Reasons Why Youths Indulge in Drug Abuse
Question:
Discuss about the Social Circles and Prescription Drug.
In this essay, I have chosen to discuss drug and substance abuse and how it affects the social determinants of health in youths. This is an interesting topic because there has been a rising trend in drug abuse and little has been done to rescue the situation. After a long-term use of most drugs, one is unable to do without them. In general, the term drug refers to any substance, other than food, that is absorbed to alter the functioning of the body or mind. Youth indulge themselves in drug abuse for different reasons including peer influence where they are unable to thwart negative pressure coming from their friends. Some take drugs to relive various emotional problems (e.g. anger, stress, anxiety, boredom or depression) among several other reasons.
Some drugs are manufactured and sold illegally. The most common illegal drugs are marijuana, stimulants (cocaine, crack, and amphetamines), LSD, PCP, opioids, heroin and “club drugs” (e.g. ecstasy, rohypnol).
Drug use becomes a problem when it produces negative consequences for the user. These consequences, which may be physical, mental, social, emotional, legal, economic or environmental, include: (Wieres et al., 2013)
- Increased health problems, such as illness, injury and physical harm, or death;
- Personal problems, such as loss of motivation, physical or psychological dependence and problems at work or school;
- Family problems, including strained or unhappy relationships and the breakdown of the family;
- Social problems such as increased crime and traffic accidents;
- The higher risk of serious drug use later in life;
- Questions of judgment that may pose risks of accidents, violence, unplanned or unprotected sex, and suicide;
- A conviction for possession or sale of drugs, which may result in a fine, imprisonment or even a criminal record, which may restrict employment and travel opportunities abroad;
- Drug addiction which usually takes a long time to cure and stop using the drug.
Drug and substance abuse among the youth is a serious health problem both to the users and people around them. Increased morbidity rates from drugs and substance consumption have seen more youths being hospitalized affecting health service provision to both the youth and the general population. Most of these drugs have high rates of dependence that consumers may have the hard time withdrawing from their addictions even after realizing the negative consequences of consuming these drugs in their body (Smith et al., 2013). For example, cocaine one may take several years before fully recovering from an episode of addiction. These effects are discussed below;
Maternal and fetal risk- When consumed by a pregnant woman, drugs, for the most part, cross the placenta and reach the fetus. Some drugs are teratogenic i.e. when the access the unborn child they cause severe negative effects on the development of the fetus. They have a deleterious effect both on the course of the pregnancy and on the fetus. Examples of addictive substances with teratogenic effects include alcohol and tobacco consumption. These include miscarriage, in utero death, premature delivery, fetal malformations, sudden infant death, stunting growth and, mental abnormalities. Successful deliveries can produce infants with alcohol withdrawal syndromes and babies who may be an easy target to infections and diseases. These babies may have slower development and learning disabilities, small brain, small head and small body size. They may also have small eye openings and nearsightedness.
After taking drugs, one is likely to engage in sexual activities that may lead to transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. Due to poor judgment, most drug users participate in unprotected sex predisposing them to diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Rape cases are also high in drug addicts. Rape can lead to physical injuries, unwanted pregnancies and spread of several sexually transmitted diseases. Some of the injectable drugs for example lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) are shared using a single syringe. This also has a danger of transmission of these deadly diseases which has claimed the lives of many youths (Kellam et al., 2013).
Consequences of Drug Use
Several illnesses result from drug and substance abuse. These can include a multitude of somatic and psychiatric symptoms e.g. insomnia, gastric disorders, liver damage, depression, cardiac complications, and anorexia. For example, excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to liver impairment. Habitual smoking can lead to respiratory problems including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which can complicate the life of an individual. Some drugs affect the brain functioning that can result in several negative effects such as blindness, poor digestion, and even mental problems.
