




Facts
In a research study, 4,023 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years were interviewed by telephone about their own and their family members' substance use and their experiences of being victims of violence. Adolescents had a greater risk for substance abuse or dependence if they had been physically or sexually abused, or had family members with alcohol or drug-use problems. Physical Factors. An adolescent who tries a particular type of drug is more likely to use that substance again if he or she enjoys the drug's effects. If the drug produces unpleasant effects, trying it again is less likely. Once an adolescent tries a drug and likes it, other factors determine whether he or she will continue to use it. Tolerance and withdrawal are two of the most important factors. As the body becomes used to the effect of a drug, the person needs to take more of it to obtain the same effect. This is known as tolerance, and once tolerance to a drug develops, larger and larger doses are required. When the effect of a drug (such as heroin, nicotine, or caffeine) begins to wear off, the user may experience unpleasant symptoms. This is known as withdrawal. To avoid these withdrawal symptoms, a user may feel the need to take the drug on a regular basis. Social Life. The social and emotional needs of adolescents influence drug use. Teenagers looking for peer acceptance or wanting to appear "cool" might decide to try taking drugs, beginning a path toward continuing use. Teenagers also want to be seen more like adults, with the freedom to do what adults do. By using tobacco or alcohol—illegal for adolescents, yet both legal and socially acceptable for adults—the adolescent seeks an adult image. Adolescents are exposed to advertising on television and in magazines for beer, wine, and cigarettes that portrays drinking and smoking as desirable. They may want to emulate celebrities such as movie or pop stars who are seen smoking or drinking in the media. Once adolescents begin using drugs—for any of these reasons—they may find that they are unable to stop. Percocet addiction is a pattern of compulsive Percocet use characterized by a continued craving for Percocet and the need to use Percocet for psychological effects or mood alterations. Many individuals who have formed an addiction to Percocet find that they need to use it to feel �normal.� They exhibit drug-seeking behavior and are often preoccupied with using and obtaining Percocet. They obtain Percocet through legal or illegal sources. North America, most notably the United States, faces a two-pronged threat from methamphetamine. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), 65% of the methamphetamine available in the U.S. is produced in Mexico; the balance is produced in clandestine laboratories in the U.S. Although the number of large-scale laboratories seized in the U.S. has declined in recent years , the number of small improvised laboratories has increased. According to data from the National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System , there were more than 10,000 clandestine laboratories seized in the U.S. in 2003. The number of methamphetamine laboratories seized in Canada was far smaller. Canadian authorities have recently addressed the country’s methamphetamine problem by tightening precursor chemical controls and raising the penalties for methamphetamine trafficking. Although MDMA trafficking and abuse in both countries appear to be declin ing, the drug is still readily available. Risk and protective factors involve attitudes and behavior associated with the higher likelihood of use or nonuse of drugs. The 1999 NHSDA collected data on risk and protective factors in several content domains, including four constructs in the "peer/individual" domain: antisocial behavior, favorable attitudes toward substance use, peer attitudes favorable toward substance use, and peer substance use. Each construct was based on averaging responses to multiple questions. The peer substance use scale (four questions) was based on questions about how many friends used different substances, including alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana. The following scale responses were used: 1 (none of them), 2 (a few of them), 3 (most of them), and 4 (all of them). The national mean was 1.69, with State estimates ranging from 1.46 (Utah) to 1.88(West Virginia). Because West Virginia fell into the top fifth on this list, but not in the top fifth for either past month alcohol use or past month marijuana use, its high ranking on the composite measure is probably due to its ranking near the top for past month cigarette use. |
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).
Drug Overdose
A drug overdose occurs when you consume more drugs than your body can tolerate. Drug users are constantly flirting with the risk of a drug overdose. There is a
fine line between the high they're seeking and serious injury or death. While many victims of drug overdose recover without long term effects, there
can be serious consequences. Some drug overdoses cause the failure of major
organs like the kidneys or liver, or failure of whole systems like the
respiratory or circulatory systems. Patients who survive drug overdose may need
kidney dialysis, kidney or liver transplant, or ongoing care as a result of
heart failure, stroke, or coma. Death can occur in almost any drug overdose
situation, particularly if treatment is not started immediately.
Residential Treatment
Residential treatment offers intensive drug addiction help over a period of weeks or months. This form of treatment has some advantages over out-patient treatment, although it may not be suitable for everyone. For example, those who are responsible for caring for young children may be better suited to attendance at an out patient treatment program. Residential treatment offers a safe, drug and alcohol-free environment where individuals can confront their own drug addiction and associated issues, with the help of qualified staff. Therapy usually consists of a mixture of group counseling, individual counseling and an introduction to the principles of a drug recovery program.
Abstinence
Abstinence is the act or practice of refraining from indulging a desire. The type of abstinence we are referring to here is abstinence from drugs and alcohol. This term has two connotations when it comes to abstaining from drugs. The first refers to drug or alcohol treatment programs that aim to help an individual stop using drugs or alcohol for the rest of their lives. The time abstinence is also used in drug education and prevention. It refers to trying to stop children from ever using drugs.
Drug Abuse
Drug abuse is defined as the chronic or habitual use of any chemical substance to alter states of body or mind for other than medically warranted purposes. Drug abuse is a problem which has an effect on people of all income levels,
ages, and stations in life. Quite often the last person to see that there is a
problem is the drug abuser them self. Every year, more and more people become
drug addicts in their pursuit to get "high".
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