




Facts
A federal crackdown in the early 1960s on prescription abuses prompted the illicit production of methamphetamine, particularly in a liquid, injectable form. By the late 1960s, a second wave of abuse began in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where it was known as “speed.” This outbreak was also controlled, but meth remained entrenched in the subculture of outlaw motorcycle gangs. The bikers used available chemicals, which they cooked in crude rural labs where the pungent odor associated with production could be concealed. Discuss some of the misperceptions your teen may have about college: drinking — Make sure your child knows that MOST college students DON'T drink and that there are plenty of other ways to get involved on campus without copious amount of alcohol. Party Hosting: While you may think you're protecting your son or daughter by allowing drinking at home or offering to host parties where alcohol is being served, you're not. Not only are you condoning illegal behavior and sending a mixed message to your child, but in several states you can be held accountable for serving alcohol to a minor. There are two ways you can be held liable for hosting underage drinking parties - criminal and civil liability. Criminal liability involves a statutory prohibition enforced by the State through criminal proceedings that can lead to sanctions such as fines or imprisonment. Civil liability involves an action by a private party seeking monetary damages for injuries that result from permitting underage drinking on the host's premises. Be open for discussion but don't discuss your past. While it may be tempting to discuss your own history of alcohol and drug use during college, it is not advisable. Your teen is still an adolescent, and you do not want to give mixed messages about drinking and drug use by telling stories from your past. Your teen's life is the focus now. Overall Use of Illegal Drugs. In 1995, 10.9 percent of all youngsters between twelve and seventeen years of age used illicit drugs on a past-month basis.15 This rate has risen substantially compared to 8.2 percent in 1994, 5.7 percent in 1993, and 5.3 percent in 1992 -- the historic low in the trend since the 1979 high of 16.3 percent. The University of Michigan’s 1996 Monitoring the Future study found that more than half of all high school students use illicit drugs by the time they graduate. Prescription-drug treatment given before most withdrawal symptoms have occurred can prevent discomfort and possibly more severe withdrawal symptoms. However, for some patients it is an unnecessary treatment. When prescription-drug treatment is given after symptoms appear, doctors can calculate a more appropriate dose of the medication according to the individual patient's needs. However, patients may experience unnecessary discomfort before the drug therapy is begun. In addition, they may develop inappropriate drug-seeking behavior. (Occasionally, individuals with a tendency to become cross-addicted to substances in addition to alcohol may exaggerate reports of their symptoms in an effort to receive prescription drugs.) Benzodiazepines can prevent the complications of serious withdrawal, such as seizures, hallucinations, and irregular heartbeat. In general, high doses of benzodiazepines are provided early in treatment, to cover the patient for the time of severe withdrawal (usually twenty-four to forty-eight hours). Some patients require very large doses of a drug (for example, several hundred milligrams of diazepam) to suppress symptoms. Patients with histories of withdrawal seizures (convulsions) or those who have epilepsy are always treated to prevent seizures, usually with benzodiazepines and with other drugs to fight convulsions. |
Relapse
Relapse is a term used to describe when an individual who has quit using drugs starts using once again. A relapse can mean just a one time use, a long term continues period of using or anything in between after a period of sobriety has taken place. An individual begins to experience a psychological relapse long before their first use after
quitting. Some things that can lead to relapse both physically or psychologically include: 1. Being in the presence of drugs or alcohol, drug or alcohol users, or places where you used or bought chemicals. 2. Feelings we perceive as negative, particularly anger; also sadness, loneliness, guilt, fear, and anxiety. 3. Positive feelings that make you want to celebrate by using. 4. Listening to others past drug use stories and just dwelling on getting high. 5. Believing that you no longer have to worry (complacent). That is, that you are no longer stimulated to crave drugs/alcohol by any of the above situations or by anything else – and therefore maybe it’s safe for you to use occasionally.
Drug Side Effects
Drug addiction and abuse comes with a heavy price. There are drastic drug side effects associated with drug misuse and abuse. Drug side effects from legal and illegal drugs can range from mild itching to comas and death. In addition to the physical drug side effects mentioned, there are many psychological drug side effects of drug abuse; the most serious being drug addiction and overdose.
Addict
An addict is an individual who has a compulsive urge to use drugs, to the point where they feel they have no effective choice but to continue use. An addict will continue their self destructive behaviors in order to feel good or to avoid
feeling bad. It can dominate their mind, and keep them coming back for more. The addiction can be
different for each addict, depending on their vice and the kind of person they
are.
Addiction
Addiction is one of the many consequences of so-called 'casual' drug and alcohol abuse. A loss of control over drugs and alcohol can be driven by physical or psychological factors, or sometimes both. Physical addiction takes place when the body comes to need a drug to function normally. If it is not taken, unpleasant withdrawal symptoms occur. The only way to avoid this is to take more of the drug. Psychological addiction takes place when an individual comes to rely on a drug to supply good feelings, such as relaxation, self-confidence, self esteem, and freedom from anxiety. This is not just a casual desire, it's a powerful compulsion.
Dependence
Dependence is the compulsive use of a substance despite negative consequences which can be severe; drug dependence is simply excessive use of a drug or use of a drug for purposes for which it was not medically intended. Physical dependence on a substance (needing a drug to function) is not necessary or sufficient to define addiction. There are some substances that don't cause addiction but do cause physical dependence (for example, some blood pressure medications) and substances that cause addiction but not classic physical dependence (cocaine withdrawal, for example, it does not have symptoms like vomiting and chills; it is mainly characterized by depression).
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