What Is Drug Addiction

Addiction is a disease that affects your brain and behavior. When you’re addicted to drugs,
you can’t resist the urge to use them, no matter how much harm the drugs may cause.

Drug addiction isn’t about just heroin, cocaine, or other illegal drugs. You can get addicted
to alcohol, nicotine, opioid painkillers, and other legal substances.

At first, you may choose to take a drug because you like the way it makes you feel. You may
think you can control how much and how often you use it. But over time, drugs change how
your brain works. These physical changes can last a long time. They make you lose self-
control and can lead you to damaging behaviors.
Drug addiction, also called substance dependence or dependence syndrome, is a condition
where a person feels a strong need to take a drug. Addiction also involves other behaviours.
These include finding it difficult to control the need to use the drug and feeling the use of the drug
to be more important than more normal things such as family or work.[1] When the person does
not use the drug for an amount of time, they may suffer from withdrawal.[2]
When a person is addicted, they are usually addicted to a class (a specific kind) of drug. For
example: Heroin is a drug that is in the Opiate class. Which means that a person addicted to
Heroin may also be seen to have an addiction to other opiates such as Morphine.[3]
A person who may easily become addicted to drugs is said to have an addictive personality.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines drug addiction as a mental
disorder. Drug addiction is often linked with other mental disorders.

Addiction vs. Abuse

Drug abuse is when you use legal or illegal substances in ways you shouldn’t. You might
take more than the regular dose of pills or use someone else’s prescription. You may abuse
drugs to feel good, ease stress, or avoid reality. But usually, you’re able to change your
unhealthy habits or stop using altogether.

Addiction is when you can’t stop. Not when it puts your health in danger. Not when it causes
financial, emotional, and other problems for you or your loved ones. That urge to get and use
drugs can fill up every minute of the day, even if you want to quit.
Categories of drugs adduction

Physicians have long recognized that different types of

drugs affect people differently. Nonetheless, drugs may be

categorized or classified according to certain shared

symptomatologies or effects. The DRE categorization

process is premised on these long-standing, medically

accepted facts. DREs classify drugs in one of seven

categories: central nervous system (CNS) depressants, CNS

stimulants, hallucinogens, dissociative anesthetics, narcotic

analgesics, inhalants, and cannabis. Drugs from each of

these categories can affect a person's central nervous

system and impair a person's normal faculties, including a

person's ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.

(1) Central Nervous System (CNS)

Depressants

CNS depressants slow down the operations of the brain and

the body. Examples of CNS depressants include alcohol,

barbiturates, anti-anxiety tranquilizers (e.g., Valium, Librium,

Xanax, Prozac, and Thorazine), GHB (gamma

hydroxybutyrate), Rohypnol, and many other anti-

depressants (e.g., Zoloft, Paxil).

(2) CNS Stimulants

CNS stimulants accelerate the heart rate and elevate the

blood pressure and "speed-up," or over-stimulate, the body.

Examples of CNS stimulants include cocaine, "crack"

cocaine, amphetamines, and methamphetamine ("crank").

(3) Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens cause the user to perceive things differently

than they actually are. Examples include LSD, peyote,

psilocybin and MDMA (Ecstasy).

(4) Dissociative Anesthetics

Dissociative anesthetics include drugs that inhibit pain by

cutting off or dissociating the brain's perception of the pain.

PCP, its analogs, and dextromethoraphan are examples of

dissociative anesthetics.

(5) Narcotic Analgesics

Narcotic analgesics relieve pain, induce euphoria, and

create mood changes in the user. Examples of narcotic

analgesics include opium, codeine, heroin, demerol, darvon,

morphine, methadone, Vicodin, and oxycontin.

(6) Inhalants

Inhalants include a wide variety of breathable substances

that produce mind-altering results and effects. Examples of

inhalants include Toluene, plastic cement, paint, gasoline,

paint thinners, hair sprays, and various anesthetic gases.

(7) Cannabis

Cannabis is the scientific name for marijuana. The active

ingredient in cannabis is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or

THC. This category includes cannabinoids and synthetics

like Dronabinol.

