Drug Abuse - Causes and Results
Drug Abuse - Causes and Results
Drug Abuse - Causes and Results
In this article
Many people do not understand why people become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to
foster compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem
and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug abusers
should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behavior.
What people often underestimate is the complexity of drug addiction -- that it is a disease that impacts the
brain, and because of that, stopping drug abuse is not simply a matter of willpower. Through scientific
advances we now know much more about how exactly drugs work in the brain, and we also know that drug
addiction can be successfully treated to help people stop abusing drugs and resume productive lives.
needed to shut off the signal between neurons. This disruption produces a greatly amplified message that
ultimately disrupts normal communication patterns.
Nearly all drugs, directly or indirectly, target the brain's reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that control movement, emotion, motivation,
and feelings of pleasure. The overstimulation of this system, which normally responds to natural behaviors
that are linked to survival (eating, spending time with loved ones, etc), produces euphoric effects in
response to the drugs. This reaction sets in motion a pattern that "teaches" people to repeat the behavior of
abusing drugs.
As a person continues to abuse drugs, the brain adapts to the dopamine surges by producing less
dopamine or reducing dopamine receptors. The user must therefore keep abusing drugs to bring his or her
dopamine function back to ''normal'' or use more drugs to achieve a dopamine high.
Long-term drug abuse causes changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits, as well. Brain imaging
studies of drug-addicted individuals show changes in areas of the brain that are critical to judgment,
decision-making, learning and memory, and behavior control. Together, these changes can drive an abuser
to seek out and take drugs compulsively -- in other words, to become addicted to drugs.
Biology. The genes that people are born with -- in combination with environmental influences -- account for
about half of their addiction vulnerability. Additionally, gender, ethnicity, and the presence of other mental
disorders may influence risk for drug abuse and addiction.
Environment. A person's environment includes many different influences -- from family and friends to
socioeconomic status and quality of life, in general. Factors such as peer pressure, physical and sexual
abuse, stress, and parental involvement can greatly influence the course of drug abuse and addiction in a
person's life.
Development. Genetic and environmental factors interact with critical developmental stages in a person's
life to affect addiction vulnerability, and adolescents experience a double challenge. Although taking drugs
at any age can lead to addiction, the earlier that drug use begins, the more likely it is to progress to more
serious abuse. And because adolescents' brains are still developing in the areas that govern decision
making, judgment, and self-control, they are especially prone to risk-taking behaviors, including trying
drugs of abuse.
Prevention Is Key
Drug addiction is a preventable disease. Research has shown that prevention programs that involve the
family, schools, communities, and the media are effective in reducing drug abuse. Although many events
and cultural factors affect drug abuse trends, when youths perceive drug abuse as harmful, they reduce
their drug taking. It is necessary, therefore, to help youth and the general public to understand the risks of
drug abuse and for teachers, parents, and health care professionals to keep sending the message that
drug addiction can be prevented if a person never abuses drugs.
Addiction - there is a psychological/physical component; the person is unable to control the aspects of the addiction
without help because of the mental or physical conditions involved.
Habit - it is done by choice. The person with the habit can choose to stop, and will subsequently stop successfully if
they want to. The psychological/physical component is not an issue as it is with an addiction.
Put simply - with a habit you are in control of your choices, with an addiction you are not in control of your choices.
Addiction to substances or activities can sometimes lead to serious problems at home, work, school and socially.
The causes of addiction vary considerably, and are not often fully understood. They are generally caused by a
combination of physical, mental, circumstantial and emotional factors.
Addiction, often referred to as dependency often leads to tolerance - the addicted person needs larger and more regular
amounts of whatever they are addicted to in order to receive the same effect. Often, the initial reward is no longer felt,
and the addiction continues because withdrawal is so unpleasant.
According to Medilexicon's Medical Dictionary:
Addiction is Habitual psychological or physiologic dependence on a substance or practice that is beyond voluntary
control. Withdrawal has many meanings, one of which is A psychological and/or physical syndrome caused by the
abrupt cessation of the use of a drug in an habituated person.
According to the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), published by the American
Psychiatric Association:
Substance dependence is When an individual persists in use of alcohol or other drugs despite problems related to use
of the substance, substance dependence may be diagnosed. Compulsive and repetitive use may result in tolerance to
the effect of the drug and withdrawal symptoms when use is reduced or stopped. This, along with Substance Abuse are
considered Substance Use Disorders..
Tolerance increases
After a while, the user of the potentially addictive substance does not get the same pleasure and has to increase the
dose - his/her bodys tolerance to it increases.
Eventually, the user no longer experiences pleasure from the substance and takes it simply to prevent withdrawal
symptoms - taking the substance just makes them feel normal.
Experts say that when tolerance increases, the risk of addiction is much greater.