...QBT Task 5 Question: Does drug abuse affect the society and the economy? Drug abuse is the misuse of prescription drug or use of illicit drugs to an extent that adversely affects the individuals health(Collins & Lapsley, 2008)It is a relapsing condition that affects an individual, family and the society and impacts on the quality of life of the family, victims of the abuser and the abuser.(Harwood, Fountain, & Livermore, 1998).According to Califano,2008,drug abuse in one of the top five official government killers, with recorded 40 million suffering from disabling and debilitating illnesses and injuries and death of about 600,000 Americans . Rampant use of illicit drugs by Americans started in the second half of the 19th century during The Civil War. During the same period, pharmaceutical companies added opiates and cocaine in their products (Califano, 2008, p. 19). Illicit drugs include (but not limited) marijuana, cocaine, heroin, amphetamine, methamphetamine and illicit use of legal psychoactive medications. (Harwood et al., 1998).Drug abuse affects individuals and the society, socially, economically and physically and is a contributing factor in increasing mortality and morbidity. (McGinnis & Foege, 1999). According to Harwood et al,1998, 23, drug-related deaths occurred in 2000 due to different causes, for instance poisoning, overdose, HIV, homicide and hepatitis B and C. Significant healthcare costs associated with consequences of drug abuse were estimated to 16 billion...
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...Name Name of Professor Course Date DRUG AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN TEXAS The Menace of Drug Abuse in Texas Drug and substance abuse has been a problem in our society for over twenty years now. Here in Texas Alcohol has been the primary drug of abuse till lately when other substance abuse have begun to infiltrate the society especially among the youth in society. Studies have been carried out within the cities and towns of Texas and tangible evidence can be found on the possibilities of a real problem in our society. Many may ignore but the truth beckons in the various research institute findings. “Today majority of the youth in university level of education may end up using or being part of a group that uses hard drugs.” This is according to the founder of Drug Care Centre Texas, (John Mark Sheddle, May 2015.) Drugs have grown among the youth to a level that the number of students at rescue and rehabilitation centers in the past decade have rose by over 30% an increase that is indeed disturbing. Many have left schools and began street life. We can note that this is a problem that requires urgent attention from all departments of society especially the media as I believe that media is accessible to everyone in society. Media can influence how a society trends. When an issue is voiced by the media many people will have knowledge of that substance and thus will have created awareness. I would like you as the editor to consider my application urgent which requires quick and...
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...our society at large experiences is actually brought about by this very society. There are numerous societal issues that could be used to prove this, however, within the scope of this research, we will focus on the problem of drug abuse. Drug abuse can definitely be considered a socially constructed problem. There are those who argue that drug abuse is primarily a medical or biological problem; however, after close elaboration and research, it appears that it is a social problem that we have to deal with. Drug abuse is also a problem that is socially constructed. People who abuse drugs cannot find other alternative to this behavior – this means that society at large is not flexible enough to provide equal opportunities for all of its members. Another important thing to consider when we suggest that drug abuse is socially constructed problem is that certain parts of our society actually contribute to the growing number of abusers, especially when it comes to teenagers. Take the movie industry, for instance. There are numerous films out there that show a person on drugs as a hero; they do not say that drugs are good explicitly, but the overall message from the film is that the particular hero is good, and if he/she is using drugs, it is OK for other people to do the same. This means that this particular part of the society facilitates the spread of such social problem as drug abuse. Another issue to be discussed here is that our society creates the problem of drug abuse...
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...Substance Abuse in Today’s Society Substance abuse in the United States dates back to the excess use of morphine during the American Civil War. Morphine was used as a “wonder drug”, taking away the pain of soldier’s injuries as well as avoiding health hazards such as diarrhea. These soldiers ended up going home addicted, taking morphine even though they no longer needed it, and had to fuel their addictions just to keep their sanity. Present day United States is not free from substance abuse either, and it has started to escalate at an even bigger scale. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 570,000 die annually due to drug abuse (NIH, 2014). Due to an excess amount of people dying due to drug abuse,...
