Drug abuse and addiction has become a very serious issue bedeviling our society for the longest time now. With many young adults becoming victims to this social menace, it has become very important that we keep talking about the dangers of drug abuse and addiction. But first, let’s get familiar with what drug abuse and addiction actually is.
Addiction, also called substance use disorder is a disease that affect the brain and behavior. When an individual is addicted to drugs, such person can’t resist the urge to use them, no matter how much harm the drugs may cause.
At first, an addict may choose to take a drug because they like the way it makes them feel. They may also think they can control how much and how often they use it. But over time, drugs change how the brain works. These changes can last a long time. They make such person lose control and can lead to damaging behaviors.
On the other hand, drug misuse or drug abuse is when you use legal or illegal substances in ways you shouldn’t. You might take more than the regular dose of pills or use someone else’s prescription. You may misuse drugs to feel good, ease stress, or avoid reality. But while people who abuse drugs may be able to change their unhealthy habits or stop using altogether, an addicted person can’t stop. Not when it puts their health in danger. Not when it causes financial, emotional, and other problems for them or their loved ones. That urge to get and use drugs can fill up every minute of the day, even if they want to quit.
Drug abuse and addiction can cause varying risks to your health, both psychologically and physically on a short and long term basis. The long-term dangers include but not limited to:
Addiction
Depression
Liver failure and kidney damage
Unpredictable behaviour, which can:
Lead to injuries and fatalities in some cases
Affect social life and families
Affect educational future
Nausea
Confusion, hallucinations and paranoia
Loss of appetite and malnutrition
Cardiovascular problems, including:
Increased blood pressure
Increased heart rate
Constricted blood vessels
Heart attack and heart failure
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As different drugs produce different effects, and cause varied short and long term dangers. The most common types of drugs can be placed into three categories, and they are sedatives or depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogenic.
Sedative drugs such as alcohol, heroin (the most addictive drug) and tranquilizers can lead to memory loss, anxiety, decreased concentration, depression and an overdose if too much is taken that may result in a coma, and even death. They can be especially dangerous for people who suffer from heart or blood pressure problems. Heroin and tranquilizers can be injected, causing damage to your veins and arteries. The risks of sharing needles can put you in danger of serious infections like HIV, Hepatitis B and C.
Stimulant drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, and amphetamine can damage the brain cells and cause anxiety or panic attacks, and heart attacks especially when taken in large quantities. They can also be particularly dangerous for those who suffer from heart or blood pressure problems, even healthy people can suffer from a fit or heart attack after consuming too much. Stimulant drugs can lead to users feeling depressed and suffer from problems with anxiety, paranoia and panic attacks.
Hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD and magic mushrooms, can produce disturbing experiences that can lead to erratic behaviour by the user. The short term effects of hallucinogenic use can include distorted perceptions, panic and increased heart rate and blood pressure, amongst many other effects. Hallucinogenic drugs can cause flashbacks that may occur days, weeks or years after the drug was taken.
The dangers of drug abuse depend on a variety of factors:
The quantity taken: The more that is taken, the greater the danger. Consuming too much of a sedative drug can lead to an overdose. A stimulant drug can lead to panic attacks and psychotic behaviour, taking a hallucinogenic drug in large doses can cause disturbing experiences.
How often it is taken: Consuming a drug regularly is putting your health at a greater risk, especially if the body hasn’t had time to recover between doses. You are able to develop a tolerance to some drugs leading the user to take a larger amount, which can lead to an overdoses. However, drugs such as LSD do not build a tolerance.
Foreign substance in drugs: Many drugs, particularly in the form of powder or pills, have other substances mixed in with them, this can change the effect of the drug and cause unpredictable effects.
Drug combination: Consuming a mixture of drugs at one time can produce unpredictable effects. Taking similar types of drugs an increase the negative effects, for example, mixing two sedative drugs can fatally slow down your heart rate and breathing, or mixing stimulants can put too much strain on the heart.
Consumption methods: How a drug is taken can have a varying degree of risk on your health, for example, injecting drugs can lead to vein and artery damage, and an increased risk of infection from serious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C. Eating or drinking drugs can be risky because the effects tend to take time to take place, and users may take too much because of this. Regularly snorting drugs such as cocaine can cause damage to the nasal membranes.
The short and long-term dangers of drug abuse and addiction can vary depending on the type of drug taken. Here are some of the most common dangers associated with drug abuse and addiction.
Psychological Dangers under which are:
Depression
Paranoia
Anxiety
Physical Dangers:
Kidney damage and failure
Liver failure
Heart disease and failure
Lung damage
Short-term dangers of drug abuse also have both psychological and physical dangers.
Psychological Dangers:
Paranoia
Confusion
Memory loss
Anxiety
Physical Dangers
Increased blood pressure
Higher heart rate
Increased body temperature
Nausea
Injuries
In talking about Drug abuse and addiction, it is important to note that it can start with experimental use of a recreational drug in social situations, then for some people, the drug use becomes more frequent. People struggling with addiction usually deny they have a problem and hesitate to seek treatment. People of any age, sex or economic status can become addicted to a drug.
However, proper and deliberate awareness creation in our societies and intentional help for those who are at risk is one of the important ways to curb the menace of drug abuse and addiction.
