...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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...How to Deal with the Current Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis Pepper Iris Abstract Prescription drug abuse is a huge and growing problem in the United States. People who are subject are often the ones to develop these addictions. This can happen by being raised or living in a bad neighborhood where drug abuse is prevalent. People with mental illness are also much more likely to develop an addiction than people with normal brain tendencies. To prevent and decrease prescription drug abuse across the country, there are several things that can be done. Students can be better educated of the dangers of drug abuse, in detail, at an early age, then in a more serious way as they grow up and reach the older grades. Doctors can also be better educated in their colleges and medical schools through new programs that can be required to obtain a degree. Finally, the rehabilitation centers of America can use a total reform in both the program, and the priced. Prescription drug abuse is a serious problem in the United States. The rate at which abuse is growing is now higher than it has ever been. The issue is getting so bad, that some states, including Tennessee, have now labeled it as an epidemic. There are several factors that can contribute to prescription drug addiction, such as the environment the abuser is subjected to, as well as their psychological status. Doctors and pharmacists also contribute to the problem, although most of the time, unknowingly. There are several ways to decrease...
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...Drug Trafficking in the United States Bethany Chrisco ENG 122: English Composition II Mary Harmon December 10, 2012 Drug Trafficking in the United States “The war on drugs has become the longest most deadly war the United States has ever faced.”(Wright, 2011) The United States has been fighting drug trafficking since the 1900’s and the main dilemma is how to exactly stop it. Some people believe that making drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, and methamphetamine legal in the United States would put a stop to drug trafficking, but this is just going to do nothing but make things worse for the people of the United States and cause the drug war to begin in our own country. It is believed by some that making drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, and methamphetamine legal in the United States will stop drug trafficking from other countries and help the United States in other ways. People believe that making drugs legal in the United States that it would reduce the prison population which will save the government money, it will make money for our country because the government can tax the drugs, reduce the chances of drug overdoses because the drugs will be more pure and the amount sold will not be deathly, help cancer and glaucoma patients, and stop trafficking and smuggling from other countries. This all may be true in some ways but making these drugs legal would just cause more problems within the United States and for our people. These problems vary...
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...Nathan Bruce 11/22/2015 what causes child abuse? It's hard to imagine someone intentionally hurting a child. Yet nearly 3500 children in the united states die, and 3 million cases are reported every year due to child abuse. From these statistics you can see how big a controversy child abuse is and how frequently it occurs. What is the root cause of child abuse and in what ways can we learn to prevent it? A reason that child abuse occurs is because parents of the abused child are addicted to drugs. In the United States 657,000 children under the age of 3 have parents who abuse drugs, also parents who are drugs addicts are 4.7times more likely to abuse their children. Parents who abuse drug are generally always drunk or high and therefore have no knowledge of what is happening around them. For these reasons when they abuse their children they don't feel any guilt afterwards, as they can't even recall the event. What these parents don’t realise is that maltreatment isn't the only thing that has an effect on their child, as 2/3 of children who are abused grow up to be drug or alcohol addicts themselves. This is a major problem as it automatically repeats the cycle of abuse. Although an ordinary characteristic, stress is a big element in why child abuse occurs. As once the stress starts to building up, parents suddenly blame their children for their own problems. statistics show 10% of children who are abused have single(widower/ widow, unmarried or divorced) ...
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...Substance abuse in the Unites States has changed constantly. In addition it has caused significant public health problem affecting society on numerous levels. Families as well as communities are affected by substance abuse. In this paper I will examine the past and current trends of substance abuse, and how the use of illicit drugs may be considered culturally appropriate. In the mid 1800’s Opium began to arrive as Chinese workers immigrated to the United States to work on the railroads and gold mines. By the late 1800s, opium was quite a popular drug. Before long, opium dens had spread throughout the United States. In 1803, the German scientist Friedrich Sertürner successfully isolated morphine from opium for the purpose of using it as a surgical and post-surgical anesthetic soon making it available to physicians in the United States. It did alleviate pain, but in the process it also left the user in an anesthetized and euphoric state. The benefits of morphine were considered amazing to physicians of the era. But, the addictive properties were not discovered until after the Civil War. “In 1895, Heinrich Dreser, working for the Bayer Company in Germany, synthesized heroin. Bayer began to market the drug in 1898 (Brecher, 1972)”. In 1600 settlers introduced cannabis to Jamestown Virginia at the time it was used for its fiber. That was used to make rope, sails, and clothing. From 1611 until after the Civil War, cannabis was the main crop in North America playing a...