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...Drug Abuse and its Effects Introduction Drug abuse is a malaise that the U.S. has been fighting since a long time and still has a long way to go, whether it is the youth or the elderly, people from all age groups, all ethnicities and races, all regions and religions, seems to be afflicted with the enigma that is drug abuse. Internationally, over 200 million people chomp through some type of illicit drugs. From ordinary bhaang, Cannabis, opium to artificial “designer” drugs like ecstasy or MDMA, barbiturate derivatives, benzodiazepines like alprazolam, diazepam, amphetamines, Phenethylamine and Tryptamine derivatives; different forms of drugs are available for inducing excitation or jubilation. What is Drug Abuse Drug abuse is unprovoked, decorative utilization of any usual or synthetic substance or drug in an unapproved amount for performance augmentation and psychosomatic effect for non-therapeutic, non-medical use by an individual with methods neither approved nor supervised by medical professionals. The society as a whole has been at the suffering end of this habit for a long time. Drug abuse has made such deeper inlays in our lives that there seems to be no end to this menace. Drug abuse is a major public health problem that impacts society on multiple levels. Directly or indirectly, every community is affected by drug abuse and addiction, as is every family. Drugs take a tremendous toll on our society at many levels. People who use drugs incident a wide array...
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...Altruism In Society Paper 400 William Young Altruism In Society Paper PSY/400 Substance abuse has been a main stay in our society for years and is seen as a nonproductive way of life. It can lead to dependency with certain drugs. There is a huge range of drugs that can be consumed in various ways such as alcohol by drinking, cocaine by free basing, smoking or snorting. amphetamines, benzodiazepines and opiates comes in pill or powder form and is just as deadly if improperly used. Some of these drugs are illegal in some countries and when improperly used in America can lead to criminal prosecution. If caught in possession of or under the influence of, a harsh penalty will be levied in a mix of monitory compensation as well as prison time. In this paper we will discuss the nature and historical issues of drug abuse accompanied by how it has affected the society in which we live. We will also present two elements or main points to suggest that drug abuse is a losing battle that will take you on a ride you will never forget. We will also justify the use of these elements by connecting them to various motivations of altruistic behavior as identified in social change theory. Our final discussion in this paper will be the implication of intervention and prevention. Public health practitioners such as doctors, psychologist and psychiatrist have undertaken a number of studies into drug abuse from an...
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...Drug abuse is being seen as a serious problem in the society that could be defined as the lost controlling of drug people who have used too much. Drug is often used to help people in medical issue but there are some reasons that individuals abuse it. This essay will look at some cause of drug abuse and then examine its effects. Firstly, one of major cause is addictive personality that means a person is more likely to become drug dependent. People are curious, lonely and they try a drug because they want to relax or have pleasure. The pressure of busy life, work frequently lead people be stressful then they might find a solution that is use drug. Other cause of drug abuse is peer pressure that means ours relationship sometimes is cause us join in something or in order to maintain that relationship. Teenage time is the hugest time this situation exist, kid want to be cool or accepted as a part of group so they take a drug as showing off. For example, making new friends, to be a part of a group, someone tries to show off their pressure by drink a lot, smoking and even take a drug. There are two cause of drug abuse. Some its effects will now be examine. The first effect of drug abuse could be seen health problems of users. People become drug addict, they can not stop using drug even they require more. Drug makes people lost their resistant abilities with diseases, illness and cause of some social diseases such as HIV. A common example is that people get HIV from the other...
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...Over-The-Counter Drug Abuse When most people think of drug abuse they associate it with illegal activities. They believe drug abuse only includes illegal substances and prescription medication. People feel since they are legal and easy to get, over the counter medications (OTC’s) are safe. When used as directed, OTC’s can be very effective and safe. However, excessive over use and abuse of (OTC’s) can be extremely dangerous and sometimes even deadly. The most oblivious danger of (OTC‘s) is their availability. The availability of OTC’s has made them the number one most abused drug in society today. Behaviors seen in drug abuse may include consumption of a medication for non-medical reasons, consuming dose amounts greater than directed, consuming excessive dosages or more frequently than directed as well as using a medication for longer periods of time than the label recommends. There are more than 100 million Americans who suffer from some form of chronic pain. With the bad economy and increasing healthcare cost today, so many Americans are using so many OTC medicines trying to save money. However, current use show over $180 billion is spent every year on OTC drugs in the US. Current trends show the most commonly abused OTC drugs are cough suppressants, cold/allergy medications, caffeine products, and nicotine replacements/smoking control medications. With more prescription drugs being made available in OTC form, the abuse of OTC drugs will only continue to...
