...Heroin Addiction Psyc 305 B-03 June 15, 2015 Abstract: This paper will serve to provide information about heroin addiction in our society. Heroin addiction is an epidemic problem in the United States and is growing every year. Factors such as genetics and environmental factors will be discussed as they relate to heroin addicts. Trends with prescription pain medication and their effects on heroin use will be discussed. This paper will also highlight the prevalence of heroin in the United States. Heroin affects different groups of people in all walks of life. Treatment for heroin will be discussed in the latter portion of this paper. This will highlight different options to fit specific needs. Addiction: a physical dependency on a substance (Doweiko, 2015), a chronic brain disease that causes compulsive substance use despite harmful consequences, (Addiction, 2015). There is no universally accepted way to define addiction. It seems that it is easier to qualify behavior as an addiction than it is to define the word itself. For the purpose of this paper we will use the four general categories of the DSM-5 to help identify and understand heroin addiction. This paper will serve to provide information about heroin addiction’s possible causes, prevalence and treatment. What causes heroin addiction? The causes of heroin addiction are not clear. As with most drugs it is thought that the user is trying to feel better or self-medicate...
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...Heroin Addiction and Treatment Abstract This paper offers a brief explanation of the history of heroin. Describing the origins of heroin, who discovered it and describe the detrimental effects heroin has on an individual. There are several treatment options available for heroin addicts and this paper will look at a few of the ones that have shown the most success. Heroin Addiction and Treatment Introduction: A Brief History of Heroin Heroin comes from the opium poppy. This plant has been used by a number of various civilizations going back to include ancient civilizations. Opium, heroin, and morphine are derived from the poppy. Opium had been used by Drs. in the United States for many years prior to the Civil War. When morphine was discovered Drs. switched to using morphine instead of opium for pain, mainly because the hypodermic needle had been invented and morphine could be injected and pain could be better controlled. Heroin was derived from a chemical process discovered by Felix Hoffman in 1874. Heroin was initially distributed as a pain killer, and cough suppressant by Bayer Company in 1898. Drs. initially thought that heroin could replace morphine because they thought heroin did not possess the addictive qualities of morphine. In fact Drs. used heroin to get their patient’s off morphine. They thought...
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...Distance Education Methadone Treatment Programs are Effective in Stopping Heroin Use A Paper Presented to Professor Loyd Uglow, Ph.D In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Course THE 5113 Research Literature and Technology Sharon Pete November 28, 2012 THESIS STATEMENT: To investigate Methadone maintenance is found to be more effective in treating heroin addiction than 180 day detoxification. The objective is how methadone maintenance, a widely used but controversial method of weaning heroin addicts off the drug—with counseling has psychosocially enriched 180 day methadone assisted detoxification. OUTLINE I. INTRODUCTION A. History of Heroin B. History of withdrawals II. How Methadone is used to treat Heroin? III. Research Findings IV. CONCLUSION V. Work Cited Methadone Treatment Programs are Effective in Stopping Heroin Use Substitution treatment or maintenance pharmacotherapy programs using methadone are today the most sought after and effective form of treatment for opiate addiction and dependence. Because methadone is a long-acting opiate whose dosage can be stabilized, it is well suited for daily administration and has proven effective in the elimination of narcotic craving, a driving force behind continued heroin use. And, because it can be administered orally, methadone dramatically reduces heroin injecting frequency and, with it, associated risks for HIV and other blood-borne...
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...Alcohol and Drug Addiction Liberty University Abstract This paper is a reflection of addiction in the United States and the statistics that prove addiction is a major issue within the country. Discussed in the paper will be first the primary causes of addiction and risk factors that may lead to an addiction in an individual. Going further into the problem, the cycle of addiction and how to break free of the cycle and an individual’s addiction is talked about. Since there are different drugs that can cause addiction, a breakdown of certain drugs is given. These drugs include alcohol, prescription drugs, heroin, and marijuana. Next, the side effects of drug addiction to the drugs chosen are described in depth as well as the signs that can be viewed in screening for drug addiction. Resources available to drug addiction are touched on and treatment options to explore what can be done if an individual does suffer from drug addiction. Finally, what human service professionals are doing to assist individuals who are addicted and how they can improve on training to ensure that addiction can be caught early enough to make a difference? Introduction to Drug Addiction Addiction is a chronic disease of brain reward, motivation and memory in individuals who submit to any number of different drugs available to them. Such chronic need for the drugs leads to manifestations biologically, psychologically, spiritually and even socially in any given individual (ASAM, 2014). These, however...
