Substance Use and Abuse
Substance abuse is the detrimental or dangerous use of psychoactive agents such as alcohol and illegal narcotics. Substance use disorders (SUDs) are most often associated with using some or many drugs in the United States: alcohol, opioids, stimulants, hallucinogens, cannabis, and tobacco. Alcohol and cigarettes kill more Americans than other drugs. Most individuals choose to use drugs voluntarily at first. Still, continued drug use may result in physiological changes that make it difficult for an abuser to maintain self-control and compromise their capacity to withstand strong desires to use drugs. The adverse health effects suffered by individuals in society are one of the primary implications of illegal drug usage. Additionally, drug abuse places a significant financial strain on people, families, and communities.
Drug Use Perspective
People who do not use drugs erroneously believe that drug users lack moral values or resolve and that they can easily choose to quit using drugs. Most users believe using drugs helps them to temporarily forget life problems. From the user’s perspective, drug addiction is a serious problem that requires more than just willpower. Often, this is the justification for continued use. This viewpoint is supported by research showing that the brain changes while using drugs, making withdrawal difficult even for people who desire to do so (National Institute on Drug Abuse). However, effective treatments are available to help addicts overcome their addiction and return to fulfilling lives.
Illegal Drugs Effects of Use
Among the most recurring short symptoms of drug abuse encompass hangovers, anxiety, withdrawals, panic attacks, paranoia, hallucinations, irritability, sadness or depression, insomnia, appetite loss, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, and many more. Substance misuse’s most prevalent long-term repercussions include significant depression, liver damage, early-onset dementia, schizophrenia, kidney damage, heart disease, and reduced cognitive function. The United Nations reports that 35 million individuals suffer from substance use disorders. In short, drug use can lead to severe long-term effects on the brain and body.
Social Dimension of Drug Use
There are several societal implications associated with drug use and misuse. Concerning social interaction, sociologists underline that peer pressure significantly affects an individual’s propensity to use alcohol, cigarettes, and a variety of other substances (Hanson et al. 135). Peer relationships are most influential throughout adolescence when most drug use likely starts. In this phase of life, when companions are smoking, drinking, or partying, many people need to partake to feel the experience. Similarly, scholars stress that a society’s “drug culture” influences drug usage (Hartogsohn 3). For instance, given that American society values alcohol so highly, many individuals consume it. Furthermore, since the United States has a drug culture, it is not surprising that drug usage is so prevalent sociologically. Drug abuse can cause criminal behavior.
Becoming A Drug User
Substance addiction may begin with the experimental utilization of a psychoactive substance in social contexts, and for certain individuals, the drug usage progresses to habitual consumption. Persons, especially those addicted to opioids, get addicted to drugs when they consume prescribed medications or obtain them from individuals who have prescriptions. The likelihood of dependency and the rate of addiction vary by substance. Opioid medicines, for example, have a greater risk and induce addiction more rapidly than others. Anyone of any age, gender, or socioeconomic level can develop a drug addiction.
Drug Use
Despite the increasing awareness of the adverse effects of substance use and abuse, drug use continues to rise globally. According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), about 269 million individuals worldwide took drugs in 2018, a 30% increase from a decade earlier (United Nations). Marijuana was the most commonly used drug in 2018, with approximately 192 million users globally. Meanwhile, opioids continue to be the most dangerous, as they have been for the previous decade (United Nations). The majority of drug users are teenagers and young adults. Young individuals are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of substance abuse since their brains are still developing during drug usage.
Profile of Illegal Drug Use
The onset of illicit substance abuse is characterized by physical dependency. This may be determined by tolerance to the substance of abuse and dissociative effects. Tolerance develops when a person requires a greater quantity of a drug to achieve the same benefits as before. The second component of a drug addiction problem is psychological reliance on the drug. The psychological belief is that the substance is necessary for the user to function normally. An individual with an illicit substance addiction problem is aware of the negative effects of their drug usage yet feel unable to quit on their own. Rehabilitation and therapy programs may provide individuals with the required assistance to overcome addiction.
Cognitive Association Theory and Economic Deprivation Theory
Psychological research on opiate dependency led to the development of the cognitive association theory. It highlights that the addict’s continuous interest in the substance is because it eliminates the agony associated with withdrawal as opposed to the fact that it causes pleasure. To put it another way, users get dependent on opiates because they associate withdrawal symptoms with stopping usage. People experience economic deprivation when they either cannot fulfill their essential needs or believe they are deprived of the resources to which they are legally entitled. In return, they resort to drugs as an escape mechanism or to overcome stress.
The War on Drugs
New state and federal regulations and more harsh penalties were enacted in the 1960s, emphasizing the poor and minorities due to highly reported scary accounts concerning the consequences of cannabis and other illegal narcotics. This led to several states’ jail demographics being disproportionately made up of people of color and the underprivileged due to the punitive approach used by law enforcement. With the inadequacy of the punitive strategy in the 1990s, advocates for drug legalization argued that drug prohibitions are counterproductive since they increase both crime and public corruption. The supporters argue that legalizing drugs would eliminate enormous profits, substantially decrease crime, and allow for the use of criminal justice funds for education and rehabilitation.
Abusive Prescription Drugs
Many believe falsely that medically prescribed medications pose less health risk than street drugs. Thus, more individuals from the middle class are taking prescription medicines, particularly painkillers. OxyContin addiction has progressively risen in the last decade, resulting in nationwide abuse and stronger restrictions. It is abused inappropriately because of its accessibility, the false assurance of its safety, and the universal allure of illicit substances.
Cigarette Smoking
Compared to illicit substances, the prevalence and hazard of smoking are far higher. It is estimated that 25% of Americans still smoke daily, and adolescent smoking has increased in recent years. Smoking rates have decreased in the United States since 1960, but they have gone up in developing nations owing to lax regulations and no mandatory health warnings on cigarette packaging. Globally, the number of women and youth who smoke has risen. The image above shows several cigarette remains possibly used by an addict.
Works Cited
Hanson, Glen et al. Drugs and Society. Jones and Bartlett, 2017.
Hartogsohn, Ido. “Constructing drug effects: A history of set and setting.” Drug Science, Policy and Law 3 (2017): 2050324516683325. Web.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Understanding Drug Use and Addiction DrugFacts.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, Web.
United Nations. “UNODC World Drug Report 2020: Global Drug Use Rising; While COVID-19 Has Far Reaching Impact on Global Drug Markets.” United Nations: Office on Drugs and Crime, 2020, Web.