Influence of Drugs to Youngsters Essay Example

of drug abuse or to help someone they care for who is already suffering from drug abuse or addiction.

Illegal drugs come in different shapes and sizes, and types. Each particular drug produces unique effects on the user, this is why you may have heard the term “drug of choice. ” This means, the drug that the user prefers. People use illegal drugs for many reasons, boredom, to fit in, experimentation, etc. they begin to abuse drugs when they repeatedly take them to solve their problems or make them feel “normal. ” We will be highlighting the most commonly abused illegal drug. It is derived from the cannabis plant, which grows in many countries, including the United States.

Users place it on rolling papers to make marijuana cigarettes, smoke it in bongs or pipes, or mix it in baked good or tea and eat or drink it. Marijuana is a SCHEDULE I drug. It is illegal to plant and grow marijuana, to sell and to buy hashish or hashish oil. Synthetic THC capsules are available by prescription to treat nausea that cancer patients sometimes suffer with some forms of chemotherapy, and to treat wasting in AIDS patients. No form of the smoked drug has been approved as safe or effective for any medical use. People use illegal drugs for many different reasons often it is to fit in ith their friends or just because they are curious. Overall, the underlying reason a person tries drugs is to escape from reality, if they are sad they take the drug to make them feel better for a short time until the effect of the drug

wears off and ten they find the problem, still exists after all. Taking drugs has never solved anyone’s problem, however, it often creates new ones. The user becomes dependent. There are many different types of illegal drugs. They include: heroin, cocaine, crack, marijuana, ecstasy and methamphetamine or the so-called shabu.

Drugs are used by almost everyone at one point or another during their life. There are several types of drugs and they all have very different purposes. Some are necessary to keep an individual alive while others that are taken even when not necessary. Often these other types of drugs, such as anti-depressants and pain medication, cause many more problems and side effects than the original problem the individual was trying to treat. This second group of drugs makes, rather than solves the individual’s problem. In turn, their situation may worsen.

They may begin to abuse the drug to escape life altogether and/or to simply obtain a high. Another group of drugs are called illicit or illegal drugs. They do not have known benefit and are often very addictive. Illegal drugs are frequently taken for totally different reasons than legal drugs. Many people experiment with these types of substances to escape their problems. Humans have used drugs of one sort or another for thousands of years. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B. C. ; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated 2737 B.

B. in China. But not until the 19th century A. D. were the active substances in drugs extracted. There followed a time when some of these newly discovered

substances, morphine, laudanum, cocaine were completely unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments. They were available in patent medicines and sold by travelling tinkers, in drugstores, or through the mail. During the American Civil War, morphine was used freely and wounded veterans returned home with their kits of morphine and hypodermic needles. Opium dens flourished.

By the early 1900s there were an estimated 250,000 addicts in the United States. The problems of addiction were recognized gradually. Legal measures against drug abuse in the United States were first established in 1975, when opium dens were outlawed in San Francisco. The first national drug law was the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, which required accurate labeling of patent medicines containing opium and certain other drugs. In 1914, the Harrison Narcotic Act for bade sale of substantial doses of opiates or cocaine except by licensed doctors and pharmacies. Later, heroin was totally banned.

The military became involved in border patrols for the first time, and troops invaded Panama and brought its de facto leader, Manuel Noriega, to trial for drug trafficking. Throughout the years, the public’s perception of the dangers of specific substances changed. The surgeon general’s warning label on tobacco packaging gradually made people aware of the addictive nature of nicotine. By 1995, the Food and Drug Administration was considering its regulation. The recognition of fetal alcohol syndrome brought warning labels to alcohol products.

The addictive nature of prescription drugs such as diazepam (VALIM) became known, and caffeine came under scrutiny as well. Drug laws have tried to keep up with the changing prescription and real dangers

of substance abuse. By 1970, over 55 federal drug laws and countless state laws specified a variety of punitive measures, including life imprisonment and even the death penalty. To clarify the situation, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 repealed, replaced, or updated all previous federal laws concerned with narcotics and all other dangerous drugs.