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...Effect of Abuse on Society Family and Community Drug abuse is common in all societies. Families and communities are becoming less happy and rarely yet torn by death, or a serious injury due to drug abuse. Unfortunately, around the world and throughout time, drug abuse has shown to be common among families. Abuse of any kind takes over everything in the abusers life. Drug and alcohol abuse can affect a person’s capability to keep a job. Drug and alcohol not only affects the person itself but everyone around him or her especial their families and the community. People around the world believe that drugs or alcohol are the solution to their problems, not knowing the problem becomes worst and a nightmare is about to begin. Drug abuse negatively affects family’s communication and interaction. Whether the abuser is the parent or a child, communication and interaction maybe a major motive to lead a family member into abusing drugs as well as abusing drugs eventually will cause lack of communication and interaction within a family because the abuser is focused on the drug and his or her next high, rather than thinking about spending time with family. If drugs are involved in a family the communication is negative and the mood within siblings is often depressing (livestrong.com, 2011). Families, who live under this type of home environment, tend to pass the same lifestyle to the next generation, and it is prone for the children to repeat the same cycle of drug abuse, lack...
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...Substance abuse The 5th edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) combines substance abuse and substance dependence to mean the same thing (American Psychiatric association, 2013). Substance abuse refers to the habitual non-medical substance seeking, and the substance taking behavior which is suppression or resistance through its pharmacological consequences. Substance abuse may therefore include the use of alcohol, abuse of cigarettes, food, sniffing of solvents or even the abuse of nicotine and caffeine (Nordegren, 2002). Substance abuse has been taken to generally refer to the use of hard drugs such as cocaine and marijuana. Every year, United States spends billions of dollars on increased health care cost, low productivity and increase in crimes. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, substance abuse costs United States 524 billion dollars a year of which 181 billion dollars is as a result of illicit drugs. Given the huge expense, there is therefore a need to understand the physical, social and psychological effects that substance abuse presents, analyze the factors contributing to substance abuse, examine the range of interventions used, and examine how managing substance abuse is influenced by cultural, legal, as well as political issues. Though at times substance abuse is completely something that an individual may pick from nowhere, there are some risk factors which may play a significant role in an individual’s substance abuse. These...
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...Connecting Sociological Theory and Social Issues Drug abuse is a topic of sociological significance because it is all around our daily lives whether we want it to be or not. Drug abuse today can influence or impact our family, community, and the economic and political life. Whether the drugs that are being abused are prescribed or recreational it can lead to bad consequences that the abuser may not have intentionally caused. It is also an important aspect to social life which sociologists can analyze with the three main theoretical perspectives of functionalism, conflict, and interactionism. Constructing a clock with its many different cogs and gears together is like the functionalist perspective of sociology because it “emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability” (Schaefer, 14) because without the various parts the clock or society cannot function. Drug abuse, through a functionalist view, may view it as dysfunctional. “A dysfunction refers to an element or process of a society that may actually disrupt the social system or reduce its stability” (Schaefer, 14). But, some people may view drug abuse as functional because this kind of abuse creates employment for police officers, rehabilitation clinics, some therapies, and medical doctors. So, without the drug abusers there would be a lot of uncreated employment. The functionalist view of drug abuse can be contrasted effectively by the conflict perspective of sociology. Sociologists...
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...RESTRICTED DRUG ABUSE AND ITS PREVENTION INTRODUCTION 1. Kilos of heroin seized, drug smuggler arrested and sad tales of lives ruined by drugs like father handed over his only beloved son to police due to his destructive activities for urges of drug, wife is killed by husband not to give him money to buy drugs and recently children of riches families are addicted by Yaba, readers of our country have become accustomed to this kind of reports in newspapers and magazines. The problem of drug is not new issue. Twenty years ago, this problem experience mainly in Western Europe and United States. But today drug abuse has become a problem of all society. It knows no boundaries, either geographical or economical. AIM 2. The aim of my presentation is to analyze the drug abuse in short and find out the probable solutions to eradicate this social problem. SEQUENCE OF PRESENTATION 3. The sequence of my presentation is given below: a. Definition b. Commonly used drugs c. Causes of drug abuse d. Effects on individual e. Effects on the society f. Drugs in Bangladesh 1 RESTRICTED g. Trafficking of drug h. Prevention or fighting back i. Conclusion j. Question and Answer session. DEFINITION 4. Before giving the definition of drug abuse we should know what is drug and abuse. A drug is broadly speaking any substance that when absorbed into the body of living organism alters...
