It is often said that all population members should be wary of drug abuse. According to medical experts, drug abuse or substance abuse – as some persons refer to it – is a menace because it is harmful to an individual and, if not checkmated and addressed, it can turn deadly.
It is indeed viewed as a public health emergency, and society is even in more danger when a substantial amount of the population is affected by drug abuse. It is self-destructive and causes distress to the individual and society at large.
So, what is drug abuse? Why do people engage in it? How does this phenomenon affect society, and what can it be remedied?
Meaning of drug abuse
Drug abuse is the excessive or addictive use of drugs by individuals for non-medical purposes. It is the use of legal or illegal substances in ways not recommended by medical or pharmacological practitioners. Individuals use these drugs or substances inappropriately and take in doses or portions higher than what should ordinarily be consumed.
Individuals use these drugs or substances for the perceived purpose of creating pleasurable effects on the brain. They want to get in that euphoric (“high”) feeling or attain physical strength and, therefore, depend on these drugs and substances to take them to that desired state.
It is a major epidemic affecting societies across the world. Individuals in various age groups from nearly all walks of life and socioeconomic class engages in drug abuse. This problem is, however, prevalent among the youth (15-40 years). According to statistics, the number of illegal drug users globally is estimated at 190 million. As of 2015, substance use disorders led to 307,400 deaths, and it is still counting to this day.
Drug abuse is a crime in virtually every country. The majority of the substances abused by drug users are not sold in the open market, making it difficult to trace the suppliers of such drugs. Even in countries that now permit the use of some of these substances, the consumption allocation is strictly restricted. However, alcohol – one of the substances also abused by people – is legally sold in most countries. Individuals also abuse prescription drugs that are legally sold over the counter at pharmacies.
These drugs are taken orally (by mouth) as tablets, intravenously in the form of an injection, creams or gels that are applied to the skin or inhaling the substance in the form of smoke or via snorting the substance through the nose. The persistent use of such drugs or substances causes substantial harm and other negative consequences to individuals.
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Types of drug abuses
There are various categories or methods of drug abuse. They are:
Stimulants
These are drugs/substances which spark and activate the brain, prompting a rise in alertness and increased bursts of activity. Individuals who abuse stimulants experience a major boost in energy, euphoria, and a powerful sense of grandiosity. The most commonly abused stimulants are cocaine, lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse), methylphenidate (Ritalin), and amphetamine (Adderall).
Anabolic steroids
Anabolic steroids are drugs that include natural androgens like testosterone, which copy the effects of the male hormone testosterone. They are prescription-only medicine used to stimulate muscle growth and appetite, induce male puberty and treat chronic wasting conditions.
However, it is today mostly abused by some athletes as a performance-enhancing drug to accelerate muscular development, increase strength and decrease fat. It is also abused by adolescent boys who suffer from body dysmorphic disorder – a mental health condition in which a person considerably worries about flaws in their physical appearance. The abused steroids include danazol, fluoxymesterone, mesterolone, and testosterone (by athletes).
Depressants
Depressants are drugs or substances that slow down the central nervous system and make someone feel relaxed or tired. These drugs or substances lower neurotransmission levels, which depress or reduce arousal or stimulation in various areas of the brain. Examples of depressants include alcohol, anti-anxiety tranquillizers (e.g., valium, Librium, Xanax, Prozac, and Thorazine), sleeping pills (barbiturates), heroin, and Rohypnol.
Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens are substances that can enhance one’s experiences. When consumed, the user perceives things differently than they are as these substances create an “out of this world” feeling of dissociation from oneself. Examples include ecstasy (MDMA), mescaline, LSD, peyote, and psilocybin.
Narcotics
Narcotics are drugs used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is, however, heavily abused in today’s world as users utilise it to relieve pain, induce euphoria, and create mood changes in their body system. It has since become associated with opiates and opioids, commonly morphine and heroin, as well as codeine, fentanyl, Demerol, heroin, methadone, oxycodone, oxycontin, and Vicodin.
Inhalants
Inhalants are substances that individuals breathe in through their noses, and they produce mind-altering results and effects. They are one of the most commonly abused groups of substances due to their easy accessibility. They are chemicals found in ordinary household or workplace products that people inhale on purpose to get “high.” Examples include bleach, paint, gasoline, plastic cement, hair sprays, and nitrous oxide.
