| |
|
|
|
Effects of Drug Addiction
The effects of drug addiction are far reaching and go way
beyond just affecting the life of the addict. Drug addiction
has an effect on families, companies, schools, and friendships.
It also has an effect on the body of the addict and could
possibly affect the health of those around the addict.
People who use drugs experience a wide array of physical
effects other than those expected. The excitement of a cocaine
high, for instance, is followed by a “crash”: a period of
anxiety, fatigue, depression, and an acute desire for more
cocaine to alleviate the feelings of the crash. Marijuana and
alcohol interfere with motor control and are factors in many
automobile accidents. Users of marijuana and hallucinogenic
drugs may experience flashbacks, unwanted recurrences of the
drug's effects weeks or months after use.
Sharing hypodermic needles leads to an increased risk of HIV
and some forms of hepatitis. That, along with increased sexual
activity among drug addicts can greatly increase the incidence
of people becoming infected with AIDS and sexually transmitted
diseases.
There are over 10,000 deaths directly attributable to drug use
in the United States every year; the substances most frequently
involved are cocaine, heroin, and morphine, often combined with
alcohol or other drugs. Many drug users engage in criminal
activity, such as burglary and prostitution, to raise the money
to buy drugs, and some drugs, especially alcohol, are
associated with violent behavior.
The user's preoccupation with the substance, plus its effects
on mood and performance, can lead to marital problems and poor
work performance or dismissal. Drug use can disrupt family life
and create destructive patterns of codependency, that is, the
spouse or whole family, out of love or fear of consequences,
inadvertently enables the user to continue using drugs by
covering up, supplying money, or denying there is a
problem.
Pregnant drug users, because of the drugs themselves or poor
self-care in general, bear a much higher rate of low
birth-weight babies than the average. Many drugs (e.g., crack
and heroin) cross the placental barrier, resulting in addicted
babies who go through withdrawal soon after birth, and fetal
alcohol syndrome can affect children of mothers who consume
alcohol during pregnancy. Pregnant women who acquire the AIDS
virus through intravenous drug use pass the virus to their
infant.
Drug abuse affects society in many ways. In the workplace it is
costly in terms of lost work time and inefficiency. Drug users
are more likely than nonusers to have occupational accidents,
endangering themselves and those around them. Over half of the
highway deaths in the United States involve alcohol.
Drug-related crime can disrupt neighborhoods due to violence
among drug dealers, threats to residents, and the crimes of the
addicts themselves. In some neighborhoods, younger children are
recruited as lookouts and helpers because of the lighter
sentences given to juvenile offenders, and guns have become
commonplace among children and adolescents. The great majority
of homeless people have either a drug or alcohol problem or a
mental illness-many have all three.
Drug addiction has an effect on all parts of life for the drug
user, the family, and society as a whole. The time to get help
for an addiction is NOW before its effects become so
far-reaching, they cannot be recovered.
Back
to Top
| |
|
|
Snowboard
Addiction snowboard addiction Is The Worlds Best
Online Snowboard Coaching! Video Lessons, Podcasts To Ride With
And Manuals With Photos And Diagrams. It Incorporates Both A
Freestyle Program And A Learn To Snowboard
Program.
Click Here for More
Info!>>
101 Secrets Of A
Microsoft Excel Addict. You Are About To Discover 101 Of Excels
Little-known Secrets That Have Been Hiding Right Under Your
Nose. These Secrets Are Guaranteed To Boost Your Excel Skills
And Productivity Far Ahead Of Everyone Around You. Imagine! You
The Excel
Expert!
Click Here for More
Info!>>
End Your Internet
Sex Site Addiction. An Easy To Read Book On Resolving An Addiction
To X-rated Movies And Pictures. Written By A Psychology
Graduate And Includes Bonus Video
Program. Click Here for More
Info!>>
Addiction Free Forever Program. A
Complete At-home Addiction Recovery Program That Permanently
And Naturally Cures An Alcohol Or Drug
Addiction. Click Here for More
Info!>>
Cannabis Addicts
Self Help Stop Smoking. Self Help EBook(R) For
Cannabis Users. Stop Smoking Cannabis For Good!
Guaranteed. Click Here for More
Info!>>
Alcoholism & Drug Addiction Recovery
Workbook. Alcoholism And Drug Addiction Is Not A
Disease But A Choice! This Workbook Is For Those Who Struggle
With 'recovery' And Just Cant Find The Answers They Seek In Aa,
Na Or Current Treatment Programs. Practical & Empowering
Self-help Recovery
Information. Click Here for More
Info!>>
Trading Addicts
Subscription. Follow Along With Top Traders As They
Profit In Stocks, Options, Futures, And Forex Markets In
Real-time. Click Here for More
Info!>>
Secrets Of Sexual
Addiction. Would You Like To Have The Best Sex
Life Possible? Bold, New Information That Will Change Your Sex
Life Forever! Click Here for More
Info!>>
Alternative Health Center
- Overcoming
Drug Addictions, Quit Smoking. Overcoming Drug Addictions
Multi-media Product, Quit Smoking, Arthritis Relief, Prostate
Health, Lowering Cholesterol And Other Information Products.
Learn The Latest Cutting Edge Information From Experts In The
Alternative Health
Field.
Click Here for More
Info!>>
Overcome Your Nasal Spray
Addiction. EBook Detailing How To Overcome A
(rhinitis Medicamentosa) Nasal Spray Addiction...a Condition
Suffered By 10 Million
Americans,. Click Here for More
Info!>>
|