Types and Impact of Substance Abuse Essay Example

of nicotine addition is that the effects of abuse take long time to develop. Many tobacco addicts want to quit but unfortunately they can not.

Marijuana

Marijuana has been legalized in some states and that has made the drug to be perceived as socially acceptable. This makes people to downplay its addictive potential. This can be a key factor to attribute to the rising use of this drug over the years

Alcohol

Alcohol addiction has become rampant just like the above mentioned drugs due to it social acceptance. Though it is legal in many countries it exposes it s users to a series of health risks and eminent addiction. It has caused many death s from liver disease, drunk driving claims lives and alcohol overdose.

Cocaine

Though cocaine addiction seems to drop worldwide its cheap alternative crank cocaine use is on the rise. Once addicted the person life and productivity is ruined. This slow decline is still a threat to states.

Heroin

This is the drug which has the severest addiction and still manifests the greatest withdrawal symptom. A combination of therapy and medications to help in symptoms management is used in heroin addiction treatment. In recent times there has been an increase in its use among young women in the United States.

Painkillers

Painkillers are drugs with prescription status but that does not mean that they are not addictive in their course of relieving pain. Such drugs include Vicodin and Oxycontin. The addiction develops from seemingly harmless levels of use. Those addicted to prescription painkillers do not realize that they are addicted until to the point they decide to quit their use. Once they are abused with prescription painkillers also lead to an addition.

Sedatives

There

are many prescribed sedatives commonly referred to as sleeping pills to cure tension and sleeping disorders. The users of these drugs develop a tolerance and eventual addiction. Some of these drugs are Lunesta and Ambein. Sleeping pills often produce mind-altering effects that lead to continued abuse.

Inhalants

These are volatile toxic substances which are normally inhaled. They include substances like gasoline, aerosols, glue and household cleaning products. The effects are grave and can have immediate consequences include hospitalization or death. Inhalants contain chemicals have long term effects that lingers in the body and brain long after even stopping use. Complete recovery is so difficult due to the lasting effects.

Stimulants

Stimulants are substances that range from Ritalin to substances like meth. They are highly addictive and intense withdrawal symptoms make quitting difficult. Stimulant users usually overdose leading to tolerance.

Benzodiazepines

These are mainly prescribed as mood-regulating drugs for stress and anxiety management. They include drugs like valium and klonopin. Addiction to these drugs is gradual such that those who develop it are not aware until when they realize they cannot function without them. They affect the brains normally chemical makeup and they are hard to detoxify.

Impact of Substance Abuse in the Work Environment

Productivity in the work environment is greatly hampered by the outcomes of substance abuse and addiction. An employee who is under influence of a certain drug can not be as much productive as compared to a sober colleague. Substance abuse affects the reasoning part of the brain and therefore often times such employees makes irrational and inconsistent decisions which are detriment to the organization in terms of productivity (Lowinson, 2005). Such caliber of staff damages the reputation and the

companies brand by acting sometimes in an unethical manner.

Another challenge brought about substance abuse in the work place is absenteeism. When employee in activities such as excessive drinking they may black out or absent themselves from job due to hangovers. Absenteeism leads to lost man-hours and they the firm ends up doing badly.
Strained relationship between substance abusers and management is another common occurrence in many companies. When disciplinary actions are taken against such employees they result into hating their bosses who in turn replace or retrenchment. In return the disgruntled employees respond by shirking in the job, producing less than what they ought to produce (Lowinson, 2005).

Low morale among the employees is an eminent thing in the event that some are substance abusers. They do shoddy work which earns them fewer returns especially if the job is paid on commission basis. Most of the time they miss strict deadlines finally opt out or they are fired.

Substance abusers may engage in corruption whenever they run short of money to finance their costly lifestyles. They may obtain bribes from the clients for the services they render; this enables them to get extra funds to drug substances.

The other serious impact of substance abuse in the work environment is high employee turnover. This is a situation whereby the company high people who not stay long with the institution due to effects of substance abuse (Loue, 2003). They may be fired due to misconduct and poor performance or opt for early retirement due to injuries and health problems.