Cannabis
Cannabis is one of the most abused drugs in the world. Drug abusers use it because it can create euphoria for them. The scientific name for cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and its most common product is marijuana.
Dissociative anaesthetics
These are drugs used for their mind-altering effects. They distort the perception of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment from the user’s self and the environment. Examples are dextromethorphan, phencyclidine (PCP), chloroform, and diethyl.
Nicotine
People may not necessarily classify tobacco (cigarettes) as a drug because it is readily available for use. However, tobacco has a chemical called nicotine, which gives its users a little rush of pleasure and energy. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances that exist.
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Causes of drug abuse
Drug abuse occurs due to a diversity of factors. They are:
Negative early exposure and lack of parental supervision
Many young children are carelessly or unintentionally exposed to drugs by their parents or wards, and elderly people are among them. The apparent lack of parental supervision and neglect of activities around the kids leave them prone to attempting to emulate whatever activities they may have seen the older ones do in their presence, as they are curious to know what it entails.
Peer pressure
Just as it is one of the positive agents of socialisation, peer pressure is also a (negative) cause of drug abuse. Children who are not strong-willed and are yet to develop a mind of their own can be easily influenced by their friends, who may have abused these drugs and encourage them to use the substances to feel and “enjoy” the after-effects.
Misuse of prescription drugs
Some abusers originally used some prescription drugs for their intended purpose – to treat ailments such as pain and cure cough. However, some users get addicted to these drugs and subsequently take higher doses other than that recommended by their physicians regularly, thereby abusing the drugs.
Usage for recreational purposes
People use legal substances such as alcohol and cigarettes to cool off and relax. But instead of regulating their usage of these substances, some persons become very addicted and detrimentally increase their usage. They subsequently depend on these substances to create their desired mood.
To get inspiration for creative purposes
To perform at an optimal level for their fans or readers, entertainers and writers need to get into the groove and be hyperactive. While natural excitement is a great way to help, some entertainers and writers want to go beyond that natural state to enjoy themselves and their audience and, therefore, result in drug-induced methods to get a higher level of ecstasy.
Mechanism to cope with mental illness
People who suffer from mental disorders and chronic conditions such as depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to become addicted to drugs. This is because they use drugs as a mechanism to cope with painful feelings, such as anxiety, depression, and loneliness.
Low self-esteem
The lack of self-confidence also forces people, especially the youths, to engage in drug abuse. Issues such as body image and social image, weight loss, family struggles, rejection from friends, and loss of respect occupy the minds of vulnerable persons, and they see drugs as their refuge and answer to their problems.
Family history
Individuals whose families have a history and genetic predisposition to the abuse of drugs are likely to be affected. People with parents/wards or sibling(s) with alcohol or drug addiction are at greater risk of developing a drug addiction.
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Effects of drug abuse
The effects of drug abuse, as earlier mentioned, majorly has negative consequences. These consequences can be broadly classified into four, namely:
Physical harm
The abuse of drugs weakens and destroys an individual’s physical body. The excessive usage of drugs gradually weakens and incapacitates the brains of addicted persons. It subsequently alters the brain and affects individuals’ ability to make proper decisions, sound judgment, and learn and memorise. In addition, it also makes affected persons look haggard (especially if they do not eat properly), slurs their speech, causes either sudden weight loss or gain, and leads to slowed breathing.
Higher doses of medicine may alter or disfigure internal components in people’s bodies, affecting the function of their lungs and kidneys and effectively destroying it. This causes all manner of illness and renders the body ineffective, leading to mental ailment or even death.
Also, when people excessively use drugs, their brains and bodies become resistant to such medications. It, therefore, means that for them to treat serious ailments, they may have to take a higher dose for the medications to effectively work in their bodies.
Besides the long-term damage to the body drug abuse causes, drug addicts who use needles are also at risk of contracting HIV and hepatitis B and C infections.
Social harm
When individuals depend on drugs to function properly, they are no longer active members and participants of their society and/or environment. Most times, the affected individuals tend to spend more time alone and isolate themselves rather than be with family and friends.