Drug and substance abusers are more likely to commit suicide as compared to non-users. Death results from emotion stress that results from drug abuse. These individuals are unable to make rational decisions owing to poor judgments made when under the influence of drugs. Chances of committing accidents are also increased in drug abusers. Over-speeding is a common phenomenon in drunk drivers. Accidents lead to loss of many people in the roads either passengers or pedestrians. Some of these drugs also result in poor coordination between the body, head and fingers hence one may cause an accident when operating big machines such as construction equipment and motors that require excellent coordination when using.
Youths who are chronic users of these addictive drugs are tempted to start early families, and due to drug consumption, they are unable to take proper care of these families health- wise. They fail to provide basic needs e.g. food to their families. Some will be tempted to use the little money available for family use. Therefore in case, a family member fall sick they are unable to get quality health service due to insufficient funds. Family conflicts among drug users can lead to injuries and accidents that can be very fatal. Engaging in the robbery in attempts to get money to buy drugs may result in either the addict being killed or imprisoned or their victims suffering from injuries caused during the robbery.
Some drugs e.g. Catha edulis has diverse effects on the reproductive health of an induvial. It can make blood vessels supplying the reproductive tract to constrict inhibiting urine flow in men and inability to attain and sustain an erection. Excessive consumption of this drug can result in excessive spermatogenesis and with impaired arousal hence spermatorrhea results with concerned men forced to wear several underpants. In women, some drugs cause dehydration of the lining of the reproductive tract resulting in blistering and pain during sexual intercourse. The micro- injuries caused during sex can cause infections and sexually transmitted disease. Some drugs cause hormonal imbalance in the body. This may result in women menstrual flow problems e.g. amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea and oligomenorrhea. In men, it can lead to infertility and testicular shrinkage.
To prevent all the discussed health problems among the youth resulting from drug and substance abuse a significant intervention should be focused on lowering the rate of abuse of these drugs among the population. In an attempt to implement these interventions several stakeholders are required to provide sufficient support for the success of the plan. Some of the important stakeholders include;
Impact of Drug Abuse on Social Determinants of Health
The government should ensure that measures are put in place directed towards ensuring that all the youths go to school. Providing educational opportunities to the youths will make them busy and therefore not have time to idle around and engage in drug abuse. Most youths who participate in drug and substance abuse merely because they are unemployed and can, therefore, be easily manipulated by their peers to participate in drug addiction (Lai et al., 2013). Education also involves informing the youth about the dangers of abusing drugs and several health risks that come with drug addiction. Drug and substance abuse is an area that when incorporated into the syllabus will provide youths with enough knowledge on drugs and they will, therefore, be suited to resist any negative peer pressure from their friends. Education in drug and substance abuse can be done by running advertisements in televisions, radios, use of banners and articles to create awareness on the harmful health effects of these drugs among the youth. The government also has a duty to create enough employment opportunities to qualified youths to avoid the case of idleness and attempts to engage in drug abuse (Rowe, 2012).
The government should create enough rehabilitation centers aimed at helping the youths who do not want to continue abusing drugs but are unable to stop because of addiction. The rehabilitation centers should be complete with all the drugs required for treatment and social amenities such as food and proper nutrition. Mentors are also employed in these centers to train the youths on how to stop taking drugs and live a healthy life again. During the rehabilitation process, these youths are also trained in various technical skills e.g. tailoring that they will require to create jobs for themselves when they fully recover. This prevents idleness and the urge to start taking the drug again after rehabilitation (Brick, 2012).
The government should put in place policies on drug and substance abuse and ensure its full implementation. The government should investigate and prosecute drug peddlers who make these drugs available to the youth. The drug traffickers should be taken to court and the full force of the law. By cutting the source of these illegal drugs, there will be a high likelihood of success in attempts to stop drug abuse.
Another key stakeholder in the fight against drug abuse is the society. The community should be proactive and speak against drug and substance abuse. Providing enough education on drug abuse to the society and encouraging them to condemn these acts is very important. Parents should offer sufficient protection to their children from drug addiction and keep advising them to stay away from bad influence. This will limit the exposure their children get about drug and substance abuse. The society should also ensure that their youths get educational opportunities and using this knowledge in ways that are of impacts to both themselves and the society as a whole (Kendler et al., 2012).
