




Facts
Most heroin addicts will identify their favorite drug as nicotine. Researchers asked heroin addicts, “What drug do you need the most"” from a list including heroin, nicotine, marijuana, amphetamine, barbiturates, LSD, and alcohol. They chose nicotine over all other drugs. Heroin addicts say they needed nicotine the most to cope. Despite successful treatment for their dependency of alcohol and/or drugs, most of these patients will not quit smoking, and most will die from tobacco-related illnesses. Research observed the mortality rate of these patients to be 48.1%, much higher than the expected normal mortality rate of 18.5%. From a clinical point of view, tobacco dependency is the most lethal and the most difficult addiction to control. Physical addiction to OxyContin which is sometimes unavoidable, develops when an individual is exposed to OxyContin at a high enough dose for an extended period of time. The user's body adapts and develops a tolerance for the OxyContin. This means that higher doses are needed to achieve the drug's original effects. OxyContin mimics the action of chemicals in your brain that send messages of pleasure to your brain's reward center. It produces an artificial feeling of pleasure. OxyContin is able to produce pleasurable effects by acting like normal brain messenger chemicals, which produce positive feelings in response to signals from the brain. The result is of the predictable drug which, short circuits interests in and the motivation to make life's normal rewards work. More and more confidence is placed in OxyContin while other survival feelings are ignored and bypassed. The result of this addiction cycle is a lack of concern for, and confidence in, other areas of life. Crack is smoked by placing it at the end of the pipe; a flame held close to it produces vapor, which is then inhaled by the smoker. The effects, felt almost immediately after smoking, are very intense and do not last long – usually five to fifteen minutes. In a study performed on crack cocaine users, the average time taken for them to reach their peak subjective "high" was 1.4 minutes. Most (especially frequent) users crave more immediately after the peak. "Crack houses" depend on these cravings by providing a place for smoking crack to its users, and a ready supply of small bags for sale. The 1997 MTF reports that inhalant use is most common in the eighth grade where 5.6 percent used it on a past-month basis and 11.8 percent did so on a past-year basis. Inhalants can be deadly, even with first-time use, and often represent the initial experience with illicit substances. Current use of stimulants (a category that includes methamphetamine) declined among eighth graders (from 4.6 to 3.8 percent) and tenth-graders (from 5.5 percent to 5.1 percent) and increased among twelfth graders (from 4.1 to 4.8 percent). Ethnographers continue to report ‘cafeteria use’—the proclivity to consume any readily available hallucinogenic, stimulant or sedative drugs like ketamine, LSD, MDMA, and GHB. Young people take mood-altering pills in night clubs knowing neither what the drug is nor the dangers posed by its use alone or in combination with alcohol or other drugs. Treatment providers have noted increasing poly-drug use among young people throughout the country. NHSDA reports that the mean age of first use of hallucinogens was 17.7 years in 1995, the lowest figure since 1976. These numbers in large part reflect the continuing popularity of drugs, such as methamphetamines, inhalants, and psychotherapeutics (tranquilizers, sedatives, analgesics, or stimulants), within the youth “club scene.” Raves—late night dances, in which drug use is a prominent feature—remain popular among young people. The “rave scene,” which is now firmly rooted in popular culture—from MTV to music, to movies—has been a major contributing factor to youth drug deaths in Orlando, Florida, and escalating drug use in other regions. |
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.
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.
Withdrawal
Withdrawal is what happens when a person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol discontinues use. There are numerous symptoms that take place both physically and emotionally when an addicted individual stops using. Withdrawal can last a few days to a few weeks and may include nausea or vomiting, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety. Keep in mind; this only occurs if a person has regular, heavy use of a drug or alcohol. Withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable without professional help. Treatment for withdrawal from alcohol or drugs may require a medical professional to be present. Drug and alcohol rehabilitation is often the best way to overcome withdrawal and its symptoms as well as recovery from drug addiction.
Therapeutic Community
An effective therapeutic community attends to the many needs of the individual, not just his or her drug use. Care given at a therapeutic community addresses the individual's drug use and associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems. Also, a therapeutic community will continue to be flexible and provide ongoing assessments of the individual's needs, which may change during the course of care.
Remaining in care at a therapeutic community for an adequate period of time is critical for treatment effectiveness. The time depends on an individual's needs. For most people, the significant improvement is reached at about 3 months in treatment.
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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