3. A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that,
when absorbed into the body of a living organism,
alters normal bodily function. There is no single,
precise definition, as there are different meanings in
Drug control law
Government regulations
Medicine and
Colloquial usage.
4. “Medicines” are what you take when you’re sick or injured. Some,
like the ADHD medications Adderall and Concerta, require a
prescription from a doctor. Others are over-the-counter
medicines, like aspirin or cough syrup, that you can buy without a
prescription.
The word “drugs” can be more confusing. Some people use it to
mean illegal drugs that a doctor would never prescribe, like heroin
or cocaine. Other people use it to mean both
medicines and illegal drugs.
5. Drug addiction is a complex brain
disease. It is characterized by
compulsive, at times uncontrollable,
drug craving, seeking, and use that
persist even in the face of extremely
negative consequences
Drug seeking becomes compulsive, in
large part as a result of the effects of
prolonged drug use on brain functioning
and, thus, on behavior. For many
people, drug addiction becomes
chronic, with relapses possible even
after long periods of abstinence.
6. People take drugs because they want to change something in their
lives. Here are some of the reasons young people have given for
taking drugs:
To fit in
To escape or relax
To relieve boredom
To seem grown up
To rebel
To experiment
8. Think drugs are the solution to all problems
Spend a lot of time figuring out how to get drugs and how to
get money to buy drugs
Have unusual mood swings — hr/she may be overly anxious,
depressed, or irritable
Have dropped out of regular activities and started hanging out
with a group of drug-using friends
Have stopped coming to school/workplace/college regularly
Changed their sleep habits
Lost or gained a lot of weight
Look sick, tired, or even messy
Seem to be taking more and more of the drug to get the same
effect
9. Effect on individual, society & family
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.
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.
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.
10.
11. What to do to stop
Police must crack down with more arrests, more
convictions, longer sentences, and more
seizures of drug dealers' assets.
A second battlefront is drug testing. Many government
and business organizations are implementing testing
on a routine basis in order to reduce the demand for
drugs. The theory is simple. Drug testing is a greater
deterrent to drug use than the remote possibility
of going to jail.
A third battleground is drug treatment. Those who are
addicted to drugs need help. But the major question is
who should provide the treatment and who should foot
the bill. Private hospital programs are now a $4 billion-
a-year business with a daily cost of as much as $50per
bed per day.
A forth battleground is education. Teaching children the dangers
of drugs can be an important step in helping them to learn to say
no to drugs. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that
72 percent of the nation's elementary- and secondary-school
children are being given some kind of drug education.
Ask for support from other friends or adults if
someone is really pressuring you to use drugs.
12. Remember, your body and your future belongs to you. Don’t let Drug control your life...
