Drug Abuse & Treatment

Drug Abuse & Treatment

There is definitely a lot of information on drug abuse and there are literally thousands of statistics that may or may not help to steer you away from drug abuse.  Most importantly, people who are educated about drug abuse tend to be less likely to use drugs or to fall victim to addiction so it’s important to get as much information on drug abuse upfront and early on in order to help prevent future cases of addiction.  The details are limitless and new information related to drugs, drug abuse and addiction continues to come out every single day.

Many people do not understand what it is that allows some people to use drugs recreationally and never become addicted and others to use drugs just a handful of times and find themselves physically and mentally dependent on the drugs.  The fact is, addiction still is not fully understood by many and the information on drug abuse and addiction that we do have is ever evolving and changing as new studies are conducted and scientific advances shed light on how drugs affect the brain.

Various factors can cause some people to become addicted to drugs while others do not. Science has found that there is no single factor that will or will not cause you to become addicted to drugs if you use them.  Some of the factors that increase the risk of addiction resulting from drug abuse include:

·        Genetic predisposition

·        Ethnicity

·        Socioeconomic status

·        Environmental factors such as peer pressure or physical abuse

·        Age at which drug abuse begins

Preventing Drug Abuse

With all the information on drug abuse that is available, many studies continue to focus on effective drug abuse prevention methods.  The fact is, you cannot become addicted to drugs if you don’t use drugs so prevention is really the best treatment for addiction.  To stop drug abuse before it starts can help to reduce the risk of dangerous consequences, reduce the risk of spreading disease and reduce the risk of death associated with drug overdose.

Unfortunately, there is no set way or method of preventing drug abuse and every individual will respond differently to the education, awareness and other drug abuse prevention methods that take place.  Most of the time, teens and young adults respond well to education and outreach efforts to prevent drug abuse, especially if these efforts take place by others in similar age groups such as their peers.  Peer influence continues to be a huge factor in whether or not a young adult abuses drugs and it can be used to the advantage of the community to help prevent cases of drug abuse.

Overall, the way that you use the information on drug abuse that is available to you can play a deciding role in whether or not you fall victim to the perils of addiction.  Thousands of people are educated about drug abuse each day and each of them will take one of two directions in his or her life—to steer clear from using drugs and prevent addiction all together or to abuse drugs and take the risk of becoming an addict who needs professional help.  The choice is up to you!

Resources

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/understanding-drug-abuse-addiction