illegal drugs solution essay

Drug Abuse - Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

Drug abuse, the chronic or habitual use of drugs to alter one’s mood, emotion, or state of consciousness, is a severe social and health issue. Essays on drug abuse could explore the causes and consequences of drug abuse, the various types and classifications of drugs, and the societal reactions to drug abuse. Discussions might also cover prevention and treatment strategies, the portrayal of drug abuse in media and literature, and the ongoing efforts by governments and organizations to combat drug abuse and its detrimental effects. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of Drug Abuse you can find at Papersowl. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

What are some Solutions to Drug Abuse?

Nowadays, many people have thought that drugs are viable solution for personal problems or any other situations that affect the life of a person, but eventually, if a person reads the words drugs, it becomes a real problem in the current society. Therefore, there are factors that expose the drugs as an issue in the society. How can we understand this point? First, the abuse of different substances and drugs are one of the most common situations that teenagers and […]

Teenage Drug Abuse

There is a major concern about the teenage drug use today. Within the ages 15 through 24, fifty percent of deaths (from homicides, accidents, suicides) involve drugs. The two common reasons why teens use drugs are anxiety and depression. Factors like peer pressure, desire to escape, curiosity, emotional struggles, and stress may also lead to the consumption of drugs or alcohol. Teens are more likely to abuse drugs than adults because the part of their brain used for judgment and […]

Drug Addictions

Drug addictions are something that many people in America face. A lot of families today face a person who is a drug addict or an alcoholic and this is breaking up families. People can help people addicted to drugs by providing community support, education,and teaching drug addicts how to deal with stress after overcoming addiction. Community and support groups are a great ways and opportunities for recovering addicts to be able to meet and befriend people who are also going […]

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Poverty and Drug Abuse Addiction

One popular stereotype associated with drug use is that it is rampant among the poor. However, this is not entirely true since insufficient money linked with the poor cannot probably sustain drug use. The link between the two factors is multifaceted, and the connectedness of poverty is complex. Poverty entails unstable family and interpersonal associations, low-skilled jobs and low status, high arrest degrees, illegitimacy, school dropping out, deprived physical health, high mental conditions, and high mortality rates. Such factors resemble […]

Background on Drug Abuse

Drug abuse has been around for as long as the world has been created. Drug abuse dates back to the early 5000 B.C. when the Sumerians used opium, suggested by the fact that they have an ideogram for it which has been translated as HUL, meaning joy or rejoicing (Lindesmith, 2008). It then occurred often later on because indigenous South Americans chewed on coca leaves in the rainforest as a type of ritual, giving them stimulation and energy. Since then, […]

Drug Testing

For every student who complains that drug testing is an invasion of his or hers privacy we can show you a hundred parents who have lost their children to drugs. With drug testing students get a safe place where they can learn. Even the teachers are better off with this, because with less drugs schools are much safer. Should High School students or even college students be routinely tested for drug use? Before you answer think about this as a […]

Drug Abuse in Sports

Drug abuse occurs in all sports and at most levels of competition. Athletic life may lead to drug abuse for a number of reasons,, to self-treat injuries, and retirement from sport. Most sport organizations ban the use of any drug that can help your ability to excel in any sport. Using enhancing drugs, always have side effects like easy to anger, depression, and even death. Today people may know that athletes use steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, but it is only […]

Drug Abuse – Destructive Pattern

Drug abuse is the destructive pattern of using substances that leads to uncounted problems and diseases in the human body. It is a physical and psychological term which takes dependence on human activities. Drugs create bad effects on human life like anxiety, impaired social relations, depression, hopelessness, rejection etc. Impaired social relations and suicide are considered the worst consequences of addiction. The drugs have negative consequences on one's life. If the addicts were able to see the reality of their […]

The Truth about Drugs – Illegal Drugs

A close amount of 280 million people consume illegal drugs. The most commonly used illegal drug is marijuana or weed. According to the United Nations 2008 World Drug Report close to 3.9% of the earth's population between the ages of 15 and 64 abuse marijuana. Many teenagers and adults abuse drugs everyday. According to many sources a lot of people who let drugs control their lives have turned their life around and made a successful life. While others are still […]

Drug Abuse in the United States

Drug abuse in the United States has long been a topical issue and persists even today. Many different reasons make people get addicted as well as different levels to which people get dependent on drugs. Opioid use and abuse may start out of curiosity while others take them as prescribed medication for treatment but in the long run, they get addicted. In the United States, many people label Opioid addiction as a health problem rather than drug addiction. The reason […]

Effects of Drug Abuse on Families

Abstract In the USA, the family units have emerged to much complicated. Families continue to evolve ranging from the extended, nuclear and up to the single parenting family setups. Others are the stepfamilies, multigenerational and the foster types of families. Thus, abuse by a member of the family of substances may result in differences based on the formation of the family itself. This paper presents a discussion on the issues of treatment that may emerge within the various structures of […]

Drugs – Escape from Reality

Who wants to escape from reality? You must go for Drugs then. A phenomenon used by all fools in today's world. Drug abuse is when one misuses the drugs in a harmful way. Drug addiction is harmful not only for the addicted but also has a lot of negative effects on society. There is no country in the world where such a problem doesn't exist. Today this issue is often being discussed by doctors who claim that dope abuse mainly […]

