...Drug Addiction Many people around the world suffer from drug addiction. There are many different types of drugs and mostly illegal to use. The most popular kinds of drugs are: cannabis, ethanol, tobacco, heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. Those narcotics have a strong effect to the person who takes them, both biological and psychological. For some people, using drugs can become a habit, and its use becomes more lethal. Any over dose can cause serious health problems if not a certain death. It can be also destructive to many people’s life like their families and loved ones and make them miserable. There are certain factors that explain why some people can be involved in using drugs, which are, being curious, having low self-esteem and escaping realty. Using drugs is a personal choice that people take to try something new. Most young adults search for different amusement to have fun. Out of curiosity people tend to try those illegal medicines to know how it feels to be “high”. Unwilling to think about the effects that it may have on their body or on how bad would the effect be. Some junkies grow so used to the drug that they become violence, anxious and disorientated to have it. Furthermore, those who tried it once often will try it again. Most people start their addiction this way, thinking another one more time would not affect them. Another important reason why a person might use drugs is low self-esteem. People start consuming illegal drugs because they are unable...
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...CHAPTER 2. A HISTORY OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE IN AMERICA Written by: Tammy L. Anderson To appear in: Harrison, L., Anderson, T., Martin, S., and Robbins, C. Drug and Alcohol Use in Social Context. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing -1- A HISTORY OF DRUGS AND ALCOHOL IN THE UNITED STATES Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to review the history of drug use and its social control in the United States so that students can gain an improved and thorough understanding of today’s problems and policies. Our approach to this matter is sociological, i.e., exploring how the interconnection between culture, social institutions, groups, and individuals function to create drug-related phenomena. A sociological approach integrates many kinds of social, cultural, political, and economic factors that manifest themselves in everyday life. While pharmacology helps us comprehend how specific drugs impact brain activity, sociology can inform us about the social roots of drugrelated behaviors which ultimately shape beliefs and behavior and motivate social policy. Therefore, a review of drug use in the U.S. and the social response to it must consider many diverse phenomena. This broader framework will move us beyond domestic borders and into the international community, for the history of drug abuse is an international, socio-political marvel. Another idea warrants mentioning before we begin our history lesson. It centers on the idea that drug use and abuse are socially...
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...The Abuse of drug Addiction Teens needs more than a single "talk" about drugs. Teen Drug Abuse: Role-Playing for Teens and Parents Below are four scenarios that countless teenagers face every day, pressured to use drugs or engage in other dangerous behaviors.Parents and teens, read over these scenarios together and act them out. Try to get into character. How might the conversation really go? Acting out these roles should be fun. You might enjoy reversing the obvious roles – let the teenager play the friend while the parent plays the teen. The point here isn't only to prepare for these particular scenarios; It's also to get parents and teens talking about an often hard-to-discuss subject: teen drug abuse. Together, you might come up with some interesting solutions – and maybe understand each other a little better. Medicine Cabinet A friend is at your house and wants you to steal some cough medicine from your medicine cabinet. ''Your parents will never notice,'' she says. Some things you might say: • ''I can’t stand the taste of cough syrup. It's disgusting.'' • ''My parents will notice. They told me that they keep an eye on all the drugs in the medicine cabinet.'' • ''Nope. Taking a lot of that will just make you throw up.'' Drunk Driver You're at a party and the friend who was supposed to give you a ride home is drunk or high on drugs. She insists that she's fine and tells you to get in. You know that getting in the car with her would put your life at risk – and...
