Pharmacology of Addiction, Four Reasons Why Drugs Are Abused - Essay Example

List and discuss four reasons why drugs are abused. One reason to abuse drugs is in order to escape emotional problems. When someone is suffering from emotional issues it is understandable that there would be a search to relieve the pressures of those problems and this can mean taking drugs to alleviate the pressures of those issues. Another reason can be to relieve the tension of the stress that is created in life. Recreational drug use can be a way in which to alter the body’s state of stress towards finding an escape. Peer pressure can create a drive towards drugs. People are social by nature and in order to become members of a social group, fitting in might require taking and abusing drugs. Some religious experiences are enhanced by the use of drugs, leading to taking drugs that are hallucinogenic in order to approach a state that represents a spiritual awakening. 2.Go to the publisher’s web site at http://health.jbpub.com/drugsandsociety/10e choosing the content links for the chapters in the unit research to find out the mission and purpose of the following governmental agencies, write a short paragraph about each agencies mission and purpose. ? NIDA The National Institute on Drug Abuse has a mission to “lead the nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction” (NIDA). The intention of the organization is to do research on the abuse of drugs and to use that research in order to prevent and treat the problem of addiction. As well the research is used to ?Office of National Drug Control Policy The ONDCP works towards helping the government to create policies and priorities where the drug problems of the nation are concerned. This agency develops strategies on working towards engaging trafficking and distribution of drugs as well as related crimes. The agency also engages the issue of drug control at the state level as well as the federal level. ?SAMHSA The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is designed to help people through treatment and effective preventative measures, developing programs for specific demographic groups so that meaningful recovery can be made throughout social groups and that the problems associated with drug abuse can be addressed. ?DEA The Drug Enforcement Agency is charged with enforcing laws that pertain to the trafficking of drugs using international cooperation in order to successfully stop those who make and distribute drugs throughout the world. This is a law enforcement agency that specialized in targeting those who are a part of the drug problems in the world at the highest level of growing, making, and distribution. ?FDA The US Food and Drug Administration is responsible for the regulation of drugs in order to make sure that the public is protected from untested or dangerous drugs that will harm them without proper regulatory attention. Drugs are approved for medical use through this organization. 3.Name three types of drug users and explain how they differ. The three types of drug users are experimenters, compulsive users, and floaters. The experimenter has yet to commit to a drug or choose a drug and will try the substance with the intent of having the experience without the consequences of addiction – which of course is not always successful. Compulsive users are full time users and use the drug or drugs in order to escape their reality. Floaters, sometimes referred to as chippers, will use drugs both through experimentation and through compulsion, vacillating back and for the between the two types of uses. 4.List and explain the phases of drug addiction. Relief Phase: the phase in which the initial use relieves the user of his or her problems through the use of drugs Increased Use Phase: use of the drug increases Preoccupation Phase: there is a pervasive obsession with the acquisition of the drug. Dependency Phase: addiction takes place Withdrawal Phase: there are physical or mental consequences to not using the drug that are painful and/or uncomfortable (Hanson, Venturelli, & Fleckenstein, 2012) 5.Describe the FDA approval process for assessing the safety and efficacy of a newly developed drug. What are its advantages and disadvantages? The FDA provides a three phase process in which the approval from a product for which they are responsible is gained. Phase one includes small trials in which the drug or product is tested on small groups of humans to see if it is safe for human use. Phase two involves larger groups with two prong studies in which one takes the product and a control group takes a placebo. Phase three involves using 300 to 1000 humans with control groups so that the drug can further be tested for its safe use. The advantage of a progressive set of trials is that before the drug hits the market there is a comprehensive awareness of the effects of the drug. The downside is that long term effects are difficult to gauge, leading to drugs being pulled and litigation instigated from drugs released that have ill side effects. 6.Compare and contrast supply reduction, demand reduction, and inoculation strategies for dealing with drug abuse. Some of the ways of dealing with drug abuse is through the supply end of the transaction. If the supply of drugs is minimized, the use of the drug will also be minimized. The DEA works on the idea that if it reduces the amount of drugs available, the use of the drugs will also be reduced. Demand reduction is accomplished by pushing the popularity of a drug out of the culture, the desire for supply reduced, thus creating a lack of the need to produce and sell the drug. Inoculation strategies mean creating prevention strategies through which the desire for drugs is no longer a part of the popular culture. 