Drug Abuse Issue - Research Paper Example

English drug abuse_SB_#1164364 Introduction Drug abuse is the use of substances or drugs excessively such that the drug user develops a habit and an addiction to a certain drug (Marcovitz 12). Drug abuse involves both medicinal drugs and non-medicinal drugs. The rate of drug abuse has increased consistently in the USA, and the effects are getting harsh to both the abusers and the non-abusers. Drug abuse in America has attracted a global attention because the number of drug abusers and the abused drugs keeps increasing year after year (Swartz 24). There is a need to commiserate the causes of drug abuse, the consequences and the available control measures. This research paper will seek to explore the above three topics in drug abuse so that by the end of the paper, the researcher will provide recommendations on how to reduce drug abuse in the American society. The commonly abused drugs are alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, heroin and tobacco. This research paper will analyze and examine the health effects it has on the user. Further, it will analyze the short term and long term effects of the drugs so as to give a clear understanding on the effects of drug abuse. The paper will also research on the effects of the drugs to the non-abusers. Non-abusers can be the family members of the abuser, the community around or even the whole country. The research paper will create more emphasis in knowing the different causes of drug abuse for different groups of people. After understanding the causes of drug abuse and the effect it has on the society, the paper will also seek to evaluate the effectiveness of the available control measures. Impact of Illicit Drug Use on Health A person begins to experience massive deterioration in health with the starting of use of illicit drugs. The different health costs that were incurred in America in the financial year 2007 lists the number of patients who had been admitted to the hospital and the reason or the cause of their admission. It was found out that the subtotaled health cost rounded up to $11,416,232. The detailed description when given was found to be specialty treatment included $3,723,338. The specialty treatments included a huge population undergoing detoxification, residential, outpatient whose primary abused substance is an illicit drug. It was also noted that most of the people who were the patients of drug abuse were found out to be affected by diseases such as HIV, hepatitis C, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, poisoning and the likes. The latest census reports that about one million of the people of America are living affected by HIV and AIDS due to drug abuse. This it can be concluded that the people who follow drug abuse actually not only are addicts which is nothing but a brain disease, but they are also affected by other diseases due to their habit of illicit drug abuse. Impact of Illicit Drug Use on Economy As a whole of the economy the impact of the illicit drug use is massive because the people who are in the habit of abusing drugs not only destroy their own lives, but in turn also destroy the lives of the people with whom they live with (Bardo, Fishbein and Milich). Drug abuse affects all people in the society in different ways, some of which are direct and others indirectly. The first impact of drug abuse is health damage to the abuser (Belenko 145). Each drug has side effects, and the extent to which the side effects are felt will depend on the amount of intake of the drug. To begin with the regular dug abuse destroys the mental stability and the health of the abuser.It then goes on to affect the Non abusers of the society who live around the abusers. Non-abusers can be the family members of the abuser, the community around or even the whole country. A drug abuser has a high probability of influencing the people around them to start abusing drugs. The abuser can also become a burden to the people around them. Drug abuse is a very expensive habit and can become a financial burden to the abuser and their families (Marcovitz 22). A drug abuser will spend a lot of money on drugs and fail in their family financial responsibility. The financial effect will be transferred to the family, and they will have difficulties in paying essential bills such as food, housing and education. The society is also affected since most drug abusers end up engaging in criminal activities in order to get money to sustain their habits (Wilson & Cheryl 69). A society with a high rate of drug abuse is expected to have a high rate of criminal activities. The government can also feel the effect of high levels of drug abuse. Drug addicts have a high need for medical attention, and hence, the medical facilities may be strained. In a situation when the medical facilities are overused, the quality of health care goes down and hence creates a bad reputation for the government. Drug addicts have very low productivity in their places of work (Ruiz & Strain 58). The high rate of drug abuse translates to a situation whereby national productivity is low, and hence, economic development is hampered. Drug addiction affects the quality of education and they can reduce the number of educated people. Most drug addicts do not complete their studies since they do not have time for schoolwork. Drug