When you turn on the news channel or read a newspaper, you might come across a headline like “Bronx Bust Uncovers Packing Plant With $7.5 Million in Drugs : authorities" or "Police arrest three people during Weslaco drug raid" or "Border Patrol agents arrest teen with methamphetamine and black tar heroin." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Drugs are a major problem in America today, I think the general public would agree with this statement. The drugs can cause serious medical complications for users and cause emotional pain to both the abuser and their family. When people think about the effects of drug addiction, the previous two examples are the most commonly discussed effects, but there are many more problems. Substance abuse impacts health care costs, lost productivity, costs of the war on drugs, and costs of rehabilitation programs. . As a police lieutenant for the PSJA Police Department, drug addiction has always intrigued me because I have seen up close the effects drug addiction has on people. I have seen how people who constantly use drugs have allowed them to control their lives to the point where drugs are more important to them than food. The World Health Organization defines drug addiction as “the harmful or dangerous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs.” In 2014, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health concluded that more than 7 million Americans struggled with a drug abuse disorder. The same report concluded that the highest percentage of illicit drug users was in the 18-25 age group, at 22%, or more than 1 in 5. The second largest age group was that of 12 to 17 year olds, indicating that 11.6% of adolescents used a drug. illicit drug in the past month. This was a surprising revelation to me: adolescents were more likely to use illicit drugs than adults aged 26 or older (8.3%). Much less shocking was the fact that marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, according to the survey. As a police officer, marijuana was the most common drug we arrested individuals for. In twenty years, marijuana-related arrests have become a “norm” over time. I have never arrested an individual carrying meth or heroin. In 2014, about 1.8 million teens, or about 7.4% of all teens in the United States, had used marijuana in the past month. 19.6% of young adults (18-25 years old) used marijuana in the past month, and all three age groups showed increased rates of use compared to the previous year. Heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine were all below 1% in all three age groups, with the exception of cocaine use among young adults (ages 18-25), measured at 1.4% at during the previous month. The National Institute on Drug Abuse released a study in 2017 titled “Monitoring the Future (NIDA 2017).” The goal of the survey was to collect data on drug trends among today's teens. 3 12th graders have used some sort of vaping device in the past year. Vaping devices may contain nicotine, marijuana, flavored juices or synthetic drugs. This same study showedthat 33% of students who used a vape pen reported using it to smoke nicotine. Imagine a class of 500 students, approximately 46 students in that class have smoked nicotine with a vape pen in the past year. Vaping is certainly a trend that has become more popular in recent years and now that popularity is spreading from young adults to teenagers. . Some might argue that vaping is a “safer method,” but ingesting nicotine into your body is never safe, no matter which method you use. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Inc. (NCADD) has estimated that drug abuse costs employers $81 billion annually. The 4 main effects of alcohol and drug abuse in the work environment are premature deaths/fatal accidents, injury/accident rates, excessive absences. /sick leave and loss of production. Being under the influence of substances in the workplace can have the same deadly impact as drunk driving, for people working in construction, oil fields, drivers or other professions involving the use heavy machinery. Fatal accidents can result from working under the influence of alcohol or drugs, falling asleep, or being completely unaware of the surroundings. The NCADD measured that workers with alcohol or drug abuse problems were 2.7 more likely than workers without alcohol problems to have injuries. related absences. It's not just those who use drugs or alcohol who are at risk, the risk of injury to their colleagues also increases. a worker is operating a forklift just 30 minutes after getting high from smoking marijuana, his senses may not be heightened, he could lose concentration and potentially drop the heavy load he is using, causing injury, or even death, to his colleagues. One poor decision by one worker could potentially impact multiple lives, their co-worker's life and that co-worker's family could all be affected in a single incident. NCADD statistics also indicate that workplace deaths show that 11% of victims had alcohol in their system at the time of death. Workers dealing with substance abuse tend to have a higher number of absences/sick leave than their colleagues who do not abuse alcohol or drugs. Substance abusers are 2.2 times more likely to request early leave or leave, and 2.5 times more likely to be absent for eight days or more. This may be due to serious health problems and complications resulting from substance abuse, fatigue from a long night of drinking and drug use, or perhaps the worker just "needs so much". a dose” that he decides to take a whole day off to satisfy his addiction. All three scenarios have the same result, a loss of production in the workplace which can affect the returning employee "needing to catch up" or their colleagues who must pick up the pace to compensate for the workers' absence. These statistics and scenarios show that drug addiction affects not only the user but also their colleagues. You may be a victim of this problem without even knowing it, having to finish work for colleagues who are always absent despite constantly inviting people into your office for happy times. hour. The impact of drug addiction on the health care industry is financially greater than the impact of lost production in the workplace. Estimated tobacco-related health care costs ($168 billion)dollars), alcohol ($27 billion), illicit drugs ($11 billion), and prescription