Drug Abuse Prevention and Control

The deep, energetic and sonorous voice of Whitney Houston that graced our ears will truly be missed. She was found dead in her house as a result of cocaine overdose. She was about 48 when she died. So will young Mac Miller and Lil Peep- talented celebrities who died of accidental fentanyl overdose at a very young age. Their stories, we heard due to the status they have achieved in the society. There are millions of other young people all […]

Drug Abuse in the Community i Live in

The overwhelming problem of drug abuse in Decatur, Illinois has developed into a major issue. For example, Heroin, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, prescription opioids, marijuana, and meth are being sold and used at an epidemic rate. Some cities drug problems might be worse than Decatur's, however, for the small size of this city, the drug abuse is phenomenal. Although some people might not see drug addiction as an illness, people are not drug addicts by choice, but after trying the […]

Drug Abuse and Overdosing Deaths

Drug abuse and overdosing are a grave issue that is affecting the nation. The death rate has increased intensely in recent years in United States due to Overdosing on drugs with number of deaths doubling every nine years including accidental and unintentional deaths. (Cunningham, 2018). The abuse and dependence to opioids- including heroin, fentanyl, and prescription drugs for pain relief is a serious nationwide catastrophe that disturbs communal health and as well as economical, psychological, social, and physiological welfare. The […]

The Drug Abuse Across the United States of America

The drug abuse across the United States of America has been noticed as a tremendous problem since the past thirty years, whether it being the use of prescription drugs or illicit drugs. According to the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, (NIDA, 2015) it is estimated that 24.6 million Americans, in 2013, from ages twelve and older had used illicit drugs. Americans generally take drugs for variety reasons, that being to feel better, be better, or do better. […]

Most Drugs and Medicated Substances Can be Beneficial

People do misuse drugs and medications. Drug abuse occurs when an individual excessively exploits a drug or medication outside of its original function, which could result in harm to the user, their families, and even their community (Huffman & Dowdell, 2015). Abusing drugs can cause hazardous consequences that will affect a person from a biological, psychological, and social standpoint. Fortunately, drug abuse can be prevented and treated. The Foundation Recovery Network (2018) expresses that drug abuse and drug addiction are […]

Effects of Parental Alcoholism and Drug Abuse on Teens

Addiction is a word very common in our day to day lives, but not very many people actually know what it is or how to treat it. It is an individualistic disease that can infect everybody, not just a certain group of people, with damages that can ripple through families for years to come. Addiction within parents can have effects lasting lifetimes within the family and can also have a huge societal impact. For many, addiction is a scary word, […]

Student: Drug Abuse, Struggle, and Health Risks.

Today’s student faces many risks, including drug abuse, struggle, and health risks. Reacting to these risks before they become more serious dilemmas can be difficult. One of the purposes of dealing with drug abuse is to encourage the public to understand the causes of drug abuse and to prevent its onset. Drug abuse has serious consequences in our homes, schools, and communities. The use of all illegal drugs and the inappropriate use of licit drugs is considered drug abuse. Teens […]

Drug Abuse Among Students

Medication manhandle is these days one of the gravest social damages. Late years have encountered an extreme ascent in sedate manhandle among school and college understudies. In America today, more people struggle with some kind of addiction to drugs than in the past. Alcohol use is high among college students and places them at risk for health problems, injuries, and poor academic performance. Drugs have a chemical effect that damage the brain and body. Drugs have shown to interfere with […]

The Correlation between Adult Drug Abusers and Children

The National Institute on drug abuse estimates that a quarter of children in the U.S. grow up in households where there is substance abuse. It makes them 8 times more likely to develop an addiction of their own. Many children are unfortunate enough to have to pay the consequences that drug abusing adults indirectly throw at them. Many of these children grow up to be adults who have, over time, developed the same habits. Others have no control over the […]

Substance Abuse and Development

Substance abuse can be defined as the overindulgence in addictive substance or the reliance on an addictive substance, especially illicit drugs like crystal methamphetamine and others. Methamphetamine, or meth, as it is popularly called is a highly addictive stimulant that creates a feeling of energy, heightened alertness and euphoria. It is synthetically prepared, using toxic and flammable chemicals and side effects include irregular and rapid heartbeat, hyperthermia, convulsions, stroke, insomnia, high blood pressure, restlessness, and tremors . Meth can be […]

Prescription Drug Abuse

In reading the articles 'Nonmedical Prescription Drug Use Among US Young Adults by Educational Attainment,' 'Ethnic/Racial Differences in Peer and Parent Influence on Adolescent Prescription Drug Misuse,' and 'Influences of Motivational Contexts on Prescription Drug Misuse and Related Drug Problems', they all highlight the misuse of prescription drug use by young adults. Each article provides its unique interpretation of studies concerning how and why youth misuse prescription drugs on an ethnic level. The articles also discuss the risks of prescription […]

Drug Abuse in Athletes

Is taking drugs to boost yourself up just to win or maybe even break a record really worth losing your career over? All the hard work you put in over the years, just for it to be taken away from you in a second over performance enhancing drugs because you wanted to win. Maybe your injury was so bad that you need to use illegal drugs to cure it without doctor orders. As a result, to this you could risk […]