abuse is, therefore, a topic that touches all people in the society and is hence worth researching on. What Comprises A Contemporary Addiction Treatment? There are many steps or phases of the treatment of addiction or drug abuse. The first is the detoxification- stabilization treatment and the second is the rehabilitation- relapse treatment. The detoxification stage of treatment is always the first stage of all kinds of acute addictions and drug abuse (U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center). As the name of this stage suggests this stage comprises of the ridding of the mind and body of the harmful effects that the drugs has caused over the time. It is the treatment of the true withdrawal syndrome or neural-adaptation and even it helps with emotional and psychological stabilization of the patient. The true detoxification is mostly required in the cases of the patients with drug dependence of nicotine, alcohol, barbiturates and benzodiazepines. The withdrawal symptoms are the symptoms which the patients experience once they try to leave the drugs. These happen mostly with the opiate drugs (Wilson and Kolander). The types of symptoms of withdrawal are headache, pain, chill, fever, emotional disruption and the likes. The severity of the symptoms of withdrawal may increase up to cardiac irregularities with the health of the patient. A detoxification and stabilization routine is said to be successful if shortly after the discharge period of the patient, which is ranging from two to three weeks, the patient shows reduced instability in both emotional and psychological basis for the level in which they can be sent for rehabilitation. Secondly, they did not face any serious medical complication during the time after detoxification and before their admission within the rehabilitation centers. Thirdly, the patient had successfully qualified to be accepted within a rehabilitation center where they can begin their new life away from the nightmares of their withdrawal pains and their drug abuse. A rehabilitation center is a facility to make the patients become adaptable and adjust to the normal society after they have quitted abusing drugs. These centers help these newly reformed patients by teaching them to regain their mental stability and teaches them strategies to stop themselves from craving the drug or the substance which they had abused. They help the patients to control their sudden urges and their cravings of the alcohol, drugs, or both so that they might be able to let go of their dependence and return back to their normal lives and regain back their health. Evaluation Of Effectiveness Of The Treatment This section is of great importance because it deals with the actual outcomes of the treatment which is done to rid the patient of drug abuse. A list of the symptoms is listed which indicate that the treatment has been effective. The list includes symptoms such as the patient stays longer in the treatment (United Nations International Drug Control Program Vienna). Secondly, the patient responds positively to the reinforcements such as the incentives that are offered to them for attending the session and abstaining from the drugs or substances that they have abused. The patient showed an inclination of visiting a personal therapist or a personal counselor to help them to regain themselves. The patient taking regular prescribed drugs to inhibit abuse and regain emotional and psychological stability. Finally, participating in all the self help groups that help a person to cope with the problem of drugs. However, it cannot be concluded that the appearance of all these symptoms conclusively mean that the treatment has been successful because in comparison to the other chronic illnesses, drug abuse is highly different. This is because the patient can anytime relapse into drug abuse due to loss of mental resolution. Therefore, it can be concluded that the kind of treatment which the contemporary society has for drug abuse is not all encompassing and will not eliminate this problem totally, however, this is a significant step to reduce the number and the severeness of the symptoms of the patients and cases. Works Cited Bardo, Michael T, Diana H Fishbein, and Richard Milich. Inhibitory Control And Drug Abuse Prevention. New York: Springer, 2011. Print. Belenko, Steven R. Drugs And Drug Policy In America. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2000. Print. Marcovitz, Hal. Drug Abuse. Detroit: Lucent Books, 2008. Print. Ruiz, Pedro, and Eric C Strain. The Substance Abuse Handbook. Print. Swartz, James. Substance Abuse In America. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood, 2012. Print. U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center,. The Economic Impact Of Illicit Drug Use On American Society. 1st ed. Washington D.C: U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center, 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. United Nations International Drug Control Programme Vienna,. Investing In Drug Abuse Treatment A Discussion Paper For Policy Makers. 1st ed. Vienna: United Nations International Drug Control Programme Vienna, 2003. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. Wilson, Richard W, and Cheryl A Kolander. Drug Abuse Prevention. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett, 1999. Print. Read More