While possession was made illegal, the severest penalties were reserved for illicit distribution and manufacture of drugs. The act dealt with prevention and treatment of drug abuse as well as control of drug traffic. The Anti-Drug Abuse Acts of 1986 and 1988 increased funding for treatment and rehabilitation. The 1988 act created the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Its director, often referred to as the drug czar, is responsible for coordinating national drug control policy. Legal drugs are drugs that a person is allowed to have.

This of course, depends on the country they are in. if a person has legal drugs, they will not be punished by the law enforcer and the court most importantly. What is an illegal drug for one, can be legal for another use. That way, heroin (and other substances like it), can be used as painkillers. When a doctor, or other specialists prescribes the drug can be used legally. Some drugs such as aspirin or paracetamol do not need to be prescribed by a doctor. Most people can buy them over the counter from a drugstore or pharmacy. Legal drugs that are mainly used to relax are often taxed heavily.

Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful

consequences to the individual who is addicted and to 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, overtime 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 send intense impulses to take drugs.

It is because of these changes in he brain that it is so challenging for a person who is addicted to stop abusing drugs. Fortunately, there are treatments that help people to counteract addiction’s powerful disruptive effects and regain control. Research shows that combining addiction treatment medications, if available, with behavioral therapy is the best way to ensure success for most patients. Treatment approaches that are tailored to each patients drug abuse patters and any co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and social problems can lead to sustained recover and a life without drug abuse.

Similar to other chronic, relapsing diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, drug addiction can be managed successfully. And, as with other chronic diseases, it is not uncommon for a person to relapse and begin abusing drugs again. Relapse, however, does not signal failure – rather, it indicates that treatment should be reinstated, adjusted or that alternate treatment is needed to help the individual regain control and recover the difference between drug abuse and drug addiction is very slight. Drug abuse and drug addiction is very slight.

Drug abuse means using an illegal substance or

using a legal substance in the wrong way. Drug addictions begin as abuse, or using a substance like marijuana or cocaine. You can abuse a drug (or alcohol) without having an addiction. People can develop Drug Addiction to all sorts of substance. When we think of addiction, we usually think of alcohol r illegal drugs. But people become more addicted to medications, cigarettes, even glue. And some substances are more addictive than others; Drugs like crack or heroin are so addictive that they might only be used once or twice before the user loses control.

Drug addictions take place when the person has lost control over whether he or she uses a drug or drinks. Someone who’s addicted to cocaine has grown so used to the drug that he or she has to have it. Addiction can be physical, psychological or both. Denial is an unconscious defense mechanism. Minimizing and rationalizing one’s drug addictions are less scary than admitting that your drug use is dangerously out of control. But the cost of denial can be extremely high including the loss of important relationships, your job, financial security, and physical and mental health.

Drug addiction is a preventable disease. Results from NIDA – funded research have shown that prevention programs that involve families, schools, communities, and the media are effective in reducing drug abuse. Although many events and cultural factors affects drug abuse trends, when youths perceive drug abuse as harmful, they reduce their drug taking. It is necessary, before, to help youth and the general public to understand the risks of drug abuse and for teachers, parents, and health care professionals to keep

sending the message that drug addiction can be prevented if a person never abuses drugs.

 Drug abuse is defined as the habitual use of any chemical substance to alter the state of one’s body or mind for reasons other than medically warranted purposes. Drug abuse is a problem that affects men and women of all income levels, ages and stations in life. Quite often, the last person to see that there is a problem is the drug user/abuser themselves. Every year, more and more people become addicted to drugs in their pursuit to get “high. ” The effects of drug abuse vary depending upon the drug that is used.

Some effects of drug use are powerful rushes of energy and others may induce excessive feelings of calm and relaxation. Drug abuse may involve prescription drugs used for pleasure rather than for medical reasons or use of illegal drugs known as street drugs. Remember, drugs alter the brain to the point where the drug becomes extremely uncomfortable and even painful. This compelling urge to use is known as addiction. People who are most likely to become involved in drug abuse are those unable to make common transitions in life and are looking for a superficial way to make their feelings or mentally escape their reality.