Introduction
Drug abuse and addiction is a major worldwide problem that has affected many youths in different states of the world. Most of these youths have become so much dependent on various substances and drugs which come along with the narcotic effects. Some of these drugs that contain soporific effects include Cocaine, Marijuana (bhang), Heroine, Meth, Crack, and many more (Bahr & Hoffmann, 2016). The increasing rate of drug users in our societies today is alarming, and it is even more disturbing to see people in different states of the world becoming addicts to all kinds of these drugs. Taking these drugs into the body comes in different ways, which include inhalation, ingestion either directly or indirectly through edibles and injection. Drugs are chemicals that significantly affect the body and the brain. Some effects are short term, while others are long term and might continue affecting an individual even after they stop abusing it (Bahr & Hoffmann, 2016). The effect varies from one drug to another and how often it is taken. Therefore, the lives of these youths become affected in many aspects. There are several causes, effects, and concepts associated with drug abuse in society.
Effects of Drug Abuse
There is often a misconception about drug addiction, with people believing that it only affects the life of the user (Treadwell, 2019). However, the individuals that abuse these drugs just to justify their addiction bring about this idea. Therefore, drug abuse is not a one-person phenomenon but rather a social problem that has a devastating social impact on the lives of individuals, families, and the community.
Drug users lose contact with their close families and even end up living in their worlds. Most of them are forced to spend a lot of money on buying drugs hence those addicts that have a low or no source of income might indulge in robbery, theft, and violence just to make money they need to buy drugs. When an individual is so much into drugs, they become less productive, leading to unemployability which in turn leads to an increase in crime (Mirmohammadtabar & Mohammad, 2017). For the case of drug addicts who have a family, they might end up neglecting their responsibilities, which does not only leave children to bear the burden of environmental and biological consequences but also friends and community members who much count on their presence and advice. This condition might lead to adverse effects on their career, their children's education, and family finances.
Most of these drugs are chemicals that significantly affect the body and the brain of the user. Some effects of using these drugs are short term, while others are a long time and might continue affecting the individual even after they stop using the drug. It, however, depends on the type and how often the drug is abused by the user (Bahr & Hoffmann, 2016). Excessive and long-term abuse of these drugs has been proven to cause memory lapse, mental confusion, and even brain damage in adverse conditions. This condition affects memory, attention, and the decision-making process, making daily living more difficult.
Continued use of these drugs can lead to weakened immunity, which in turn increases the risk of infections and illnesses. Some drugs increase the heart rate from regular, which significantly exposes an individual to heart attack, collapsing of veins, and blood vessel infections due to injections (Mirmohammadtabar & Mohammad, 2017). The most severe health effect of drug abuse is death, which has been on the rise due to the victims overdosing on the drug they are addicted to. Drug and substance abuse is costly to the nation since the country spends on the medical resources used to treat and rehabilitate drug addicts. A substantial burden is posted on the individuals, and the society, which includes the rise in the healthcare expenses and having limited financial resources, maybe a limiting factor (Stringer & Baker, 2018). A further cost of drug abuse comes in when the drug users under the influence or going through the consequences of drugs are less productive, which though indirectly, affects the economy (Yang & Xia, 2019). These losses are measured as the work which would have been expected to be delivered reasonably if not for drug and substance abuse.
Drug abuse and poverty are often associated in many ways. One can choose to use drugs to relieve the stress that comes with poverty, where users might deplete their income on drugs leading to poverty.
Causes of Drug and Substance Abuse
Most of the drug users today started it all out of curiosity, and the influence by their peers with the experimental use of a recreational drug and, after that leads to prolonged use of the drug, which in turn leads to dependence. With time, as the individual gets used to the drug, they tend to increase the number of doses they take to get they desire high (Yang & Xia, 2019). An individual in an environment surrounded by friends who greatly use drugs might not be able to judge how these drugs affect them and gauge it is worth trying. These individuals might end up using the drugs because their friends are using them to fit into the group (Mirmohammadtabar & Mohammad, 2017). On top of this, most youths find it hard to resist this peer pressure, leading to an increase in the number of users. According to the Peer Cluster Theory, peer drug use affects adolescent use. It is also affected by familial factors and individual variables, which include religious identities and school adjustment.
Drug abuse and poverty have been associated in many ways. One can choose to use drugs to relieve the stress that comes along with poverty, and on the other hand drug, users might deplete their income on drugs leading to poverty (Stringer & Baker, 2018). The coping theory focuses on how the human body develops coping strategies and skills to adapt to their situation. The coping strategies can be either internal and external demands that exceed the resources of a person. It may also involve both positive and negative plans hence require someone to spend mental energy in a way that can reduce stress.
