• Overview of Narcotic Abuse

   

   Opioid drugs, also called opiates or narcotics, have been used since the beginning of recorded history. Opium is derived from a white liquid produced by the poppy plant, first cultivated in the Middle East and Asia. It was used therapeutically in ancient cultures to induce calm and to relieve pain, and recreationally to induce euphoric dream states. Today, physicians prescribe narcotics for pain relief. Whether plant derived (natural) or synthetic, narcotics are sometimes still referred to as opioids.

• Narcotics produce intense pleasure and general calmness: 

   
  • Drowsiness, tranquilization, or sleep
   
  • Feeling of well-being
   
  • Pain relief (analgesia)
   
  • Temporary euphoria; a "high"
• Narcotics like morphine, heroin, codeine, opium, hydrocodone, oxycodone, meperidine, and methadone bind to certain painkilling sites in the brain.
• With consistent use, they build up in the brain and block the production of endorphins, the brain's natural painkilling chemicals. Opium, morphine, and heroin (a derivative of morphine) were commercially available for purchase in the United States throughout the 19th century.
• For complaints of diarrhea, menstruation, and headache, physicians commonly prescribed opioids in the form "tonics," elixirs," and "cordials" much in the way aspirin is used today. Their use, and even abuse, was less likely to be seen as problematic.
• Opium dens provided a place for people to smoke the drug. However, as policy makers began to address the social consequences surrounding narcotic addiction, drug use became stigmatized as a lower-class recreation.
• Shortly thereafter, the general public became intolerant of narcotic, now illicit, drug use. Abuse was defined as a problem and using heroin and smoking opium were eventually made illegal.
• Narcotic abuse is defined by impaired function and interference in the daily life of the user. Users often develop serious physical, social, and mental health problems that compromise well-being and affect family and friends. Narcotic abuse costs the nation $10 billion a year in treatment, care, and lost productivity; this does not include the cost of treating use-related diseases, like AIDS.

• Incidence and Prevalence of Narcotic Abuse

   

   The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that more than 16,000 people die from an opioid-related overdose each year in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in April 2014, the number of drug overdose deaths in the United States have increased regularly for more than 10 years—surpassing car crashes as the leading cause for injury death in 2013.
• Misuse and abuse of prescription pain relievers, as well as illicit opioids like heroin, have become a major public health concern. Men in the United States use illicit drugs slightly more than women. Narcotic abuse among non-Caucasian people is reportedly highest, especially in urban areas.

• Addiction: How Narcotics Work

   

   The biochemical effects of narcotic drugs are what make them addictive. Narcotics bind to painkilling sites throughout the brain, known as opioid-U receptors or the "reward pathway." This leads to slower uptake of neurotransmitters, like dopamine, between neurons. Immediate effects include cessation of pain, drowsiness, and a feeling of well-being associated with pain reduction. With chronic use, the brain may stop producing endorphins, natural painkilling chemicals, and the user develops tolerance. The user must replace the missing endorphins with narcotics in order to feel good and to avoid the painful effects of narcotic withdrawal. The user becomes dependent on increasing amounts of the drug to feel good. Abuse usually leads to dependence.
• Addiction is a chronic illness of the brain. Although one initially chooses to use narcotics, addiction is more than a behavioral problem; it is physiological and psychological. Compulsive use and relapse after recovery are a few of the behavioral problems that result from dependence. Use and relapse may be enforced by environmental cues, like peer influence and specific cultural stimuli. Breaking the habit of drug addiction is difficult and requires detoxification, changes in lifestyle, and therapy.

• Risk Factors for Narcotic Abuse

    

    Psychological and environmental risk factors for narcotic use include the following: 

   
  • Antisocial and experimental attitudes (i.e., rebellious nature) during adolescence
   