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...Substance Abuse Prevention Programs: Operation, Funding, and Effectiveness. Candace Taylor Grand Canyon University Author Note All correspondence to this research should be forwarded to Candace Taylor. Substance abuse has become a serious issue in America. More and more of America’s youth are starting to use drugs than usual. To prevent this, there are many substance abuse prevention programs that are in place to try and prevent this before it even begins. Three programs were examined for this research paper. Those programs are DARE, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, and SADD. In this paper, the mission, funding and effectiveness of each program will be discussed. DARE DARE, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is a program created to bring awareness of drug abuse with youth in communities. The mission of this program is to teach kids how to make the right decisions and live a drug free, healthy life. “D.A.R.E. is the national symbol for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program which, in partnership with police officers, parents and schools is in use throughout the United States.”(DARE.org). The DARE program is funded by federal government resources and private contributors. A few studies were conducted on the effectiveness of this program. Dr. Ismail Sahin conducted an effective DARE program. “This study has showed that while some research studies found a positive effect of the DARE program, some studies found no significant impact at all” (Sahin 2014). There were several...
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...The abuse of controlled substances is a rapidly growing problem in the United States. Controlled substances include opioids, barbiturates, and tranquilizers. Opioids are prescription painkillers often referred to as narcotics. Per Shepherd (2014), the fastest growing drug problem in the United States is prescription painkiller abuse. It is estimated that the cost of prescription painkiller abuse cost the United States more than $125 billion dollars yearly. A national prescription drug monitoring program for controlled substances would be crucially beneficial in combatting the drug abuse problem in the United States. Prescription painkiller abuse is classified as a health epidemic by the Center for Disease Control(CDC) (Sheperd,2014). There...
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...concerned. The use of illegal drugs and substances also lends its hand to the dismissal of many officers on a yearly basis. As a junior officer in the service, we have the ability to combat the use and abuse of these substances amongst our peers in the wardroom. We can do this by being vigilant in looking for signs of abuse, making sure that everyone understands policies, and using the referent base of power to contest the use and abuse of substances and alcohol. Unfortunately, having a sit down with a buddy of yours in the wardroom can be awkward and possibly not work. Because of this,...
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...talk about in this case report is the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) in the United States. A brief history about the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, through 1989, nine Prescription Drug Monitoring Program has been established. Two were located in state Attorneys General offices (California 1939 and Pennsylvania, 1972); two departments of Public Safety (Hawaii, 1943 and Texas, 1981) one in Department of Substance Abuse Services (Illinois, 1961); one in a Board of Pharmacy; and one in a Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Health Professions (Michigan, 1988). How PDMPs are organized and operated varies among states. Each state determines which agency houses the PDMP; which controlled substances must be reported; which types of dispensers are required to submit data (e.g., pharmacies); how often data are collected; who may access information in the PDMP database (e.g., prescribers, dispensers, or law enforcement); the circumstances under which the information may (or must) be accessed; and what enforcement mechanisms are in place for noncompliance. A lot of people die from overdose of drugs in the United States and from drug abuse, not only that but there a lot of non-medical drug use in the United States as well. According to the Congressional Research Service Seven million individuals aged 12 or older (2.7% of this population) were current nonmedical users of Prescription or psychotherapeutic drugs in 2010 over 1 million emergency department visits...
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...There is a drug crisis in America, but it is not the only crisis America is facing. I would say that there is a health crisis in America more so than a drug crisis. Even though the number of drug related deaths is quite high, there are still more health related deaths. In 2013, Heart Disease caused more than 600,000 deaths alone (Center for Disease Control, 2013) That being said, I do not think that drugs alone are killing America and that is the most serious issue we face. I still agree that drug use and abuse is a problem in America, and that this issue does need to be dealt with, but it is not our only problem. If America is going to focus on this drug issue, then it must recognize all drugs. Society is constantly placing the blame solely...
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...Substance abuse is unfortunately something that has affected most of our lives in some way. Whether it involves an immediate family member or just someone we know of, a memory or picture comes into our minds when we hear the words drugs, abuse, addiction, etc. I personally believe that although addiction is a disease, the steps that lead to it are choices. Many people tend to be uneducated about how a person becomes addicted to a drug. It is often assumed that abusers lack common sense, moral principles or willpower. Drug addiction is actually a very complex disease that requires much more than good intentions to overcome. The initial decision to consume drugs in any way is voluntary for most people. After that, changes in the brain occur over time and challenge a person’s self-control. So why do we harm our bodies and take drugs? The possibilities are endless. Many people feel that it is necessary to drink or experiment with drugs to satisfy a certain stereotype or to fit in at social gatherings. Others use drugs as a way to cope with daily stresses such as tension from school or work, relationship distress, or even physical illness. Drugs are also used as a way to compensate for feelings of guilt or low self-esteem. None of these reasons are “rightful” or “equitable”. I personally believe that here in the United States, drug use and abuse is a problem. Drug abuse and addiction have a much greater amount of negative consequences than they ever will have positive. These...
