D Moore HED 267 DB 1
After reviewing the Power Points on chapter 1 and 2. What do you believe is the relationship between drug use and crime?
Please provide me 2 (Respond to two classmates post with at least two complete sentences) Explaining Drug Use
and Abuse
Chapter 2
Why Do People Use Drugs?
What causes people to subject their bodies and minds to the harmful effects of nonmedical and/or recreational drug use that often leads to drug addiction?
Why is drug use a more serious problem today than in the past?
Why are some people attracted to recreational drug use?
Ten Reasons Why Drug Use
Is More Serious Today
From 1960 to the present, drug use has become a widespread phenomenon.
Drugs are much more potent than they were years ago.
Drug use remains extremely popular. Drugs sales are a multibillion-dollar-a-year business, with major influence on many national economies.
More so today than years ago, both licit and illicit drugs are experimented with by youths at an increasingly younger age. These drugs are often supplied by older siblings, friends, and acquaintances.
Ten Reasons Why Drug Use Is More Serious Today (continued)
Through the media (such as television, radio, magazine, and newspaper advertising), people in todays society are more directly exposed to drug advertising.
Greater availability and wider dissemination of drug information through emails, drug websites for purchasing prescription drugs without prescriptions, chat rooms, and methods and instructions on how to make drugs.
Crack as well as crystal methamphetamine and other manufactured newer drugs offer potent effects at a low cost.
Ten Reasons Why Drug Use Is
More Serious Today (continued)
Drug use endangers the future of a society by harming its youth and potentially destroying the lives of many young men and women.
Drug use and especially drug dealing are becoming major factors in the growth of crime rates among the young.
Seven in ten drug users work full-time and this increases the possibility of serious accidents in the workplace.
Basic Reasons People Take Drugs
Searching for pleasure
Relieve pain, stress, tension, or depression
Peer pressure
Enhance religious or mystical experiences
Enhance social experiences
Enhance work performance, (i.e. amphetamine-types of drugs and cocaine)
Drugs (primarily performance-enhancing drugs) can be used to improve athletic performance
Relieve pain or symptoms of illness
Can you think of any additional reasons not listed above?
Nature of Addiction
Should addiction be considered:
A bad habit?
A failure of healthy choices?
A failure of morality?
A symptom of other problems?
A chronic disease?
Costs of Addiction
As a major social problem, the publics view of drug abuse and addiction has been debatable over the past 20 years while the social costs of addiction have not.
The total criminal justice, health insurance, and other costs in the United States are roughly estimated at $90 to $185 billion annually.
Major Factors Affecting Alcohol
and Drug Use
Body size: smaller or thinner persons experience the effects of drugs more intensely
Gender: physical make-up of women have reduced tolerance to drugs in comparison to men
Other drugs (poly drug use): taking multiple drugs can dramatically increase drug impairment
Fatigue or illness: increases drug effects
Empty stomach: increases drug effects
Strength (alcohol proof) and how the amount of the drug affects ones reaction
Mindset: uncontrollable or impulse drinking and/or use of drugs dramatically increases drug effects
Defining Addiction
The term addiction is derived from the Latin verb addicere, which refers to the process of binding to things. Today, the word largely refers to a chronic adherence (attachment) to drugs.
Originally, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined it as a state of periodic or chronic intoxication detrimental to the individual and society, which is characterized by an overwhelming desire to continue taking the drug and to obtain it by any means (1964, pp. 910).
Addiction is a complex disease.
Another Definition of Addiction
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) defines addiction as . . . a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brainthey change its structure and how it works. These brain changes can be long lasting and can lead to the harmful behaviors seen in people who abuse drugs (NIDA 2008a, p. 5).
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) (APA 2013)
DSM-5 combines substance abuse and substance dependence into a single condition called substance use disorder.
