Understanding drug use and addiction june 2018 page 4 points to remember drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. In the short term, meth causes mind and mood changes such as anxiety, euphoria, and depression. A person starts out as an occasional drug user, and that is a voluntary decision. Drug abuse has a pervasive effect on an entire community.
To begin to understand the problem, you have to know what is happening in the life of the person who is using the drug and what drug they are using. With the information in this guide, parents and caregivers can help their children make smart choices and avoid the consequences of drug abuse. The following fact sheets pdfs are available for downloading. Be a winner with our cool video game about living responsibly and making the right choices. Preventing teen abuse of prescription drugs fact sheet what is prescription drug abuse. Addiction does not always start with abuse of illicit drugs like heroin. Bobby smyth, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist specialising in substance abuse, addiction services, south western area health board, for contributing the section on adolescent. Facts about prescription drug abuse and addiction nida. The use of prescription medication to create an altered state, to get high, or for reasonsor by peopleother than those intended by the prescribing doctor. Proper disposal of medications can aid in the prevention of. The brain changes from addiction can be lasting, so drug addiction is considered a relapsing disease. Hivaids, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases nearly onethird of reported aids cases have been linked to injection drug useheroin, cocaine, or any drug that abusers inject. Facts on prescription and overthecounter drugs ct clearinghouse.
Explores the role of genetics and epigenetics in the development and treatment of drug abuse and addiction. According to research conducted by the partnership at as. Preventing teen abuse of prescription drugs fact sheet. Know the risks controlled substance prescription medications. Instead of displaying the words bingo at the top, the game cards linked below display ndafw. Tobacco and nicotine facts pdf, 148kb other drugs people use and misuse pdf, 1kb what is an addiction. You have to use drugs for a long time before they can really hurt you. There are over 190 million drug users around the world and the. Factors such as peer pressure, physical and sexual abuse, early exposure to drugs, stress, and parental guidance can greatly affect a persons likelihood of drug use and addiction. However, drug addiction becomes a risk when prescription amphetamines are. Drugs of abuse delivers clear, scientific information about drugs in a factual, straightforward way. Our goal is to better understand who uses drugs and why, and how drugs work in the brain and body, so we can develop and test new ways to prevent and treat. National institutes of health national institute on drug.
Because drugs are illegal, no one can know what is really in them. Understanding drug use risk factors and spreading the word through prevention programs is the best defense against drug abuse parental monitoring has been the most effective way to slow the expansion of drugs in family situations. Alcohol and drug problem overview the abuse of alcohol and other drugsincluding prescription drugsis common and costly. Several solutions such as rehab and drug classes have been tried. Heroin is typically sold as a white or brownish powder, or as the black sticky substance known on the streets as black tar heroin. There is therefore virtually no difference between dependency and addiction. National survey on drug use and health nsduh nsduh is conducted every year in all 50 states and the district of columbia and is directed by substance abuse and mental health services administration samhsa. Drug dependence is simply a failure of will or of strength of character. Both barbiturates and benzodiazepines have the potential for abuse and should be used only as prescribed. Shatter the myths national institute on drug abuse.
Withdrawal sickness, believing you must have drugs, and being around people who use can make stopping drug use difficult. This publication covers topics including the controlled substances act and introduces drug classes including. It causes a person to take drugs repeatedly, despite the harm they cause. In this episode nicolas and marla talk about drug and substance abuse issues.
As with opioids, overdose of these drugs can be fatal. The basics, easytoread drug facts, understanding drug. Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illicit drug heroin as well as the licit prescription pain relievers oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine. It can cause or worsen many medical problems and if left untreated can destroy families and lives. In some cases criminal or antisocial behaviour occurs when the person is under the influence of a drug, and. Drug diversion and abuse accidental poisonings confusion with other medications in the same storage area consumption of old or expired medication. Drugs of abuse also offers a list of additional drug education and prevention resources, including the dea websites. Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. The terms drug abuse or substance abuse is defined as the use of chemical substances that lead to an increased risk of problems and an inability to control the use of the substance. In fact, prescription narcotic analgesics pain medications that have been legally prescribed to a patient from a healthcare provider sits at the heart of the u.
