As defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary, substance abuse or drug abuse refers to the overindulgent use of the drugs, without the medical justifications to it. Drug addiction is a serious medical condition that has not only affected the mental and physical health of millions of individuals, but has also left far reaching impacts on the society as a whole in terms of both expenses of medical nature and economic wellbeing of a state. Some of the serious social concerns resulting out of substance misuse are stress, violence, rash driving while being drugged, child abuse, and criminal exposure. Abused drugs include substances such as Stimulants like Cocaine, Club Drugs like MDMA, Dissociative Drugs like Ketamine, Hallucinogens like LSD, Depressants like sleep medications, Opioids and Morphine Derivatives, and other compounds like Anabolic Steroids and Inhalants (Abadinsky, 2017). The magnitude of the drug abuse problem is evident from the fact that the opioid problem was declared as a national crisis and a public health emergency by the president Mr. Donald Trump, at the end of the year 2017 (Salam, 2017). The thesis statement for this assignment is that drug abuse is a critical social issue at both national and international levels and various factors contribute towards it.
In recent years, American society has been widely exposed to increased intensity of substance use, especially by the college individuals and the secondary school students. The first exposure of American consciousness towards drug abuse came in the year 1960 after the World War II, commonly known as the protest era. The drugs such as Barbiturates, Amphetamines, LSD, Minor tranquilizers, and Antidepressants started finding their way from the sophisticated laboratories to the physician’s prescription pad and eventually moved onto the streets and lives of Americans. Some of the evidences and statistics reported on the problem of drug addiction in United States are presented as follows. According to the survey conducted and the related data obtained, with approximately 247 million drug users across the globe, drug addiction has reached onto serious epidemic levels (United Nations, 2016). According to the annual National Survey on drug abuse in the year 2014, approximately 24.6 million of Americans above the age of 12 years had illegitimately consumed drugs in the passing by month itself (NIDA, 2015). When translated in the percentage terms, this had accounted for about 9.4 percent of the said number of total population. Also this percentage represents an increase of about 1.1 % from the year 2002. As per the reports, substance use issue in the United States costs more than $740 billion annually, on account of the treatment and rehabilitation expenses, combined with the criminal effects and loss in productivity (Sunrise House, 2018). The morbidity and mortality weekly report (MMWR) 2014, prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals shocking data of increase in rates of death by 137 % since the year 2002 due to drug overdose in the United States (Rudd, Aleshire, Zibbell & Matthew Gladden, 2016). This is followed by an increase of 11.4% in the year 2015 (Seth, Scholl, Rudd & Bacon, 2018).
The significant causes of drug abuse among youth of America have been described as follows. One of the major causes of problem of drug abuse is genetics. Individual health is a consequence of interaction between genes and habitat. It can be said that genetics account for 50 % in developing the risk of drug dependence. The problem of drug abuse is running into families of Americans since a long time. As a result, the situation where one of the parents is involved in abusing drugs, this automatically puts the child on the risk and makes him or her more exposed to it. Also numerous studies have revealed that the problem of drug dependence runs through genes into the families. Though there has not been identified any specific gene that is solely responsible for the addiction and abuse, but a combination of genetic and biological factors contribute towards making an individual vulnerable towards addiction and abuse (NCADD, 2015). As mentioned above, environment of an individual is second major cause of problem of drug abuse. Sexual abuse, unstable family conditions like parental abuse, inadequate attention by the parents, feelings of abandonment from the family members, inability to connect with others, lack of friends, and many more such factors puts an individual at high risk of their brain being permanently rewired to associating pleasure with the consumption of drugs. While the genes represent vulnerability, environment pushes the genes into action (The Canyon, 2018). Another significant cause of drug abuse is intake of drugs for recreational purposes. There is a fine line between recreation and dependence. Individuals start taking drugs for various reasons such as improvement of athletic performances, pressure from peers, as a cope up measure from stressful situations at work or school, and to get past withdrawal symptoms, relationship problems, and routine jobs. The activity that starts on recreational basis, eventually turns into addiction (Global Drug Survey, 2014). The problem of drug abuse is also characterized by the occurrence of the other medical conditions. Co-existence of other medical conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, mood disorders, impulse control disorders, pain management issues act as a contributory factor towards addiction to intake of drugs, as a means of escaping and self-medicating while attempting to manage the symptoms of the medical conditions. Reports published in the Journal of the American Medical Association state that approximately 50 percent of individuals who indulge in substance abuse are also affected with severe mental disorders (Help Guide, 2018). Reports are also suggestive of the fact that about 53 percent of drug abusers were reported to be diagnosed with at least one critical mental illness. And of all the people who were diagnosed of mentally illness, around 29 percent were found to be abusing drugs, alcohol.
From the discussion in the previous parts, it can be concluded that drug abuse has already become a major issue at national and international levels. Almost every day one is encountered by related pieces of news such as drug trafficking, mental and behavioral consequences resulting in family and social issues, addiction leading to criminal exposure and legal troubles. There exists various kinds of drugs and substances such as cocaine, opioid, club drugs, LSD, anti-depressants and many more, to which individuals are addicted, in pursuance of psychological and physical relaxation. The major causes of drug abuse as described in the previous parts are genetics, effects of surrounding environment, recreational use eventually leading to addiction and simultaneous existence of other mental conditions. Apart from the individual choices of intake of drugs, the above listed causes expose an individual towards potential threat of addiction. Statistics are evident of the fact of the severity of the drug addiction issue in United States. The magnitude of the issue can be assessed by the fact that substance abuse has been declared as a national crisis by the president Mr. Donald Trump. None of the demographical sectors are immune to the indulgence in tempting drug abuse. The issue in America is specifically characterized by the use of Opioids. Various reports have revealed that drug overdose death trends are increasing in United States at an alarming rate. The crisis has not only tarnished the image of the country globally, but also has posed tons of cost on account of resulting consequences, treatment and rehabilitation.
References:
Global Drug Survey. (2014). The Global Drug Survey 2014 findings. Retrieved from: https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/the-global-drug-survey-2014-findings/
Help Guide International. (2018). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues. Retrieved from: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/addictions/substance-abuse-and-mental-health.htm
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. (2015). Family History And Genetics. Retrieved from: https://www.ncadd.org/about-addiction/family-history-and-genetics
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2015). Nationwide Trends. Retrieved from: https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nationwide-trends
Rudd, R. A., Aleshire, N., Zibbell, J. E., & Matthew Gladden, R. (2016). Increases in drug and opioid overdose deaths—United States, 2000–2014. American Journal of Transplantation, 16(4), 1323-1327.
Salam, M. (2017). The Opioid Epidemic: A Crisis Years in the Making. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/us/opioid-crisis-public-health-emergency.html
Seth, P., Scholl, L. Rudd, R. A., & Bacon, S. (2018). Overdose Deaths Involving Opioids, Cocaine, and Psychostimulants – United States, 2015–2016. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6712a1.htm?s_cid=mm6712a1_w#suggestedcitation
Sunrise House. (2018). The Cause and Effect of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues. Retrieved from: https://sunrisehouse.com/cause-effect/
The Canyon. (2018). The Link Between Genetics & Addictions. Retrieved from: https://thecanyonmalibu.com/drug-addiction/genetic/
United Nations. (2016). World Drug Report, 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.unodc.org/doc/wdr2016/WORLD_DRUG_REPORT_2016_web.pdf
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download