SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Substance Abuse

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Symptoms1

Suicide2

Mental illness2

Central nervous system effects2

Epidemiology2

Society and culture3

Legalities3

Cost4

Treatment5

Pharmacological therapy5

Conclusion6

References7

Substance Abuse

Introduction

Substance abuse is also known as drug abuse which is a pattern of the usage of any kind of drugs or alcohol which makes a user dependent on its use for survival. This term has different definitions in different contexts but primarily refers to negativity of the use of drugs. The drugs that are often associated with substance abuse include alcohol, “barbiturates”, “amphetamines” and “methaqualone” (Carroll & Miller, 2010).

Usage of drugs leads to various kinds of harm in terms of social, physical and psychological harm and also leads to criminal penalty at times but this depends on the local jurisdiction of a country. The categories in which the definition of drug abuse falls into are as follows.

Public health

Mass communication

Vernacular usage

Medical

Political

Criminal justice

Symptoms

Drug abuse often leads to many problems such as health and social problems, injuries, violence, accidents and suicides. Moreover, it also leads to physical dependence and also leads to death in some cases. Individuals who consume more alcohol and other drugs often commit suicide and this is more commonly due to long term use of alcohol and drugs which leads to distortion of brain chemistry as well as social isolation.

Suicide

Since the drugs contain different intoxicants, this also increases the chances of suicide of the individuals who are victims of substance abuse. The adolescents are more prone to indulge in these kinds of activities and mostly suicides occur due to alcohol abuse which is also a part of substance abuse. In the United States, 30% of the suicides occur due to alcohol abuse. Moreover, alcohol abuse also leads to various other criminal activities such as child abuse and violence.

Mental illness

The addicts can become a victim of mental illness during their intoxication stage as well as after they have withdrawn. Moreover, substance abuse also leads to psychiatric disorders and depression.

Central nervous system effects

Substance abuse also leads to the Central nervous system effects which are responsible for the changes in mood levels and perceptions. Besides CNS, drugs also alter the other systems and they also lead to uncontrolled use of drugs (Fisher & Harrison, 2008).

Epidemiology

Individuals normally initiate the usage of drugs and alcohol mostly during the time when they are adolescents while the elders are more prone to experiment new substances. Studies show that 47% of the drug users are the twelfth graders and most of the children in this grade have happened to have consumed drugs at least once. It has also been noticed that 21% of the students studying in high school have taken drugs without the prescription from a physician. Moreover, in 2002, the World Health organization also estimated that 140 million individuals were dependent on alcohol and more than 400 million people suffered from problems related to alcohol. However, there are also many individuals who stop consuming drugs before it really becomes problematic for them. It can therefore be said that although the rates of drugs ...