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...Drug Addiction Drug addiction is on increasing problem in today’s society. Drug has been increasing immensely among our society today. It can either help us or destroy us from accomplishing our goals or dreams in life. People sometimes feel they are too bright, too powerful, too much in control to become addictive however addiction can trap anyone. It can lead to harming one’s body, causing problems in the person family and also in societies and the communities. This topic is interesting because it is an ongoing problem in the world and more people are becoming addicted and cannot stop. This topic talks about peoples decisions they make and how their lives can change in minutes and how can they recover from it. The thing I want to know why people chose to do drugs if they know they are bad from the beginning of their lives. Is it depression that it’s causing them to do it, is it too much alcohol drinking or just for fun because one friend is doing it, they want to do same. For me personally I grew up in a country that was strongly against drugs and nobody really had any interest in it and really was not a big issue, but since coming to America this was a big issue for me because I knew America has a big drugs users and I didn’t want to part of it. After years living here I saw how people in America are in love with drugs, I didn’t want to be part of it I was kind of scared at the beginning. In most of the movies on TV there is someone that is using drugs and in hip hop...
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...on a certain drugs or drug addictions. Drug addiction is inability of oneself to control the usage of a certain drug. Moreover, drug addiction or drug abuse can be chronic and also may lead to physical, mental and emotional problem. People who were addicted don’t know that they were in the state of addiction; they see it as a habit. They are mentally unaware that being addicted to drugs can cause a long-term illness or death. But, why people suffer from drug addiction? What are some causes of their addiction? Furthermore, what can be done to prevent or eliminate drug addiction? One of the main reason why people get addicted to drug is dependency. People may suffer from lots of diseases. They usually use drug as their own survival. Drug addiction can cause major negative effects on person’s life wh In this day and age, many teenagers and also adults are suffering from severe depression and anxiety, and one of the things they turned in to make themselves relieved and accompanied is drug. Drugs can be found everywhere, we often see bunch of people or a group of people held together to consume or make use of drugs, people often get addicted to drugs to belonged, consorted or to be known to others. They used it to boost their own self-esteem and confidence. Curiosity can also be the cause of being addicted to drugs, people who used a highly abuse potential drugs out of curiosity don’t have the knowledge of what the adverse effects and the outcome of taking that drug, that can lead...
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...Drug addiction is a serious physical and psychological problem that has many factors including environment, hereditary, mental and physical addictions, and withdrawal. Substance abuse is one of the problems that the United States have. In the 1950s there was a therapeutic drug that was called Phencyclidine (PCP), which later down the line it was given the nickname angle dust. The doctors found out the drug caused hallucinogenic side effects. It was pulled. It reappeared in the sixties and seventies. The drug was eventually illegal to have. Another drug that appeared on the streets is crack, which is smokeable cocaine. There’s people that sells it for a low price on the streets and it caused a lot of health problems. People had been trying to get as many drugs as they could; many people had started to smuggle the drugs in. The very first known drug smugglers were Chinese in 1870. They were smuggling opium in merchant ship cargo and baggage. Around the 1970s the drug smuggling had became a problem for the coast guards. From 1997 until this present day the coast guards has confiscated 500,000 pounds of cocaine, and 270,000 pounds of marijuana. Cocaine is a very dangerous drug; it can be powder or hard like a crystal rock. Cocaine is something that can keep a person wired, also taking a major risk with their lives. The cocaine can cause your blood vessels to constrict immediately; it makes your heart rate rise, it also raises your blood pressure and body temperature. The cocaine...
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...Executive Summary: This study examined the types of drugs students in Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet abuse. The participants were 10 university students drawn from different departments of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet for case study. Case study method with purposive sampling and qualitative approach has been used to conduct the study.The intent of this study was to investigate the reasons that influence to drug abuse among the university students in Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet. The analyses yielded the following results: students in the university abuse drugs such as tobacco, marijuana, alcohol, syrup, slipping tablet, Yabba, heroin so on.Students use drugs mostly everyday most of the narcotics.Students use drugs to feel good, to keep awakeand to sleep. This study found that most of the addicted students do not suffer for taking drugs. Taking drugs do not bring negative impact on their study; students have no psychological or physiological illness becauseof drugs. Based on these findings, the study recommends police and customs control, family support, friends’ supports, prohibition of drug use, compulsory treatment of drug addicts as primary solution to reduce the rate of drug addiction.The study also recommends among others the need to organize awareness programmes in our campus to educate students that drugs can alter brain circuitry, which will affect their learning; and the university authorities...
