something you may regret for the rest of your life.

My reflection paper is on the subject of substance abuse. As the structure of society changes, the acceptability of one drug or another changes. I have dealt with my own experiences of substance abuse personally and through family and friends throughout my community. I believe there are many underlying problems Native people face today that lead to substance abuse. So, drug use and alcoholism is not the problem in my town, those are more like side effects of something deeper. I would have to agree most with the symbolic interactionist perspective as far as the labeling theory goes. There are also many images in the media that depict the use of drugs and alcohol to make it seem like even though it is bad, it is sometimes okay. These images sparked my own curiosity to experience a fun high or a night out with friends and hopefully getting lucky. I had so many questions about drug use and alcohol. My older siblings and cousins were involved in those circles so it was only natural that me and my cousins and peers who I grew up with got into smoking marijuana and buying drinks on the weekends. I did not know at the time about the dangers of underage drinking. I also had very little knowledge of the condition of my mental health at my young age. Eventually I found out that I had an addictive personality and I got myself into a downward spiral of substance abuse.

A drug is a chemical substance applied into treating, diagnosing and preventing one from disease infections or a substance that is used by a person to enhance his or her physical and mental state in the perceived effect. Drugs used for different purposes and their effect depend on which cause for usage. It causes both positive and negative consequences directly to the user and in the long-run it affects the whole society or community. Drug addiction is the activity of uncontrollable dependence on a substance by the user no matter the harm caused by its usage. It is a habit that has been in many years hard to curb especially among the youths. “We must recognize that substance abuse and addiction is a disease, not a moral failing or easily abandoned self-indulgence,” (Califano, 2008).The cases of drug abuse have been on the rise over the recent years and resulted in crimes. The cases have a great effect affected the society in general since the reliable energetic youths have turned to drug abuse. However, some measures have been initiated to mitigate, curb and treat drug addiction in the society as outlined in the essay.

A person’s body, in almost every aspect of its being, is addicted when one is a mild to chronic user and abuser. The nervous system, brain, and muscle tissue are all living in anticipation of the next high. So, for the addict, it is crucial that the cycle of behavior, is broken. The addict needs to pull up the anchor that keeps them from moving forward. This means changing environments, patterns and even sometimes friends and social associates.