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Drug Abuse and the Reasons Why

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Submitted By karufalis
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Introduction

Many questions have been raised about why people start using and abusing drugs and alcohol. Many people have spent time and effort researching these questions and have come up with common answers depending on which way a person is looking at the question. I am looking at this question from both a mental and emotional view. Drug and alcohol abuse has many definitions. Some may say that a person who drinks before noon is an alcoholic or someone who uses “street drugs” is a drug addict, but the truth is that anyone can be a drug addict or alcoholic. In my personal definition; a person who is mentally, emotionally or psychically dependent upon a substance is an addict. It does not matter if the substance is alcohol, “street drugs”, or prescription medication. Addiction can take the form of many different shapes, sizes, and races.
The history of drug abuse dates back as far as time itself. The human race has always searched for things to help them feel relaxed, stimulated or increase energy and reduce the amounts of daily stress. Drug abuse history can be traced back to home remedies that people thought would cure these types of aliments. One form of abuse was alcohol and was discovered through farming and fermentation of fruits and grains. Indians and other native people used natural remedies like marijuana and natural hallucinogenic to reach out and speak with their spirit guides.
When choosing this topic, I thought carefully about my past experience and the experience of people I know that have been in similar situations. Researching and finding the reasons that many people chose to use and abuse drugs and alcohol became very interesting to me. I feel that since I have researched this information and now have some knowledge, I might be able to reach out and help some of the people that are still involved in that situation. Therefore the purpose of

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