Investigation of the Effects of Drug Abuse

ABSTRACT In investigation of the effects of drug abuse on adolescents' academic performance various theoretical perspectives were utilized and strategies to curb drug use were also identified. The study was conducted in Triangle: Chiredzi; Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe. The participants were from 3 High schools. The students' ages were ranging from 12 to 21 years. A descriptive survey design combining both qualitative and quantitative research strategies was employed. The researcher used a purposive sampling technique. The sample size represented 10% […]

The Truth of Drug Abuse

As Nathan Driskell once said, Addiction is the only prison where the locks are on the inside. Addiction is a common issue and numerous people don't realize. Over twenty million Americans under the age of 18 are already addicted to a drug. Drug abuse is a major concern despite a person's race, gender, national origin, ethnicity, social status, or religion. Addictions can affect anyone and can be caused by a variety of reasons. To overcome an addiction and staying drug […]

People with an Addiction have a Mental Illness

6.8 million people with an addiction have a mental illness. When people think about addictions they automatically think about a drug addiction. Although it is the most common addiction in America, there are plenty of other addictions. For example, Food addiction, video game addiction, working addiction, and an exercising addiction just to name a few. An addiction is abusing the use of a substance and that can be bad for you if you use too much of it. There are […]

What is Drug and Drug Abuse?

Drugs are substances that can affect the body’s function either physically or mentally, and also kill many cells in our body when we consume them. There are many factors that contribute to drug addiction. One of these factors is peer pressure. Many people succumb to peer pressure, but this is particularly prevalent among teenagers and children, as they are not yet mature mentally, and tend to emulate their surroundings. As an example, if a person has loved ones or friends […]

Reflection of Motivation of Early Dropout from Drug Abuse Treatment

The correlation between early dropout addicts and lack of motivation. Simpson created three scales used to determine the stages of cognitive treatment. Simpson and Joe constructed a theory that different lifestyles can influence how the client will succeed in the treatment program. This study's motive is to test the accuracy of three motivation levels for early treatment dropouts. This study consist of 311 clients, addicts, with diverse socio demographics that are located in Corpus Christi, Dallas, And Houston. The clients […]

Drug Abuse: War on Drugs

Drug abuse has been happening over so many years and it’s bad for our community. A drug isn't a good thing to mess with it understandable if its used for reasonable reasons but more than needed is drug abuse. Some people disagree with this and opposed to other side drugs are good for our community. Many people coming back from the war will be addicted to drugs and alcohol due to the massage amount of drugs that is given to […]

Additional Example Essays

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• Why the Drinking Age Should NOT be Lowered
• The Great Gatsby and Prohibition
• Leadership and the Army Profession
• Why College Should Not Be Free
• Shakespeare's Hamlet Character Analysis
• A Raisin in the Sun Theme

How To Write an Essay About Drug Abuse

Understanding the complexity of drug abuse.

When tackling an essay about drug abuse, it's essential to first comprehend the intricacies of the topic. Drug abuse, a prevalent issue globally, involves the chronic or habitual use of drugs for non-medical purposes, leading to health hazards and socio-economic problems. In your introduction, define drug abuse and distinguish it from drug use and addiction. Address the multifaceted nature of the issue, encompassing psychological, physiological, and societal dimensions. This foundation is crucial for guiding your exploration of drug abuse, its causes, effects, and potential solutions. Recognizing the sensitivity and complexity of this topic is key to writing an insightful and respectful essay.

Analyzing Causes and Effects

The body of your essay should delve into the causes and effects of drug abuse. Explore the various factors that can lead to drug abuse, such as psychological distress, peer pressure, socio-economic status, and exposure to drugs in the family or community. Then, discuss the ramifications of drug abuse on individuals, families, and society. These effects can include health issues, strained relationships, financial problems, and societal costs like increased crime and healthcare expenses. Use specific examples and data to support your points, while maintaining a compassionate tone, acknowledging that individuals suffering from drug abuse often face a complex interplay of challenges.

Addressing Prevention and Treatment

In this section, shift your focus to prevention and treatment strategies for drug abuse. Discuss different approaches to preventing drug abuse, such as education and awareness programs, policy changes, and community support initiatives. Then, examine the various treatment options available, including medical interventions, counseling, rehabilitation programs, and support groups. It's crucial to discuss the importance of a holistic approach to treatment, which addresses not just the physical aspect of addiction but also the psychological and social factors. This part of your essay should highlight the importance of compassion and support in addressing drug abuse, rather than solely punitive measures.

Concluding with a Call to Awareness and Action

Conclude your essay by summarizing the main points and emphasizing the importance of addressing drug abuse in society. Reflect on the need for increased awareness, better prevention strategies, and effective treatment programs. Encourage readers to consider the role they can play in combating drug abuse, whether through personal support, advocacy, or policy change. A strong conclusion will not only provide closure to your essay but also inspire a sense of responsibility and urgency in dealing with this critical issue.

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108 Drug Abuse Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best drug abuse topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on drug abuse, 💡 most interesting drug abuse topics to write about, ❓ drug abuse research questions.

