When you turn on the news channel or read a newspaper you might come across a headline like “Bronx Bust Discovers Packaging Plant With $7.5 Million in Drugs: Authorities ” or “Police Arrest Three People During Weslaco Drug Raid,” or even “Border Patrol Agents Arrest Teens With Methamphetamine, Black Heroin.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Drugs are a big problem in America today, I believe the general public would agree with this statement. Drugs can cause serious medical complications for those who use them and can cause emotional pain for both the user and their family members. When people think about the effects of substance abuse, the above two examples are the most commonly cited effects, however there are many other problems. Substance abuse impacts health care costs, lost productivity, costs of fighting the war on drugs, and costs of rehabilitation programs. . As a police lieutenant with the PSJA Police Department, substance abuse 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 substance abuse 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 were battling a drug use disorder. The same report concluded that the highest percentage of illicit drug users were in the 18 to 25 age group (22%, more than 1 in 5). The next largest age group was 12 to 17 years old, stating that 11.6% of adolescents used an illicit drug in the past month. This was a surprising revelation to me, teenagers were more likely to use illicit drugs than adults aged 26 and older (8.3%). The far less shocking data was that marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, as the survey concluded. Since a police officer said marijuana was the most common drug we arrested people for, over twenty years marijuana arrests have over time become a "norm." I have never arrested an individual transporting methamphetamine or heroin. In 2014, approximately 1.8 million adolescents, approximately 7.4 percent of all adolescents in the United States, had used marijuana in the past month. 19.6% of young adults (18-25 years old) had used marijuana in the past month, and all three age groups showed increases in 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 (18-25 years) which was measured at 1.4% in previous month. The National Institute on Drug Abuse published a 2017 study titled “Monitoring the Future (NIDA 2017).” The goal of the survey was to gather data on drug trends in today's teens, the key finding of the survey was that “nearly 1 in 3 12th grade students have used some type of vaping device in the past year. Vaping devices can contain nicotine, marijuana, flavored juice, or synthetic drugs. The same study showed that 33% of students who used a vape pen said they used it to smoke nicotine. Imagine a graduating class of 500students, approximately 46 students in that class have smoked nicotine via a vape pen in the past year. Vaping is definitely a trend that has become more popular in recent years, and now the popularity is spreading from young adults to teenagers. . Some claim that vaping is a “safer method,” however, ingesting nicotine into your body is never safe, regardless of the method used. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Inc. (NCADD) estimated that drug abuse costs employers $81 billion annually. The 4 main effects of alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace are premature death/fatal accidents, injury/accident rate, excessive absence/sick leave and loss of production. Being under the influence of substances in the workplace can have the same fatal impact as drunk driving, for people who work in construction, oilfields, drivers or other professions that involve the use of machinery heavy. Fatalities can result from working under the influence of alcohol or drugs, falling asleep, or not being completely aware of your 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, but their colleagues' risk of injury also increases. a worker is operating a forklift just 30 minutes after getting high on smoking marijuana, his senses may not be sharp, he may lose concentration and potentially drop the heavy load he is operating causing injury or even death to his co-workers. One worker's poor decision could impact multiple lives, their co-worker's life and that co-worker's family could all be affected by a single incident. NCADD statistics also report that workplace fatalities 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 leaves than colleagues who do not abuse alcohol or drugs. Those who abuse substances are 2.2 times more likely to request an early break or time off, and 2.5 times more likely to have absences of eight days or more. This may be due to serious health problems and complications resulting from substance abuse, tiredness from a long night at work. alcohol and drug use, or perhaps the worker "needs a fix" so much that he decides to take an entire day off to satisfy his addiction. All three scenarios have the same outcome, the loss of production in the workplace can impact the employee when they return “needing to catch up” or their colleagues who have to pick up the pace to compensate for the workers' absence. These statistics and scenarios show that substance abuse not only affects the user but also their colleagues. You may be a victim of this problem without even knowing it, having to complete work for colleagues who are always absent despite constantly inviting people to your office for a happy time. Now. The impact of substance abuse on the healthcare industry is financially more substantial than the impact of lost production in the workplace. The estimated health costs of tobacco ($168 billion), alcohol ($27 billion), illicit drugs ($11 billion), and prescription opioids ($26 billion) are $232 billion per year. The resulting health complicationsfrom substance abuse can lead to multiple medical interventions. visits, drug costs, and even expensive surgeries to correct serious complications resulting from substance abuse. As we begin to better understand mental health and the impact of substance abuse on mental health problems, we expect these healthcare costs to increase even more. When a person recovers from substance abuse and all the challenges that come with it to better themselves and their families, it is an inspiring story. Unfortunately, these stories are not as frequent as we would like, and drug addicts are more likely to risk death than the end of a storybook. More than 63,600 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in 2016. Opioid overdose deaths were five times higher in 2016 than in 1999. 