The diagnosis of substance use disorder includes the following:
Pharmacological taking the substance in larger doses
Excessive time spent obtaining the substance
Craving the drug
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) (APA 2013) (contd)
Social impairment: failure to meet goals and obligations
Risky use of the substance: despite physical and/or psychological problems encountered
Tolerance: The individual needs increased amounts to achieve the diminishing effects of the drug
Withdrawal: Symptoms that can often leading to renewed substance dependence
Addiction Includes Physical and Psychological Dependence
Physical dependence refers to the bodys need to constantly have the drug or drugs.
Psychological dependence refers to the mental inability to stop using the drug or drugs.
Corbis
Major Models of Addiction
Moral Model: Poor morals and lifestyle; a choice
Disease Model: A belief that addiction is both chronic and progressive, and that the drug user does not have control over the use and abuse of the drug
Characterological or Personality Predisposition Model: Personality disorder, problems with the personality of the addicted (needs, motives, attitudes of the individual, and impulse control disorders)
Career Pattern of Addiction
Experimentation or initiation of drug use
Escalation: increasing use
Maintenance: optimistic belief that the drug fits in well with day-to-day goals and activities
Dysfunction: problems with use interfering with day-to-day goals
Recovery: getting out of drug use/abuse
Ex-addict: successfully quitting
Major Risk Factors for Addiction
Alcohol and/or other drugs used alone
Alcohol and/or other drugs used in order to reduce stress and/or anxiety
Availability of drugs
Abusive and/or neglectful parents; other dysfunctional family patterns
Misperception of peer norms regarding the extent of alcohol and/or drug use (belief that many other people are using drugs)
Alienation factors, like isolation and emptiness
Major Risk Factors for Adolescents
Physical or sexual abuse (past and/or present)
Peer norms favoring drug use
Misperception and/or power of age group peer norms
Conflicts, such as dependence versus independence, adult maturational tasks versus fear, and low self-esteem.
BananaStock/age fotostock
Major Risk Factors for Adolescents (continued)
Teenage risk-taking and view of being omnipotent and invulnerable to drug effects
Drug use viewed as a rite of passage into adulthood
Drug use perceived as glamorous, fun, facilitating, and intimate
Electronic social media influences like photos of drinking posted on MySpace
Simone van den Berg/ShutterStock, Inc.
Major Risk Factors for Adults
Loss of meaningful role or occupational identity due to pending retirement
Loss, grief, or isolation due to divorce, loss of parents, or departure of children (empty nest syndrome)
Loss of positive body image
Dealing with a newly diagnosed illness (e.g., diabetes, heart problems, arthritis, cancer)
Disappointment when lifes expectations are clearly not met
Biological Explanations for the Use and Abuse of Drugs
Biological: Genetic and biophysiological theories
Addiction is based on genes, brain dysfunction, and biochemical patterns
Biological explanations emphasize the effects of drugs on the central nervous system (CNS)
Reward centers in some people are more sensitive to drugs, resulting in more pleasure and greater rewarding experiences from the use of drugs
– Drugs interfere with functioning neurotransmitters (neurotransmitters are chemical messengers used for communication between brain regions)
Three Principle Biological Theories
Abused Drugs are Positive Reinforcers
Most drugs with abuse potential enhance pleasure centers by causing the release of specific brain neurotransmitters such as dopamine
Drug Abuse and Psychiatric Disorders
Biological explanations are thought to be responsible for the substantial overlap that exists between drug addiction and mental illness
Genetic Explanations
Inherited traits can predispose some individuals to drug addiction.
Abused Drugs as Positive Reinforcers
This explanation believes that most drugs with abuse potential enhance the pleasure centers by causing the release of dopamine, which is a specific brain neurotransmitter.
Genetic Explanations for Contribution to Drug Abuse Vulnerability
Character traits, such as insecurity and vulnerability, which is often found in many drug users/abusers may be genetically determined.
Factors that determine how difficult it will be to break a drug addiction may be genetically determined.