The community should create enough role models that the youth can look up to. A community with many adults engaging in drug and substance abuse practices will negatively influence the youths to take part in drug and substance abuse. A society that upholds good morals and shuns immoral behavior play a very crucial role in ensuring their youth do not engage in drug addiction. Religious leaders should speak boldly against drug abuse among young people in every society. Every society, therefore, has an important role in the fight against drug addiction. Creating a drug-free environment to all youths and encouraging the youths to take part in important activities such as planting trees will go a long way in discouraging idleness and attempts to engage in drug abuse (Carlson, 2013).
References
Sobell, L. C., Sobell, M. B., & Ward, E. (Eds.). (2013). Evaluating alcohol and drug abuse treatment effectiveness: Recent advances. Elsevier.
Kendler, K. S., Sundquist, K., Ohlsson, H., PalmÚr, K., Maes, H., Winkleby, M. A., & Sundquist, J. (2012). Genetic and familial environmental influences on the risk for drug abuse: a national Swedish adoption study. Archives of general psychiatry, 69(7), 690-697.
Brick, J. (Ed.). (2012). Handbook of the medical consequences of alcohol and drug abuse. Routledge.
Zgierska, A., Miller, M., & Rabago, D. (2012). Patient satisfaction, prescription drug abuse, and potential unintended consequences. JAMA, 307(13), 1377-1378.
Rowe, C. L. (2012). Family therapy for drug abuse: Review and updates 2003–2010. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38(1), 59-81.
Kellam, S. G., Wang, W., Mackenzie, A. C., Brown, C. H., Ompad, D. C., Or, F., & Windham, A. (2014). The impact of the Good Behavior Game, a universal classroom-based preventive intervention in first and second grades, on high-risk sexual behaviors and drug abuse and dependence disorders into young adulthood. Prevention Science, 15(1), 6-18.
Donohew, L., Sypher, H. E., & Bukoski, W. J. (Eds.). (2012). Persuasive communication and drug abuse prevention. Routledge.
Emmelkamp, P. M., & Vedel, E. (2012). Evidence-based treatments for alcohol and drug abuse: A practitioner’s guide to theory, methods, and practice. Routledge.
Hanson, C. L., Cannon, B., Burton, S., & Giraud-Carrier, C. (2013). An exploration of social circles and prescription drug abuse through Twitter. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(9), e189.
Lai, F. Y., Bruno, R., Hall, W., Gartner, C., Ort, C., Kirkbride, P.. & Mueller, J. F. (2013). Profiles of illicit drug use during annual key holiday and control periods in Australia: wastewater analysis in an urban, a semi?rural and a vacation area. Addiction, 108(3), 556-565.
Kolodny, A., Courtwright, D. T., Hwang, C. S., Kreiner, P., Eadie, J. L., Clark, T. W., & Alexander, G. C. (2015). The prescription opioid and heroin crisis: a public health approach to an epidemic of addiction. Annual review of public health, 36, 559-574.
Carlson, N. R. (2013). Physiology of behavior. Boston: Pearson.
Wiers, R. W., Gladwin, T. E., Hofmann, W., Salemink, E., & Ridderinkhof, K. R. (2013). Cognitive bias modification and cognitive control training in addiction and related psychopathology: Mechanisms, clinical perspectives, and ways forward. Clinical Psychological Science, 1(2), 192-212.
Lyman, M. D. (2013). Drugs in Society: Causes, concepts, and control. Routledge.
West, R., & Brown, J. (2013). Theory of addiction. John Wiley & Sons.
Smith, S. M., Dart, R. C., Katz, N. P., Paillard, F., Adams, E. H., Comer, S. D., … & Jones, C. M. (2013). Classification and definition of misuse, abuse, and related events in clinical trials: ACTTION systematic review and recommendations. PAIN®, 154(11), 2287-2296.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
