The Impact of Drug Abuse on Society

The Impact of Drug Abuse on Society

Research Questions

1. What are the effects on the health of a drug abuse addict? What are the causes of drug addiction?
2. What is the impact of drug and substance use on the development of society?
3. What are the causes of the spread of drug abuse among populations in society, and how can these habits be eradicated among the community?

Aim and Objectives

This paper aims at discovering the different ways the abuse of drugs among members of a society affects the health status of the group. The study will also discuss the negative influence the abuse of narcotics has on society, especially at the generational level. The research seeks to discover the cause of the spread of drug abuse habits and try to explore methods of breaking apart the habits o drug abuse among social groups in society.

Literature Review

The view of drug abuse by society differs conceptually with the scientific definition of drug abuse. However, the two definitions revolve around the conventional idea of the misuse of drugs. Empirical researches reveal that narcotic drugs are more abused compared to medicinal drugs. Opiate drugs include some examples such as Bhang, Cocaine, Opium, and Heroine, among others. Most of these drugs are obtained from organic drugs with the least being sourced from laboratory reactions among elements. The abuse of narcotics is a frequent topic of discussion among societal forums and ought to be addressed. Drug abuse affects the individual user as well as their surroundings.

1. Health Effects

The consumption of narcotic drugs causes adverse effects on the functioning of the human body. Several infections have been associated with the use of drugs, such as throat and mouth cancer (Fox, Oliver and Ellis, 2013). Some of the health concerns on the abuse of drugs are drug tolerance, drug dependence, neurological impact and accumulation of toxicants leading to illnesses.

Drug tolerance

Drug tolerance is the increasing demand for more copious amounts of drugs to attain satisfaction, increasingly with time. Drug tolerance is majorly described as a precursor to substance addiction and dependence (Fox, Oliver and Ellis, 2013). As the consumer continues with the abuse, their bodies tend to demand more substance to attain a specific level of stimulation. The user is more likely to gain a dependency on the drug. As the amount of substance consumption increases, levels of toxic substances build up in the body of the user.

Drug Dependence

As a drug is continuously administered into the body, the body develops both chemical and physical adaptions to the condition aroused by the use of the drug. Once usage is stopped, the physiological state of the body established by the drug is lost, and the body experiences the effects of emptiness and the pressure to bring back the homeostasis effect (Fox, Oliver and Ellis, 2013). The consumer is then forced to maintain the usage of the drug in a bid to reduce body distress. This condition results in a syndrome, which is worsened by continuous assimilation of the drug, causing drug addiction.

Diseases

As more toxic substances are being assimilated into the body, the immune system weakens with time subjecting the user to infections. Also, most of the narcotic drugs contain active disease-causing substances such as tar and carcinogens in smoked pills that spike the development of health and biological disorders upon usage (Fox, Oliver and Ellis, 2013).

1. Impact on Society

The effect of drug abuse by parents on children is significant in both their social life as well as their health status. Children born by addicting drug parents experience physical and health-related disorders, mainly caused by harmful substances assimilated in their bodies during fetal development. Inappropriate behaviour expressed by drug addicts in family set-ups also affects the psychological growth of children in those families. Levels of poverty among families rise due to excess expenditure going into drug and substance abuse (Daley, 2013). Therefore, children end up dropping out of school.

In society, drug abuse is majorly correlated with criminalities, health problems and non-civilization. Increase in health problems around drug abusers burdens healthcare services in society and depletes resources that could have been used to prevent other infectious diseases. Drug abuse also increases levels of insecurity in society, leading to low development rates in businesses and infrastructure (Daley, 2013). This situation is caused by the need to satisfy the reward deficiency syndrome, which is common among drug addicts. Drug abuse also increases the level of illiteracy among communities by increasing the number of school dropouts.