Measures to Curb Substance Abuse in Work Environment

Companies should come up with measures to tame substance abuse in their premises and among their

employees. They should sponsor awareness campaign to sensitize their employees on the dangers of indulging drug and substance abuse. They should have clear guidelines of Occupational Health and Safety Standards (OHSS) whereby employee are advised to shun substance abuse to ensure that they protect their health and the safety of their team workers (Loue, 2003). They should also have policy outlining the prohibition of substance use with their organizations. They should have posters, for instance, a poster reminding people that the company’s compound is a no smoking zone.

Drug abuse can lead to addiction while on job place whereby this is a brain malady that disrupts the mechanism responsible for cognitive, social and emotional behavior. This change in the brain leads to compulsive drug seeking, uncontrollable and use of drugs especially in working environment. Many addicts normally seek to stop using substances, the might find it impossible or extremely difficult to manage. This does not mean they are weak but the neurological reforms associated with addiction that causes the individual to lose the ability to make conscious decisions whether to stop using the drugs.

Companies should come up with policy guidelines regarding substance abuse which outlines the consequences and penalties that one will suffer if found culpable of having breached the generally accepted code of conduct (Jaffe, 2001). The companies should make sure that routine checkups are done to their employees to ascertain the level of compliance with these standards. The victims should to be supported by their colleagues to get over it by offering assistance and mentorship.

Counseling services

Companies both big and small should have in house counselors to offer psychological, emotional and physical support to all

the victims of substance abuse. They should advise the victims through about likely outcome if they do not stop abusing drugs. They should be properly trained on methodologies to handle present day challenges.

Many companies usually have strong department that even seeks rehabilitation services to their most addicted employees. Counseling services should be given to all the employees when joining and leaving the institution so as to be able to tackle the challenges ahead of them comfortably without turning to substance abuse as escapism route. Continuous counseling is important for all employees to help them surmount all the challenge they may encounter their day –to-day activities. The employees need be equipped on how to handle work related stress, anxiety, depression among other issues (Monti, Colby & O'Leary 2001).

Disciplinary approaches

Companies have many mechanisms to deal with their employees who involved substance abuse. A company has many options include the following;

Warning

A company may first issue a warning to an employee once he has been implicated in a case involving substance abuse. The number of warnings should clearly spell out to remind the employee the likelihood of losing their jobs.

Suspension

Another alternative is to temporarily suspend an employee from the company for time and then recall him or her after the lapse of the suspension period. The said employee is deemed to have changed, if not a further action is taken or his services are terminated.

Transfer

An employee may be transferred from one work station to another as part of disciplinary action. When transferred such employee loses company and his or her rate of substance abuse may cease or decline especially if it was driven by peer pressure.

Dismissal

A firm may decide

to fire an employee as an action of last resort. His services are completed terminated and cut links with the company. At that point the company finds it extremely hard to continue working with.

Conclusion

Substance abuse is problem in the working environment nowadays and therefore a company must be alive to this fact and devise a proper strategy to combat this menace. In doing so the company should be guided by virtues and the respect for human rights. The human dignity must be upheld at all times. Companies should create awareness among the employee on the effects of drug and substance abuse. On their part employees should desist from taking substances that affects their overall productivity in their places of work. Finally, the disciplinary process should follow the due process of the law starting with the low impact action which is a warning to a sterner one like official dismissal.

References

1. Jaffe, S. L. (2001). Adolescent substance abuse intervention workbook: Taking a first step. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
2. Loue, S. (2003). Diversity issues in substance abuse treatment and research. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
3. Lowinson, J. H. (2005). Substance abuse: A comprehensive textbook. Philadelphia, Penns: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
4. Monti, P. M., Colby, S. M., & O'Leary, T. A. (2001). Adolescents, alcohol, and substance abuse: Reaching teens through brief interventions. New York: Guilford Press.