...Drug Abuse and Addiction: What's the Difference? Written by Natasha Tracy [pic]While many people use the terms drug abuse and addiction interchangeably, abuse and addiction have separate and distinct meanings. One can abuse drugs without necessarily being addicted to drugs. The drug abuse definition centers more around the way a person uses drugs, while the drug addiction definition includes the use of drugs and also the psychological and physiological effects the drug has on the body. It's important to understand the drug abuse and drug addiction definitions so as to correctly identify problem behaviours seen in loved ones. It's also key to remember that alcohol is also a drug and is included in the definitions of drug abuse and addiction Drug Abuse and Addiction - Drug Tolerance Central to the understanding of drug abuse and addiction is the idea of tolerance. When a person starts using a drug, they typically use a small amount to receive pleasurable effects, or a "high." With time though, drug users find the same amount of drug no longer produces the desired effects and they have to consume more of the drug to attain the same high. This effect is known as tolerance.1 In drug abuse and addiction, creation of tolerance depends on the drug used, the amount that is used and the frequency with which it is used. Drug tolerance can be both psychological and physiological. Drug Abuse Definition The definition of drug abuse does not have drug tolerance as a factor. Rather...
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...Drug Addiction a Disease by Choice “Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a dependence on a legal or illegal drug or medication. Keep in mind that alcohol and nicotine are legal substances, but are also considered drugs.” (Mayo Clinic, “Drug Addiction” 2014, para.1). There needs to be an understanding that addiction is a disease. “When scientists began to study addictive behavior in the 1930s, people addicted to drugs were thought to be morally flawed and lacking willpower”. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction” 2014, para.1). This formed society’s reaction to drug abuse, treating it as a choice not a disease. In today’s world scientist have changed our views on addiction. The findings about the brain have given scientists an understanding on addiction. The initial choice to try drugs is intentional for most people, but overtime the brain changes and a person’s self-control hinder their ability to resist impulses to use drugs. “Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences” (National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Drugs Abuse, and Addiction” 2014, para.1). Drugs change the brains structure and how it works. Drugs contain different chemicals that interfere with communication in the brain; such as sending, receiving and processing information. Drugs such as marijuana have similar chemicals as messengers in the brain...
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... | |Substance Abuse | |Final Research Paper Substance abuse is characterized as a social problem in numerous parts of America. Substance abuse is defined as a pattern of harmful use of substances for mood-altering purposes (“Drug Abuse”). Drug abuse is the use of illicit drugs or abuse of prescription or over the counter drugs for purposes other than those for which they are indicated or in a manner or in qualities other than directed (“Drug Abuse”). Many people believe that substance abusers, drugs abusers, and addicts should be able to stop taking these substances and drugs if they are willing to change their behavior. What many people do not understand is that substance and drug abuse is a problem that needs to be addressed. It is not as easy as some people think to stop using these substances and drugs. There are several causes for substance abuse. Substance abuse ranges in many different ages from teenagers to elderly. This social problem can affect families and many different individuals. 50% of Americans have a beloved one who is suffering from a substance or drug abuse problem at any given time (“Home”)...
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...Addiction in Adolescence When it comes to abuse and addiction in adolescents the relationship between the two goes hand in hand. “Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences” (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014, p.1). Addiction can be several things, two well-known addictions are drinking and doing drug. When addiction starts to change the brain it leads to long terms affects which is usually abuse. Adolescents can and will go a little further with abuse by adding things like pill popping and smoking. “Many adolescents who abuse drugs have a history of physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse or other trauma” (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014, p.2). Abuse begins when adolescents start to do things like steal and lie to friends and family members to get what it is they want. How does abuse or addiction affect the developing brain of an adolescent? Drug abuse can cause serious progressive problems within the adolescent brain.”Memory loss, ability to concentrate, motor skills and coping skills are all affected by drug and alcohol abuse. Adolescents tend to make decisions that are irrational when under influence of drugs and alcohol, they may think they are making the right decisions but they are actually they are doing more harm to themselves then they realized. For adolescents, this can be even more significant as the brain is still developing and changing and...
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...Causes and treatment of addiction Addiction Overview The current model to explain addiction suggests that addiction begins with the basic pleasure and reward circuits in the brain, which involve the chemical dopamine. These reward centers are designed to activate during pleasurable acts such as eating. Whenever ingesting a substance causes these reward circuits to activate, addiction and dependence is possible. However, addictive behaviors that are considered damaging or destructive have characteristics that distinguish them from normal behavior (see common characteristics of destructive addictions. Examples of common destructive addictions are alcohol intoxication, alcoholism, cocaine abuse, drug dependence and abuse, methamphetamine abuse, narcotic abuse, and substance abuse. People with addictions often cannot quit on their own. Addiction is an illness that requires treatment. Treatment may include counseling, behavioral therapies, self-help groups or medical treatment. People often assume that those with addictions should be able to quit by simply making up their minds to do so. Addiction is thought to be possible for a wide range of chemical substances. Dependence, most often related to physical symptoms, can occur for a subset of the chemicals that cause addiction. For instance, rarely an individual is prescribed a medication by a doctor for a legitimate reason (such as pain after an injury) and this can lead to physical withdrawal symptoms if this medication is stopped...
