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Drug And Alcohol Prevention Article
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Drug Addiction and Drug Abuse
from:People use drugs for a variety of reasons – mostly, though, to numb the pain of everyday life so they don’t have to face it. Eventually drug use turns to drug abuse and finally to drug addiction. Most people use the two terms interchangeably, but the truth is there is a difference between drug abuse and drug addiction.
Drug abuse is the use of illegal drugs or the inappropriate use of legal drugs. People who abuse drugs are using them to obtain a specific feeling – a “high” – that they can’t get from other substances. Often drug abuse is recreational with the drugs being used to loosen a person up and make them feel like they fit in with the crowd.
Drug addiction, on the other hand, is the uncontrollable use of drugs and the inability to stop using drugs in spite of health or social consequences. People with a drug addiction are physically and emotionally unable to stop using drugs. Their bodies have become used to having the drug in the system, and stopping the drug use brings about often painful physical and psychological symptoms.
Drug addiction does begin with drug abuse when an individual makes a conscious choice to use drugs, but addiction is not just "a lot of drug use." Recent scientific research provides overwhelming evidence that not only do drugs interfere with normal brain functioning creating powerful feelings of pleasure, but they also have long-term effects on brain metabolism and activity.
At some point, changes occur in the brain that can turn drug abuse into addiction, a chronic, relapsing illness. Those addicted to drugs suffer from a compulsive drug craving and usage and cannot quit by themselves. Treatment is necessary to end this compulsive behavior.
Many people view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem. Parents, teens, older adults, and other members of the community tend to characterize people who take drugs as morally weak or as having criminal tendencies. They believe that drug abusers and addicts should be able to stop taking drugs if they are willing to change their behavior. This just isn’t true.
People from all walks of life abuse drugs and become addicted. We can start combating these problems if we educate ourselves and each other about drug abuse and drug addiction. It is an ever-growing epidemic that doesn’t have to take hold of people or society. Drug abuse and drug addiction can be stopped, but only if we start with education.
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Drug And Alcohol Prevention News
A look at alcohol and drug abuse here
Jasper — The highlight of the Jan. 23 meeting of the Hamilton County Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Coalition Partnership was a presentation by HCSO Sergeant Emily Lumpkin on ‘Needs Assessment’ for Hamilton County.
Read more...Sunday Focus: Hospitalized for alcohol
Kerrie Watt, an alcohol and drug prevention educator with Vancouver Coastal Health, says incidents involving youth and alcohol poisoning are on the increase at Lions Gate Hospital because of binge drinking.
Read more...Cumberland-Perry Drug and Alcohol Commission wants residents, workers to complete survey on drug use
CARLISLE — The Cumberland-Perry Drug and Alcohol Commission is asking anyone who lives and/or works in Cumberland and Perry counties to complete a survey on the extent of alcohol, tobacco or other drug use in the two counties.
Read more...60 percent of Spanish adolescents state they do not take drugs and rarely drink alcohol
Despite the clichés surrounding the habits of adolescents, the results of a study by the University of Seville show that most young people do not fit the risk profile of taking substances. Some 60% of Spaniards aged 13 to 18 say they do not take drugs and rarely drink alcohol – only in moderation – and at the same time, less than 10% admit to have taken some form of illegal drug.
Read more...New drug could help curb crime
With far less fanfare than they deserve, Alkermes Pharmaceuticals is setting out to revolutionize the penal system and help stop prison overcrowding by finally getting at one of the indisputable medical causes of crime (including violent crime): Â alcohol and drug dependence
Read more...Drug and Alcohol Secretary Selected
Governor Tom Corbett has nominated Gary Tennis of Philadelphia to serve as secretary of the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
Read more...After-school program can help young adolescents avoid alcohol
A voluntary substance prevention program held after school and presented by trained facilitators can help reduce alcohol use among young adolescents, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Read more...New editorial offers clarity on confusing drug and alcohol addiction terminology
A new editorial released this week offers clarity and structure on confusing drug and alcohol addiction terminology for prescribers, users and regulators. "Through a glass darkly: can we improve clarity about mechanism and aims of medications in drug and alcohol treatments?" is published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the official journal of the British Association for Psychopharmacology ...
Read more...Edwardsville schools have new drug prevention campaign
Edwardsville High School student Taylor Beimfohr is on a mission. As one of 75 members of the Edwardsville Peer Influence Club, or EPIC, the 18-year-old senior wants to raise awareness of the dangers
Read more...One Drug Abstinence Method Earns a Second Look
One Drug Abstinence Method Earns a Second Look Often ignored in favor of medical detoxification, short-term rehab or outpatient services and self-help groups, long-term drug and alcohol rehabilitation is emerging as a critical choice to make earlier in the treatment process, especially through intervention by family members alarmed by current figures of the overdose deaths of 100 people daily ...
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