7.List and explain Erich Goode’s four different uses of drugs. Legal Instrumental Use: Using a drug that is legally obtained for a specific bodily need Legal Recreational Use: Using a drug (such as alcohol) for recreational purposes Illegal Instrumental Use: Using an illegal drug to self-medicate Illegal Recreational Use: Using an illegal drug for the pleasure of its use 8.List and discuss the four principle factors responsible for determining how a drug user experiences drug use. Biological, Genetic, and Pharmacological factors determine how the body experiences the drug Cultural factors determine how the drug is experienced in reference to its social uses (corporate types and white powder cocaine, hippy types and marijuana use, etc). Social factors determine who uses the drug and why, similarly to cultural factors but distinct in that it refers to why a person takes a drug through belonging to a group. Contextual factors refer to why the drug is taken in the place that it is experienced. 9.List and briefly explain at least six reasons why drug use is a more serious problem today that it was in the past. ~ HIV is a serious reason for a more dangerous environment in which to use drugs. Any drug that is intravenously used requires a needle and needle sharing can lead to risks for HIV infection. ~ Hepatitis strains are also transmitted through needle sharing. ~ The deeper chemically created drugs that are available also have higher levels of detrimental effects on the brain and the organs ~ Laws are carrying higher penalties for drug use. ~ Drug testing is a more common tradition in many companies, thus being revealed as a user is at a higher level of risk ~ The criminality of the drug world is far more dangerous. 10.Explain the significance of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and why it was important in regulating drugs of abuse. The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 provided for the prevention of manufacturing food or drugs that were unsafe and tied transportation and distribution to the problems associated. Drugs were required to be labeled efficiently and the contents of drugs needed to be revealed to the public. 11.Describe the changes in drug regulation that occurred because of the Kefauver-Harris Amendment of 1962. Human trials came under regulation through this amendment, but drug companies were then also held responsible for the outcomes of the use of their drugs. This instigated better and more effective drug trials. The amendment required that information about side effects be available to the public as well as truth in efficacy be revealed. 12.Outline the procedure used by the FDA to regulate non-prescription drugs. Non-prescription drugs must be regulated the same as prescription drugs. 13.Describe how drugs are “scheduled” and discuss each of the five schedules. Schedule I: High abuse potential, has no medical use approved in the United States, and there is a lack of safety in the use of the substance when used through medical supervision. These drugs are illegal drugs such as heroin, marijuana, and opiates. Schedule II: High potential for abuse, has a medical use that is accepted in the United States, and the abuse of the substance may lead to dependence. These drugs include cocaine, morphine, and amphetamines. Schedule III: Less potential for abuse, has a current accepted use in medical treatment accepted in the United States, and has a moderate level of the potential for dependence. These drugs include anabolic steroids, dihydrocodeine, and marinol. Schedule IV: Low potential for abuse, has a current accepted use in medical treatment accepted in the United States, and the drug may lead to dependence but on a limited level. These include benzodiazepines. Schedule V: Low potential for abuse, has a current accepted use in medical treatment accepted in the United States, and the drug may lead to dependence but on a limited level. These include cough suppressants, low dose opiates, and pregabolin. 14.Discuss the principal advantages and disadvantages of switching products from prescription to over the counter status. The advantages to switching a drug to over-the-counter is that a wider availability increases revenue and also allows for less medical expense in order to treat a problem that is easily diagnosable. The disadvantage is that the drug can be more readily abused, the usage leading to overdose and consequences not anticipated by a non-medical professional. Over-the-counter drugs are often considered harmless by the public in a trust they have with the FDA, which can be misleading where the use of the drug is concerned. 15.Would decriminalization of illicit drug use increase or decrease drug-related social problems? Justify your answer. The decriminalization of illicit drug use would decrease the drug-related social problems as the attainment of the drug would be de-criminalized as well as the possession, thus placing the criminal and underground nature of the acquisition of drugs beyond the reach of criminal organizations. This would decrease crime, even though it would not eliminate it. Drug use would no longer be a big secret and users would be more public, just like alcoholics, and more readily controlled through family and career avenues of treatment. Treatment could be paid for through the extensive funding that the DEA and various law enforcement agencies use towards the pursuit of criminals. The prison populations would be decreased by a large margin, freeing up public funds for efforts that are far more worthy than housing people who did nothing more than self-harm. The idea that the social harm of drug use extends beyond the individual is exacerbated, not fixed, by the criminalized use of drugs. Hanson, G., Venturelli, P. J., & Fleckenstein, A. E. (2012). Drugs and society. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Read More