They also tend to look for resources by all means to purchase these drugs, even when they do not have money. This prompts them to engage in dangerous acts such as stealing or driving under the influence (DUI). It further spurs them into anti-social behaviours such as lying, sexual promiscuity, excessive smoking, heavy drinking, vandalism, gambling, and aggressively confronting family and friends unnecessarily.
For others, they need to be induced by drugs before performing other functions such as talking to the opposite sex, having sex, or resolving family and/or interpersonal problems. This inhibits their social development as human beings as they are only courageous and “on point” when they are intoxicated rather than when they are in their natural state.
In addition, recurrent substance use fails affected individuals to fulfil major role obligations at work, school, or home.
Legal troubles
As mentioned in the prologue, a good number of substances – termed “controlled substances” – have been prohibited for personal use, while the prescription drugs used to treat ailments must be recommended by a physician or pharmacist before they are sold.
Drug abuse may, therefore, result in legal problems for affected persons, such as arrest for possession of banned substances or disorderly conduct. These arrests may lead to criminal penalties such as imprisonment, payment of fines, or even the death penalty in some countries where drug possession and abuse laws are very strict. Physicians and pharmacists who carelessly recommend high-level prescription drugs to patients without proper observation are also prosecuted in most climes across the world.
Also, athletes caught using performance-enhancing drugs (PED) are stripped of their medals, forced to return their prize money, and prosecuted for cheating and drug use.
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Psychological harm
The major psychological problem for addicted drug users is that they are not even concerned about their welfare or how they look, instead, they just want access to their preferred drugs or substances. They depend solely on the drugs to function, not caring if the after-effects will lead to the deterioration of their health, work, or social activities. Dependence varies from drug to drug or substance to substance in its extent and effect. The user becomes obsessed with the drug and focuses virtually all of his or her interest on procuring and using it.
Withdrawl, therefore, becomes a big problem as it may be difficult for the affected individual to gradually reduce and stop the usage of such substances. Some of them, for instance, may feel sick or irritated whenever they try to quit drug use, thereby making the process complicated. For those that manage to recover, they have to expend a lot of time and energy in doing so, something that they could have re-directed to a different legal purpose for good.
Also, drug abuse triggers mood disorders like early aggressive behaviours, depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder; thought disorders like schizophrenia; as well as personality disorders like antisocial personality disorder and disruption of sleeping patterns. All these are very dangerous to the health of human beings.
Prevention/remedies
The best form of prevention is abstinence. People are encouraged to, as much as possible, restrain themselves and desist from indulging in acts that will lead to drug abuse.
Another form of prevention is adequate sensitisation and education by the family, schools, health agencies of government, religious institutions, and the media on the dangers of drug abuse and the need to abstain from the act. The design of a research-based prevention programme for children by the aforementioned socialisation agents, especially by schools, health institutions, and the media, is critical.
For remedies, there is no one single solution to address drug abuse because the problems differ from individual to individual.
But across the world, individuals are, first of all, treated through the detoxification or “detox” process. Medical personnel administer medications to patients at healthcare centres or care homes to lessen withdrawal symptoms and observe them at close quarters. The medications used for detox depend on the drug the affected user depends on, and the treatments last for a few weeks.
Also, several evidence-based interventions have emerged, such as motivational interviewing, community reinforcement approach, behavioural marital therapy, exposure therapy, and contingency management. According to psychiatric experts, these treatments assist in curbing cravings and mental anxiety, improve focus on treatment and new learning behavioural skills, ease withdrawal symptoms and reduce the chances of relapse.
Another important remedial form is counselling. Patients who are fearful or know that their drug use is out of control or causing problems and are using pain relief medication for other ailments should immediately consult a doctor or psychiatrist and seek medical advice. This is to help patients not develop a tolerance to pain medication and need higher doses to get relief from the same pain.
In addition, those who have emotional or social problems or are dealing with psychosis should open up to family and friends and a professional, preferably a psychologist, for help.
Ex-drug users who are recovering are encouraged to make lifestyle changes like increased physical activity and utilise other stress-reduction techniques such as deep breathing exercises, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, and music to relax. These activities help both adults and children to be more sombre and reflective.
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