Whythey are using the drug whereand howthey are using the drug different drugs create different problems for different people. Alcohol facts drinks like beer, malt liquor, wine, and hard liquor contain alcohol. Drug abuse is a generic term for the abuse of any drug, including alcohol and cigarettes. National institute on drug abuse nida alcohol facts. Alcohol facts and statistics national institute on. Addiction and negative effects of drug abuse on the human. Monitoring the future survey, rates of past year marijuana use among middle and high school students have. Genetic and environmental factors interact with critical developmental stages in a persons life to affect addiction risk. These effects of drug abuse have serious consequences, like missed work, punishable offenses, accidents and injuries. The survey provides uptodate information on tobacco, alcohol and drug use, mental health, and other healthrelated issues in the nation among people ages 12 and over. Abusing prescription medications is very dangerous, and. Results from nidafunded research have shown that prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media are effective in reducing drug abuse. Myths and misconceptions related to substancedrug abuse will also be discussed in this module.
Prevention is the key drug addiction is a preventable disease. National institute on drug abuse bethesda, maryland 20892 what is. Dependence on a drug or alcohol getting hooked is particularly dangerous in older people because older adults tend to have more harmful effects from. This means that people in recovery are at risk for taking drugs. But as times passes, something happens, and that person goes from being a. At the end of this session, learners will be able to.
Publications national institute on drug abuse nida. Hard liquorsuch as whiskey, rum, or ginhas more alcohol in it than beer, malt liquor, or wine. Drug abuse is the willful misuse of either licit or illicit drugs for the purpose of recreation, perceived necessity or convenience. Frequent abuse of alcohol and other drugs can lead to addiction, a disease that affects the brain and behavior. Theres a lot of information out there about prescription drugs, and it can be tough to distinguish myths from facts. Identify the causes and consequences of substancedrug abuse. Drug abuse or substance abuse refers to the use of certain chemicals for the purpose of creating pleasurable effects on the brain. National drug control policy and prescription drug abuse. The 11 facts you want are below, and the sources for the facts are at the very bottom of the page.
In fact, alcohol and drugs are partly to blame in an estimated 80 percent of offenses leading to jail time in the u. This publication covers topics including the controlled substances act and introduces drug classes including narcotics, stimulants, marijuanacannabis. Repeated drug use can change the brain and lead to addiction. In addition, continued use can lead to physical dependence and, when use is reduced or stopped, withdrawal. These incidents include domestic violence, driving while intoxicated and offenses related to damaged property. Brain changes that occur over time with drug use challenge an addicted persons. Drug abuse information clearly states drug abuse is an extreme desire to obtain, and use, increasing amounts of one or more substances. These drink sizes have about the same amount of alcohol in them. Provides basic facts about various hallucinogens, including how they are abused, how they affect the brain.
Prescription drug addiction top facts for you and your. Drug abuse is an intense desire to use increasing amounts of a particular substance or substances to the exclusion of other activities drug dependence is the bodys physical need, or addiction, to a specific agent. Marijuana is the most common ly used psychotropic drug in the united states, after alcohol. Prescription drug abuse involves taking a prescription medication that isnt yours or taking your own prescription medication in a way that differs from your doctors instructions. Drug abuse and drug dependence represent different ends of the same disease process.
Pdf, 2kb effects of drugs pdf, 500kb treatment and recovery pdf, 158kb prevention pdf, 124kb. Drugs can cause the brain to send the wrong signals. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, medical and criminal justice contexts. Drug abuse and addiction, now both grouped as substance or drug use disorder, is a condition characterized by a selfdestructive pattern of using a substance that leads to significant problems and distress, which may include tolerance to or withdrawal from the substance drug use disorder is unfortunately quite common, affecting more than 8% of people in the united states at some. Drug abuseaddiction jeremy graham may 11, 2015 period, 5 drug abuse and addiction drug abuseaddiction is a major problem in indiana that affects many individual. Its a common misconception that abusing prescription medications is safer than taking illegal street drugs. Prescription drug abuse, opioid abuse, opioid misuse, national drug control policy, nasper, prescription drug monitoring programs.