Non-Medical Psychoactive Drug Abuse and Related Harms - Term Paper Example

Running Head: NON –MEDICAL PSYCHOACTIVE DRUG ABUSE AND RELATED HARMS Non –medical psychoactive drug abuse and related harms Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Psychoactive drug abuse and related harms 2 Introduction 2 Signs and symptoms of drug abuse 3 Drug addiction 4 Reflection on drug abuse from the zeinberg reading 5 New ideas 7 Drug abuse and profession 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Psychoactive drug abuse and related harms Introduction Psychoactive drugs are defined as substances that can change mood, thoughts and consciousness of individuals using them. Examples of these drugs include alcohol, tobacco, amphetamines, cocaine, heroin and ecstasy. Drug misuse is a phrase generally used for medications which are prescribed with clinical effectiveness but the users tend to potentially abuse them. Prescription abuse has been inconsistently and variably defined on the basis of drug instruction status, the uses that take place with no prescription, deliberate use to attain stimulating effects, route of administration, co-ingestion with alcohol, and the absence or presence of misuse and dependence symptoms (Nick, 2009). According to the knowledge I had before reading this article, people use drugs for a number of reasons. Although the use of drugs may offer rewarding and positive experiences, there are regular negative results of wellbeing and health. These results affect the individual as well as friends, family and the community. Tobacco and alcohol are the greatly used drugs in the world. Psychoactive drug abuse inflicts a considerable health problem on community. This article stresses the fact that alcohol and tobacco are the most abused drugs and are the major causes of disability and death in developed nations, and it is predictable that the impact of tobacco will increase all over the world. Use of psychoactive drugs for the purpose of avoiding pain or finding pleasure can contribute to health problems and cause social harms in both long and short term us. Health effects can be diseases of the liver or the lungs, deaths, cancer and injuries brought abut by overdoses, accidents, assaults and suicide. Social effects include breaking up of relationships, arrests and neglect of family duties and work. Signs and symptoms of drug abuse My previous knowledge about drugs is that depending on the real substance, drug abuse leads to complex health and social problems. There is a great rate of suicide in drug abusers and alcoholics. The reasons that lead to greater risk of suicide are long term abuse of drugs and alcohol which cause physiological deformation of brain chemistry as well as social segregation. Acute intoxicating impacts of the drugs may also lead to suicide. Suicide is very common in teenagers’ alcohol abusers, with at least one to four suicides in adolescents being connected to abuse of alcohol. Alcohol misuse is related with high risks of committing illegal offences such as domestic violence, rapes, assaults, burglaries and child abuse. Drug misuse including prescription drugs and alcohol can induce symptoms that resemble mental illness. This may occur in both intoxicated state or during the withdrawal state. According to this article, the drugs induce psychiatric disorders which can continue for a long time after detoxification and these disorders may include depression or prolonged psychosis after cocaine or amphetamine abuse. A protracted withdrawal symptom may occur with the signs persisting for a long time after end of use. Benzodiazepines are the main drugs that induce prolonged withdrawal effects with symptoms lasting for years after stoppage of use. Misuse of hallucinogens can induce delusional and several psychotic problem long after end of use amid cannabis may induce panic attacks through intoxication and continued use may cause a state that resembles dysthymia.Severe depression and anxiety are majorly triggered by constant alcohol misuse which in many incidences abate with lengthened abstinence. In many cases the drug triggered psychiatric disorders disappear with extended abstinence. Drug misuse changes the functioning of the nervous system which leads to alteration of levels of perceptions or awareness, mood and sensations. Drug addiction Long term use of drugs leads to drug addiction or drug dependence, which is a brain disorder caused by the continued use of psychoactive drugs. A drug dependent individual may regularly develop craving for the drug and have difficulties in regulating its consumption. The individual may suffer from withdrawal symptoms when consumption of the drug is discontinued or reduced, and require increasing the doses of the drug so that he can feel its effects or tolerance. The individual may abandon other interests or pleasures and spend more time getting or using the drug or recuperating from it. The person may persist on the usage of the drug in spite of apparent evidence that the drug is causing damage. Psychoactive drugs alter communication between the various parts of the brain and the brain cells. For example, some drugs block and other mimic the functioning of the innate molecules that carry impulses from one brain cell to the other. On the basis of the different ways in which they affect the brain, psychoactive drugs are divided into four major groups which are stimulants like ecstasy and nicotine, depressants like sedatives and alcohol, opioids like heroin and morphine and hallucinogens. Regardless of their differences, all the drugs affect brain regions that are concerned with motivation which plays a major role in drug addiction. Reflection on drug abuse from the zeinberg reading The reading do not show relative patterns of drug abuse and therefore more study should be done to find out the relative patterns of drug abuse is to find out the health hazards of excessive consumption of drugs. Most of the consumption has been found to be moderate and occasional rather than chronic and intensive. This means that professionals and the public must find out if drugs can be used in a controlled way and the how regulation operates at various degrees of consumption. A research on heroin which is believed to be the most dangerous illicit drug showed that consumption do not always lead to dysfunctional use or addiction and when addiction occurs it can be reversed and regulated. The belief of many people that illicit drugs are in their own class has lessened and therefore there is comparison of illicit drugs with licit drugs and other compounds this do not show which drugs are used more than the others. A research on licit drugs indicated that licit substances like caffeine, tobacco, several food additives and sugar are potentially hazardous to health. Another research