Drug Epidemics - Research Paper Example

25 June Drug Epidemics Introduction: Variations in the use and abuse of numerous drugs at a time or another have been described as drug epidemics. The use of drug becomes an epidemic overtime as is evidenced from recent cases of crack use and methamphetamine, which is proof of the grave situation that has befallen people, especially youngsters. Parents are often worried about their teenage children, mainly due to susceptibility to smoking marijuana, cigarettes and such. The anxiousness of parents is only heightened when their children advance to colleges because of the persistent drinking culture attributed to nearly all campuses and hostels. Although parenthood brings with it an overt phase of endless concern and wellbeing of children becomes the topmost priority, the main concern is regarding bad habits and addictions that their children may succumb to under peer pressure. Abuse of prescription drugs among college students has become an increasing trend in a lot of campuses. Students use these drugs in huge volumes not only to get feelings of intoxication, but also to help them to concentrate for tests or papers, to alleviate themselves from depression or anxiety as well as to help improve their stamina for sports and athletics. A lot of people have stereotypes about who an addict or alcoholic is and how he or she would behave, however, majority of people do not connect this image with young students. Drug education has been made compulsory in the United States all through grade schools and yet the use of drugs continues to increase in college students. Once the students graduate from their high schools, they leave the safe ambit provided by their schools and enter the negatively influential atmosphere of colleges. College life is considered as a period for experimentation, and for some students certain experimentation develops into a bad addiction. When it comes to addiction, age is not a factor that stands in way, moreover, youth proves to be a greater factor that forces students to surrender themselves to bad habits, as peer pressure is more dominant among youngsters. The issues regarding the use of drugs as well as consumption of alcohol among students are significantly growing more serious. The social environment of colleges increasingly encourages the use and abuse of drugs, among which binge-drinking is the most common. Drugs and alcohol pose various threats and problems for both male and female students alike, the effect showing significant decrease in their scores during examinations. This kind of substance abuse is primarily the reason for nearly a third of dropouts in colleges. In an atmosphere where binge drinking is widespread, the number of related legal complications and offences also increase. Illegal drugs, drunk driving and underage possession of alcohol and marijuana can cost fines and also entail imprisonment. Injuries, sexual assault as well as fights are more likely to occur when one has been inebriated by alcohol or intoxicated by drugs. Nearly half of campus injuries are caused due to alcohol consumption according to various studies. Parents and youth in particular need to be well educated with reference to the dangers of the abuse and misuse of prescription drugs. However, there is a general misperception amongst a lot of youngsters as well as parents that prescription drugs do not have as much as negative impacts when compared to illegal drugs since they are FDA approved. A lot of parents do not understand the risks related with giving prescribed medicine to youngsters or other family members for whom the medicine was not approved. On the other hand, some parents who do provide their children with prescription drugs, do not necessarily pay attention to how their children use or misuse these drugs. Teenagers and youth alike, gain access to unused prescription drugs from the medication cabinets, which their parents often leave open, not considering a situation that their children might use those drugs. “These misperceptions, coupled with increased direct-to-consumer advertising, which may also contribute to increased demand for medications, 89 makes effective educational programs even more vital to combating prescription drug abuse” (Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis 2). Additionally, dispensers and prescribers including physicians, assistants of physicians, pharmacists, nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists and prescribing psychologists, all have a role to play in the reduction of misuse and abuse of prescription drugs. Most of these professionals receive less training on the significance of proper dispensing and prescribing of opioids with regard to stopping addiction, diversion, and adverse effects. Outside the realm of programs such as specialty addiction treatment, for the most part, healthcare providers have received less training in how to identify substance mistreatment in their patients. Most dental, pharmacy, medical and other health expert schools fail in providing proper training on substance abuse, as mostly education of substance abuse is restricted to clinical electives or classroom. Furthermore, students in these schools may only get limited guidance on the treatment of pain. Educating prescribers with regard to substance abuse is vitally important, since even short interventions from primary care providers have been proved effective in eliminating or reducing substance abuse in individuals who abuse drugs and so far have not been addicted to them. Along with this, educating healthcare providers in relation to prescription drug abuse can promote consciousness of this rising problem amongst prescribers. Therefore, they would always be cautious while prescribing drugs, and would try to avoid it maximum when the cases patients have minor problems. Thus, there will be no prescription of drugs unless extremely necessary, and this will eventually reduce the quantity of unused medication in medicine cabinets in houses across the country. When campus students engage in dangerous drinking behaviors, the fine line between ‘good time’ and ‘bad choices’ starts to get blurry till it ultimately fades. College actually has turned into a risky stomping ground for students to engage themselves with reckless hobbies such as binge drinking, which refers to intake of a lot of alcohol in a very short time. Although college students have the aptitude to take their own decisions, a lot of them unfortunately are not the wisest. Binge drinking is a grave problem among campus students and administrators must strive harder to put an end to this problem in order to decrease the associated academic problems, health risks and threats to the society. One of the problems with drinking among college students is the array of various health risks it causes. It slows intelligence activity of the brain that manages inhibitions and judgment, thus leading to slowed neural processing, memory distraction, and decreased self control and awareness. There is also decreased mental alertness and physical coordination, slurred speech as well as poor decision