Genetic Factors Contribute to Drug Abuse Vulnerability
Psychiatric disorders may be relieved by taking drugs of abuse, thus encouraging their use.
Drug users may have reward centers in the brain that may be especially sensitive to addictive drugs.
Addiction is a medical condition in the brain of addicts.
Addiction is genetically determined, and people with this predisposition are less likely to abandon their drug of abuse.
Psychological Explanations for
Drug Use/Abuse
Psychological theories regarding drug use and addiction mostly focus on mental or emotional states of drug users, the possible existence of unconscious motivations that are within all of us, and social and environmental factors.
The American Psychiatric Association classifies severe drug dependence as a form of psychiatric disorder.
Drugs that are abused can cause mental conditions that mimic major psychiatric illness.
Psychological Explanations for Drug Use/Abuse (continued)
Psychological factors of addiction include:
Escape from reality
Boredom
Inability to cope with anxiety
Destructive self-indulgence (constantly desiring intoxicants)
Blind compliance with drug-abusing peers
Self-destructiveness
Blindly using drugs without wanting to understand the harmful effects of drug use
Self medicating (need the drug to feel better)
Theories Based on Learning
Humans acquire drug use behavior by the close association or pairing of one significant reinforcing stimulus (like friendship and intimacy) with another less significant or neutral stimulus (e.g., initial use of alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine). In learning to use drugs the following occurs:
Conditioning: The close association of significant reinforcing stimulus with another less significant or neutral stimulus
Habituation: Repeating certain patterns of behavior until they become established or habitual
Addiction to pleasure theory: Assumes it is biologically normal to continue a pleasure stimulus when once begun
Who Is at Risk?
People who are at a high risk for drug use and addiction are often known as drug sensation-seeking individuals or simply, sensation-seekers.
Sensation-seekers continually search for new or novel thrills in their experiences, and are known to have a relentless desire to pursue physical and psychological stimulation often involving dangerous behavior.
Sensation-seekers attracted to drug are more likely to maintain a constant preoccupation with altering their consciousness (getting high).
Social Psychological Learning Theories
If the effects of drug use become personally rewarding, or become reinforcing through conditioning, the chances of continuing to use are greater than stopping (Akers 1992, p. 86).
Primary conditions determining drug use are:
Amount of exposure to drug-using peers
Extent of drug use in a given neighborhood
Age of first use (exposure to drugs at younger ages results in greater difficulty in stopping drug use)
Frequency of drug use among peers
Sociological Explanations
Social Influence Theories: Focus on microscopic explanations that concentrate on the roles played by significant others and their impact on the individual.
Structural Influence Theories: Focus on macroscopic explanations of drug use and the assumption that the organizational structure of society has a major impact on individual drug use.
Social Influence Theories
Social learning theory explains drug use as a form of learned behavior.
Social influence and
the role of significant
others says the use of
drugs is learned
during intimate
interaction with others
who, while using the
drug, serve as
a primary group.
This child is role playing largely by imitating the habits of a significant other.
Jones & Bartlett Learning. Photographed by Kimberly Potvin and Christine McKeen.
Social Influence Theories (continued)
Labeling theory says people whose opinions we value have a determining influence over our self-image. Key factors in labeling theory include:
Primary deviance
Secondary deviance
Master status
Retrospective interpretation
– Can you define these four key factors used in
labeling theory?
Subculture theory explains that peer pressure is a determining cause of drug experimentation, use, and/or abuse.
Structural Influence Theories
Structural Influence Theories: Focus on how the organization of a society, group, or subculture is largely responsible for drug abuse by its members
Social Disorganization and Social Strain Theories: Drug use is caused by rapid and disruptive social change in society
Control Theories: Belief that if people are left without attachments (bonds) to other groups (family, peers, social institutions), they have a tendency to deviate from expected cultural values, norms, and attitudes and use drugs
Socialization: Internal and external controls
Danger Signals of Drug Abuse
Do those close to you often ask about your drug use? Have they noticed changes in your moods or behavior?
