Drug Abuse Essays

Drug Abuse Essays Drug Abuse Paper Drug Abuse Paper Drug Abuse is one of the most common criminal cases in the society today. It is a form of substance abuse, just like alcoholism, since these illicit drugs are actually addictive in nature. Because of this, many people who are hooked on drugs cannot easily let go of the addiction, and would often lead to drug-related crimes like robbery, physical assault, or even murder. Not only does these drugs dangerous to others, but it is also harmful in the drug users’ body, causing the body to take into negative turns, like deterioration and organ failures. One of the most common drugs in the society today is Marijuana. It is known scientifically as the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, where the leaves are being dried up, rolled into sheets of paper and be smoked just like cigarette or tobacco. It is the most often used illegal drug in the world, known in various names all over, like â€Å"pot,† â€Å"herb,† and â€Å"Mary Jane. † Some users can make use of marijuana by mixing it into food substances or drink it by brewing it with tea. The addictive element of marijuana is its Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC content. The effect of marijuana would depend on how strong or how potent is its Tetrahydrocannabinol content, thus also giving various effects on the marijuana users (Psychology Today, 2002). When a person smokes or inhales marijuana smoke, he would usually feel rapid heart beats, loss of coordination and decreased sense of balance, slow reaction rate and a dry mouth. These are already signs of marijuana intoxication, along with the expansion of blood vessels in the eye, that’s why marijuana users usually have red eyes. The effects of marijuana would usually last two to three hours, where the marijuana user would usually tend to be sleepy. The negative effects of using marijuana would be hindering the user’s short term memory, wherein it would be difficult for him to remember recent events. This would usually lead to car crashes and other accidents, since their sense of coordination is greatly affected. Another dangerous drug would be cocaine. This drug’s effect on the body is really damaging, where addiction to cocaine could bring about permanent damages in one’s body or even death. Cocaine has both short term and long term effects. The short term effects are immediately noticeable, but not that damaging as compared to the long term ones. Because the reward system that drugs activate are usually activated for things that are ecessary for survival the body naturally wants to continue to access this reward system leading to excessive drug use and eventually an addiction. As a person starts to do drugs more and more often a persons tolerance, or the amount of that drug they need to get high increases. When a person does drugs constantly their brain is constantly being filled with dopamine which is the neurotransmitter that most drugs cause a release of. The brain adapts to the constant flooding of dopamine by producing less dopamine or reducing the number of dopamine receptors in the reward part of the brain. This results in the drug and ther aspects of life to become less fun or pleasurable. The change in life now makes life seem not as good leading the person to need to do more and more of that drug just to feel normal again. To keep reaching the high they want the person needs to keep increasing the amount of that drug they are doing until eventually it gets to the point that they need the drugs Just to feel normal again. Different drugs can lead to different addictions and an addiction that a person has can be a physical addiction or a psychological addiction. People who are usually recognized as drugs addicts are people with physical addictions. Many drugs such as nicotine, heroin, and meth cause severe physical addictions that are hard to overcome. When a person has a physical addiction their bodies will experience actual health issues if that person does not keep doing the drug they are addicted to. When people are physically a001ctea to a arug tney wlll Teel SICK ana tnelr oodles wlll nurt IT tney can not ao tne drug. The pain and sickness felt when not doing a drug that a person is addicted to is withdrawal. When dealing with a physical addiction withdrawal can be anywhere from a small headache to very severe problems depending on what it is your body is ddicted to. Withdrawal to some drugs like alcohol can cause seizures which can actually kill the person. Other drugs like caffeine Just cause a small headache in the morning. Often people with a physical addiction to a drug also have a psychological addiction to it. To help get over a physical addiction a person usually needs to go to a detox center and work with professionals, A physical addictions is not to be taken lightly and people with this problem usually need help from other to get over their addiction. Only drugs that actually contain addictive substances can cause physical ddictions and once addicted it can be very hard for a person to stop. Some drugs however can still cause an addiction even if the drug itself has no addictive properties inside it. Unlike with a physical addiction a person with a psychological addiction will not actually have a reaction in their body due to not having the drug but they can still mentally develop an extreme want for it. Psychological addictions are more common in people who abuse drugs like marijuana. Marijuana itself has no substance inside of it that are actually addictive but the brain can still develop a esire for the dopamine that marijuana releases making a person want to do it. Some people say that this is not a real addiction however because a person can develop a psychological addiction to anything. A person with a psychological addiction can usually Just kick the addiction themselves or have a friend help monitor them but sometimes seek professional help anyways. Although not as severe as a physical addiction a psychological addiction can still negatively affect a persons life. People who have really bad addictions are usually easy to identify buy some people with inor addictions can not be spotted unless a person knows the symptoms of an addiction. People with addictions often get confused about things when they are sober because they can not think straight often leading to angry outbursts at people who they actually do care about. People with addictions also often get angry when confronted about their problems. People with addictions cant usually say no to drugs when offered no matter what the consequences are. People with addictions also often try and hide it from their families as well