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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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...Drug Addiction Leah Richards PSY326: Research Methods Maleka Hillsman August 27, 2012 The topic that caught my attention when I was reading my choices was “Drug Addiction”. Drug addiction is something that should not be taken lightly by anyone who has a family member or friend with this issue. We often wonder how and what make people turn into being a drug addict. “Drug addiction is rooted in long-term adaptations within the brain that promotes escalating drug use, difficulty quitting, and relapse—all despite the awareness of negative consequences.” With that being said I have always wondered what keep a person going back to their addiction and why can’t they quit. When I read the article and it mention how drug addiction is rooted a light bulb clicked in my head. When something is rooted inside of you whether it is for good or bad it is hard to break. “It was previously hypothesized that addiction was caused in part of an imbalance between an impulsive system that governs appetitive motivation and is driven by immediate rewards on the one hand and a reflective system that regulate and control impulsive according to future pleasurable or aversive consequences.” With this study they were able to predict the hypothesis and see what causes addiction to happen in some cases. I think that the method used in order to see how people become an addict was efficient and it was very precise that made the validity of the experiment a success. It is important to...
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...Drug Addiction Drug addiction is on increasing problem in today’s society. Drug has been increasing immensely among our society today. It can either help us or destroy us from accomplishing our goals or dreams in life. People sometimes feel they are too bright, too powerful, too much in control to become addictive however addiction can trap anyone. It can lead to harming one’s body, causing problems in the person family and also in societies and the communities. This topic is interesting because it is an ongoing problem in the world and more people are becoming addicted and cannot stop. This topic talks about peoples decisions they make and how their lives can change in minutes and how can they recover from it. The thing I want to know why people chose to do drugs if they know they are bad from the beginning of their lives. Is it depression that it’s causing them to do it, is it too much alcohol drinking or just for fun because one friend is doing it, they want to do same. For me personally I grew up in a country that was strongly against drugs and nobody really had any interest in it and really was not a big issue, but since coming to America this was a big issue for me because I knew America has a big drugs users and I didn’t want to part of it. After years living here I saw how people in America are in love with drugs, I didn’t want to be part of it I was kind of scared at the beginning. In most of the movies on TV there is someone that is using drugs and in hip hop...
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...Keira Martin June 30th 2013 Drug Addiction Com/156 Thesis Statement Drug addiction is becoming an epidemic in the United States about 570,000 people die annually due to drug use. Prescription drugs have been the leading cause of addiction; this is a disease that needs to be addressed Drug Addiction People believe drugs will help them feel better and others are just experimenting and figure one try won't get them addicted. Most teens and even adults use drugs because they're depressed or think it will help them just get away from their everyday problems. Truth is, drugs will not solve a problem or a bunch of problems, they simply hide feelings and problems for those few moments that the high lasts. When a drug wears off the feelings are still there sometimes more intense than before. Drugs can ruin every part of a person's life. Drug abuse has many ways of effecting the person and society. Ways of addressing drug abuse have become more advocating over the last decade because of an increase in the level of awareness on the effects of drug abuse on the individual, community and the society. The Schools internet and social media are all being used to point out the drug abuse that is developing into more of a social problem. Heroin is becoming an epidemic; heroin was first manufactured in 1898 through the Bayer Pharmaceutical Company of Germany. Heroin was first marketed as the treatment...
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...their addiction? Addiction births almost all societal and psychological problems. It is an intricate problem that spreads from an individual, to his or her family and eventually to the society as a whole. A query whether it is possible to wake up and give up an addiction is one clouded with uncertainty. So what is addiction? What are the various types and symptoms associated with each? And what causes an individual to quit an addiction? Addiction refers to the physiological and or psychological dependence on a practice or substance beyond one’s voluntary control. It means that the addict cannot be able to keep off the particular psychological and physiological substance or practice. Such dependence can be on substances such as alcohol and drugs, activities such as gambling and even junk food. Once someone gets addicted to something it is immensely hard to break off from the habit. There exists various types of addiction, but addiction should be differentiated from a habitual problematic behavior. There are addictive behaviors that are simply pleasurable and recreational. Such activities may not cause physical or bodily harm, and thus they should not be categorized as addictive. One form of addiction is alcohol dependence. This can be characterized with continuous heavy drinking even when alcohol cause bodily harm to an individual. The addict usually finds it immensely hard to go a day without using alcohol. Drug addiction refers to overdependence on a certain drug. Drug addiction...