Are you defensive if a friend or relative mentions your drug or alcohol use?
Are you sometimes embarrassed or frightened by your behavior under the influence of drugs or alcohol?
Danger Signals of Drug Abuse (continued)
Have you ever gone to see a new doctor because your regular physician would not prescribe the drug you wanted?
When you are under pressure or feel anxious, do you automatically take a depressant, stimulant, or drink?
Do you take drugs more often or for purposes other than those recommended by your doctor?
Danger Signals of Drug Abuse (continued)
Do you mix other types of drugs with alcohol?
Do you drink or take drugs regularly to help you sleep?
Do you have to take drugs to relieve boredom or get through the day?
Do you personally think you may have a drug problem?
Do you avoid people who do not use drugs?
Do you believe you cannot have fun without alcohol or other drugs?
Low-Risk and High-Risk
Drug Choices
Low-risk drug choices refer to values and attitudes that lead to controlling the use of alcohol or drugsself-monitoring your drug use, behavior, and abstinence.
High-risk drug choices refer to developing values and attitudes that lead to using drugs both habitually and addictively, such as constantly searching for drinking and drug parties and hanging with drug abusers. Introduction to
Drugs and Society
Chapter 1
Key Concerns
What constitutes a drug?
What are the most commonly abused drugs?
What are designer drugs?
How widespread is drug use?
What is the extent and frequency of drug use in our society?
What are the current statistics and trends in drug use?
Key Concerns (continued)
What types of drug users exist?
How does the media influence drug use?
What attracts people to drug use?
When does drug use lead to drug dependence?
When does drug addiction occur?
What are the costs of drug addiction to society?
What can be gained by learning about the complexity of drug use and abuse?
Drug Use Causes Three
Major Simultaneous Changes in the User
1. The social and psychological rewards from the effects of the
drug high results in the illusion of temporary satisfaction and
postponement of social pressures and anxieties leading to a superficial belief that problems and/or concerns are nonproblematic.
2. Pharmacologically, the nonmedical use of most drugs alters body chemistry largely by interfering with (affecting) its proper (homeostatic) functioning. Drugs enhance, slow down, speed-up, or distort the reception and transmission of reality.
3. Using a particular drug may satisfy an inborn or genetically programmed need or desire.
Drug Use
Drug users are found in all occupations and professions, at all income and social class levels, and in all age groups.
No one is immune to drug use, (that often leads to drug dependence). Drug use is an equal-opportunity affliction.
Examples of illicit drugs that can become costly once drug dependence occurs.
Comstock Images/Getty Images
Four Principle Factors That Affect Drug Use
Biological, Genetic, and Pharmacological Factors: Substance abuse and addiction involve biological and genetic
factors. The pharmacology of drug use focuses on how the
ingredients of a particular drug affect the body and the nervous
system, and in turn, a persons experience with a particular drug.
Cultural Factors: How do societal views, determined by custom
and tradition, affect our initial approach to and use of a drug?
Social Factors: What are the specific reasons why a drug is taken (e.g., curing an illness, self-medicating, escape from reality, peer pressure, family upbringing, membership in drug-abusing subcultures)?
Contextual Factors: How do physical surroundings (music concerts, bars, nightclubs, or fraternity and sorority parties) affect the amount of drug use?
Figure 1-1: The average American is twenty-five times more likely to die from tobacco-related illnesses (cardiovascular, respiratory diseases, and cancer) than to die from illicit drug-related illnesses. More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined. The average American is five times more likely to die from alcohol related illnesses than illicit drug use.
Data from Mokdad, A. H., J. S. Marks, D.F. Stroup, and J. L. Gerberding. Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 291 (10 March 2004):12381245.; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Tobacco-Related Mortality.” Atlanta, GA: Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2011. Available http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/
The Dimensions of Drug Abuse
Q: What is a drug?