revealed that drugs prescribed by physician, if not used as instructed can be hazardous and might lead to major health problems associated with drug abuse. Therefore awareness must be created in people that even with advice from the physician, the so called good drugs intended for the good purpose of healing can be difficult to control. The reading displays that during parties or celebrations, alcohol is usually served with food, its consumption is unlimited and the violence resulting from drinking becomes more common. In the face of alcoholism and increased drunkenness, people start to believe that the powerful, harmful pharmaceutical properties of the drug itself, makes control of its use impossible In many sectors of the society informal education on drugs and alcohol abuse is readily available. However, few kids grow up lacking the knowledge about the several behaviours associated with alcohol and drug abuse learnt from the media and television. The children see wine at meals, cocktail parties, homes broken by alcohol, beer at ball games and all these along with other advertisement display alcohol as a leading glamour in every education. From this perception the children may end up experimenting with alcohol which may result to its abuse. Through movies, the print media, observation of drunkard family and friends, the young people gain an early familiarity with alcohol consumption. When with peers, they tend to drink more and as a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, they over drink and gain more information on drinking patterns. Availability of the drug might lead to increased prevalence of its use but this also depends with personal values and principles. For instance, a person may be brought up in an alcohol brewing homestead and this person may not end up as a drunkard in the future. Availability is connected with the psychological and social factors that generate demand for the drug. When a large number of Individuals using a particular drug decide that the drug is desirable and attractive then they will work hard to get the drug even if it is not readily available in their locality. Use of drugs tends to vary with he consumers time of life, geographical location and status. Many individual who use drugs during the adolescent stage tend to reduce or stop consumption of the drugs as they reach adulthood and change their social set up like acquisition of new friends and adaptability to the current circumstances. However my thought is that adolescent’s drug abusers find it difficult to cease using the drugs as they mature. Adult drug abusers may increase drug consumption as they become more successful in life. The type of drug on use also depends on the economic status of the individual. People with money will tend to consume bottled beer while the poor will turn to illicit brew which is always cheap. Lack of advice leads to drug abuse by teenagers. When Parents may tell their children not to consume drugs because they are harmful, the youngsters disregard the advice because they have their own experiences that tell them otherwise. The use of drugs by a group and the drug culture strengthen their own opinion that drugs are not bad and the warning coming from the adults seem unrealistic. New ideas Both illicit and licit drugs when wrongly used lead to negative social and health problems Regular use of a certain drug leads to drug addiction or dependency which is difficult to control. In an effort to regulate drug dependency, the individual user suffers from withdrawal symptoms as a result of reduction or inconsistent use of the drug and these symptoms might be severe than the real problems that occur during the use of the drug. So it is better to prevent the use of the drug than to control addiction which seems like a complex problem. Prescribed drugs if not used according to the prescription can lead to problems and may cause major public health problems. It is believed ready availability of a particular drug contributes to increased consumption whereby majority of individuals using the drug end up being addicted. Young children tend to abuse alcohol after seeing pleasing advertisements in the media but the influence is great from peer pressure. Several family factors contribute to alcohol and drug abuse by the youth. For instance, a youth from a family of regularly conflicting parents will turn to drugs in order to evade frustrations. Drug abuse and profession The gained knowledge on drug abuse and related harms helps a professional to establish the use of the drug and come up with prevention measures. The understanding on the predisposing factors and market characteristics such as availability and price of a particular drug can help in management of drug use. For instance drugs may be prohibited from the market or their prices highly increased so as to make them less affordable. Drug dependence can be reduced through this method and the victims can be rehabilitated through guidance and counselling facilities (Jason, 2003). As new drugs are likely to emerge people are may be able to predict their impacts after they relate them with the current drugs. People are aware that illicit drug abuse s common in the society and are able to deal with and assist the addicts. When a medical practitioner has information on different types of drugs, their use and their side effects on the user, he is able to screen for the drugs in the body and give medications. Conclusion People abuse drugs for a number of reasons. Some misuse them as a result of stress, peer influence and family conflicts. Although the use of drugs may offer satisfaction and comfort, the negative social and health effects are more pronounced. The most commonly used drug alcohol may lead to diseases such as cancer of the liver or lungs and depression. The abuse of drugs lead to fights, assaults family breakdowns and negligence of work and family responsibilities. Consistent abuse of drugs lead to drug addiction or dependence and physiologic dependence needs the development of tolerance which leads to withdrawal symptoms when the individual stops using the drug. Strong drugs like heroine and cocaine may lead to mental health problems insanity and early death. The abuse of drugs leads to economic constraints within a family because most of the drugs are expensive. References Eugene, R. (2003). Choice, behavioural economics, and addiction. Los Angeles: Elsevier Publisher. Jason, S. (2003). The drug dilemma: responding to a growing crisis. Canada. Alan, G. (2002). Harm Reduction: Pragmatic Strategies for Managing High-Risk Behavior. New York: Guilford Press. Nick, H. (2009). Psychoactive drugs and harm reduction. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Jason, S. (2003). The A-Z Encyclopaedia of Alcohol and Drug. Mexico: Universal Press. Read More