Drug And Alcohol Addiction In The United States

Drug and alcohol addiction has been a major problem in the United States for a long time. In this paper we will look at the different drugs that people become addicted to and the affects on their abusers. Many people can abuse drugs and alcohol yet not consider themselves addicted. There are some drugs that are very commonly abused because of their accessibility and prevalence within the community. Once an individual becomes addicted to a certain drug or alcohol it is very difficult to stop because their bodies become accustomed to the drug, like it needs it to survive. The mystery behind addiction is that not everyone who tries drugs or alcohol becomes addicted to them. Many people believe that addiction is in our genetics. For example, if an
alcoholic has a child, then they will grow up to be an alcoholic. In all actuality, not every addict comes from a drug or alcohol abused home. There are many people that can be “casual” or “weekend” drinkers, for example. This essentially means that they like to have a few drinks with their friends or family at social gatherings, parties, or celebrations and they feel no need to keep doing it on a daily basis. They might go weeks, or even months before they have a drink again. In their mind, their body is not dependent on the alcohol at all. There are also some people that will smoke a cigarette only on the weekends or at a party. They do not consider themselves to be addicted because they do not do it everyday. These people are still addicted in a way though because every time they go to a party, or every weekend they are smoking. Their bodies are becoming used to the drug. The fact is, they are still damaging their bodies with the negative affects of the drug. One does not have to do something on a daily basis in order to be addicted. Alcohol is one of the most commonly abused drugs out there today. When a person drinks excessively they become drunk. Some people drink alcohol every single day. Some people drink because they want to forget about their problems and they figure if they can just get drunk and have some fun the problems will go away because they will not be thinking about them. The problem with that thought, however, is that when they sober up, they realize that their problem is still there waiting for them to stress over. In that case, that person might continue the drinking all over again and it becomes a vicious cycle that is very hard to break. For some people it is not easy to stop drinking. If an individual decides that they want to stop drinking sometimes they need professional help to do so. Many people choose to enter a rehabilitation facility to get such help. When a person who has been a drinker for a long period of time stops drinking, their body will start to have withdrawals. This happens because the alcohol that they have been feeding their body for so long has suddenly stopped and their body misses it and wants more. What happens is that the individual may experience the shakes, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, a more rapid heart beat, headaches, and increased blood pressure. While these symptoms can be irritating, they are usually not life-threatening. In some cases, withdrawals can be extremely dangerous and have more severe symptoms. For some alcoholics that have decided to stop drinking the withdrawals can be much worse and very dangerous. Within forty eight hours after not drinking, some addicts may start to hallucinate. Sometimes the hallucinations can last for weeks at a time. They might also have seizures, heart attacks, or strokes, all of which can be fatal. This is why it is very smart to get professional help when trying to quit. Although alcohol is the most commonly abused drug out there today there are others that are being abused as well.
Marijuana is a very popular drug today, and is also abused quite often. Although marijuana is not a legal drug, it is fairly easy to obtain, even for younger people. Many teenagers experience marijuana, and some become addicted to it. Marijuana is illegal, however, it is pretty much everywhere. A recent government survey tells us that marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the United States. Nearly sixty nine million Americans over the age of twelve have tried marijuana at least once. (www.marijuana-addiction.com) The affect marijuana has on people is different depending on the person. For some, it is a feeling of contentment and relaxation. For others it may be extreme happiness or paranoia. Some people believe that one can not become addicted to marijuana. There are withdrawal symptoms for this drug as well. Some of the symptoms are anxiety or feelings of anger, loss of appetite, insomnia, irritability, restlessness, and strange dreams. These are all ways that our bodies deal with no more marijuana entering the blood stream. Most often, these are not serious symptoms and they do
pass. Prescription drugs can also become a problem for some people and they can become addicting as well. There are so many kinds of prescription pills out there today. Most of them are prescribed to a person for some type of pain management. For some people taking pills for pain can turn into a real addiction where they feel as though the pills do not work so they have to take more of them and more times a day too. Any people become addicted to these pills because after a while their body starts to build up a tolerance for them. At that point, they may feel like the pills are not working but they keep taking them because they are used to them and how they make them feel. Many pill abusers have very noticeable symptoms. For instance, rapid weight loss along with a loss of appetite, irritability, and being unable to concentrate are all popular symptoms of the drug dependency. The human body becomes very much addicted to the pills and the addict sees nothing but when the next time to take the pill is. In many cases they do not even think that they have a problem. For many, it seems to them that because they get them from a doctor it is acceptable and not a problem. Unfortunately, that is not a good way of thinking because some “pill poppers” that become addicted can overdose and die because of them. In closing, there are millions of addicts out there today and they are not always the ones you might think. They are teachers, fire fighters, nurses, and stay-at-home moms. They are anyone that you might not ordinarily think of as being an addict. I think the sooner we realize that the sooner we can all help one another to live healthily.