A: Any substance that modifies (enhances, inhibits, or distorts) mind and/or body functioning.
Q: What are psychoactive drugs?
A: Drug compounds (substances) that affect
the central nervous system and/or alter
consciousness and/or perceptions.
Psychoactive Drugs
Psychoactive drugs are classified as either:
Licit (Legal): Examples may include coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, and over-the-counter drugs.
Illicit (Illegal): Examples may include marijuana, cocaine, and LSD.
Major Types of Commonly Abused Drugs
Alcohol (ethanol)
Nicotine (all forms of tobacco)
Prescription drugs (many drugs that are prescribed by a physician)
Stimulants
Major stimulants: amphetamines, cocaine, and crack
Minor stimulants: nicotine, caffeine, tea, and chocolate
Hallucinogens/psychedelics: LSD, mescaline, peyote, and psilocybin (magic mushrooms)
Major Types of Commonly
Abused Drugs (continued)
Bath salts (a designer drug)
Depressants: barbiturates, benzodiazepines, valium, and alcohol
Cannabis: marijuana and hashish
Anabolic steroids: a synthetic form of the male hormone testosterone
Inhalants/organic solvents: inhalants like gasoline, model glue, paint thinner, certain foods, herbs, and vitamins
Narcotics/opiates: opium, morphine, codeine, and heroin
Designer Drugs/Synthetic Drugs
or Synthetic Opioids
Structural analogs are drugs that result from altered chemical structures of current illicit drugs. It involves modifying the basic molecular skeleton of a compound to form a new molecular species.
Designer Drugs /Synthetic Drugs or Synthetic Opioids
New categories of hybrid drugs like Ecstasy and Demerol.
These relatively recent types of drugs are created as structural analogs of substances already classified under the Controlled Substances Act.
Gateway Drugs
Gateway drugs are types of commonly used drugs that are believed to lead to the use of other more powerful mind-altering and addictive drugs, such as hallucinogens, cocaine, crack, and heroin.
Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are the most commonly used gateway drugs.
Drug Misuse
Drug misuse is the unintentional or inappropriate use of prescribed or over-the-counter (OTC) types of drugs.
Designer pills made from the illicit drug ecstacy. This drug has some stimulant properties like amphetamines as well as hallucinogenic properties like LSD.
Courtesy of DEA.
Six Examples of Drug Misuse
Taking more drugs than prescribed
Using OTC or psychoactive drugs in excess without medical supervision
Mixing drugs with alcohol or other types of drugs
Using old medicines to self-treat new symptoms of an illness
Discontinuing prescribed drugs at will and/or against physicians orders
Administering prescribed drugs to a family member without medical consultation and supervision
Dimensions of Drug Abuse
Drug abuse is also known as chemical or substance abuse and is the willful misuse of either licit or illicit drugs for the purpose of recreation, perceived necessity, or convenience.
Drug abuse refers to a more intense misuse of drugsoften to the point of addiction.
Also known as chemical or substance abuse.
Erich Goodes Four Types
of Drug Use
Legal instrumental use: Taking prescribed drugs or OTC drugs to relieve or treat mental or physical symptoms
Legal recreational use: Using licit drugs like tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine to achieve a certain mental state
Illegal instrumental use: Taking nonprescribed drugs to achieve a task or goal
Illegal recreational use: Taking illicit drugs for fun or pleasure
Drug Use: Statistics and Trends
Social Drugs
$90 billion for alcohol
$51.9 billion for cigarettes
$2 billion for cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and snuff
$5.7 billion for coffee, teas, and cocoa
Prescription Drugs
$950 billion worldwide in 2012.
$237.5 billion in the United States
Drug Use: Statistics and Trends (continued)
OTC Drugs
$23.5 billion
Nonmedical Use of Prescription Drugs
In 2008, 51.9 million Americans age 12 or older had used prescription-type drugs nonmedically at least once in their lifetime.