Drug abuse essays are an excellent way to learn about the issue and its influence on various groups and populations while demonstrating your understanding.

Various substances, including alcohol, narcotics, and other mind-altering products, are a popular method for recreation in some communities.

However, they are prone to result in addiction, psychological as well as mental, and lead the person to pursue another dose before anything else.

In doing so, he or she can eventually ruin his or her life, which is why most drugs are currently banned around the world. This article will offer you some tips that will help you write an excellent essay and receive the top grade.

Youth is a major demographic that is affected by addiction issues due to drug consumption. Young people are impressionable and prone to search for new sensations. Drugs can offer a sense of novelty and provide an experience they have not had before, leading to considerable appeal.

Considering that young people are generally not wealthy and have to focus on work to succeed in life, essays on drug among youth can use a variety of excellent topics. You can offer your ideas on the reason for the phenomenon’s existence and ways in which it can be prevented.

However, remember that the purpose of the programs should be to help the people who are at risk.

There are many other drug abuse essay topics that you can explore, with poverty being a prominent example. Despite their conditions, many people turn to substance abuse to try and escape the unpleasant aspects of their life.

These population segments are more likely to suffer after acquiring a drug habit than young people because they generally receive less attention.

Furthermore, poor neighborhoods with relatively low amounts of surveillance by law enforcement are likely to house drug dealers who prey on vulnerable people.

You can discuss this topic or discuss a variety of other ones, as the relationship between poverty and poor outcomes has been researched deeply.

Here are some additional tips for your essay:

• Try to use examples to illustrate your points about various aspects of the issue. Drug addiction essay quotations from people who are affected by the condition or have overcome it can offer valuable insights. They also legitimize your findings by providing parallels with the real world.
• Alcohol essays are an excellent choice, as the substance is legal and available to everyone without much difficulty. Nevertheless, its effects can be devastating, especially if a person’s consumption is chronic.
• Try to write a drug abuse essay outline before starting work, as it will help you to organize the essay. Select some prominent ideas that you want to discuss and organize them in a manner that represents a logical progression. You do not have to discard all of the other concepts, as you can make them sub-headings under your main titles.
• Be sure to include a drug abuse essay introduction and conclusion in your work. They will help you provide a structure to the essay and make it easier for the reader to understand your ideas. The introduction should describe the topic and provide the thesis, and the conclusion should restate your main points.

Visit IvyPanda for drug abuse essay titles, and other useful samples on various subjects to help you with your writing work!