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...Baltimore: A Community in Crisis Since the 19th century, the illicit drug, heroin, has been a part of American society. When heroin was first discovered it was thought to be a wonder drug because of the euphoric feeling a person is said to feel after using it. However, once the debilitating effects of this highly addictive drug was realized the anti-drug law, the Harrison Narcotics Act, was enacted that restricted its use to medicinal purposes only. In 1920, heroin was banned altogether through the Dangerous Drug Act (Habal, 2011). Heroin for the most part was thought to have gone underground until the Vietnam War. In 1971, two congressmen returned from visiting U. S. servicemen serving in Vietnam with an alarming revelation that “15 percent of U.S. servicemen in Vietnam… were actively addicted to heroin” (Spiegel, 2012, para. 3). The idea that American servicemen were addicted to such a horrible drug disgusted much of the American public. “It was thought to be the most addictive substance ever produced, a narcotic so powerful that once addiction claimed you, it was nearly impossible to escape” (Spiegel, 2012, para. 4). President Richard Nixon took swift action by creating, The Special Action Office of Drug Abuse Prevention which concentrated primarily on prevention and rehabilitation. In the late 70s and early 80s the use of heroin reached its peak when it seemed to take a backseat to the reappearance of cocaine and the subsequent crack epidemic that overwhelmed much...
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...Counseling Approach To Lisa Janelle Wheatley CNED 401 The Pennsylvania State University Abstract This paper will be focusing on Lisa, a Mexican American woman who suffers from a drug and alcohol addiction. I will be talking about Lisa’s family background and her current situation as well. I will pick a counseling theory and briefly describe this theory in detail. I will then apply this theory to Lisa and her situation. The last thing that this paper will focus on will be why I choose this particular theory for Lisa. Case Conceptualization Lisa is a 32-year-old mother of two twin boys age eight. Lisa suffers from a long history of substance and alcohol abuse. Lisa has been using since the age of 12 and her addiction has only progressed worse over the years. Lisa has experimented with a variety of drugs from marijuana, cocaine and eventually to heroin. Lisa is prone to outbursts of violent behavior and being in life threatening situations. As a counselor it is very important for me to consider all aspects of Lisa’s life, so that I can apply the right theory and provide the best treatment for her. Family and Social Dynamics Lisa comes from a very dysfunctional family. Most of Lisa’s childhood was spent in poverty and despair. She saw her mother getting abused at an early age and usually tried to stop the abuse. Lisa’s father used heroin and eventually died of an overdose. Lisa was taught to survive early on by having to fight her brothers and male cousins. When...
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...Drug Addiction Leah Richards PSY326: Research Methods Maleka Hillsman August 27, 2012 The topic that caught my attention when I was reading my choices was “Drug Addiction”. Drug addiction is something that should not be taken lightly by anyone who has a family member or friend with this issue. We often wonder how and what make people turn into being a drug addict. “Drug addiction is rooted in long-term adaptations within the brain that promotes escalating drug use, difficulty quitting, and relapse—all despite the awareness of negative consequences.” With that being said I have always wondered what keep a person going back to their addiction and why can’t they quit. When I read the article and it mention how drug addiction is rooted a light bulb clicked in my head. When something is rooted inside of you whether it is for good or bad it is hard to break. “It was previously hypothesized that addiction was caused in part of an imbalance between an impulsive system that governs appetitive motivation and is driven by immediate rewards on the one hand and a reflective system that regulate and control impulsive according to future pleasurable or aversive consequences.” With this study they were able to predict the hypothesis and see what causes addiction to happen in some cases. I think that the method used in order to see how people become an addict was efficient and it was very precise that made the validity of the experiment a success. It is important to...
