drug abuse

drug abuse, the excessive, maladaptive, or addictive use of drugs for nonmedical purposes despite social, psychological, and physical problems that may arise from such use. Abused substances include such agents as anabolic steroids, which are used by some athletes to accelerate muscular development and increase strength and which can cause heart disease, liver damage, and other physical problems; and psychotropic agents, substances that affect the user’s mental state and are used to produce changes in mood, feeling, and perception. The latter category, which has a much longer history of abuse, includes opium (and such derivatives as heroin), hallucinogens, barbiturates, cocaine, amphetamines, tranquilizers, the several forms of cannabis, and alcohol. A brief treatment of drug abuse follows. For full treatment, see drug use. See also steroid.

The history of nonmedical drug consumption is ancient. The discovery of the mood-altering qualities of fermented fruits and substances such as opium has led to their use and, often, acceptance into society. Just as alcohol has a recognized social place in the West, so many other psychotropics have been accepted in different societies.

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The major problem that arises from the consumption of psychotropic drugs is dependence, the compulsion to use the drug despite any deterioration in health, work, or social activities. Dependence varies from drug to drug in its extent and effect; it can be physical or psychological or both. Physical dependence becomes apparent only when the drug intake is decreased or stopped and an involuntary illness called the withdrawal (or abstinence) syndrome occurs. Drugs known to produce physical dependence are the opiates (i.e., opium and its derivatives) and central-nervous-system depressants such as barbiturates and alcohol. Psychological dependence is indicated when the user relies on a drug to produce a feeling of well-being. This type of dependence varies widely with both substance and user. In its most intense form the user becomes obsessed with the drug and focuses virtually all his interest and activity on obtaining and using it.

Another related phenomenon is tolerance, a gradual decrease in the effect of a certain dose as the drug is repeatedly taken; increasingly larger doses are needed to produce the desired effect. Tolerance does not always develop. It is most marked with habitual opiate users. The term addiction is often used synonymously with dependence but should probably be reserved for drugs known to cause physical dependence.

Other hazards of drug abuse include general risks, such as the danger of infection by the AIDS virus and other diseases that can be communicated by use of nonsterile needles or syringes when drugs are taken by injection. Some hazards are associated with the specific effects of the particular drug—paranoia with high doses of stimulants, for example. In addition, adverse social effects stemming from drug abuse are numerous.

Heroin, an opiate that is not used medically in the United States, is one of the drugs most associated with abuse and addiction in the eyes of the public. In general, opiates are called narcotics because they are used medically to relieve pain and produce sleep. Other opiates that have been abused are opium, morphine, pethidine, codeine, dipipanone, and methadone. Methadone is often used in substitution therapy as a less-addictive opiate that, theoretically at least, can be used to wean the user off heroin and eventually off opiates altogether.

Drugs that either depress or stimulate the central nervous system have long been used for nonmedical reasons. Depressants include all sedatives and hypnotics such as barbiturates and benzodiazepines (minor tranquilizers). These are usually taken by mouth but can be injected. The main stimulants are amphetamines or their derivatives and cocaine, a natural component of the leaves of the coca plant. Amphetamines can be taken by mouth or injected; cocaine is either injected or inhaled through the nose. One form of cocaine (freebase, or crack) is generally smoked.

Other drugs that are frequently abused include cannabis (marijuana, hashish, etc., from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa), PCP, and such hallucinogens, or psychedelics, as LSD and mescaline.

The purchase, sale, and nonmedical consumption of all the aforementioned drugs are illegal, and these psychotropic drugs can be obtained only on the black market. However, this is not the only route to drug abuse. Alcohol, for instance, can be legally purchased throughout much of the world, despite its high potential for abuse. Also, dependence on prescribed drugs is not uncommon, especially with tranquilizers and hypnotics. What was once a serious social problem of dependence on prescribed barbiturates has been overtaken largely by the widespread use of benzodiazepine tranquilizers such as diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax) and chlordiazepoxide (Librium) . Millions of legal prescriptions for these drugs are issued every year.

Problems relating to drug abuse can also occur with substances not normally thought of as drugs. Solvent abuse, commonly known as “glue-sniffing,” is a growing problem, especially among teenagers and even younger children. The inhalation of volatile solvents produces temporary euphoria but can lead to death by respiratory depression, asphyxiation, or other causes.