• Drug and Alcohol Abuse For along time now, drug and alcohol abuse in the society has been a problem that affects the youth and the society at large. This paper highlights the problems of drug abuse and alcohol drinking […]
• Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse Drug trafficking contributes to drug abuse in the society. Drug trafficking also contributes to increased criminal activities that affect the security of citizens.
• Social Media Impact on Drug Abuse Thus, social media platforms definitely contribute to the misuse of various drugs by romanticizing their consumption and making “social drug use” acceptable among users.
• Drug Abuse and Current Generation Drug abuse also breeds an array of behavioral problems among young people, which may affect their suitability to fit in the society.
• Drug Abuse & Its Effects on Families Focusing on the family seems to be by far, the most known and effective way of finding a solution with regards to the “war on drugs” since it more promising to end the vicious cycle […]
• Drug and Substance Abuse Many experts consider addiction as a disease as it affects a specific part of the brain; the limbic system commonly referred to as the pleasure center.
• Merton’s Argument of Deviance: The Case of Drug Abuse The most prominent example in support of Merton’s argument in relation to drug abuse is that cultural and social circumstances play a crucial role in defining people’s desire to engage in drug use.
• Consequences of Drug Abuse The endless stream of drugs, obtainable to the individuals with little or no restrictions, poses a serious inquiry. When assessing the advantages of using pharmaceutical drugs, it is essential to consider the severity of health […]
• Drug Abuse Among the Youth Essentially, this case study will allow the evaluation of the prevailing cases of drug abuse among the youth. In this regard, the pain and peer pleasure cannot be persevered to allow an explicit cure of […]
• Prevention Research: The Fight Against Drug Abuse It is agreeable that US’s ‘War on Drugs’ has been an effective substance abuse prevention plan despite the hiccups that the program faces and its inability to attain some of its designated mandates within the […]
• Reasons Behind Youth’s Engagement to Drug Abuse in the 21st Century Although youths in the 21st century engage in drug abuse due to several factors, it suffices to declare factors such as the rising unemployment status, peer pressure, and their hiked tendency to copy their parents’ […]
• “Cocaine: Abuse and Addiction” by National Institute on Drug Abuse The literature provides us with a report of a research that has been conducted in the US regarding the topic of cocaine and drug abuse.
• Drug Abuse. “Nine Years Under” Book by Sheri Booker The book is thought provoking and important because it allows representing the difficult social situation and the problems of gang violence and drugs in the United States from the personal point of view.
• Drug Abuse, Aggression and Antisocial Behavior The use of abusive drugs can cause anger in people because of the effect they have on the brain. An example of how alcohol can cause aggression in a person is that it impairs an […]
• Drug Abuse Effects on Health and Nervous System These numerous damages severely affect the quality of the brains work and the health of the nervous system. While discussing the effects of drug addiction, it is essential to notice that it has a devastating […]
• Drug Abuse and Prevention Strategies When specialists deal with preventative factors, they pay attention to both mental and physical ways to resist the drug. The symbiosis of these procedures is exceptionally efficient in terms of the drug rehabilitation process when […]
• Youth Drug Abuse Among, Education, and Policies Although drug abuse encompasses improper use of drugs disregarding the prescriptions of medical practitioners, the principal challenges of drug abuse occasion from abuse of drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.
• Drug Abuse and Its Psychological Effects The purpose of this paper is to explore in more depth the psychological effects of addiction on the family and inner circle of the addict.
• Policies for Pregnant Women With Drug Abuse Thus, out of all the offered policies, financial support for therapy is the best one, as it motivates prevention and treatment, which, in turn, causes the improvement of this situation.
• The Formative Evaluation: Program of Addressing Drug Abuse in Schools The proposed program sought to educate students about the challenges of drug abuse, its impacts on academic performance, and the best techniques to avoid the vice.
• Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Canada Therefore, it contributes as a central factor in the essence of the character, and it is crucial to understand the core definition and the elements that foster the ideology.
• Mitigating Drug Abuse in Pine View School The inclusion of professionals in the fields of health care, counseling, and drugs is expected to promote the delivery of desirable results.
• Drug Abuse and Its Negative Effects This paper aims to highlight what the field of psychology says about the negative effects of drugs and why people continue using despite the consequences. The main effect is that it creates a memory of […]
• Prevention Programs: Drug Abuse Resistance Education This program focuses on handling peer pressure among youths, a crucial cause of drug abuse in the country. The program is also grounded on sound research, which offers the critical elements vital to handling the […]
• Drug Abuse in Lake County, California The topic of drug abuse is essential for discussion due to the need to develop strategies to prevent and minimize the dangerous consequences of drug abuse in different regions.
• Drug Abuse Among Homeless Young Adults in New Jersey The reason why young adults in New Jersey get involved in drugs and alcohol after becoming homeless is to manage their situations in an attempt to attain the tentative pleasure of life despite their problems. […]
• Community Intervention Practices against Drug Abuse The key features that result in successful community-based intervention on drug abuse are integrated for effectiveness and efficiency. On the other hand, drug abuse refers to the consumption of substances that elicit particular feelings and […]
• Teenage Drug Abuse in the United States The problem of teenage drug abuse inflicts a threat to the future society and health state of the overall population in the United States.
• Substance Abuse: Prevention Strategies and National Benchmarks Still, this desire to get away from problems by means of substances instead of making effort to improve an individual’s environment contributed to the evolution of the challenge of substance abuse into a real public […]
• Alcoholism, Domestic Violence and Drug Abuse Kaur and Ajinkya researched to investigate the “psychological impact of adult alcoholism on spouses and children”. The work of Kaur and Ajinkya, reveals a link between chronic alcoholism and emotional problems on the spouse and […]
• Monitoring the Future: National Survey Results on Drug Use National survey results on drug use obtained by Monitoring the Future have a significant value to the development of various approaches with regard to the prevention of drug abuse.
• The Health Issues Associated With Drug Abuse It is therefore imperative to develop strategies for health promotion to reduce the number of teenagers, the most at-risk family member when it comes to drug abuse.
• Fentanyl – Drug Profile and Specific and Drug Abuse The drug has the effect of depressing the respiratory center, constricting the pupils, as well as depressing the cough reflex. The remainder 75% of fentanyl is swallowed and absorbed in G-tract.
• Cases of Drug Abuse Amongst Nursing Professionals It is noteworthy that at the top of the information, the date posted is Monday, February 14, 2011, yet against the information, the date is February 11, 2011.
• The Treatment of Drug Abuse Any medical practitioner treating a drug abuse patient has to be careful in many aspects, like: He has to be careful on the issue that if the addiction has effected the brain of the patient.
