essay about preventing drug addiction

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Understanding Drug Use and Addiction DrugFacts

Many people don't understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. They may mistakenly think that those who use drugs lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop their drug use simply by choosing to. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting usually takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Drugs change the brain in ways that make quitting hard, even for those who want to. Fortunately, researchers know more than ever about how drugs affect the brain and have found treatments that can help people recover from drug addiction and lead productive lives.

What Is drug addiction?

Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. These brain changes can be persistent, which is why drug addiction is considered a "relapsing" disease—people in recovery from drug use disorders are at increased risk for returning to drug use even after years of not taking the drug.

It's common for a person to relapse, but relapse doesn't mean that treatment doesn’t work. As with other chronic health conditions, treatment should be ongoing and should be adjusted based on how the patient responds. Treatment plans need to be reviewed often and modified to fit the patient’s changing needs.

Video: Why are Drugs So Hard to Quit?

What happens to the brain when a person takes drugs?

Most drugs affect the brain's "reward circuit," causing euphoria as well as flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine. A properly functioning reward system motivates a person to repeat behaviors needed to thrive, such as eating and spending time with loved ones. Surges of dopamine in the reward circuit cause the reinforcement of pleasurable but unhealthy behaviors like taking drugs, leading people to repeat the behavior again and again.

As a person continues to use drugs, the brain adapts by reducing the ability of cells in the reward circuit to respond to it. This reduces the high that the person feels compared to the high they felt when first taking the drug—an effect known as tolerance. They might take more of the drug to try and achieve the same high. These brain adaptations often lead to the person becoming less and less able to derive pleasure from other things they once enjoyed, like food, sex, or social activities.

Long-term use also causes changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits as well, affecting functions that include:

• decision-making

Despite being aware of these harmful outcomes, many people who use drugs continue to take them, which is the nature of addiction.

Why do some people become addicted to drugs while others don't?

No one factor can predict if a person will become addicted to drugs. A combination of factors influences risk for addiction. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance that taking drugs can lead to addiction. For example:

• Biology . The genes that people are born with account for about half of a person's risk for addiction. Gender, ethnicity, and the presence of other mental disorders may also influence risk for drug use and addiction.
• Environment . A person’s environment includes many different influences, from family and friends to economic status and general quality of life. Factors such as peer pressure, physical and sexual abuse, early exposure to drugs, stress, and parental guidance can greatly affect a person’s likelihood of drug use and addiction.
• Development . Genetic and environmental factors interact with critical developmental stages in a person’s life to affect addiction risk. Although taking drugs at any age can lead to addiction, the earlier that drug use begins, the more likely it will progress to addiction. This is particularly problematic for teens. Because areas in their brains that control decision-making, judgment, and self-control are still developing, teens may be especially prone to risky behaviors, including trying drugs.

Can drug addiction be cured or prevented?

As with most other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, treatment for drug addiction generally isn’t a cure. However, addiction is treatable and can be successfully managed. People who are recovering from an addiction will be at risk for relapse for years and possibly for their whole lives. Research shows that combining addiction treatment medicines with behavioral therapy ensures the best chance of success for most patients. Treatment approaches tailored to each patient’s drug use patterns and any co-occurring medical, mental, and social problems can lead to continued recovery.

More good news is that drug use and addiction are preventable. Results from NIDA-funded research have shown that prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media are effective for preventing or reducing drug use and addiction. Although personal events and cultural factors affect drug use trends, when young people view drug use as harmful, they tend to decrease their drug taking. Therefore, education and outreach are key in helping people understand the possible risks of drug use. Teachers, parents, and health care providers have crucial roles in educating young people and preventing drug use and addiction.

Points to Remember

• Drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences.
• Brain changes that occur over time with drug use challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. This is why drug addiction is also a relapsing disease.
• Relapse is the return to drug use after an attempt to stop. Relapse indicates the need for more or different treatment.
• Most drugs affect the brain's reward circuit by flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine. Surges of dopamine in the reward circuit cause the reinforcement of pleasurable but unhealthy activities, leading people to repeat the behavior again and again.
• Over time, the brain adjusts to the excess dopamine, which reduces the high that the person feels compared to the high they felt when first taking the drug—an effect known as tolerance. They might take more of the drug, trying to achieve the same dopamine high.
• No single factor can predict whether a person will become addicted to drugs. A combination of genetic, environmental, and developmental factors influences risk for addiction. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance that taking drugs can lead to addiction.
• Drug addiction is treatable and can be successfully managed.
• More good news is that drug use and addiction are preventable. Teachers, parents, and health care providers have crucial roles in educating young people and preventing drug use and addiction.

