History of Drug Abuse - Essay Example

Such concerns range from health problems, security issues and social behaviors among society members. Educators rate drug abuse as among the greatest challenges to achieving quality education and its effects on youth who constitute a great porting of the students’ community. All these require redress through the best possible means that would effectively reduce its social and economic effects. To understand the evolution of drug abuse, an insight into the history would be of invaluable assistance.

The apparent global prevalence of illicit drug sales and drug abuse is traceable back to several years back in history. There are several factors attributable to the apparent increase on a global spread of illicit drugs including. The greatest reasons that escalated the spread of illegal substances as cocaine and heroin include global economic situations and political situations. Because of these factors, drug abuse is apparently evident in nearly all countries of the world. There are three most abused drugs in the world; depressants, stimulants and hallucinogens.

The beginning of high drugs abuse came in the 1850s when there were large-scale growth of plants as opium in Asia and China (Chouvy, 2010). Global economic conditions were contributory reasons for the growth of opium in Asia since returns from its sales supported the economy of most countries. The extensive production of opium in Asia in the 1850s marked the beginning of the spread of cocaine on a global scale. An increase in the production of opium in China, as observed in the 1910s, also marked a turning point in the sale of illegal drugs in the world.

Attempts by countries as Britain to curb the spread of drugs saw several trade sanctions on several countries. Countries as Afghanistan have a dark history for their failure to help reduce the production of illegal drugs. Formation of cartels and regional blocs, in the trade of drug, as the famous Golden Triangle affected efforts to stop the global spread of drugs. Political instability in the world is among the most notable causes of the increase on a global spread of drugs. Noteworthy is that warlords depended on revenues from the sale of drugs to fund war activities.

This escalated the trade on drugs and consequently the spread of drug abuse. Latin America remains one of the world regions mostly linked to trade in drugs and illegal substance, overtime. The North Andes and Central America are notable regions that continue to receive focus when exploring the spread of drugs in history and the origin of drug abuse. Drug trafficking and trade in these areas have a significant contribution to their economy and efforts to stop them receive notable distractions.

The spread of cocaine from these areas is a key concern that continues to pose difficulties to efforts geared at winning drug wars. Drug abuse refers to the consumption and intake of illicit substances that are most likely to cause negative social and health consequences. An exploration of the menace of drug abuse reveals that most Asia countries, China, the North Andes and Central America are the major sources of most abused drugs in the world today. The consumption of illicit substances traces back in history over a long time since the 1850s.

By early 1900s, there was a plausible portion of the world population suffering from the effects of addition because of the misuse of drugs. Before serious research revealed the effects of most