Effects of Substance Abuse

Substance abuse effects not only the individual, but also family members, friends, loved ones, and society. Millions of Americans are victims of emotional or physical violence due to a family member or friend's addiction. Individuals who abuse drugs experience a wide array of physical effects other than those expected. The rush of a cocaine high, for instance, is followed by a "crash" : a period of anxiety, fatigue, depression, and an acute craving for more cocaine to alleviate the feelings of the crash. Marijuana and alcohol interfere with motor control and are factors in many automobile accidents. Those who abuse marijuana and hallucinogenic drugs may experience flashbacks, unwanted recurrences of the drug's effects, weeks or even months after use. Substance abuse comes in many forms, and it is common for a drug abuser to be addicted to one or more different drugs at the same time. An example is the combination of alcohol with marijuana or cocaine. Alone, each of these drugs has dangerous effects. When taken in combination, the effects on an individual can be even more serious. Severe depression, cirrhosis of the liver, and heart failure are all life threatening side effects from substance abuse.

Sudden abstinence from certain drugs results in withdrawal symptoms. For example, withdrawal from heroin can cause vomiting, muscle cramps, convulsions, and delirium. With the continued use of a physically addictive drug, tolerance develops. This means that constantly increasing amounts of the drug are needed to duplicate the initial effect. Sharing hypodermic needles used to inject some drugs dramatically increases the risk of contracting AIDS and some types of hepatitis . In addition, increased sexual activity among drug users, both in prostitution and from the disinhibiting effect of some drugs, also puts drug abusers at a higher risk of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Because the purity and dosage of illegal drugs are uncontrolled, drug overdose is a constant risk. There are over 10,000 deaths directly attributable to drug abuse in the United States every year. The substances most frequently involved are cocaine, heroin, and morphine. They are often combined with alcohol or other drugs. Many drug users engage in criminal activity, such as burglary and prostitution, to raise the money to buy drugs Some drugs, especially alcohol, are associated with violent behavior.

The substance abusers preoccupation with the drug, plus its effects on mood and performance, can lead to problems with their marriage as well as decreased work performance or dismissal. Substance abuse can disrupt family life and create destructive patterns of codependency. That is when the spouse or whole family, out of love or fear of consequences, inadvertently enable the drug abuser to continue using drugs by covering up for them. They supply money or deny there is a problem. Pregnant substance abusers, because of the drugs themselves or poor self-care in general, bear a much higher rate of low birth-weight babies than the average individual. Many drugs (e.g., crack and heroin) cross the placental barrier, resulting in drug addicted babies who go through withdrawal soon after birth. Fetal alcohol syndrome can affect the children of mothers who consume alcohol during pregnancy. Pregnant women who acquire the AIDS virus through intravenous substance abuse pass the virus to their unborn children. Substance abuse effects millions of adults and children across America. Substance abuse is not bound by age, race, or social status.

Substance abuse effects society in many ways. In the workplace, it is costly in terms of lost work time and inefficiency. Drug users are more likely than non-drug users to have occupational accidents, endangering themselves and those around them. Over half of the highway deaths in the United States involve alcohol. Drug-related crime can change neighborhoods due to violence among drug dealers, threats to residents, and the crimes of the drug addicts themselves. In some neighborhoods, younger children are recruited as lookouts and helpers because of the lighter sentences given to juvenile offenders. Guns have become commonplace among children and adolescents. The great majority of homeless people have either a drug or alcohol problem or a mental illness. Many of them have all three.

Due to the effect substance abuse has made on the United States, the federal government budgeted $17.9 billion on drug control in 1999 for interdiction, prosecution, international law enforcement, prisons, treatment, prevention, and related items. In 1998, drug-related health care costs in the United States came to more than $9.9 billion. One of the most predominant challenges facing America today is our continuous battle with substance abuse. The effects of substance abuse are a leading cause of premature illness, disability, and death in our society. Alcoholism alone accounts for $89.5 billion per year in direct treatment costs, as well as indirect losses such as property damage and decreased worker productivity.