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Drug and Alcohol Abuse

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Submitted By lewhurley
Words 1881
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Running Head: DRUGS AND ALCOHOL ABUSE

Drugs and Alcohol Substance Abuse

What is substance abuse and addiction?
Substance abuse is a pattern of use of drugs and/or alcohol for non-medical purposes for altering the mood, mind, and behavior. This is a serious problem and people that abuse drugs and/or alcohol can get sick, destroy their lives and the lives of family and friends. Death has resulted from substance abuse. Commonly abused is alcohol, prescription or over the counter drugs such as amphetamines, cocaine, depressants, inhalants, marijuana, narcotics, and even tobacco. Substance abuse can occur in all ages, social statuses and races.
Addiction is dependence and a compulsive need to use the substance no matter what the outcome may be. Addiction is the compulsion to use the substance to feel satisfied and a person that is addicted to drugs or alcohol will have withdrawal symptoms if they stop using the substance. With addiction there is a psychological and physical aspect in that the person is unable to control the addiction without help. Addiction is not a habit. A habit can be controlled and a person can choose to stop a habit without issues. Addiction puts a person out of control of choices and not in control of their life. The drugs or alcohol are controlling the person. The cause of addiction can be a combination of physical, emotional, mental and a change of circumstances in a person’s life. According to Hammer (2012), addiction has been understood in various ways; a sin, a disease, a bad habit with a variety of social, cultural, and sciatic views. In our society today, there are a still many theories analyzing the problem and issues of addiction; however, we still have problems. Hammer (2012) also stated there are 23 million Americans in substance abuse treatment programs and over $180 billion a year consumed in addiction-related

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