• Drug Courts and Detoxification: Approach to Drug Abuse Treatment However, since 1989, the US federal system has been providing the majority of drug abusers with proper treatment or education with the help of a drug court option.
• Drug Abuse in Adolescents Aged 15-19 Years Old: A Public Health Menace In addition, the objectives of the paper are as follows: the first aim is to analyze the collected data and produce a review of the information.
• Drug Abuse in Adolescents and Its Causes Scientific research shows that the development factors for adolescent drug abuse are not limited to a set of three to five causes, but are usually linked to the integration of destructive environmental conditions.
• Drug Abuse and Addiction Holimon has succeeded in reviving some of her family relations, and she is still putting a lot of effort to get ahead in this area to the fullest extent possible.
• Sports as a Solution to Youth Substance Abuse: Dr. Collingwood’s View His comments made me realize that it would be unwise by the end of the day for any parent to leave their children under the mercy of the media where they learned that doing drugs […]
• Drug Abuse in High School and College With respect to social work and the problem of substance abuse, research has been carried out in terms of investigating the relationship between drug abuse and poverty, the effects of drug abuse on the society.
• Critical Issues in Education: Drug Abuse and Alcoholism For this case, the ministry concerned has a very hard task of ensuring there are no critical issues that are left unsolved that relate to education, failure to which will affect the performance of students […]
• Biopsychosocial Experience in Drug Abuse Treatment There has to be a preventive strategy in every intervention procedure to avoid the occurrence of a disease. I find the course of treatment in this intervention beneficial for the creation of the needed preventive […]
• Addictive Behavior Programs and Drug Abuse Trends The involvement of stakeholders is an essential condition for the effectiveness of this model of work and its results, and all the roles should be allocated in accordance with the capabilities of the program’s participants.
• Substance Misuse in American Youth: A Socio-Cultural Analysis The paper analyzes studies regarding some of the most widespread types of substances, as well as discusses the role of the rap culture in the growing number of young addicts in the U.S.
• Social Behaviour as a Science: Drug Abuse in Youth Thus, the application of social psychology to the phenomenon of youth drug abuse helps to explain how social factors impact the prevalence of and risk for drug abuse.
• Financial Planning for Drug Abuse Prevention in Virginia Estates Therefore, the first preferred sources for the program are the County Commission and the Alabama Department of Corrections. The program can be financed by the Montgomery County Commission in the short term and Alabama Department […]
• Problem of Drug Abuse in Schools The research worked on the hypothesis that the treatment would reduce or result in the total cessation of drug use, and better relations with family and friends.
• Prescription Drug Abuse in the United States The combination of Ibuprofen and acetaminophen are effective for the patients, who want to reduce and control the level of pain.
• Impact of Drug Abuse on Adolescent Development Therefore, it is important for counselors to consider these stages to help them address the issue of substance abuse among adolescents. In the habitual stage, most adolescents take drugs to help them modify their moods.
• Drug Abuse: Age, Gender and Addictive Susceptibility This incorporates the aspects of gender where males and females possess varying biological constitutions that might affect the prescribed treatments in the realms of addiction. It is important to consider the rapidity and susceptibility of […]
• Drug Abuse Prevention Programs Additionally, it is possible to prospect the success of the program in case the required readiness from the community can be unveiled prior to the program execution.
• The Cultural Context and Ethics of Prevention of Drug Abuse The first prevention strategy outlined in the document is the involvement of young people in all levels of the prevention program establishment. Concurrently, it is crucial to relate this technique with the subject of culture […]
• Use of Psychotropic Medications in the Treatment of Drug Abuse This is because the mental illness is, literally, the one that sustains the abuse of drugs and thus after it is healed; the patient will have no reason to continue abusing the drugs.
• Drug Abuse: Awareness Amongst the Youths This project is going to carry out a public awareness campaign with the aim of educating the young people on the hazards related to the vice of drug and substance abuse. The awareness campaign is […]
• A New Alcohol and Drug-Abuse Rehabilitation Center in Liverpool Hospital, Sydney The hospital, in response to this distress, has decided to bring help closer to the people of Liverpool by the construction of the annex facility.
• The Extent of Drug Abuse Among People in America Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Said He Lied about Crack Cocaine Use Because He Was Embarrassed Mayor lied about the use of crack cocaine The article titled “Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said he lied about crack […]
• Drug Use and Abuse in America: Historical Analysis The new law was similar to the Boggs Act of 1951 in that it employed the same formula of using perceived increase in drug use in the country.
• Drug Abuse as an Ethical Issue On the side of duties and obligations, the societal norms stipulate that individuals should be caring to other members of the society especially the children and the old.
• Drug Abuse and Society Regardless of the many intervention measures that can be adopted to solve this problem of drug abuse, the most effective intervention measure is to create awareness to youths to enable them change their behaviors and […]
• Prescription Painkillers, the New Drug Abuse of Choice Studies attribute the recent increase in the misuse of prescription drugs to an increase in the use of the Internet, which facilitates the growth of illegitimate online drug stores and uncontrolled online prescription drug sales.
• Music Analysis: Drug Abuse in Music So in this song the artist is also lamenting the dangers of drugs and the theme of the music is one that advocates against tackling the problem with issues of drug abuse by arguing the […]
• Drug Abuse: Comprehensive Review The effects associated with drug abuse tend to vary depending on an individual’s age and the phase of drug abuse that the person is in.
• Drug Abuse as a Social Problem This poses as problem to the society because many of the people who are unemployed will resort to different ways of seeking money and pleasure.
• Adolescent’s Drug Abuse and Therapy Success When one accepts to put up with negative peer pressure, they end up giving up the personal trusts and values thus the pressure becomes a form of a negative force.”Does peer pressure affect the decision […]
• What Are Influences That Cause Drug Abuse on Youth?
• What Are Some Solutions to Drug Abuse?
• What Are the Primary Causes and Effects of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Among Young People?
• What Causes Teenage Drug Abuse?
• What Does Drug Abuse Truly?
• Why Do Children Need to Be Educated About Drug Abuse?
• Why Has the American Government Not Managed to Stop Drug Abuse All These Years?
• How Does Drug Abuse Affect Personal Development of Hong Kong Teenagers?
• How Does Pericarditis Form Due to Drug Abuse?
• How Drug Abuse Ruins Families and Destroys Relationships?
• How Does Prescription Drug Abuse Affect Teens?
• Does the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program Work?
• What Is the Drug of Abuse?
• What Are the Four Types of Drugs Abused?
• Which Is an Example of Drug Abuse?
• What Is the Leading Cause of Drug Abuse?
• What Are the Causes and Effects of Drug Abuse?
• What Are the Main Consequences of Drug Abuse?
• How Does Drug Abuse Affect Our Society?
• How Can We Prevent Drug Abuse?
• Why Is It Essential to Prevent Drugs?
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Science, evidence-based facts, key to help end scourge of drug abuse: UN chief