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...problem that affects the justice system here in the United States, almost automatically I was drawn to my deep passion for recovery based solutions to drug and alcohol addictions. I have found my experiences in recovery, to repeatedly be surrounded with the pain of those whom have suffered and are still suffering from effects of their addiction(s). Many addictions have grown out of the same medications that when used properly, provided the relief sought to provide pain maintenance and therefore relief of such pain. I firmly believe that without some form of spiritual maintenance, recovery- both physical and mentally- is an endless merry go-round of medical doctors and drug dealers. As a recovering addict/alcoholic myself, my daily walk exposes me to the ever increasing ideology, of not only addicts, but the public at large, to the thought process of finding relief for every day undesirable thought and undesirable actions (according to some), to be the quick fix, which historically has been called the “magic pill” or “magical elixir” cure. In the near future, I plan to be a recovery counselor and placement specialist. I hope to be able to provide some experience based direction, on the path of recovery, to those whom still suffer. I felt the need to understand not only the options being provided for said addictions, but the history that brought those available possible solutions into existence. I personally believe that although methadone may be the necessary cure for some, it...
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...Running head: ADDICTION AND FAMILIES 1 The Effect of Drug and Alcohol Addicts on the Family Brandy M. Foster Wilmington University Introduction Many families have one or more family members that are struggling with and/or overcame an addiction, whether it is drugs or alcohol. There are many programs that are established to help addicts, but there are very few programs that actually assess the effects that a family member’s addiction has on the family. The purpose of this paper is to identify how family members of drug and/or alcohol addicts are affected by the actions of those drug and/or alcohol addicted members. I’m interested in this topic, because I have family members who are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol and I want to see what ways I may have been affected by the actions of my addicted family members. My father was a drug addict for majority of his life and died as a result of it. All of my life, my father has been in and out of jail because of drug related charges and my immediate family and I experienced him getting high in our home and walking around hallucinating and being in a constant state of paranoia. He would walk around our house closing blinds, turning off lights, turning the volume all the way down on the television and constantly peeking out the windows. One time he and my uncle were in the hallway of our trailer supposedly fighting devils in the air that he saw by creating flames in the air using a certain spray and a lighter...
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...Psychological Effects of Street Drugs Krystal Colosimo Mohawk Valley Community College Abstract This paper explores the psychological effects of street drugs, classified as legal, illegal and controlled substances. The legal drugs that I cover are caffeine, alcohol and nicotine. The illegal are marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and heroin. I will also discuss controlled substances, but mainly in reference to prescription pills. I discuss the short-term and long-term effects of all the drugs I cover as well as withdrawal symptoms. I will close with drug abuse treatment help and support and follow with my conclusion. Psychological Effects of Street Drugs A street drug is defined as any substance taken for nonmedical purposes. They can be legal or illegal and are comprised of amphetamines, barbiturates, opiates, psychoactive drugs and as well as natural sources. A drug is a chemical substance that has known biological effects on humans. For this paper I will be discussing drugs under the three categories of being legal, illegal and controlled substances. The most common legal drugs I will discuss are caffeine, alcohol and nicotine. The more common illegal drugs that I will discuss are marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and heroin. There are numerous controlled substances as well and it is defined as a drug or chemical that is regulated by the government. For controlled substances I will only be covering prescription pills. Legal Drugs ...
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...Its Benefits on Future Drug Treatments Laura-Ryan Brooks Argosy University Abstract Drug abuse is a growing problem in the world today. Past studies have been conducted in efforts to recognize similar patterns in addicts’ lives that may have contributed to their behavior. The emerging results from this research suggested that it was due to several maltreatments occurring during the addicted individual’s adolescent years that were behind their early drug use. It is during the critical years of adolescence, when the brains of young adults are still developing, that the youth of today are most susceptible to a number of issues that can lead towards drug addiction, such as problems at home, abuse, and peer-pressure. Exploring these adversities will help shed some light on why adolescents make the decision to use drugs. This paper will address what influences drug use and how this knowledge can help treat addiction. Issues surrounding why addicts began drug use and how this information could be beneficial in treating substance abuse in the future will be explored. . Understanding Early Drug Use and Its Implications on Future Drug Abuse Treatment Addiction has been defined as a “misguided attempt at self-repair” (du Plessis, 2012 para. 53). But who is in danger of becoming addicted or may be feeling the need of some “self-repairing? During a 2013 testing of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS), a tool to assess certain personalities found often in substance...