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...What Is Drug Addiction? Drug addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the drug addict and those around them. Drug addiction is a brain disease because the abuse of drugs leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain. Although it is true that for most people the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary, over time the changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person's self-control and ability to make sound decisions, and at the same time create an intense impulse to take drugs. Signs of Substance Use - Topic Overview Signs of Substance Use Guide * Topic Overview * Health Tools * Related Information * Credits The following are some obvious signs that a person may be smokingcigarettes, drinking alcohol, or using other substances. This is not a complete list of signs to look for. If you suspect a particular drug or drugs, get more information on signs of use for those substances. For more information, see Teen Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Cigarettes * A distinctive smell on the breath and clothing * Cigarettes and lighter in his or her possession * Cigarette butts outside a bedroom window or in other odd places around the home Alcohol * Alcoholic beverages missing from the home storage cabinet * Alcohol or mouthwash (used to cover up alcohol) breath orhangover symptoms (nausea, vomiting, or headache), if recently used ...
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...information did you learn? I really learned a lot about substance abuse in this course and also during my readings. I always looked at substance abuse as someone who just uses drugs to get high. I never really thought about it being a brain disease. According to NIDA, “Addiction is similar to chronic diseases” while observing the brain and the heart addiction and heart diseases produce observational changes in the function of human organs. While all this information wasn’t too new to me I just really never gave it any thought. I learned how people become addicted to drugs due to the drugs altering their Dopamine which is a brain chemical which also affects the neurons in the brain. I understand what Neurons are and how they communicate...
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... Teenage Drug Abuse There are many illnesses that can take over a child’s life and even cause death. Drug abuse is at the top of that list. Teenage drug abuse is a common problem in today’s society and has increased over the last fifty years but, what most do not realize is that an increase in drug abuse leads to addiction and that addiction leads to an incurable disease. Many people do not understand how or why anyone could become addicted to drugs, especially teens. Studies have pointed out “having fun” as a teens number one reason for using drugs, but recent studies show that teens are now using drugs to problem solve or to hide feelings. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that “by 8th grade, 52% of adolescents have consumed alcohol, 42% percent have smoked cigarettes, and 20% have used marijuana”, (National Drug Intelligence Center, 2012). The top five reasons teens abuse drugs are: stress, social acceptance or low self esteem, self medication, to rebel, and to experiment. The problem is that drugs do not care what the reason is for using them, and effects on the body and brain are the same whether teens are using to deal with a problem or using to have fun. The truth of matter is that the earlier teens starts to use, the greater the risk of becoming addicted. Dr. Manny Alvarez wrote an article on teen drug abuse becoming an epidemic. He addresses how easy it is to get a hold of prescription drugs at any age (Alvarez, 2012). Teens are looting drugs from their...
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...The business of drug Abuse abuse Bonnie S Western Governors University Abstract What is the economic cost of substance abuse and addiction? The estimates are shocking in the hundreds of billions of dollars every year. Yes, that’s right…. not hundreds of millions, but hundreds of billions of dollars. Illicit drug use alone accounts for 181 billion dollars per year in health care, productivity loss, crime, incarceration, and drug enforcement. Alcohol addiction accounts for approximately the same amount also. ("Molecules to Managed Care," 2008) So how do we deal with such an enormous problem? We can’t ignore problems of such a monumental financial impact to our country. We spend so much on damage control from the result of addiction and so very little on prevention. How can we turn this around to change these numbers and positively affect our society? Early intervention and treatment are the only way to combat these staggering numbers. In 2010 23 million Americans, age 12 or older, identified as having substance abuse issues and only 2.6 million received treatment at specialty facilities in 2009. Why are so few seeking treatment? Keywords: SBIRT, SAMHSA, abuse, addiction, ED, ONDCP, NIDA, ACA The business of drug Abuse There is an enormous amount of money spent in this country on dealing with the aftermath of substance abuse and addiction. What are we doing to prevent this disease? If we recognize that addiction to drugs and alcohol is a disease then what is our plan...
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...DRUG ADDICTION ERIN GETZ LYNN FUTRAL PSYCHOLOGY 1101 28 NOVEMBER 2014 Drug Addiction Most of us know of someone who has struggled with addiction. About 15 percent of the American population is addicted to alcohol or drugs or a combination of the two (Chapter 1: What is Addiction?). Drug addiction can tear families apart by changing the people we know into someone who lies, cheats, and steals to get their next fix. Drug addiction is a serious psychological and physical illness that has many factors such as social environment, home life/family history, physical and mental problems, and withdrawals; there are also a few ways to recover from drug addiction including Narcotics Anonymous, medical treatments, and therapy. But first, what is drug addiction? The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) website defines drug abuse as “a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him or her.” The most common drugs hardest to give up are cocaine, heroin, marijuana, alcohol, amphetamines (Interlandi and Kelley). Almost 22 million Americans are hooked on at least one of these drugs. Drug addictions don’t normally happen overnight, it is a process that happens over time. Usually a drug is taken for the first time in a social situation, with the person not realizing the consequences that could follow. The person enjoys that temporary high and begins to...