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The world’s drug problem remains an urgent challenge that threatens to exacerbate COVID-19 pandemic impacts and hinder a healthy and inclusive recovery, warned the UN Secretary General ahead of The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

In a statement published on Friday, Antonio Guterres underscored that trusting science is the “hero and lesson of the pandemic”, and the same action based on evidence is crucial for the responses to drugs.

Worsening problem

The World Drug Report published this week by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime ( UNODC ) showed that drug related deaths have nearly doubled over the past decade. Moreover, 10% of HIV cases in 2019, were due to people injecting themselves with harmful substances.

The UN chief warned that although international cooperation has helped limit the proliferation of new psychoactive drugs, the problem is shifting to poorer regions where control systems are weaker.

Meanwhile, dark web drug sales continue to rise, and non-medical use of pharmaceuticals, including opioids, is expanding.

“ Drug trafficking and organized crime fuel and perpetuate cycles of violence and conflict. Armed groups and terrorists’ profit from the illicit drug trade, and the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has left millions of people even more vulnerable to drug crime and illicit crop cultivation”, Mr. Guterres underscored.

Invest in prevention

The Secretary General pointed out that investing in balanced prevention as well as control of drug use and drug use disorders produces solid returns such as lives saved, healthier populations, improved workforce participation and productivity, and reduced criminal justice costs.

“ Many of the risk factors associated with crime and violent behaviour are also drivers of drug use, and targeted efforts focusing on these overlapping dynamics - including childhood maltreatment and lack of social support - can help to strengthen prevention”, he said.

More partnerships and data

Public-private partnerships - with tech companies, postal and courier services, and shipping companies - represent an essential frontline response in the new fight against drug traffickers, who “are increasingly exploiting the legal cargo trade and postal services to move their illicit product”, added Mr. Guterres, underscoring that better data is also useful to identify trends and enable real-time monitoring of the trafficking routes.

The Secretary General urged Member States to listen to the science and take action, building on agreed international frameworks and drawing on UN support for health and justice initiatives.

He also reminded that greater cooperation and support are needed to help low-income countries take advantage of cutting edge anti-drug enforcement techniques.

‘Share facts on drugs and save lives’

The head of UNODC, Ms. Ghada Waly, echoed the UN chief’s call for leveraging trustworthy, scientific information and the power of community in influencing health choices and addressing the world drug problem.

“Drugs are destroying health and stealing futures, with drug use alone killing almost half a million people in 2019. Awareness of the risks and access to evidence-based treatment and care can help prevent such tragedies”, she said.

In a statement, Ms. Waly explained the theme of this year’s International Day: Share facts on drugs. Save lives . “It highlights the need for evidence-based approaches to equip the public, as well as health and service providers, and decision makers with the tools to inform choices and effective services”, she emphasized.

The campaign highlights key statistics and data drawn from UNODC’s yearly World Drug Report. Thus, providing facts and practical solutions to the current world drug problem, to attain a vision of health for all, based on science.

Ms. Waly urged governments to expand evidence-based prevention and treatment programmes, as well as monitoring and early warning mechanisms to help lower-income countries detect and counter new substances and use trends.

About the day

Through resolution 42/112 of 7 December 1987, the General Assembly decided to observe 26 June as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking as an expression of its determination to strengthen action and cooperation to achieve the goal of an international society free of drug abuse.

Supported each year by individuals, communities, and various organizations all over the world, this global observance aims to raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs represent to society.

• International Days

• In the news
• About The Project
• The Court Cases
• The Official Death Tally
• The Official Documents
• Looking back: Day One, Year One of the antidrug campaign
• The Drug Killings: Who, What, Where, When, How?
• Building a dataset of publicly available information on killings associated with the antidrug campaign
• The search for humane, effective, and evidence-based solutions to the drug problem
• AntiDrug campaign timeline
• The role of local officials in the antidrug campaign

The search for humane, effective, and evidence-based solutions to the drug problem

The 2016 presidential race placed the problem of illicit drugs front and center of the national agenda. Candidate Rodrigo Duterte ran, and won, on a platform of fixing the drug problem, which he claimed would “destroy the country.” According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), some 1.8 million Filipinos were using drugs in 2015, less than 2 percent of the population. Over 95 percent of drug arrests that year were linked to the use of crystal methamphetamine, popularly known as shabu. In 2015, according to the PDEA, a third of barangays in the Philippines were struggling with the problem of drugs. 1

Once in office, the Duterte administration launched a nationwide campaign against illegal drugs that was focused on law enforcement. The Philippine National Police (PNP) was deployed to implement “Oplan Double Barrel,” aimed largely at identifying and “neutralizing” users and distributors of illegal drugs at the grassroots. Police efforts were intended to address both the supply of, and demand for, illicit drugs by targeting both low-level drug users and “high-value” drug suspects.