  • Environmental factors
   
   
  • Family problems
   
  • Gang membership
• • Inner-city culture
   
  • Poverty
   
  • Wealth or disposable income
   
   
  • Family history of substance abuse and drug addiction
   
  • Low self-esteem

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• Signs, Symptoms, and Help for Drug Problems and Substance Abuse
• Some people are able to use recreational or prescription drugs without ever experiencing negative consequences or addiction.
• substance use can cause problems at work, home, school, and in relationships, leaving you feeling isolated, helpless, or ashamed.
• If you’re worried about your own or a friend or family member’s drug use, it’s important to know that help is available. Learning about the nature of drug abuse and addiction—how it develops, what it looks like, and why it can have such a powerful hold—will give you a better understanding of the problem and how to best deal with it.
• Understanding drug use, drug abuse, and addiction
• People experiment with drugs for many different reasons. Many first try drugs out of curiosity, to have a good time, because friends are doing it, or in an effort to improve athletic performance or ease another problem, such as stress, anxiety, or depression. Use doesn’t automatically lead to abuse, and there is no specific level at which drug use moves from casual to problematic. It varies by individual. Drug abuse and addiction is less about the amount of substance consumed or the frequency, and more to do with the consequences of drug use. No matter how often or how little you’re consuming, if your drug use is causing problems in your life—at work, school, home, or in your relationships—you likely have a drug abuse or addiction problem.
• Why do some drug users become addicted, while others don’t?
• As with many other conditions and diseases, vulnerability to addiction differs from person to person.

• Your genes, mental health, family and social environment all play a role in addiction. Risk factors that increase your vulnerability include:

   
   
  • Family history of addiction
   
  • Abuse, neglect, or other traumatic experiences in childhood
   
  • Mental disorders such as depression and anxiety
   
  • Early use of drugs
   
  • Method of administration—smoking or injecting a drug may increase its addictive potential

• Drug addiction and the brain

   

  Addiction is a complex disorder characterized by compulsive drug use. While each drug produces different physical effects, all abused substances share one thing in common: repeated use can alter the way the brain looks and functions.
• Taking a recreational drug causes a surge in levels of dopamine in your brain, which trigger feelings of pleasure. Your brain remembers these feelings and wants them repeated.
• If you become addicted, the substance takes on the same significance as other survival behaviors, such as eating and drinking.
• Changes in your brain interfere with your ability to think clearly, exercise good judgment, control your behavior, and feel normal without drugs.
• Whether you’re addicted to inhalants, heroin, Xanax, speed, or Vicodin, the uncontrollable craving to use grows more important than anything else, including family, friends, career, and even your own health and happiness.
• • The urge to use is so strong that your mind finds many ways to deny or rationalize the addiction. You may drastically underestimate the quantity of drugs you’re taking, how much it impacts your life, and the level of control you have over your drug use.
   
   

• How drug abuse and addiction can develop

     

  People who experiment with drugs continue to use them because the substance either makes them feel good, or stops them from feeling bad. In many cases, however, there is a fine line between regular use and drug abuse and addiction. Very few addicts are able to recognize when they have crossed that line. While frequency or the amount of drugs consumed don’t in themselves constitute drug abuse or addiction, they can often be indicators of drug-related problems.
• Problems can sometimes sneak up on you, as your drug use gradually increases over time. Smoking a joint with friends at the weekend, or taking ecstasy at a rave, or cocaine at an occasional party, for example, can change to using drugs a couple of days a week, then every day. Gradually, getting and using the drug becomes more and more important to you.
• If the drug fulfills a valuable need, you may find yourself increasingly relying on it. For example, you may take drugs to calm you if you feel anxious or stressed, energize you if you feel depressed, or make you more confident in social situations if you normally feel shy. Or you may have started using prescription drugs to cope with panic attacks or relieve chronic pain, for example. Until you find alternative, healthier methods for overcoming these problems, your drug use will likely continue.
• Similarly, if you use drugs to fill a void in your life, you’re more at risk of crossing the line from casual use to drug abuse and addiction. To maintain healthy balance in your life, you need to have other positive experiences, to feel good in your life aside from any drug use.
• As drug abuse takes hold, you may miss or frequently be late for work or school, your job performance may progressively deteriorate, and you start to neglect social or family obligations. Your ability to stop using is eventually compromised. What began as a voluntary choice has turned into a physical and psychological need.