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...The Disease of Drug Addiction Joanne Frye HSER 340 Abstract Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive seeking and use of addictive substances despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him or her. Introduction Dramatic advances in science over the past 20 years have shown that drug addiction is a chronic relapsing disease that results from the prolonged effects of drugs on the brain. (Leshner, 1997) It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain structure and how the brain works. (Volkow and Schelbert, 2007) As with many other brain diseases, addiction has embedded behavioral and social-context aspects that are important parts of the disorder itself. Therefore, the most effective treatment approaches will include biological, behavioral, and social-context components. Recognizing addiction as a chronic, relapsing brain disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use can impact society’s overall health and social policy strategies and help diminish the health and social costs associated with drug abuse and addiction (Leshner, 1997). Addiction as a Disease For decades, the orthodox view in neuroscience and psychiatry has been that addiction is a psychiatric disease (Jellinek, 1960). In 1968 it was included in the second revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, positioning it explicitly as a mental illness for the purpose diagnosis and treatment...
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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...
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...QBT Task 5 Question: Does drug abuse affect the society and the economy? Drug abuse is the misuse of prescription drug or use of illicit drugs to an extent that adversely affects the individuals health(Collins & Lapsley, 2008)It is a relapsing condition that affects an individual, family and the society and impacts on the quality of life of the family, victims of the abuser and the abuser.(Harwood, Fountain, & Livermore, 1998).According to Califano,2008,drug abuse in one of the top five official government killers, with recorded 40 million suffering from disabling and debilitating illnesses and injuries and death of about 600,000 Americans . Rampant use of illicit drugs by Americans started in the second half of the 19th century during The Civil War. During the same period, pharmaceutical companies added opiates and cocaine in their products (Califano, 2008, p. 19). Illicit drugs include (but not limited) marijuana, cocaine, heroin, amphetamine, methamphetamine and illicit use of legal psychoactive medications. (Harwood et al., 1998).Drug abuse affects individuals and the society, socially, economically and physically and is a contributing factor in increasing mortality and morbidity. (McGinnis & Foege, 1999). According to Harwood et al,1998, 23, drug-related deaths occurred in 2000 due to different causes, for instance poisoning, overdose, HIV, homicide and hepatitis B and C. Significant healthcare costs associated with consequences of drug abuse were estimated to 16 billion...
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...What Causes Addiction? How do you know when you are addicted to something? Is it a choice or just an effect? What most people do not understand, is that no one really chooses to be an addict. Addiction is a condition where people become obsessed with a substance or activity. Substance abuse makes people become reliable on a certain substance, and they don’t realize that it is affecting their life. Addicts let their addictions affect their responsibilities that they have at home or at work. Addiction can affect people’s relationships and health. People with addiction usually don’t think that their behavior is affecting themselves and others. According to National Institutes of Health, there are about 3.6 million people in the United States that are addicted to drugs. Many of these addicts are addicted to more than one type of drug. Many people that are addicted to something were not always like that. Addiction can happen anywhere in the world. Just because you say that you will never be addicted to something it doesn’t mean that it will never happen. There are many factors that can contribute to addiction. One major factor that causes addiction is through genetics. Individuals don’t realize that whatever their family does impacts their life. According to the Mediresource website, explains that there is a connection between addiction and genetics. Children who are around addictive parents usually have a higher chance of becoming an addict themselves (Mediresource). Family...
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...Drug Addiction: To Cure or Not To Cure Chris G Kinney University of Phoenix Abstract Drug addiction is a huge social problem to some people feel there is no end. People either try to fight this disease or just put their hands down preferring to think that nothing could be done. This paper investigates what drug addiction really is and why some people believe it is incurable. Primarily the main focus of the work is dedicated to the issue of how this challenge may be addressed and the basic factors that would help to make the treatment work. Various visions of this problem are studied, and the conclusion is that any disease is possible to cure however the success of these actions in what concerns drug abuse is mostly dependent on the willingness of the patient to fight the illness. Drug addiction is a global social problem, a war sweeping away millions of lives and demolishing national gene pools. There is no exaggeration in this definition. It is not a disease in a common sense of this word however it’s not a usual aspect healthy people may have. Drug abuse is a complete affection of the personality combined usually with the following complications of physical health. The most significant peculiarity of drug use is that being a pathological illness it is rather nonreversible, provided those negative changes of the person’s soul and mind which happened as a reaction to...
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