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...opinion, if I learn something from a class, then I consider it an accomplishment. I like this class because the information is interesting. I feel the issue that challenged me the most is Heroin is not as addictive as I thought. I think one of the significant points I can take away from the class is to understand a person who has co-occurring disorder and the ways to help someone with this disorder. My favorite part of the class is the discussion assignment. The discussion questions are not vague and I like reading the opinions of my classmates on the topic. My least favorite thing about the class was there was a lot to read, and this is expected since the class term is so short. An improvement that would make the class more intrigue would be adding more videos about related topics in the module. Below are the key points I learn from the course. Initially, I believe understanding what addiction means is an important aspect of understanding how to assist someone with an addiction. Addiction is defined as a physiological and psychological dependence on a behavior or substance. Sex, gambling, and spending are all examples of a...
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...International Journal of Drug Policy 23 (2012) 242–247 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect International Journal of Drug Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/drugpo Research paper Nicotine control: E-cigarettes, smoking and addiction Kirsten Bell a,∗ , Helen Keane b a b Department of Anthropology, 6303 NW Marine Drive, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada School of Sociology, Building 22, Hayden Allen Building, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Background: Over the past year or so, electronic cigarettes, more commonly known as ‘e-cigarettes’, have achieved widespread visibility and growing popularity. These products, which deliver nicotine via an inhaled mist, have caused no small amount of controversy in public health circles, and their rise has been accompanied by energetic debate about their potential harms and benefits. Methods: Interspersed with an analysis of current media coverage on e-cigarettes and the response of mainstream tobacco control and public health to these devices, this article examines the emergence of nicotine as both as an ‘addiction’ and a treatment for addiction. Results: We argue that by delivering nicotine in way that resembles the visual spectacle and bodily pleasures of smoking, but without the harms of combustible tobacco, e-cigarettes highlight the complex status of nicotine as both a poison and remedy in...
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...Drugs A Term Paper Presented to: Mrs. Nora H. Cubal Mati School of Arts and Trades City of Mati, Davao Oriental In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements in English IV Presented by: Niño F. Sugaan IV-Zamora S.Y. 2012-2013 Table of Contents I- Introduction A. Statement of the Problem B. Significance of the Study C. Definition of Terms II- Discussion A. What is Drugs? B. Reasons why there are drug addicts C. How drug affects the personality of the user D. Drug addiction treatment III- Summary IV- Suggestion V- Bibliography Acknowledgements First of all I would like to acknowledge to my parents , teachers and classmates for their support and cooperation which help me in completion with this project and I would like to express my special gratitude to the industry for giving me such attention and time. My thanks and appreciation also go to my colleague in developing the project and people who have willingly helped me out with the use of their abilities I- Introduction A drug is a substance which may have medicinal, intoxicating, performance enhancing or other effects when taken or put into a human body or the body of another animal and is not considered a food or exclusively a food. What is considered a drug rather than a food varies between cultures, and distinctions between drugs and foods and between kinds of drug are enshrined...
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...Prescription medication abuse James Glassman COM/172 December 22, 2011 University of Phoenix Sheila Bassoppo-Moyo, Ed.D. Prescription medication abuse In this research paper you will find that obtaining prescription medication is easier than going to find illegal drugs. Another, disturbing problem is the amount of deaths in the United States each year caused by the abuse of prescription medication. Some questions you might find yourself asking are why is this a problem, how can we resolve this problem, what are some long term effects from abuse of prescription medication, and what is the government planning to do to help resolve this issue? In recent years the abuse with prescription medications has come to a ridiculous number in the last decade across the world. I hope this paper helps you understand the significance of this worldwide problem. What is prescription medication abuse? Prescription medication abuse is when someone takes medication prescribed by doctor in a manner or dosage other than prescribed, or when someone takes prescription medication from somebody else and uses it in a manner or dosage other than prescribed (na, 2011). Abuse can include taking a friends or relatives’ prescription to get high, to relieve pain, or help with medical issue without seeing a physician. There is a reason why prescription medications are prescribed by a doctor, prescription medications are dangerous when taken with other medications or not taken properly. In many cases...
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