• 5 Myths about Drug Abuse and Addiction

   
• MYTH 1: Overcoming addiction is a simply a matter of willpower. You can stop using drugs if you really want to. Prolonged exposure to drugs alters the brain in ways that result in powerful cravings and a compulsion to use. These brain changes make it extremely difficult to quit by sheer force of will.
• MYTH 2: Addiction is a disease; there’s nothing you can do about it. Most experts agree that addiction is a brain disease, but that doesn’t mean you’re a helpless victim. The brain changes associated with addiction can be treated and reversed through therapy, medication, exercise, and other treatments.
• MYTH 3: Addicts have to hit rock bottom before they can get better. Recovery can begin at any point in the addiction process—and the earlier, the better. The longer drug abuse continues, the stronger the addiction becomes and the harder it is to treat. Don’t wait to intervene until the addict has lost it all.
• MYTH 4: You can’t force someone into treatment; they have to want help. Treatment doesn’t have to be voluntary to be successful. People who are pressured into treatment by their family, employer, or the legal system are just as likely to benefit as those who choose to enter treatment on their own. As they sober up and their thinking clears, many formerly resistant addicts decide they want to change.
• MYTH 5: Treatment didn’t work before, so there’s no point trying again. Recovery from drug addiction is a long process that often involves setbacks. Relapse doesn’t mean that treatment has failed or that you’re a lost cause. Rather, it’s a signal to get back on track, either by going back to treatment or adjusting the treatment approach.
• Signs and symptoms of drug abuse and drug addiction

• Although different drugs have different physical effects, the symptoms of addiction are similar. See if you recognize yourself in the following signs and symptoms of substance abuse and addiction. If so, consider talking to someone about your drug use.

   

• Common signs and symptoms of drug abuse

   
   
  • You’re neglecting your responsibilities at school, work, or home (e.g. flunking classes, skipping work, neglecting your children) because of your drug use.
   
  • You’re using drugs under dangerous conditions or taking risks while high, such as driving while on drugs, using dirty needles, or having unprotected sex.
   
  • Your drug use is getting you into legal trouble, such as arrests for disorderly conduct, driving under the influence, or stealing to support a drug habit. 
   
  • Your drug use is causing problems in your relationships, such as fights with your partner or family members, an unhappy boss, or the loss of old friends.

• Common signs and symptoms of drug addiction

   
   
  • You’ve built up a drug tolerance. You need to use more of the drug to experience the same effects you used to attain with smaller amounts.
   
  • You take drugs to avoid or relieve withdrawal symptoms. If you go too long without drugs, you experience symptoms such as nausea, restlessness, insomnia, depression, sweating, shaking, and anxiety.
   
  • You’ve lost control over your drug use. You often do drugs or use more than you planned, even though you told yourself you wouldn’t. You may want to stop using, but you feel powerless.
   
  • Your life revolves around drug use. You spend a lot of time using and thinking about drugs, figuring out how to get them, and recovering from the drug’s effects.
   
  • You’ve abandoned activities you used to enjoy, such as hobbies, sports, and socializing, because of your drug use.
   
  • You continue to use drugs, despite knowing it’s hurting you. It’s causing major problems in your life—blackouts, infections, mood swings, depression, paranoia—but you use anyway.
   
   

• Warning signs that a friend or family member is abusing drugs

   

  Drug abusers often try to conceal their symptoms and downplay their problem. If you’re worried that a friend or family member might be abusing drugs, look for the following warning signs:

   

• Physical warning signs of drug abuse

   
   
  • Bloodshot eyes, pupils larger or smaller than usual
   
  • Changes in appetite or sleep patterns. Sudden weight loss or weight gain
   
  • Deterioration of physical appearance, personal grooming habits
   
  • Unusual smells on breath, body, or clothing
   
  • Tremors, slurred speech, or impaired coordination

• Behavioral signs of drug abuse

   
   
  • Drop in attendance and performance at work or school
   
  • Unexplained need for money or financial problems. May borrow or steal to get it.
   
  • Engaging in secretive or suspicious behaviors
   
  • Sudden change in friends, favorite hangouts, and hobbies
   
  • Frequently getting into trouble (fights, accidents, illegal activities)
   
   

• Psychological warning signs of drug abuse

   
   
  • Unexplained change in personality or attitude
   
  • Sudden mood swings, irritability, or angry outbursts
   
  • Periods of unusual hyperactivity, agitation, or giddiness
   
  • Lack of motivation; appears lethargic or “spaced out”
   
  • Appears fearful, anxious, or paranoid, with no reason
   
   
   

• Warning signs of teen drug abuse

   

