Substance Abuse: Whose Responsibility - Case Study Example

Substance Abuse: Whose responsibility? Introduction Karen at first thought that she had a model and inspiring family, the source of her strength andinspiration, to whom she could devote all of her energy and resources. Her two teenaged daughters, Marie and Joanne, who were as dedicated as she was, showed interest in music and the arts. They were a typical American family going on normally with their lives. But just things can’t go on normally as always. Situation slowly changed when Karen’s husband, Philip, became scarce in family activities. And worse, fights started to dominate their home, until it happened – separation. “We’ve got to be strong ‘cause we’re on our own,” Karen told her daughters, adding, “you’ve got to help me.” Karen wanted to draw strength from her two daughters, not knowing whether what she has said could make things better, or worse. Philip was nowhere to be found, or he was gone off with somebody. Kids seemed responsible high school students. When Karen is off for the office, she’d see the girls in their room studying, but mostly, Marie is much busy with the internet. As time went by, Marie showed signs of irritability and getting angry over small things. The two kids would also fight over trivial matters. And Karen couldn’t give the needed extra attention to the kids; her job demanded as much time now that she had to earn more. Some chain reaction: Joanne’s school report of falling grades, and behavior problems like prolonged temper tantrums, excessive aggression, impulsivity or risk taking. Sometimes, Karen would discover sticks of cigarettes, rolling paper and pipe in Joanne’s handbag, and the smell of alcohol in her young girl’s breath. Is it too late for Karen to have discovered Joanne’s – and Marie’s – substance abuse? The basic institution in a community which is the family has the first responsibility of detecting and coping with substance abuse in kids. Parents should be able to detect early signs of drug problem in their children before things get worse. But what if the single parent, in this case Karen, has first to recover from the trauma of divorce? According to Crowley and Whitmore, adolescents who might be using drugs have a change of behavior. The signs Karen observed in her two kids are indications that one or both are into drugs. Where could they have gotten of the illegal drugs? Numerous sources could provide – school, peers, the internet, etc. Forman (2008) has an intriguing article entitled “Drug Dealers in Your Home”. He said that the “internet is a haven for selling and buying all sorts of drugs without prescription.” This means that anybody can buy drugs through websites that can be sourced through the different search engines such as Yahoo and Google. And this is illegal because the drugs are being sold without a valid prescription. It is dangerous too, because anybody, including minors, could buy drugs without prescription. Other signs of drug abuse in teens include “breaking rules at home, school, and in the community; sudden increases or decreases in activity level; withdrawal from the family and keeping secrets, changes in physical appearance, red, watery, glassy eyes or runny nose not due to allergies or cold; changes in eating or sleeping habits; lack of motivation or interest in things other teenagers enjoy; lying, stealing, hiding things; using street or drug language or possession of drug paraphernalia and cigarette smoking.” (Crowley and Whitmore, n.d.) What is substance abuse? How is this avoided? And how do people, especially the young, become involved in this? Substance abuse is an “excessive use of a substance in a way it was not meant to be used or not as prescribed.” (Addiction-Rehabilitation.com, 2006) On the other hand, the National Institute of Drug Abuse defines drug addiction as “a chronic, relapsing yet treatable brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.” (NIDA 2008) Substance abuse is the “use of illegal drugs or the use of prescription or over-the-counter drugs or alcohol for purposes other than those for which they are meant to be used, or in excessive amounts. Substance abuse may lead to social, physical, emotional and job-related problems.” (MD Anderson Cancer Center Glossary of Terms, 2008) Volkow (2008) says that, “As a result of scientific research, we know that addiction is a disease that affects both brain and behavior.” (Preface to Drugs, brain, and Behavior – The Science of Addiction) Abuse and addiction are synonymous. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states, “Abuse and addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and illegal substances cost Americans upwards of half a trillion dollars a year, considering their combined medical, economical, criminal, and social impact.” (Drugs, Brains & Behavior: The Science of addiction, p. 3) This staggering data reveals the reality of substance abuse and addiction in American society nowadays. Drug abuse brings death, destruction of family, and the lives of young people are also destroyed. The causes and the circumstances that lead to substance abuse can be discussed at this point. In the situation above where Karen and her teenaged daughters are in a dilemma, left alone by the head of the family, Karen had no one to turn to, no relatives or friends. Karen’s family has a personal problem that needs solution. Lauer & Lauer (2004) distinguish between personal and social problems: “a personal problem [is] one whose causes and solutions lie within the individual and his or her immediate environment. A social problem, on the other hand, is one whose causes and solutions lie outside the individual and the immediate environment.” (p. 3) The dilemma here is that the two kids are now into drugs and Karen is a single parent. She needs help from the community; the problem of the two daughters is just in the initial stage, and addiction is a treatable disease. Dr. Paul Riggs offers these recommendations to reduce the risks of substance abuse and addiction: a. The responsible parent should “learn the tools of effective behavioral management such as how to notice and reward good behavior as well as how to identify and interrupt problem behavior cycles” (Riggs). b. Home and family are one of the environmental factors that increase the risk of addiction. Children should be given “cognitive and behavioral skills training that help children achieve greater control over their own behavior, moods, moods, and thoughts. Early diagnosis and treatment of learning disorders, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and mood disorders may also reduce the risks of substance use and other associated behavioral and mental health problems in adolescence.” (Riggs) c. Dr. Riggs suggests involvement in a child’s school to reduce behavioral and academic problems and what she calls “appropriate parental monitoring”. d. The family should have “regular family discussions characterized by open, honest and respectful conversation regarding behavioral expectations and consequences, including attitudes and family rules about drug and alcohol use...” (Riggs) e. Additional help and support from family, friends and professionals … individual and family-based treatment approaches are effective in treating substance use in both adolescents and adults.” (Riggs) In the booklet Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction released by NIDA, the risk factors are early aggressive behavior on an individual; the protective factor for this is self control. A positive relationship can be a factor to poor social skill; academic competence is a protective factor for substance abuse. Anti-drug use policies should be instituted against drug availability; and attachment in a community-strong neighborhood as against poverty. Prevention is better than cure. It is applicable to our health, much more on illnesses which require a lot of time and resource in the treatment process. Substance abuse is better avoided than treated. Nicotine is known as the starter drug and the delivery agent is cigarettes. This is also known as the “gateway drug” or “starter drug”. (The Crime Prevention Group, 2002) “Cigarettes cause ‘the worst of all drug habits, the smoking of tobacco’.” Herbert H. Tidswell, cited in The Crime Prevention Group, 2002) Since cigarette causes addiction, and according to NIDA, tobacco accounts for 440,0001 deaths per year, this ought to be eradicated. The risk of drug abuse increases as the adolescent experiences divorce of parents and pressure in school. That explains the situation of our example when Marie and Joanne were into a kind of personal or family problem. Science-validated programs Science validated means that “that these programs have been rationally designed based on current knowledge, rigorously tested, and shown to produce positive results.”2 This is recommended by scientists to alter risks of abuse. These prevention programs work to boost protective factors and eliminate or reduce risk factors for drug use. The programs are designed for various ages and can be designed for individual or group settings, such as the school and home. Treatment NIDA recommends combining treatment medications with behavioral therapy to ensure positive results and success for most patients. “Treatment approaches must be tailored to address each patient’s drug abuse patterns and drug-related medical, psychiatric, and social problems.”3 Medications used to treat addiction4 Tobacco Addiction • Nicotine replacement therapies (e.g., patch, inhaler, gum) • Bupropion • Varenicline Opioid Addiction • Methadone • Buprenorphine Alcohol and Drug Addiction • Naltrexone—helps prevent relapse to alcohol and heroin abuse • Disulfiram—helps prevent relapse to alcohol abuse; currently being tested for treating cocaine abuse • Acamprosate—helps prevent relapse to alcohol abuse For the situation of Karen and her two teenaged