opioids ($26 billion) total $232 billion annually. Health complications related to substance abuse can lead to multiple medical visits. visits, medication costs, and even expensive surgeries to correct serious complications related to substance abuse. As we begin to better understand mental health and the impact of substance abuse on mental health problems, we expect to see these healthcare costs increase even more. When a person recovers from drug addiction and all the challenges that come with it in order to better themselves and their family, it is an inspiring story. These stories are unfortunately not as common as we would like, and addicts are more likely to face death than the end of a storybook. In 2016, the United States recorded more than 63,600 drug overdose deaths, and opioid overdose deaths are five times higher in 2016 than in 1999.27 The three states with the highest drug overdose death rates the highest are West Virginia (52 deaths per 100,000), Ohio (39.1 deaths per 100,000), and New Hampshire (39.0 deaths per 100,000). 100,000). Ohio and West Virginia saw a statistically significant increase in overdose rates of at least 25% between 2015 and 2016. We see increases in overdose rates in more than half of all states, not including states where rates were thought to be increasing but this was not statistically the case. significant. Knowledge of opioids and other substances is preached in schools, workplaces, churches, and even in television commercials. This knowledge may be helping to reduce the number of users, but so far it has not impacted overdose rates as we hoped. The opioid epidemic is finally getting the attention it needs from national media and politicians. Hopefully, laws can be put in place to help reduce overdose rates in the years to come. Imagine going out with your colleagues to have a drink at your bar and after hours of good times, you see a man at the bar who has been drinking a lot start making inappropriate comments to other customers. Staff ask the man to leave and the man begins to shout and become aggressive with a member of staff before having to be physically escorted out of the bar. This is an example of how drug addiction can lead to aggression, the role of the "drunk and abusive" father is played quite commonly in today's television shows or movies. In one of my favorite movies of all time, "The Dark Knight," the iconic Batman villain, the Prankster, tells Batman how he got the scars that go around his mouth. “My father was a drinker… and one evening he gets crazier than usual, he puts the blade to my mouth and says: let's put a smile on this face. » It seems to be common knowledge that substance abuse can lead to increased aggression and, therefore, violence. Alcohol and illicit drugs are present among both offenders and victims of many violent events. The central theme of this article is to highlight the tremendous impact of drug addiction on everyone in our country. We have seen the impact of addiction on our workplace, our healthcare system and violence. In my opinion, the most devastating impact of drug addiction is felt on the family members of the abuser. People with substance abuse problemsThey rarely recognize their problem until it begins to have a commanding presence and control over their daily lives. Many deny the problem if a family member or friend tells them they have an addiction problem. The stigma of being a "drug addict" or an "alcoholic" is damaging to a person's mind and so they insist that they don't have a problem, or that they have it "under control ". Recognizing the signs of substance abuse is essential to recovery or helping someone in recovery, recovery cannot occur until the person realizes that they have substance abuse issues. Symptoms of addiction include loss of control, neglect of other activities of daily living, risk taking, relationship problems, secrecy, family. history, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, continued use despite negative consequences. Abusers lose control when they continue to use a substance for doses and periods longer than initially intended. They may lose track of time and even though they told themselves they would "only use one dose for a quick 15 minutes", now 2 hours have passed and they are past 3 doses. Alcohol is a substance where the amount of alcohol drunk can quickly add up before the user realizes it. Other times, users know they have already taken the amount they planned to use, but cannot control themselves and continue to consume the substance. As previously mentioned about the impact of drug addiction on the economy, addicts may begin to neglect activities such as work, school, and family functions, all because of the “need” to use. Alcohol and drugs affect the brain's decision-making processes, which can have negative impacts on school and work. We discussed how drug addiction affects those close to abusers, showing how the impact of drug addiction extends beyond the abuser. Some of the most common symptoms are temporary fainting, arguments with family and friends, depression, mood swings, the need to use substances to "cheer up, sleep, cope with problems or feel normal.” Other symptoms include using the substance in the morning or covertly. Addicts may be ashamed of their drug use, but the constant need for the substance in their lives causes them to act in ways to conceal their use, such as finding secluded areas to use in order to keep their secret. TreatmentNow that we have identified the main problems arising from drug addiction, let's explore current treatment options for drug addicts. A survey conducted from 2004 to 2013 by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, focused on identifying people with opioid use disorder, found 6,770 respondents. The percentage of respondents receiving treatment for opioid use disorder was 16.6% between 2004 and 2008. There was a significant increase from 16.6% to 21.5% of users between 2009 and 2013 receiving some form of treatment. Drug addiction is classified as a brain disease that affects behavior, the chemicals in drugs can cause major changes in brain chemistry. The effects of drug addiction on the brain can impact a person long after they stop taking the drug, usually months or even years. The chemical changes in the brain and the effects still present could cause a person to relapse even after months of.