  While experimenting with drugs doesn’t automatically lead to drug abuse, early use is a risk factor for developing more serious drug abuse and addiction. Risk of drug abuse also increases greatly during times of transition, such as changing schools, moving, or divorce. The challenge for parents is to distinguish between the normal, often volatile, ups and downs of the teen years and the red flags of substance abuse. These include:

   
   
   
  • Having bloodshot eyes or dilated pupils; using eye drops to try to mask these signs
   
  • Skipping class; declining grades; suddenly getting into trouble at school
   
  • Missing money, valuables, or prescriptions
   
  • Acting uncharacteristically isolated, withdrawn, angry, or depressed
   
  • Dropping one group of friends for another; being secretive about the new peer group
   
  • Loss of interest in old hobbies; lying about new interests and activities
   
  • Demanding more privacy; locking doors; avoiding eye contact; sneaking around
• Recognizing that you have a problem is the first step on the road to recovery, one that takes tremendous courage and strength. Facing your addiction without minimizing the problem or making excuses can feel frightening and overwhelming, but recovery is within reach. If you’re ready to make a change and willing to seek help, you can overcome your addiction and build a satisfying, drug-free life for yourself.

• Support can come from:

   
   
   
  • family members
   
  • close friends
   
  • therapists or counselors
   
  • other recovering addicts
   
  • healthcare providers
   
  • people from your faith community
   
   

• If you suspect that a friend or family member has a drug problem, here are a few things you can do:

   
   
  • Speak up. Talk to the person about your concerns, and offer your help and support, without being judgmental. The earlier addiction is treated, the better. Don’t wait for your loved one to hit bottom! Be prepared for excuses and denial by listing specific examples of your loved one’s behavior that has you worried.
   
  • Take care of yourself. Don’t get so caught up in someone else’s drug problem that you neglect your own needs. Make sure you have people you can talk to and lean on for support. And stay safe. Don’t put yourself in dangerous situations.
   
  • Avoid self-blame. You can support a person with a substance abuse problem and encourage treatment, but you can’t force an addict to change. You can’t control your loved one’s decisions. Let the person accept responsibility for his or her actions, an essential step along the way to recovery for drug addiction. 

• But Don’t

   
   
  • Attempt to punish, threaten, bribe, or preach.
   
  • Try to be a martyr. Avoid emotional appeals that may only increase feelings of guilt and the compulsion to use drugs.
   
  • Cover up or make excuses for the drug abuser, or shield them from the negative consequences of their behavior.
   
  • Take over their responsibilities, leaving them with no sense of importance or dignity.
   
  • Hide or throw out drugs.
   
  • Argue with the person when they are high.
   
  • Take drugs with the drug abuser.
   
  • Feel guilty or responsible for another's behavior.

• Discovering your child uses drugs can generate fear, confusion, and anger in parents. It’s important to remain calm when confronting your teen, and only do so when everyone is sober. Explain your concerns and make it clear that your concern comes from a place of love. It’s important that your teen feels you are supportive.

   

  Five steps parents can take:

   
   
• • Lay down rules and consequences. Your teen should understand that using drugs comes with specific consequences. But don’t make hollow threats or set rules that you cannot enforce. Make sure your spouse agrees with the rules and is prepared to enforce them.
   
• Monitor your teen’s activity. Know where your teen goes and who he or she hangs out with. It’s also important to routinely check potential hiding places for drugs—in backpacks, between books on a shelf, in DVD cases or make-up cases, for example. Explain to your teen that this lack of privacy is a consequence of him or her having been caught using drugs.
• Encourage other interests and social activities. Expose your teen to healthy hobbies and activities, such as team sports and afterschool clubs.
• Talk to your child about underlying issues. Drug use can be the result of other problems. Is your child having trouble fitting in? Has there been a recent major change, like a move or divorce, which is causing stress?
• Get Help. Teenagers often rebel against their parents but if they hear the same information from a different authority figure, they may be more inclined to listen. Try a sports coach, family doctor, therapist, or drug counselor.

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• Global illegal drug use is expected to rise by 25% over the next few decades as rapid urbanization, industrialization, and population growth in developing countries fuel the demand for illegal substances, the UN’s anti-drug agency said in its new annual report this week. The report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), which underlines the fight against drug abuse with data on the consumption and production of illegal substances, also projects that developing countries will shoulder the burden of the global drug problem in the coming decades.

