Addiction JoAnn and Marti by Alana O'Neal

1. Drugs that are commonly abused?

alanaoneal9 — 2015-03-17 18:25:58 UTC

Drugs that are commonly abused are

Ccigarettes,
Marijuana,
Alcohol
Ecstasy

Methamphetamine

2 .What are the cost of substance abuse to society?

alanaoneal9 — 2015-03-18 17:59:45 UTC

The cost of substance abuse to society is hundreds of billions of dollars

3. Where can I learn more about the science of a drug addiction?

alanaoneal9 — 2015-03-18 18:08:33 UTC

You can learn more about a drug addiction at www.drugabuse.gov

4. What is a drug addiction?

joannjohnson797 — 2015-03-18 18:13:17 UTC

A drug addiction is a complex disease/illness, and quitting takes more than good plan or a strong will. In fact, because drugs change the brain in ways that foster compulsive drug abuse, quitting is difficult, even for those who are ready to do so.

5. How is addiction a disease?

alanaoneal9 — 2015-03-18 18:16:46 UTC

Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him or her. Although the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, the brain changes that occur over time challenge an addicted person’s self-control and hamper his or her ability to resist intense impulses to take drugs.

7. Why do some people become addicted while others do not?

alanaoneal9 — 2015-03-18 18:24:37 UTC

No single factor can predict whether a person will become addicted to drugs. Risk for addiction is influenced by a combination of factors that include individual biology, social environment, and age or stage of development. The more risk factors an individual has, the greater the chance that taking drugs can lead to addiction. For example like your genes, your environment, and your devolpment.

9. What are withdraw and detoxification?

alanaoneal9 — 2015-03-18 18:28:32 UTC

Drug detoxification (informally, detox) is variously the intervention in a case of physical dependence to a drug; the process and experience of a withdrawal syndrome; and any of various treatments for acute drug overdose.

6. How do drugs work in the brain?

joannjohnson797 — 2015-03-18 18:30:43 UTC

Most drugs that are abused directly or indirectly target the brain’s reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine, a chemical in our bodies. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion, cognition, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. The overstimulation of this system, which rewards our natural behaviors, produces the joyful, euphoric effects sought by people who abuse drugs and teaches them to repeat the behavior.

11. What happens to your brain if you continuously take drugs?

alanaoneal9 — 2015-03-19 16:37:23 UTC

As a person continues to abuse drugs, the brain adapts to the overwhelming surges in dopamine by producing less of its own dopamine or by reducing the number of dopamine receptors in the reward circuit. As a result, dopamine’s impact on the reward circuit is lessened, reducing the abuser’s ability to enjoy the drugs and the things that previously brought pleasure. This decrease compels those addicted to drugs to keep abusing drugs to attempt to bring their dopamine function back to normal. And, they may now require larger amounts of the drug than they first did to achieve that initial high—an effect known astolerance.

13. When is the best time to get treated?

alanaoneal9 — 2015-03-19 16:43:51 UTC

It is a myth that an addicted individual must hit "rock bottom" to be ready for treatment. Helping someone get help early in their addiction cycle will result in fewer accompanying psychological and physical problems and a better prognosis for long-term recovery. Furthermore, "rock bottom" is a dangerous place to be because for many addicts, that point is when a near-fatal or fatal overdose, serious accident or criminal justice consequence has occurred.

8. How do I know if someone is addicted to drugs?

joannjohnson797 — 2015-03-19 17:40:06 UTC

1. Changes in Behavior

2. Mood Swings

3. Defensiveness

4. Blaming

5. Keeping Secrets

15. Where can I find information about drug treatment programs?

alanaoneal9 — 2015-03-19 17:40:42 UTC

To find more information about drugs you search the internet, go to your local library, ask a counselor, and lastly there are many places that you can go to to find information about drug treatment programs

10. Other than addiction, what are some other health consequences of abusing drugs?

alanaoneal9 — 2015-03-19 17:47:25 UTC

eople who suffer from addiction often have one or more accompanying medical issues, which may include lung or cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, and mental disorders. Imaging scans, chest X-rays, and blood tests show the damaging effects of long-term drug abuse throughout the body. For example, research has shown that tobacco smoke causes cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, blood, lungs, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix.19 In addition, some drugs of abuse, such as inhalants, are toxic to nerve cells and may damage or destroy them either in the brain or the peripheral nervous system.

Cardiovascular disease
Stroke
Cancer
HIV/AIDS
Hepatitis B and C
Lung disease
Mental disorders

Are some other things that can also occur

12 .If a pregnant woman abuses drugs,does it affect the fetus?

joannjohnson797 — 2015-03-19 17:50:55 UTC

Studies show that using drugs -- legal or illegal -- during pregnancy has a direct impact on the fetus. If you smoke, drink alcohol, or ingest caffeine, so does the fetus. If you use marijuana or crystal meth, your fetus also feels the impact of these dangerous drugs. And if yo are addicted to cocaine -- also called coke, snow, or blow -- you're not only putting your own life on the line, but you are risking the health of your unborn baby.. The consequences of using cocaine include heart attacks, respiratory failure, strokes, and seizures. And these life-threatening health problems can also be passed to an unborn baby.

14. Are there effective treatments for addiction?

joannjohnson797 — 2015-03-19 17:54:47 UTC

Like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully. Treatment enables people to counteract addiction’s powerful disruptive effects on the brain and behavior and to regain control of their lives. The chronic nature of the disease means that relapsing to drug abuse is not only possible but also likely, with symptom recurrence rates similar to those for other well-characterized chronic medical illnesses—such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma (see figure, "Comparison of Relapse Rates Between Drug Addiction and Other Chronic Illnesses”)—that also have both physiological and behavioral components.