Different drugs, different effects

 Drugs affect your body's central nervous system. They affect how
you think, feel and behave. The three main types are depressants,
hallucinogens and stimulants:
 Depressants slow or 'depress' the function of the central nervous
system. They slow the messages going to and from your brain. In
small quantities depressants can cause a person to feel relaxed and
less inhibited. In large amounts they may cause vomiting,
unconsciousness and death. Depressants affect your concentration
and coordination, and slow your ability to respond to situations. It is
important to not operate heavy machinery while taking depressants.
Alcohol, cannabis, GHB, opiates (heroin, morphine, codeine) and
benzodiazepines (minor tranquillisers) are examples of depressants.
 Hallucinogens distort your sense of reality. You may see or hear
things that are not really there, or see things in a distorted way.
Other effects can include emotional and psychological euphoria,
jaw clenching, panic, paranoia, gastric upset and nausea. Ketamine,
LSD, PCP, 'magic mushrooms' and cannabis are examples of
hallucinogens.
 Stimulants speed or 'stimulate' the central nervous system. They
speed up messaging to and from the brain, making you feel more
alert and confident. This can cause increased heart rate, blood
pressure and body temperature, reduced appetite, agitation and
sleeplessness. In large amounts stimulants may cause anxiety,
panic, seizures, stomach cramps and paranoia. Caffeine, nicotine,
amphetamines (speed and Ice), cocaine and ecstasy (MDMA) are
examples of stimulants.

Signs of Drug Abuse

There are many signs that a teen is using drugs. It can be difficult to tell the
difference between the pangs of adolescence and actual drug use, but
parents can be proactive in talking to their teen to find out what’s going on.

Some common signs of teen drug abuse include:

 Bad grades
 Bloodshot eyes
 Laughing for no reason
 Loss of interest in activities
  Poor hygiene
 Diminished personal appearance
 Avoiding eye contact
 Frequent hunger or “munchies”
 Smell of smoke on breath or clothes
 Secretive behavior
 Unusual tiredness
 Missing curfew

It’s up to parents to initiate a conversation with their children if they suspect

drug use. One in five parents who suspect their teen is using drugs do not
intervene to prevent further drug use.

Common reasons teens abuse drugs include:

 Curiosity
 Peer pressure
 Stress
 Emotional struggles
 A desire to escape
The Effects of Drug Addiction

The sad truth is that more deaths, illnesses, and disabilities are caused by
substance abuse than by any other preventable health condition.
Prolonged drug dependence interferes with just about every organ in the
human body, and while different drugs have different damaging effects,
these are some of the common conditions substance abuse can cause:
 Damaged immune system, which increases susceptibility to
infection
 Cardiovascular conditions, including heart attacks and collapsed
veins
 Nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain
 Liver overexertion or liver failure
 Seizures and strokes
 Widespread brain damage that can interfere with memory,
attention, and decision-making, as well as permanent brain damage
Some of the worst effects of substance abuse aren’t even health related.
Drug abuse can have a number of damaging consequences on an
addict’s social and emotional well-being, including:
 Loss of employment
 Relationship loss
  Incarceration
 Financial trouble
 Homelessness
 Risky sexual behavior
Many problems can be reversed or minimized by getting sober, but there
may be some health and emotional issues that simply won’t heal with
time. The best way to prevent permanent damage is to seek professional
treatment ASAP to overcome the addiction.
If you have questions or concerns about drugs and how they affect you,
call us today. Alta Mira can help you find a way out of the dark haze of
addiction and into sobriety. Contact us for more information about our
renowned programs and how we can help you or your loved one start the
journey toward recovery.

Preventing Addiction
Although often neglected, we need to give special attention to our young community who have never abused
drugs.
The old saying, "Preventing addiction is more effective than curing it," may seem idealistic, but it demonstrates
a mindset that Indians need to adopt. While many programmes aim at presenting alternatives to addicts, we need
to remember the community that has never abused drugs.
Creating healthy and attractive alternatives to drug abuse can curb the number of first time users. The United
Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention recently came out with a handbook to help communities
prevent drug abuse. Some basic prevention ideas include:

• Promotion of Health: The community needs to promote healthy lifestyles through personal and cultural
practices. By setting an example of health you will discourage damaging and dangerous lifestyles.

• Focus on people and encouragement of social interaction: Promoting social interaction between old and
young can only be done in a social environment. Create this environment through organized activities that all
ages can partake in.

• Local involvement of young people and respect for cultural values: The activities you chose should focus
on young people. Be sure to respect cultural traditions of the community.

• Encouragement of positive alternatives: Develop these alternatives with cultural values in mind, and
understanding what appeals to the younger generation.
• Long-term perspective: Don't be discouraged if results aren't immediate. Preventing drug use takes time—
keeping a long-term perspective is important.

• Community development: Focus on developing the fundamentals of your community. Education, health and
social services, housing, sanitation, and income-generating activities are important ideas to focus in on.

The Scheme that follow by Govt of India

♣ Awareness and Preventive Education

♣ Drug Awareness and Counselling Centres

♣ Treatment-cum-Rehabilitation Centres

♣ Workplace Prevention Programmes

♣ Deaddiction Camps

♣ NGO Forum for Drug Abuse Prevention

♣ Innovative Interventions to Strengthen Community Based Rehabilitation

♣ Technical Exchange & Manpower Development

♣ Surveys, Studies, Evaluation and Research

♣ Any other activity considered suitable to meet the objectives of the Scheme