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...Drug abuse is one of the most discouraged behaviors in our country. Use of illegal drugs Is harmful to the user and all those with whom the user comes in contact. There are over 40 million illegal drug users in the world today. Illegal drug abuse must be stopped as They hurt our society. Drug users are parasites, feeding off society's money, taxes and insurance. Every type of insurance goes up because of drug abuse, including auto, health and homeowners. Worst of all, the crime rate will sky rocket if we let this behavior continue. Illegal drugs and their abusers are a plague to society for many different reasons. Drugs have very harmful effects on the user and the people that the user interacts with. The user is affected in many ways. The most popular drug, alcohol, is generally thought of as socially acceptable and relatively harmless. But it can have devastating effects. Alcohol might seem very harmless but it can harm the user very easily. Alcohol is easy to obtain and consume. It is taken as a beverage and, since it is legal, it can be purchased at the corner store. The immediate effects on the user are relaxation and a slight anesthetic effect. Alcohol is a very addictive drug. There are more than 5 million alcoholics in Australia which is and indication of how widespread its harmful effects are. Alcoholics normally drink a lot on mornings and weeknights, at times which separate them for noraml "social" drinkers. Often, the alcohol will...
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...TO EXCELLENCE WITHOUT DRUGS ABSTRACT Excellence For Youth ‘EFY’ is a non-governmental organization established in year 2008. Our organization’s focus is on youth and drug addiction. This report mainly consists of information about the formation of EFY. As a start I have introduced our organization and the organizational structure. Followed by is our mission and vision. And then I have described our main objectives and goals. Moreover I have talked about the issues regarding drug abuse and drug addiction. Furthermore this report contains the programs held by EFY to help and support drug addicts and their families to overcome the strategies they face due to drug related problems. The report concludes by explaining how effective these programs are to our society as a whole. INTRODUCTION Excellence For Youth (EFY) is a non-governmental organization officially registered on 05th October 2008 by a group of Maldivian, recovered addicts to help youth who are addicted to drugs to maintain their recovery and to raise public awareness on drug abuse, drug trafficking and drug addiction. The reason why we chose to implement this organization is because drug addiction and drug related issues are the worst social problem faced by the Maldivian society. Drug abuse has become the initiation of most of the other crimes such as robbery, gang fights and murder. Our aim is to prevent youth from being exposed to drug abuse and other crimes by creating awareness about drug addiction in the whole...
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...Healthy Concepts - Drug Abuse Cassandra J. Champion HCS-535 Monday, February 20, 2012 Cynthia Nelson Healthy Concepts - Drug Abuse Today’s economy is tough and many people face issues that they never thought they would face. Healthy Concepts is developing a program to assist alcohol and drug abusers. The choices that are made throughout a person’s life time can lead to so many path’s. The choices can be developed through education and assistance by the community. Drug abuse can affect any and all communities, it can breach any wall that is put up. According to "2011 National Drug Control Policy" (2011), "In 2007, the most recent year for which data are available, the economic impact of illicit drug use on American society totaled more than $193 billion.” (para.1) Also according to “2011 National Drug Control Policy” (2011), “Through efforts such as the Drug Free Communities (DFC) program, the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, and Strategic Prevention Framework-State Incentive Grants, ONDCP is helping to translate the concept of prevention into effective action at the local level”(para.1). HealthPeople.gov is just one tool that opens up nationally and locally to communties to assist in developing programs to prevent illict drug use and many other health aspects. Drug abuse and alcohol abuse have made a huge impact on families, society and costs the American society large amounts of money. Prescription drug use has become the drug of choice. Many doctors will...
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