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...May 2014 Drug Abuse It is often misunderstood by people why or how others get addicted to drugs. Most of the time we perceive abusers lack morals, are bad people and that it is easy to quit and to change their behaviors. Drug abuse is a serious public health problem that affects almost every community and family in some way. Each year drug abuse causes millions of serious illnesses or injuries among Americans. Abused drugs include Amphetamines, Anabolic steroids, Club drugs, Cocaine, Heroin, Inhalants, Marijuana and Prescription drugs. Drug addiction is actually a disease and quitting is more than having a strong will or good intentions. Drugs change the brain which causes quitting to be more difficult even if the abuser is ready to do so because of withdrawals or other symptoms. It has so many negative consequences on the abuser and society. Estimates of the total overall costs of substance abuse in the United States, including productivity and health- and crime-related costs, exceed $600 billion annually. Estimates of the total overall costs of substance abuse in the United States, including productivity and health and crime related costs, surpass $600 billion annually. This includes approximately $193 billion for illicit drugs, (1) $193 billion for tobacco, (2) and $235 billion for alcohol. (3) As bad as these numbers are they don’t fully describe the other prices people pay such as crime, loss of employment, failure in school, domestic violence, child abuse, homelessness...
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...Public health officials have linked the increase in heroin use to the increase in opioid pain prescriptions, along with heroin’s cheaper cost and increased availability (CDC, 2017). To prevent heroin addiction from forming, it has been instructed that health professionals revise when and how much opioid pain prescriptions are prescribed to patients (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2016). To prevent the scope of the heroin epidemic in the Northern Shenandoah Valley there are drug collection units throughout, including in Winchester and Berryville (NSVAC, 2016). The goal is to decrease the availability of unused prescription pain medication. This may prevent opioid abuse from beginning in teenagers and young...
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...INCARCERATION Homelessness is the problem that influences the life of the whole society. It is critical for the United States and as almost half a million of citizens do not have their own houses. They do not have the opportunities that the representatives of the general public have and cannot afford even some basic needs. Homeless individuals have to break the law and commit crimes, such as stealing food, even though they do not intend to do so, which leads to mass incarceration. This influences their behavior and increases the chances of becoming drug or alcohol addicts, which makes homeless individuals even more likely to become incarcerated. People who are imprisoned, often have no or underpaid job that does not provide these people with money enough to have a decent residence, which makes them a vulnerable population (Johnson 2015). It is important to consider what makes homeless people commit crimes that result in imprisonment. The information from various articles received during the literature review, I will reveal the connection between homelessness and incarceration, emphasizing the history that lead to their occurrence as well as the main causes of both problems. I will point out and explain the correlations between homelessness and crime rates, as well as its connections to the mental disorders, substance abuse, and chronic health condition in the context of how homeless lifestyle can be related to the incarceration. Also, I will indicate the way in which homelessness...
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...Gender abuse and addiction proposal Name Institution Course Tutor Date Gender abuse and addiction proposal Before, drinking of alcohol and abuse of other drugs was related to boys. Nowadays, girls are also caught in the statistics of drug abuse and alcoholism. The major problem is that the behaviour starts during the most sensitive stages of individual development and should be given a serious look. There are very many factors that influence alcoholism and drug abuse in both boys and girls. The factors include overall stress, peer influence, less supervision from the parents and even access to more spending money than usual and previous generations. However, the most crucial objective is to tackle the rapidly increasing rate of consumption and abuse. The best way to reduce such issues starts with self-awareness. This is because most people voluntarily start the behaviour and so they can voluntarily stop. If the appropriate approaches are implemented, it is possible to end gender abuse and addictions to drugs and alcohol (Green, 2006). Methodology The best way to tackle the challenge is to convince the victims to self-control and addition of several back up factors to ensure effectiveness. For boys and girls, the family has a great impact on substance use. Through supervision and parental attitudes, both genders find a link to drug abuse. Hence, the family plays a major role and should play a big role in monitoring the life of their children. This shows why there are fewer girls...
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