Facts
In the late 1990s, among those aged 12 to 17 in the United States, an estimated 496,000 to 682,000 had used cocaine at least once. As a proportion, this amounted to about 2.5 percent of those 12 to 17 in the United States at that time. Within the United States in the late 1900s, young adult men aged 18 to 29 were more likely to be active cocaine users than any other population subgroup categorized by age and sex. For example, slightly more than 2.5 percent of men 18 to 25 were active cocaine users, as compared with 1.4 percent of men 26 to 34, 1.3 percent of women aged 18 to 25, and 0.9 percent of women aged 26 to 34. Within the United States in the early 1990s, among those aged 15 to 24 who had used cocaine, an estimated 25 percent had become dependent on it. That is, for every four who had experimented with cocaine, one had become dependent on it. Within the United States in the early 1990s, people of the 25 to 34-year age group were most likely to have experimented with cocaine; within this age group, about 30 percent of men had tried cocaine at least once, and about 21 percent of women had tried cocaine at least once. Cocaine dependence also was most prevalent in this age group: it affected about 4 percent of all persons aged 25 to 34. Among cocaine users aged 25 to 34, an estimated 16 percent had become dependent on it. For those 18 to 29 living in the United States, the best available estimate for the risk of developing alcohol abuse or dependence between one year and the next is about 2 to 4 percent. The risk of succumbing to alcohol abuse or dependence for males aged 18 to 29 is an estimated 6 percent per year, as compared with about 1 percent per year for females aged 18 to 29. Males between the ages of 18 and 25 are at especially high risk of succumbing to alcohol abuse or dependence. These same subgroups of young adults are at especially high risk of becoming dependent on psychoactive drugs such as marijuana or cocaine. When all the abuse or dependence syndromes attributable to nonmedical use of these drugs are considered, the estimated risk for males aged 18 to 29 of developing clinically recognizable drug problem is estimated at 4.4 percent per year; for females aged 18 to 20, it is about 1.6 percent. Of the various strengths of OxyContin, the most commonly abused and diverted strength is the 40 mg tablets, although all strengths (10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg, 80 mg, and 160 mg.) have been encountered. Alcohol makes the blood vessels inside the brain expand. Drinking to the point of intoxication (drunkenness) often results in an uncomfortable set of physical effects known as a "hangover." Contrary to popular belief, drinking coffee, eating high-sugar foods, or taking a cold shower will not relieve hangover symptoms. The pounding headache, upset stomach, and trembling feelings that often follow a night of heavy drinking will not subside until the brain's blood vessels return to their normal size. In short, nothing but time will get rid of a hangover. Ecstasy is not always what it seems. Because ecstasy is illegal and often produced in makeshift laboratories, it is impossible to know exactly what chemicals were used to produce it and where it came from. How strong or dangerous any illegal drug is varies each time. Ecstasy can kill you. Higher doses of ecstasy can cause severe breathing problems, coma, or even death. |
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.
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.
Intervention
An intervention is when a group of loved ones and/or a trained intervention counselor meets with the person in need of help for the purpose of breaking down their denial and motivating them to immediately seek drug addiction treatment. Often, individuals in the midst of drug addiction engage in a variety of self destructive behaviors. Although baffling to friends and family members such people generally either aren't aware on a conscious level that they have a drug addiction problem, or even when they know they have a problem they may cling to the false belief that the problem will somehow go away without any outside help. When an intervention is held a moment of clarity is created
for the addict. Most people struggling with the problem of drug or alcohol
addiction will accept help the very day of the intervention.
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.
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.
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