Miscellaneous Drugs
Examples include inhalants, nutmeg, and morning glory seeds
Extent of use cannot be verified
Drug Quiz
Q: How many Americans, age 12 and up, have used alcohol in the past month?
A: 125 million
Q: How many Americans in the past month have smoked tobacco?
A: 61.5 million
Drug Quiz (continued)
Q: How many Americans use or have used marijuana/hashish in their lifetime?
A: 107,842 million (41.9%)
Q: How many drugs can be found in the average household?
A: 50 drugs (40% prescriptions, 60% OTC)
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 2011
82.2% (211.7 million) Americans used alcohol during their lifetime
62.8 (161.7 million) Americans used cigarettes
47% (117 million) Americans used any illicit drug(s)
Most commonly used illicit drugs (Lifetime Use):
107.8 million (41.9%) used marijuana/hashish
51.3 million (19.9%) used nonmedical use of any psychotherapeutics, such as pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, or sedatives (does not include OTC drugs)
36.3 million (14.3%) used cocaine
36.3 million (14.4) used hallucinogens
34.2 million (13.3%) used pain relievers
Figure 1-6: Past-month illicit drug use among persons aged 12 or older, by age: 20102011
Reproduced from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Results from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings. NSDUH Series H-44, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 12-4713. Rockville, MD, 2012.
Age Patterns: 1820 age category report the most illicit drug use
Racial and Ethnic Differences: (rates of use, past month, 2002-2011)
Two or more races 13.5%
American Indian/Alaska Natives 13.4%
Black/African American: 10%
Whites: 8.7%
Hispanic or Latino: 8.4%
Asians: 3.8%
Drug Use: Additional Findings
Drug Use: Additional Findings
(continued)
Gender
Males were more likely than females among persons age 12 or older to be current illicit drug users (11.1% vs. 6.5%).
The rate of past-month marijuana use for males was about twice as high for males as the rate for females (9.3% vs. 4.9%).
Pregnant Women
Pregnant women are less likely to use drugs than similar age women who are not pregnant.
Education: College graduates (5.4%) had the
lowest rate of current illicit drug use, while those who did not complete high school (11.1%) had the highest use of illicit drugs. Past-month alcohol use increased with higher levels of completed education (35.1% with less than high school vs. 68.2% of college graduates
.Employment: Unemployed persons (17.2%) have a greater tendency to use more illicit-types of drugs than people gainfully employed (8% full-time and 11.6% part-time workers).
Drug Use: Additional Findings (continued)
Geography: The rate of past-month illicit drug use was 9.2% in large metropolitan counties, 8.7% in small metropolitan counties, and 5.7% in nonmetropolitan counties.
Criminal Justice: 33% of state prisoners and 25% of federal prisoners reported that they had committed their offenses while under the influence of drugs. In 2008, an estimated 333,000 prisoners were arrested for drug law violations20% of state and 52% of federal inmates (Sabol and Cooper 2009).
Drug Use: Additional Findings (continued)
Three Types of Drug Users
Experimenters: Begin using drugs largely because of peer pressure and curiosity, and they confine their use to recreational settings
Compulsive users: Devote considerable time and energy into getting high, talk incessantly (sometimes exclusively) about drug use, and become connoisseurs of street drugs
Floaters or chippers: Focus more on using other peoples drugs without maintaining as much of a personal supply
Media Influence on Drug Use
Each year, the alcohol industry spends more than $1 billion on advertising (television, radio, print, and outdoor ads) (FTC 2007).
Drug companies spent $1.6 billion a year on televised commercials for Viagra, Claritin, Allegra, and other drugs.
The advertising budget for Budweiser beer exceeds the entire budget for research on alcoholism and alcohol abusers.
Alcohol companies spent $4.9 billion on television advertising between 2001 and 2005.
Teens viewing photos of inebriated friends posted on social media, such as MySpace for example, are four times more likely to have used marijuana and three times more likely to have used alcohol and tobacco.