• 1. Roughly 230 million people have used an illegal drug at least once in 2010.

   

  In 2010, 5% of the world adult population aged 15-64 used illegal drugs at least once. Problem drug users, who mainly depend on cocaine and heroin, make up an estimated 0.6% of the world adult population, amounting to roughly 27 million. Every year, approximately 200,000 people worldwide die from drug abuse.

• 2. The global number of illegal drug users will go up by 25% by 2050.
   

   

  If the annual prevalence of illegal drug use stays stable at 5% of the adult population over the next few decades, demographic trends indicate that the total number of illicit drug users will increase by a quarter by 2050, which is in proportion to world population growth. Although the current rate of 5% might appear like a small proportion of the world’s adult population, if this rate continues, there may be some extra 65 million illegal drug users by 2050 compared to 2009-2010.

   

• 3. The increase in illicit drug use will be most pronounced in developing countries.

   

  Drug use is linked to urbanization. With the urban population of developing countries expected to double between 2011 and 2050, they will see a marked increase in the demand for drugs. In other words, the burden of the global drug problem will shift to countries that are relatively ill-equipped to deal with it, explains Yury Fedotov, the UN anti-drugs chief. In addition, developing countries’ higher projected population growth and younger populations, the main consumers of drugs, will raise the demand for illicit drugs in those nations.

   

• 4. Two of the world’s most popular illegal drugs are cannabis (marijuana) and amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS).

   

  There are an estimated 119-224 million marijuana users globally, making it the most popular illegal substance in the world. Amphetamine-type stimulants, such as methamphetamine (but excluding ecstasy), come in second with around 14-52.5 million users worldwide. As of now there are no signs that marijuana will lose its status as the illegal drug of choice, says the report.

• 5. More women will use illicit drugs.
   

   

  While men who take illegal drugs still greatly outnumber women, the gender gap, especially in developing countries, will narrow as conservative, sociocultural barriers break down and as gender equality improves.

   

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• Narcotics have been widely abused by millions of people since the very, very early days dating back to early Chinese history.  The Chinese smoked opium for hundreds of years before realizing that there was any danger of addiction or abuse occurring from the use of these drugs and even after they realized the dangers, they continued to abuse the substances widely and openly.  Sobriety if not one of the best influences of mankind over the past 300-500 years.  In fact, millions upon millions of people have set out to abuse substances throughout the past 100 years or more in an effort to “get high” alter moods or otherwise “feel good.”

   
• The history of narcotics is really no different than the history or progression of various other types of drugs. 
• It all starts with recreational use or in some cases with medical use that turns to recreational use.  For Narcotics, it took nearly half a century of abuse in the United States alone before the government made any direct impact or attempts to intervene.

• The upper class, dating back to the days of Hippocrates would use narcotics to alter their mood and reduce inhibitions.  The most widely known group to consume narcotics in the early days were the Chinese but even hundreds of years later, during the times of slavery, the wealthy would smoke opium to relax.

    
• Ancient Egyptian writings, hieroglyphics actually, tell stories of the Romans and the Egyptians using opium poppy for pain relieve during child birth.  The poppy leafs were chewed to produce analgesic effects as far back as the 1700s and even earlier in some cases.  In fact, the history of narcotics can be dated back hundreds of years even further than most other drugs that are still being used on the street and in medical settings today.

• When Edinburgh invented the hypodermic needle or the syringe in the late 1800s, 1853 to be exact, opiates would become much more widely used and abused.  At this point in the history of narcotics, the primary method of use was through oral ingestion.  By now, the extraction of morphine from the poppy plant had began (in 1806) and more measured disease were being administered to patients during child labor and other painful procedures.

   

• With the invention of the syringe, morphine could be given as an injection which would allow for even stronger pain relief qualities.  With the use of injectable morphine, many hospitals and medical practices began to more widely use narcotics for the treatment of pain.  They were even widely used in war during the early 20^th century.

   

• By the early to mid 1900s, various synthetic and semi-synthetic combinations of narcotics were being developed for use in the medical setting.  One of the first synthetic forms of Morphine was produced in Germany in 1939 and named Pethidine.  This drug was widely used hospital settings during the 1940s and would continue to be used for many years until other drugs were developed with more mild side effects and greater pain reduction capacity.