making. Furthermore, long term use of alcohol enhances the risk for heart and liver diseases. It also harms brain functioning and over consumption of alcohol and drugs has been proved to destroy brain cells, resulting in various types of brain damage. “Most drugs-such as cocaine or heroin-come from other countries and are sold by dealers. Meth can be cooked at home in kitchens and garages, in vacant barns, and in other buildings. It is created with common household items such as batteries and cold medicine. These items are cheap and can be bought in local stores. The chemicals in them can pollute neighborhoods and make the environment unsafe for kids” (Meth: America’s Homegrown Drug Epidemic par. 3). Dealing of drugs on college campuses nowadays presents itself as one of the most serious issues that is against the legal and social plans in the US. The cases of drug trafficking are highly grave and need direct attention from the accountable bodies. The trend of dealings of drug on college campuses is rising rapidly and this hampers the usual performance of civil society. Hence, authorities have been trying to take strict actions against the dealers of drugs. The administrators of colleges have concentrated their efforts on the criminalization of the use of drugs, both illegal and prescribed. These educational institutions as well as the government have to no avail, spent billions of dollars in order to eliminate the delivery of drugs in the college campuses. Furthermore, efforts of prohibition and law enforcement have not resulted in decrease in the accessibility of drugs in college campuses and the country. It is a fact that drug law enforcement is very costly, however, despite the expenditure the government is ready to take, the problem is not necessarily being countered throughout. Present college drug laws need to be relaxed to an extent, as the administrators of colleges require a shift from expenditure on penalization to treatment, prevention and education. In the modern day world, more students are engaged in activities involving selling, buying and using of drugs. The youngsters basically believe that drug trafficking is the fastest and easiest method to make money. However, blinded by the side of ease it portrays in making money, these individuals often overlook and neglect the various risks it presents. According to various surveys conducted, most Americans were surprised when they came to know that more people have died due to alcohol poisoning as compared to car crashes in the US, thus making the consumption of such substances the foremost reason of unintentional death in the nation for the initial time. “Ninety percent of those poisonings resulted from a drug overdose, and the majority of drug overdoses do not involve illegal drugs like cocaine or heroin, but rather legal, prescription drugs like oxycodone and other opioids. These legal drugs were responsible for 15,000 deaths in 2008, compared with 4,000 deaths in 1999. The Centers for Disease Control has now classified prescription drug abuse as an epidemic” (How to Treat the Epidemic par. 1). The law enforcement authorities have developed policies to reduce the flow of drugs across both the southern and northern borders, whilst also dealing the threat of trafficking and drug production within the US. Significant measures have been taken in order to address the single requirements of certain communities influenced by the drug crisis. As for the matter regarding university and college students, the management has partnered with university and college administrators to advance prevention, treatment, and early intervention and recovery plans on campuses throughout the country. “The group works to develop strategies to enhance communication with college and university administrators, reviews newly developed college materials, such as a matrix of best practice approaches to address college drinking, and recommends ideas for research projects for prevention and intervention activities on campuses” (National Drug Control Strategy 8). The prescription drug abuse estimates vary so greatly that it has become a hidden problem that is poorly comprehended by majority of universities and colleges. Therefore, it is hard for people to find out the exact velocity of prescription drug abuse on college campuses. Studies carried out in different years regarding the subject vary considerably when compared with one another. “A 2010 report from the American College Health Association reported prescription drug abuse at 13.6 percent of men and 12.7 percent of women. But a professor at the University of Kentucky who studies the use of just one type of drug – the stimulants Ritalin and Adder all prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, suggested that as many as 34 percent of that university’s undergraduates have abused one or both stimulants” (Hidden Epidemic of Collegiate Prescription Drug Abuse par. 6). If this estimation is right, it would make these instruction stimulants the most generally used drug on campus after alcohol. Aside from the addictions of prescription drugs, the youth has sought out a way to find relief from difficulties that life presents by consuming alcohol and abusing illegal drugs. “If a college student does become addicted to prescription stimulants, alcohol or prescription pain relievers – all drugs commonly found on campuses – the compulsive behavior connected with acquiring drugs, making sure you have the funds for drugs to the exclusion of any other priority, and the intoxicating effects of the drugs can all conspire to wreck one’s educational plans” (Hidden Epidemic of Collegiate Prescription Drug Abuse par. 8). Conclusion: Drug abuse has become a severe problem in most of the nations, especially in the United States. The government has to take various steps in order to effectively implement the already founded solutions to this problem, which has been destroying the present young generation and will significantly affect the generations yet to come. The drug peddlers have to be strictly dealt with and punished along with the main individuals involved in the whole process. Rather than creating fear of law and punishment in the minds of the youngsters, the authorities should pay more attention in making every individual understand various risks and health problems related with consumption of alcohol as well as abuse of drugs. Therefore, the law enforcement authorities should make the laws more effective, whereas college authorities should relax drug laws and concentrate on providing the youngsters with more awareness and drug education programs. Works Cited “Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis.” Executive Office of the President of the United States. 2011. Web. 25 June 2013. “Hidden Epidemic of Collegiate Prescription Drug Abuse.” Narconon. 2012. Web. 25 June 2013. “How to Treat the Epidemic.” The New York Times. 2012. Web. 25 June 2013. “Meth: America’s Homegrown Drug Epidemic.” CompDrug. 2008. Web. 25 June 2013. “National Drug Control Strategy.” Executive Office of the President of the United States. 2012. Web. 25 June 2013. Read More