27 states experienced statistically significant increases in overdose rates from 2015 to 2016 (CDC). The three states with the highest overdose death rates 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 statistically significant increases in overdose rates of at least 25 percent from 2015 to 2016. We are seeing increases in overdose rates in more than half of all states, excluding those states where overdoses are estimated to rates increase but have not been statistically detected. significant. Knowledge about opioids and other substances is preached in schools, workplaces, churches and even in television commercials. This knowledge could help reduce the number of users, but so far it hasn't had the impact we would hope for on overdose rates. The opioid epidemic is finally getting the attention it needs from national news outlets and politicians, hopefully laws can be put in place to help reduce overdose rates in the coming years. Imagine going out with your colleagues for drinks at your bar and after hours of good times you see a man at the bar who has been drinking heavily start saying inappropriate comments to other patrons. The man is asked by staff to leave and the man instead begins shouting and being aggressive towards a member of staff before having to be physically escorted out of the bar. This is an example of how substance abuse can lead to aggression, the role of the "drunk and abusive" father is played quite commonly in television shows or films today. In one of my favorite movies of all time, “The Dark Knight,” the iconic Batman villain, the Joker, tells Batman about how he got the scars that surround the outline of his mouth. "My father was a drinker... and one night he goes mad more than usual, puts the blade in my mouth and says: let's put a smile on that face." It seems to be well known that substance abuse can lead to increased aggression and, consequently, violence. Alcohol and illicit drugs are present in both offenders and victims of many violent events. The central theme of this article is to shed light on the far-reaching impact of substance abuse on everyone in our nation. We have seen how substance abuse impacts our workplace, healthcare system, and violence. In my opinion, the most devastating impact of substance abuse is on the family members of the abuser. People with substance abuse problems rarely recognize their problem until it begins to have a dominant presence and control over their daily lives. Many will 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 harmful to a person's mind and so they insist onnot having any problems or having it "under control". Recognizing the signs of substance abuse is critical to recovering or helping someone recover, recovery cannot occur until the person realizes they have substance abuse problems. 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 longer doses and periods of time than originally intended. They may lose track of time and even though they told themselves they would only use "one dose for a quick 15 minutes", 2 hours have passed and they are over 3 doses. Alcohol is a substance that the amount of alcohol drunk can quickly add up before the user realizes it. Other times users are aware that they have already taken the amount they planned to use but cannot control themselves and continue using the substance instead. As previously mentioned regarding the impact of substance abuse on the economy, abusers may begin to neglect activities such as work, school, family functions, all because of the “need” to use them. Alcohol and drugs affect the brain's decision-making processes which can have negative impacts on school and work. We discussed how substance abuse affects the loved ones of those who abuse it, showing how much the impact of substance abuse goes beyond the abuser. Some of the most common symptoms are temporary blackouts, arguments with family and friends, depression, mood swings, needing to use substances to “cheer up, sleep, deal with problems or feel normal”. Other symptoms include using the substance in the morning or secretly. Drug abusers may be ashamed of their drug use, but the constant need for the substance in their lives leads them to act in ways that hide their responsibilities. Use such as finding isolated areas to use to keep their secret. Treatment Now that we have identified the major problems that arise from substance abuse, let's explore the current treatment options for substance abusers. A survey conducted from 2004 to 2013 by the National Survey of Drug Use and Health focused on identifying people with opioid use disorder, they were able to find 6,770 respondents. The percentage of respondents who received treatment for opioid use disorder was 16.6% during 2004-2008. There was a significant increase from 16.6% to 21.5% of users in 2009-2013 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 substance abuse on the brain can impact a person long after they have stopped taking the drug, typically months or even years. The chemical changes in the brain and the effects still present could cause a relapse even after months of sobriety. Principles recommended by the National Institute for Drug Treatment include: “Recovery from drug addiction requires effective treatment, followed by management of the problem over time.” Treatment is a part of the process, but even the most effective treatment and long periods of abstinence do not help. if the participant does not have support systems to help them monitor and cope with the side effects of withdrawal. Support groups encourage participation in treatment and can lead to higher success rates. THE.