The belief that stress leads to the abuse of drugs has existed since the time of immemorial (Jabeen et al., 2018). Many theories try to explain addiction and drug abuse have shown that stress plays a role in the increasing number of drug users. Individuals who use drugs because of stress tend to believe that they escape the situation taking drugs, hence end up abusing them to achieve the desired feeling, and with time, this habit becomes part of their life and eventually leads to addiction (Jabeen et al., 2018). Stress is a condition where the human’s system responds to changes in its balanced and healthy state. According to Selye’s systemic stress theory, people react to stress by adopting measures meant to make them peaceful (Stringer & Baker, 2018). Selye linked his findings on how rats react to stress to how human bodies cope with stressful situations. According to the theory, stress presents itself to an individual throughout the entire period of exposure to an unspecified level. Therefore, individuals who are exposed to stress find ways to cope with the stress causers, and in many cases, many individuals opt to use drugs.
Scope of Drug and Substance Abuse
The war against drug and substance abuse has existed for ages, yet there is no sign of ending it. Although there has always been an anti-drug message all over, youths keep using these harmful and illegal drugs. Since the 70s, people have increasingly grown the concern about the effects of the drugs on the young generation (Mirmohammadtabar & Mohammad, 2017). The society viewed the drug and substance abuse as a serious pandemic and a crisis. They would blame the government programs, the irrelevant content on the media platforms, and underfunded law enforcement.
In an effort to curb this social problem, society in the early 60s used the scare tactics on the drug users by telling them that the use of illegal drugs causes sterility, acne, and blindness (Yang & Xia, 2019). This tactic paved way to the contradicting message, which was given in the 70s and 80s, thus led to a large number of increasing users who did not even have a better understanding (Jabeen et al., 2018). Some people also contributed to the rising number by giving contradicting information, including asserting that Cocaine was not addictive, and this led to the double number achieved in the early 80s. The increasing number seen in the 80s shifted to the 90s and led to an increased number of drug users with different reasons and causes (Jabeen et al., 2018). The number of drug users has been increasing, and the graph curve is alarming and even more disturbing.
How to Reduce Drug Abuse
Drug addiction is a very complex disease, but the great part is the one that makes it possible to be treated. Since no single treatment is right for everyone fighting addiction, effective treatment methods need to be addressed to curb all of the patients' needs and not just the addiction part.Unlike what was happening in the 70s where drug users we're given contradicting information, drug addicts need to be given clear information and counseling inclusive of other therapies (Padwa et al., 2018). This information could include the effects and causes of Drug abuse.
Government programs need to be adjusted to give the drug addicts quick access to treatment and ensuring that they stay in treatment long enough to go through the complete process of detoxification (Rioux et al., 2018). This will ensure that drug use during treatment is carefully monitored continuously, and after the individual has been discharged, it ensures long-term follow-up to curb relapse.
Concepts that relate to Drug Abuse and Dependence
Drug addiction is a complex disorder whose characteristics are an uncontrollable urge to find and use the drug without the capacity to limit drug consumption (Rioux et al., 2018). The condition is caused by the abuse of the drug to create pleasing effects on the brain for a long time. There are different concepts of drug abuse and addiction, as discussed below.
1. Truancy
Children tend to stay away from school without genuine reasons. Truancy is contributed significantly by youths who use drugs in society, giving peer pressure to the school going children to skip school. Sexual abuse has become a significant problem in communities today caused by the youths involved in drug use (Padwa et al., 2018). The condition has led to the rise of HIV/ AIDS and other infections that come with sexual abuse, including early pregnancies, which has resulted in high school dropouts.
Most youths lack ambitions in academics and become bored in academics leading to truancy, which later leads to poor performance in schools (Rioux et al., 2018). Most of the youths that use these drugs in schools are involved in bullying their schoolmates, hence causing mental health issues to the bullied children and further opting to avoid being bullied.
2. Gender-based violence.
Violence based on gender who do not abuse drugs has been on the rise in the current societies. This kind of violence is rooted in the inequality of genders, and it keeps on being the most violated Human right in most communities. Both men experience this violence, and women but girls and women are the major victims (Padwa et al., 2018). The victimization is done by men who abuse drugs, and, in most cases, they tend to blame their actions on drugs. On several occasions, drug-related violence has led to brutalities and deaths in society.