daughters, Karen should submit her daughters for behavioral treatments to help them engage in drug abuse treatment. This is to modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug abuse, to increase their capability to handle stressful circumstances and “environmental cues that may trigger intense craving for drugs and prompt another cycle of compulsive abuse.”5 Law Enforcement In 1915, drug law enforcement in the United States with the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Then, several federal agencies had drug law enforcement responsibilities. By the 1960s, the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control (BDAC) and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) were established. Drug use started into American culture, and efforts to suppress drug abuse took its toll on the nation. In 1960, four million Americans tried drugs, but now its over 74 million. Drug abuse is on the rise and drug trafficking is one of those organized crimes infiltrating American society. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) One of these laws being implemented is the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 which “requires the pharmaceutical industry to maintain physical security and strict record keeping for certain types of drugs. Controlled substances are divided into five schedules on the basis of their potential for abuse, accepted medical use, and accepted safety under medical supervision.” (Wikipedia, 2008) This law which is also known as the Controlled Substances Act is the legal foundation of the government’s fight against drug abuse. Despite this, the statistics on substance abuse and addiction are staggering. Criminality is the by-product of addiction, and the American public continues to fear. Conclusion Substance abuse and addiction are preventable, but this can be done with the cooperation of the patient’s family and friends and the community. Addiction can be treated through scientific means, but this has to be a continuous process or without relapse. Getting into a treatment process requires time and a lot of resources, and the person involved should be into it with much cooperation from everyone he/she knows. Addiction has dominated much of his/her life, and therefore the compulsion to take drugs anew is still into his system. Law enforcement is not enough. Substance abuse and addiction should be accompanied with rehabilitation and a multi-agency cooperation among private and public sectors. The government is spearheading this campaign but more efforts should still be done. Laws are not enough. The individual on treatment should exert effort and a whole of his/her energy to be rehabilitated and freed of the substance. All sectors must give their support and resources for a renewed individual. A relapse should be avoided in the treatment should be avoided. References Book: Lauer, R. H. & Lauer, J.C. (2004). Personal versus Social Problems. Social Problems and the Quality of Life, 3. Websites: Addiction-Rehabilitation.com (2006). Glossary of Alcohol and Drugs and Other Terms. Retrieved May 24, 2008 from http://www.addiction-rehabilitation.com/glossary.html Forman, R. F. (2008). Drug Dealers in Your Home. Retrieved May 24, 2008 from http://www.hbo.com/addiction/adolescent_addiction/26_drug_dealers_in_your_home.html Crowley, T. J. & Whitmore, E (n.d.). Five Things to Know About Adolescents’ Brain Development and Use. Retrieved May 22, 2008 from http://www.hbo.com/addiction/adolescent_addiction/21_adolescent_brain_development.html The Crime Prevention Group (2002). Eliminate the Gateway/Starter Drug. Retrieved May 23, 2008 from Available from: http://medicolegal.tripod.com/preventdrugs.htm The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment naabt.org. Glosary of Terms. Available from: http://www.naabt.org/glossary.cfm National Institute of Drug Abuse (2008). What is the Addiction Science Fair Award? Retrieved May 21, 2008 from http://www.drugabuse.gov/sciencefair/ National Institute on Drug Abuse. Drugs, Brains, and Behavior – The Science of Addiction. Retrieved May 24, 2008 from http://www.drugabuse.gov/scienceofaddiction/sciofaddiction.pdf Riggs, P. D. (n.d.) Reducing the Risks of adolescent Substance Use. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://www.hbo.com/addiction/adolescent_addiction/24_reducing_the_risks.html University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (2008). Glossary of Terms. Retrieved May 24, 2008 from: http://www.mdanderson.org/patients_public/about_cancer/display.cfm?id=FA16B7A4739D-11D4-AEBD00508BDCCE3A&method=displayFull U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. 1970 – 75. Retrieved May 25, 2008 from http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/history/deahistory_01.htm Wikipedia (2008). Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. Retrieved May 25, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_Drug_Abuse_Prevention_and_Control_Act_of_1970 Read More