   

• As the history of narcotics has progressed, these drugs have become more widely used in a medical setting as well as for recreational uses.  Today, narcotics make up the majority of the abused drugs that cause criminal activity and addiction which requires treatment.  Millions of people are addicted to dangerous narcotics and don’t even realize the severity of the disease that they have or the need for treatment.

   
• Those who do seek treatment for narcotics addiction are likely to go in and out of a treatment program many times before finding adequate care that works for their individual needs.  It’s taken many years throughout the history of narcotics for healthcare professionals as well as others to realize the dangers of these drugs.  Though widely used for the treatment of pain and other disorders, many narcotics have a very strong potential for causing physical tolerance, dependence and subsequent abuse.

• As long as narcotics are available in hospitals, pharmacies and on the streets, there will likely be a continued need for controlled observation, legal consequences associated with improper possession and qualified treatment for narcotics addiction.  Unfortunately, these are just the side effects of having hundreds of dangerous drugs that have a potential for abusive use by those who are looking to “get high” change their mood or otherwise alter their perception of what is really happening in life.

   

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• Opium: One of the World's Oldest Drug Addictions

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• Opium is a latex-like substance that comes from a plant called the opium poppy.
• From this latex, or resin, come a number of both narcotic and non-narcotic drugs, some of which have been used since ancient times.
• During its history, opium has been a source of addiction, trade, conflict and war.
• However, opium has also been used for medicinal purposes. Since the 1800s, Asia has been a large market when opium is concerned, dating back to when England grew opium in India and traded it to China.
• The opium trade resulted in wars between the West and China and it also resulted in waves of addiction that eventually made their way to the United States.
• use of opium dates as far back as 3400 B.C. in Mesopotamia. At that time, opium was referred to as the “joy plant”, or Hul Gil, by the Sumerians.
• The plant eventually made its way to Egypt and the Egyptians became known for their cultivated poppy fields. The opium poppies from these fields were used for trade and medicinal purposes. For example, the mashed grains of the plant were used to help stop children from crying and opium soaked sponges were used during surgeries. Hippocrates further documented the medicinal uses of opium in 460 B.C., as a narcotic and for the treatment of women, epidemics and internal diseases.

• eventually spread as far west as the Roman Empire and, in later centuries, as far east as China. Two major opium trade routes eventually appeared in Asia: the Golden Triangle, a region including Southeast Asia and the Golden Crescent, including Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Golden Triangle was the world's largest producer of opium until it was surpassed by Afghanistan in the early 21st century. Opium use was also prevalent in the medieval-era Middle East as well as the Assyrian Empire, Babylonian Empire and Egypt. Opium was also used for narcotic and medicinal purposes in the Ottoman Empire and Persia.

   

• global opium production is centered in Afghanistan. The Taliban organization has traditionally allowed opium production in the region while levying a tax on the product to fund their activities. In the late 1990s, the Taliban controlled nearly all opium production in the country, accounting for nearly three of every four pounds of opium distributed around the world. In 2000, Mohammed Omar, the leader of the Taliban, issued a decree banning the growing of poppy plants, which led to a production drop of over 90 percent. However, this didn't lead to the destruction of the substantial existing stockpiles of opium and it drove the prices of opium upward. After the United States declared war on the Taliban in the early 2000s, many impoverished farmers resumed producing opium. As a result, Afghanistan obtained its new status as the opium exporter to the world.

   
   
• In the early 19th century, British merchants trading with China from the port of Canton purchased 23 million pounds of tea yearly as well as items such as silk and porcelain. However, in accordance with the Qing dynasty, they were restricted in where and how they could trade with the Chinese. Because of the large sums of silver that they were paying the Chinese for tea, they wanted to trade in something that would be equally profitable for them and would balance out the uneven trading. As a result, they turned to opium from India. The importation of opium was illegal, but British traders smuggled it into the country illegally at an increasing rate.
• The smuggling of opium eventually led to the Chinese destroying some 20,000 chests of the drug, which caused

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• The reasons why people use drugs – A quick overview

   

  Many people have never experienced addiction of any sort. For these people it can be very hard to understand and grasp the logic behind drug abuse. But with drug use getting more and more prevalent in America, it’s now common for people to dig deeper and look for the reasons why people use drugs and alcohol. This is not meant to be a complete list, nor is is meant to be medical advise, but I feel this article can shed some light for addicts or family members of addicts dealing with this burning question… 

•  ”Can someone please explain to me the reasons why people use drugs?”

