A Survey on Drug Abuse in the United States

Drug abuse is the illicit use of any drug in a way that is not approved or supervised by a medical practitioner.There are two major types of drugs drugs that are usually abused;

1. Stimulant /Depressants : these are drug that temporarily make the mind and body active. It means that when someone takes such drugs in excess, the activities of the body will work a normally. Examples are;tobacco, kolanut, coffee, amphetamines and cocaine .
2. Hallucinogens : these are drugs that may cause the persons who take them to think that they can perceive sights, sounds, and so on, that are not actually present.

Examples of drugs that produce hallucination are cannabis(Indian hemp), mescaline and phencyclidine.Also, there are various forms of drug abuse. These are ;

1. Use of illegal drugs
2. Illegal use of illegal drugs
3. Over-dossage or under-dossage of legal drugs.

Methods of Drug Abuse

We have five major ways through which drugs can be taken into the body. They are as follows :1. By eating.2. By drinking3. By inhaling /sniffing4. By injecting5. By rubbing

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Causes of Drug Abuse

Here are some factor that make people to abuse drugs.

1. Self medication :this is when people take drugs on their own without prescription by medical practitioners. This can have adverse effect on the health of the user.
2. Ignorance :this is when people do not have knowledge or information about the effects of misuse of drugs on their health. At times, people use drugs without reading the instructions provided on the drugs.
3. Isolation and loneliness : at times people decided to take drugs wrongly because they feel lonely. Loneliness can be boring and frustrating. The use of some drugs wrongly is seen as an escape route by some lonely people to forget their problems. However, drug use can not actually make one free from problem.
4. Criminal intension : people who want to commit crime always decide to use drugs in order to be bold enough to carry out what they want to do. That is why many armed robbers and delinquents are drug addicts.
5. Uncontrolled and exaggerated advertisement :the way some manufacturers advertise their drugs in newspapers, on radio, television, billboards, and so on, cause some people to get involved in the abuse of such drugs. Also some hawkers advertise fake or expired drugs without fear of being caught.therefore, many un wary users of drugs get hooked to repeated use of certain drugs which may lead to drug abuse.

Effects of Drug Abuse on the Individual

1. Mental disorder:drug abuse can lead to mental problems in the lives of humans. Anybody who has mental problems because of drug abuse will not be able to function well again. This can lead to madness which may not be curable throughout the person’s lifetime.
2. Diseases: a lot of diseases and infections can result from drug abuse. Such diseases and health disorders include lung disease, liver cirrhosis, brain fatigue, watery eyes and dry throat.
3. Sleeplessness:abuse of some drugs can cause Sleeplessness. It could eventually lead to insomnia which is a sleep disorder due to a person’s inability to fall asleep for a long period of time.
4. Addiction:habitual use of drugs without prescription can make an individual to become a drug addict.
5. Shame /disgrace:drug addict can bring disgrace to themselves and their family. It is a thing of shame for most people to identify with their relations who are drug abusers.
6.  Death: anybody who involves in drug abuse continuously is likely to die at an unexpected time.

Solutions to Drug Abuse

1. Sales of drugs: it is important important for government agencies to monitor the sale of drugs,ban and discourage hawking of drugs along the street, inside the bus or around motor parks or schools. Lack of easy access to drugs would prevent abuse to a great extent.
2. government policies on drugs and manufacturing of hard drugs :there’s need for government to come up with laws against the manufacture and consumption of hard drugs. Such laws have to be made public. In addition, enforcement of such laws and policies should be intensified to discourage people from going against them.
3. Campaign against drug abuse by the mass media : the mass media is an important instrument of reaching out to a lot of people on the effects of drug abuse.
4. constructive use of time: the way people use their time is very important. Remember that ‘an idle mind is devil’s workshop’. If you’re not occupied with something meaningful, there’s the possibility of being influenced by others. Try to cultivate a time management habit. This will help you stay away from influence of drug abusers.
5. Forming drug-free club: in order to discourage drug abuse in your environment, you can form a drug -free club to help others who are drug abusers to change and drop the habit.
6. Choosing good friend