as losing interest in things they use to like that dont have to do with drugs. People with addictions also often neglect to eat and lose interest in having a good physical appearance. People with an addiction also try and find an excuse to do drugs all the time so they dont have to face themselves with wondering whether or not they have an addiction. People who miss work or school to do drugs or people who cannot function properly without doing drugs are also people who have addictions. People often ask if drug addiction can be genetic and the simple answer is nobody really knows. People who do drugs while pregnant also do get the baby addicted to drugs but that is from actually having the rugs in its bloodstream making it non genetic. Although there has never been a gene identified to cause addiction or make a person more or less likely to do drugs it may be harder for some people to quit once they start. People might genetically have certain traits that make it harder to become addicted such as not having as many withdrawal problems or disliking drugs that make other people feel good. Although people mlgnt nave tnese tralts tney can stlll Decome aaalctea to arugs even IT no one in their family has ever done a single drug Just like a person can never do drugs even f they come from a long line of drug addicts. Genetics does not play a big role in drug addiction and besides possibly giving certain traits to help a person resist drug addiction, drug addiction itself has not be proved to be genetic. There are certain conditions however that make a person more likely to do drugs and eventually become addicted. People who have easy access to getting drugs through people such as family or friends are more likely to continue to do them often and become addicted. People who live in a culture where drug abuse is accepted or encouraged also have a higher chance of becoming addicted. People who live a stressful lifestyle either economically or emotionally are more likely to seek a reliever which usually leads to drug abuse and eventually addiction. People with low self esteem might also feel peer pressure to do drugs or might resort to drugs to help them get over their shyness and make new friends. People with health problems such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or anxiety are also more likely to try drugs and because of their mental health are also more susceptible to becoming addicted. Drug abuse does not start as an addiction but rather becomes one over time. There are four stages of drug abuse which lead from time to time abuse to addiction. The first stage is the experimental stage. During this stage a person is usually doing the drug to have a good time with their friends and may enjoy doing it because it is against the rules. It starts to get bad in the stage of regular usage. During this stage people might do it to ease their pain daily or start missing school and work to do drugs as well as increasing tolerance. A person might start to change their friends and drift away from family during this stage. The drug abuse gets even worse and starts to ecome an addiction in the daily stage. During this stage a person usually loses all motivation when it comes to things like school and work. People start to put drugs before everything even their relationships and often become drug dealers to support the habits. The final stage is dependence and is the stage of full blown addiction. During this stage a person can not function properly without doing drugs. They often sell all their stuff to support their addiction and often lose their family and friends and become suicidal or develop many mental health problems. Drug use may not start as much but eventually it may become drug abuse and finally an addiction. Many people first start taking drugs through a legal prescription. Many people who are injured are prescribed painkillers and many people who believe they have mental health problems are prescribed anti-depressants. Some people break the dose rules but even many people who follow it form a small addiction which leads them to try and milk out their prescription for as long as possible. By the time that they are no longer able to legally get these drugs they are already addicted which eads to them having to find a new way to gain access to these drugs. Many people also start doing drugs to try and escape from the problems they have in their lives. Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or even family problems can lead people to replace the lows of their lives with getting high. The emotional letdown of when the drug wears off makes these problems even worse and leads to people doing more drugs more often to escape these problems. While poverty isnt technically a cause of drug abuse people who are poor are statistically more likely to do drugs. The lack of pportunlty In poor nelgnoornooas leads to tnere Delng lots 0T arug dealers maKlng it easy to access drugs. Because of the increased drug dealing and trafficking through those neighborhoods people are more likely to become drug users and eventually drug addicts. Professional athletes also often abuse drugs however they abuse a different kind of drug and for different reasons. Professional athletes only can be successful if they are good and so to be as good as possible they often abuse performance enhancing drugs. To keep up with other athletes who are doing it many athletes do some form of PED. These drugs usually produced good results but can only be maintained if the drug use is also maintained. This cycle often leads to an addiction or a need to find something even stronger to boost performance. For whatever reason a person started to abuse drugs and weather they have a physical or a psychological addiction and no matter what stage of abuse there in drug addictions are bad and people with them often need help. Although the decision to take drugs for the first time is a personal choice, eventually the brain changes to reduce self control and their ability to resist that drug. Drug addiction is a complex roblem and scientists are Just beginning to understand how to successfully assess and treat a drug addiction. Many people who have drug addictions have lost the ability to help themselves and cannot quit the drug they are doing even if they want to. Any kind of drug addiction is bad and needs to be taken seriously before it either becomes worse or leads to death. About nine percent of the American population over 12 has abused drugs before in their lifetime and many of those abusers will eventually become addicts. Drug abuse will often lead to an addiction and once addicted it will take more than Just good intentions to quit.