   

  This list has been compiled from 13 years of personal experience watching my close family member struggle with the darkest moments of addiction. Many times I asked and prodded to get answers from my sister who was addicted to drugs. She didn’t always have the answers – but she still taught me. The important thing that I learned is that drugs alter the thinking patterns in your brain which can distort logic and rationality. Therefore an addict may not fully understand what a sober person can. So most of my analysis came from observing her behaviors. So here is my list regarding the reasons why people use drugs and alcohol.

• People suffering from anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression or other mental illnesses use drugs and alcohol to ease their suffering.
   Mental illness is such a burden for some people they will try just about anything to relieve the pain. Drugs or alcohol can temporarily make that person feel ‘normal’ again, like they remember feeling in the past. Mental illness is scary for the individual experiencing it, so they are afraid to go to a doctor or family member for help and instead turn to drugs or alcohol to try and solve the problem on their own.

   

• People see family members, friends, role models or entertainers using drugs and rationalize that they can too.
   As teenagers and young adults, it’s very easy to think that drug and alcohol use can be handled and controlled, especially if they see others they know doing the same thing. It can become easy to rationalize like: ‘hey my friend’s been doing this for a couple years and he seems fine to me.’ Entertainment and music is full of drug references and that can add to the rationalization that drug use is ok sometimes. Individuals with a family history of drug or alcohol abuse are far more likely to develop an addiction than an individual with no family background of addiction.

   

• People become bored and think drugs will help.
   Boredom is a big factor in drug abuse in teens and young adults. People in this age bracket generally don’t have bills, jobs and all the stresses that go along with adulthood. So it’s easier to become bored and want to try something new and exciting. Drug use is often thought of as a way to escape the mundane world and enter an altered reality.

   

• People think drugs will help relieve stress.
   Our modern world is full of new strains and stresses that humans have never experienced in the past. Although many things in life are now easier than ever, the burdens are also very high. Simply having a family, maintaining a household, and holding a job are huge stress factors. Some drugs are viewed as a means of relaxation – a way to calm the storm in your mind. Although drugs can be very effective at doing that, there can be serious side effects.

   
• People figure if a drug is prescribed by a doctor, it must be ok.
   It is easy for an individual to rationalize using a drug because it came from a doctor. The thinking goes like this ‘it was prescribed to someone I know for the same problem I am having, so it makes sense it should work for me too.’  The dangerous part about this rationalization is that this can lead to mixing of drugs, overdose, unintended side effects and/or dependency.
• People get physically injured and unintentionally get hooked on prescribed drugs.
   The people at risk for this are physical laborers, elderly, and anyone with pre-existing injuries. Some people are born with chronic pain due to deformities – others get injured. Doctors then prescribe drugs for what they are intended for and a person can quickly build a dependency. Especially if that drug is making them feel all better, they rationalize that it must be ok to keep taking the drug, which can result in dependency.
• People use drugs to cover painful memories in their past.
   Many people go through extremely traumatic events in their life, many times as children, and turn to drugs to cover the horrible memories. Children are extremely susceptible to trauma, whether physically or emotionally, and those feelings can haunt them into their adulthood. These people could benefit from working with psychologists to help repair their damaged mind. Drugs usually only deepen the issue.

• People think drugs will help them fit in.
   When hanging out with friends, it’s easy for people to want to fit in and seem like one of the crew. If others are drinking or doing drugs, it’s very likely for someone to fall into that trap. Peer pressure can be a tremendous force causing someone to try things they would normally not try on their own.

   

• People chase the high they once experienced.
   Ask anyone who has tried drugs and they will tell you that it is one of the best feelings of their life. The highs from drugs are so much more extreme than regular everyday joys because most drugs overload the pleasure sensors in your brain. Once a person feels this extreme pleasure, it’s common for that person to become hooked on a drug simply chasing the initial high they once felt. As we all know, this is a viscous cycle that is extremely difficult to break. The highs are equally as powerful as the lows felt when coming off of the drugs.

   

  By: Nate Blair (Jennifer’s brother)

   

  This article can be found on ezinearticles.com - 9 Reasons Why People Use Drugs and Alcohol.

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