Why Are People Attracted to Drugs?
People use drugs as a means to temporarily:
Experience pleasure or heighten good feelings
Relieve stress, tension, or anxiety
Forget ones problems and avoid or postpone worries
Relax after a tension-filled day of work
Fit in with peers or as a rite of passage
Enhance religious or mystical experiences
Relieve pain and some symptoms of illness
When Does Use Lead to Abuse?
The amount of drug taken does not necessarily determine abuse.
The motive for taking the drug is the most important factor in determining presence of abuse.
Initial drug abuse symptoms include:
Excessive use
Constant preoccupation about the availability and supply of the drug
Refusal to admit excessive use
Reliance on the drug
Drug Dependence
Both physical and psychological factors precipitate
drug dependence:
Physical dependence refers to the need to continue taking the drug to avoid withdrawal symptoms, which often include feelings of discomfort and illness.
Psychological dependence refers to the need that a user may mentally feel about continuing the use of a drug to experience its effects and/or relieve withdrawal symptoms.
Stages of Drug Dependence
Relief: Satisfaction from negative feelings in using the drug
Increased Use: Involves taking greater quantities of the drug
Preoccupation: Consists of a constant concern with the substance
Dependency: A synonym for addiction, is when more of the drug is sought despite the presence of physical symptoms
Withdrawal: The physical and/or psychological effects from not using the drug
Costs of Drug Use to Society
Illnesses
Shortened lifespans
Marital and family strife
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Criminalistic behavior
Drugs in the workplace/disruption of careers and professions
Cost of assistance programs (e.g., Employee Assistance Programs [EAPs])
Costs of Drug Use to Society: Statistics
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) estimates that the typical
narcotic habit costs $100/day.
A heroin addict must steal three to
five times the actual cost of the drugs to maintain a habitabout $100,000 per year.
Three out of four prostitutes in major cities have a serious drug dependency.
Drugs, Crime, and Violence
Regarding the connection between drug use and crime, the following findings can be summarized:
Drug users in comparison to non-drug users are more likely to commit crimes.
A high percentage of arrestees are often under the influence of a drug while committing crimes.
A high percentage of drug users arrested for drug use and violence are more likely to be under the influence of alcohol and/or stimulant-types of drugs such as cocaine, crack, and methamphetamines.
Drugs in the Workplace
In the U.S., alcohol and drug use and their related problems costs employers and tax payers billions of dollars per year.
The National Household surveys found significant drug use in the workplace with 64.3% of full-time workers reported alcohol use (7% to 9% drinking while working) and 6.4% reported marijuana use within the past month (SAMHSA 2012).
Drugs in the Workplace (continued)
Among the 19 major industry categories, the highest rates of past month illicit drug use among full-time workers aged 18 to 64 were found in accommodations and food services (16.9%), construction (13.7%), and arts, entertainment, and recreation (11.6%); (see Figure1.10).
The industry categories with the lowest rates of past month illicit drug use were utilities (3.8%), educational services (4%), and public administration (4.1%).
Drug Testing
Used to identify those who may be using drugs
Urine, blood screening, or hair analysis
Duration of Detection /Cut-Offs for Urine Analysis:
Amphetamines: 2472 hours
Cocaine/metabolite: 2472 hours
Opiates: 2472 hours
PCP: 2496 hours
THC/metabolite: 24 hours3 weeks (depends on frequency of use)
Note: Hair analysis 1 to 3 months for all drugs listed above
Drug Testing (continued)
Approximately 70% of large companies,50% of medium companies, and 22% of small companies drug test.
Over 90% use urine analysis, less than 20% use blood analysis, and less than 3% use hair analysis.
Most drug-using youth do not cease drug use when they begin working.
Holistic Self-Awareness Approach
Holistic philosophy that advocates that
the mind, body, and spirit work best when they are drug-free.