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...Drug addiction is a problem that has been increasing immensely among our society today. Drug addictions can only hinder or restrain us from accomplishing goals or dreams in life. People sometimes feel they are too bright, too powerful, too much in control to become addictive. Addiction can trap anyone. It can lead to harming ones body, causing problems in family structure, and contribute to the delinquency in society. The sooner people seek help for drug addiction problems, the more chances they have of gaining control of their life once again. However, abstinence is the safest way to live a longer and healthier life. We are greatly influenced by the people around us. Today one of the number one reasons of teenage drug usage is peer pressure. Peer pressure represents social influences that affect us. It can have a positive or a negative effect, depending on what path one follows. There is direct and indirect pressure that might influence a person’s decision in using drugs. Direct pressure might be when a person is offered to try drugs. Indirect pressure might be when a person is around people using drugs and sees that there is nothing wrong with using drugs. Adolescents who use drugs seek out peers who also use and, in turn, are influenced by those peers (Berndt, 1992). A person might also try drugs just to fit in a social group, even if the person had no intentions of using drugs. Adolescents can try out different roles and observe the reactions of their friends to their behavior...
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...Drug Addiction Angela Figueroa COMM/156 May 20, 2012 Meghan Anderson Drug Addiction In society, drugs have been the downfall for many people. There are many reasons that a person may use drugs such as: peer pressure, relief of stress, increased energy, to relax, to relieve pain, to escape reality, to feel more self esteem, and for recreation ("Drug addiction and drug abuse," 2011). What is it that causes the obsession and compulsion to use drugs? Why can some people stop and others go on to become addicts? Addiction is often now defined by the continuing, compulsive nature of the drug use despite physical and/or psychological harm to the user and society ("Drug addiction and drug abuse," 2011). MRI’s have shown evidence that the brain of an addict has specific abnormalities of tissue malfunction that non-addicts do not have (About.com 2004). Drug addiction is a disease that can be defined as a disordered condition resulting from the effect of deficiency or imbalance on the body. Drug addiction can be considered almost like a cancer or virus because it takes over one’s body and can cause detrimental physical and mental effect (Antiessays.com, 2012) s. Addiction is a disease that affects not only the person taking the drugs, but also their family, friends and the community around them. Drug addiction is considered a disease by some but others view it as a lack of will power. Addiction to drugs was once viewed as a moral issue but as more research is done they are finding...
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...Drug addiction is most often defined as a chronically relapsing disorder in which the addict experiences uncontrollable compulsion to take drugs, while simultaneously the repertoire of behaviors not related to drug seeking, taking, and recovery, declines dramatically."(1) Recent scientific research has shown significant causal relationships between drug addiction and genetic predisposition as well as between addiction and environmental factors. Both genetics and the environment influence the brain, which in turn effects the behavior of usage. Once an individual begins using psychotropic substances, such as cocaine or heroin, measurable changes in brain chemistry and physiology perpetuate the cycle of addiction. Thus, we have an example of brain affecting behavior, which in turn, affects the brain. This cycle is particularly extreme and insular in the situation of drug addiction where free will and decision making are quickly and severely impaired. In this paper, we will first explore the genetic and environmental theories on drug addiction. We will then investigate how the behavior of drug addiction changes the brain to perpetuate the circle of cause and effect between the brain and behavior. Genetic Influences on the Behavior of Drug Addiction: Addiction does not result from a single gene. However, multiple genetic trends have been identified as crucial contributors to the illness of addiction. Alcoholics and cocaine addicts often express the A1 allele of the dopamine receptor...
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