For information about understanding drug use and addiction, visit:

• www.nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drug-abuse-addiction

For more information about the costs of drug abuse to the United States, visit:

• www.nida.nih.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics#costs

For more information about prevention, visit:

• www.nida.nih.gov/related-topics/prevention

For more information about treatment, visit:

• www.nida.nih.gov/related-topics/treatment

To find a publicly funded treatment center in your state, call 1-800-662-HELP or visit:

• https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/

This publication is available for your use and may be reproduced in its entirety without permission from NIDA. Citation of the source is appreciated, using the following language: Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institutes of Health; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Prevention of Substance Abuse

Drug abuse is becoming a growing social and a public health problem. There are many substances blamed to be of use and abuse. Substances are either licit or lawful (bought legally as tobacco and alcohol) and illicit or illegal as heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, or cannabis. This has influenced public and individual view to the whole problem. Public view on a drug being a licit one, there is no enough cause to face its consumption. Second, being licit, it is available for everyone’s’ wide use; yet, the harm is still cropping up (Fagg, pp.1-15). This essay aims to discuss briefly prevention of substance abuse.

On reviewing the literature, substance use, abuse, and dependence are used interchangeably (Fagg, pp. 1-15). Based on the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV-TR (2002), both substance abuse and dependence are maladaptive patterns of substance use. The difference is mainly in the decisive factors needed to consider a case an abuse or dependence. Drug abuse is an individual showing one or more of the following signs within 12 months of drug use. Repeated drug use results in failure to fulfill a principal commitment (work, school, social, or family). The individual does not avoid using the drug in possibly risky circumstances as driving or working on a machine. Other signs include repeated use of the drug despite exposure to legal problems, social or family problems caused by, or aggravated by using the drug. In drug dependence, the individual fulfills at least three (or more) of the following signs on condition, signs take place within 12 months of drug intake. First is tolerance, it takes one of two forms , either there is a need to take increasing doses to get the wanted effect or continued intake of the same dose results in reduced effect. Second, drug withdrawal results in symptoms relieved by drug intake. Third, is despite continuous urge to stop the drugs but repeated trials persistently failed. Fourth, longtime, persistent, repeated, and failing efforts spent trying to control the drug intake are signs of drug dependence. Other signs are declining significant commitments whether social, work-related, or leisure-related because the individual keeps on taking the drug (DSM-IV, pp.185-198).

A successful substance abuse prevention program should fulfill the following stipulations (National Institute on Drug Abuse, pp. 2-25).

• About risk and protective factors: a prevention program should focus on strengthening protective factors, and minimizing risk factors. It should also address all possibilities of substance abuse (single or in combinations) and should be planned for the targeted community.
• Prevention programs usually give better results if combined (school and family targeted), and delivered at times of transition (as the transition from middle school to high school)
• It should be research-based in structure, content, and delivery.
• It should be long-term with interventions or booster sessions, and delivered in multiple settings (school, clubs, family, or religious organizations)
• Several Meta-analysis studies confirmed that interactive approaches produce better results than non-interactive ones.
• A successful prevention program should include training of the executive personnel.

Based on data from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), there are three different approaches to choose the one most suitable to the target group. The universal approach, the selective approach, targets a subgroup considered at high risk. Third, is the indicated approach that aims at the subgroup showing early signs of substance dependence (Nebraska Behavioral Heath Program, pp.9-10).

Prevention of substance abuse needs inclusive and intricate approaches that interconnect school, family, and community. Whatever the approach is, it has to rely on an understanding of the psychological, social, and cultural factors behind the problem (Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA, p. 85). Psychological comorbidity is common with substance abuse, Rosack (p.32) stated that smoking in the targetUS population is nearly 23%, in schizophrenia and mood disorders patients tobacco abuse rises nearly to 90%. A figure that points to how important prevention-associated, intervention programs are.

Works Cited

• American Psychiatric Association (2002). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
• Disorders DSM IV-TR (4th ed). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press.
• Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA. UCLA Dept. of Psychology. A resource aid packet on Substance Abuse. 2003.
• Fagg, D. “Adolescent Drug Use.” Revolve vol 13 2006. p. 1-15.
• Nebraska Health and Human Service System. Office of Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Addiction Services. SICA Guidance Document For Selecting Science-Based and Promising Substance Abuse Prevention Strategies. By Nebraska Behavioral Health Prevention Program. 2004.
• Rosack, J. “NIDA, APA Collaborate On Substance Abuse Series.” Psychiatric News vol 39 (4) 2004. p. 32.

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Drug Addiction — The Causes, Effects and Prevention of Drug Addiction

The Problem of Drug Addiction: Causes, Effects and Solutions

• Categories: Drug Addiction

About this sample

Words: 1196 |

Published: Jan 15, 2019

Words: 1196 | Pages: 3 | 6 min read

Table of contents

Causes of drug addiction, effects of drug addiction, how to prevent drug addiction (essay), works cited.

• Doan, H. (2007). Police dogs will sniff out drugs at city schools. The Roanoke Times.
• Mayo Clinic. (2019). Drug addiction (substance use disorder).
• National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2022). Principles of drug addiction treatment: A research-based guide (third edition).
• New York Times. (2009). Drug-sniffing dogs are in demand.
• Psychological Studies and Support to Drug Users. (2014). Teenagers and drug use: Facts and figures.
• Smith, M. J., & Stevens, A. (Eds.). (2013). Drug Policy and the Public Good.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2018). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2021). Treatment for substance use disorders.
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2021). World drug report 2021.
• Volkow, N. D., Koob, G. F., & McLellan, A. T. (2016). Neurobiologic advances from the brain disease model of addiction. New England Journal of Medicine, 374(4), 363-371.

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