The government reported that between July 2016 and May 15, 2018, 1.3 million drug suspects surrendered to the authorities; 143,335 “drug personalities” were arrested; 99,485 police operations were conducted; and 2,678.61 kilos of shabu were seized. 2 In all, 4,279 drug suspects have been killed in police operations. In addition, there are 22,983 “deaths under investigation” by the police that are apparently related to drugs. 3

The intensified campaign against illegal drugs has been controversial because of the large numbers of Filipinos killed during police operations, the spread of vigilante-style killings, and allegations of extrajudicial summary executions of drug suspects. Barangay officials, along with law enforcement agencies, have also been criticized for employing tactics that violate the privacy and other rights of citizens. These tactics include mandatory house-to-house surveys on drug use, compulsory drug tests, and the compilation of “drug watch lists” that make residents the target of arrests or killings.

There has been scant evidence-based assessments of the effectiveness of the current government’s antidrug campaign. Our aim is to assemble a multidisciplinary team of researchers to provide an evidence base to assess the economic, political, psychological, legal, and social costs and benefits of the government’s campaign. In doing so, we hope to help the public get a more informed and nuanced understanding of the complex landscape of drug policing and drug policy.

The drug problem

The Philippines has a significant level of drug use and a robust drug trade. However, there is little evidence that, almost two years into the government’s antidrug campaign, the singular focus on enforcement-led and punitive solutions is working. It is also possible that strong-arm policing may be crowding out sustainable and effective solutions such as health- and community-based approaches to drug recovery.

We highlight three key problems with the primacy of punitive approaches:

• There is little, if any, evidence that there are fewer drugs on the streets. Anecdotal as well as news reports say that the drug trade continues although it has been driven underground. Shabu, in particular, remains popular because it is affordable and available through a grassroots distribution network.
• The tactics and strategies inherent in the design and implementation of the antidrug campaign make the police and other agencies involved in it vulnerable to accusations of abuse. For sure, a 2018 Gallup poll showed that Filipinos felt safer walking the streets alone at night than they did some years ago. In 2017, a Social Weather Stations survey showed that most Filipinos supported the antidrug campaign. But more than 90 percent of them also said that it was important that drug suspects be captured alive rather than dead. They were also split on whether to believe the police when it said drug suspects were killed because they resisted arrest. Three out of four surveyed said they were afraid that they or someone they knew would be targeted by the police. 4 Aggressive policing, therefore, may have added to a sense of public safety but it may also have damaged the public’s trust in institutions of justice and law enforcement. This trust will be difficult to rebuild. Internationally, the “war on drugs” has also tarnished the country’s reputation for upholding human rights, the rule of law, and due process.
• One of the hidden costs of the so-called “war on drugs” is the toll it has taken on poor families who have lost loved ones to the drug killings. Many of them are traumatized by having witnessed the violence done to their kin and have no means of providing for their most basic needs, as in many cases those targeted by the police are their families’ breadwinners. We have yet to fully understand the potential long-term impact of such violence on the psychological well-being of thousands of children, widows, grandparents, and entire communities that have lost their sense of safety and trust.

The solutions

By reviewing international experience and generating an empirical evidence base of credible information, the government’s antidrug policies can be monitored and evaluated for effectiveness. There is a growing body of evidence from all around the world that suggests that drugs should be dealt with as a public health, rather than law enforcement, issue. One study on 50 years of the global war on drugs says that it has failed to limit drug availability and that “global trends in drug use – particularly high-risk use – [have been] rising consistently over the past half-century and illegal drugs [are] cheaper and more available than ever.” 5

The Philippines needs antidrug policies, approaches, and tactics that are responsive to the emerging evidence from around the world and to the changing contexts of drug use. Instead of punitive approaches, the following may be considered:

• Health-based rehabilitation programs adapted to Filipino culture and communities. These have been shown to reduce recidivism rates dramatically and to lead to secondary benefits such as community protection. These community-based programs have also been shown to be more effective in dealing with the majority of drug users who are not severely addicted to illicit substances. 6 (See below for a fuller discussion of these approaches.)
• Enforcement actions focused on reducing supply by investing time and resources on in-depth investigations that will result in the capture of high-level drug suppliers rather than low-level dealers. Any enforcement action, regardless of its target and the nature of the violation, must be conducted within the bounds of law and due process.
• Reduction of demand by investing in prevention programs that are informed by a rigorous study of reasons for why individuals start and sustain drug use.

Any and all policies, programs, strategies, and tactics must be informed by a credible evidence base, conducted with respect for human rights and the rule of law, and operationalized within the context of sound governance systems. Otherwise, any gains derived from antidrug campaigns will be difficult to sustain.

The role of local governments

The government’s antidrug campaign has many moving parts, with the PNP often holding the reins at the national level and with varying roles assigned to local governments. Local government officials, including barangay captains, play a key role in the execution of the campaign. At least two provisions in the operational documents of Oplan Double Barrel, PNP Command Memorandum Circular No. 16-2016 issued by the PNP chief, suggest close and regular coordination between the police and local officials.

The antidrug campaign is clearly a central government program. Given the widespread claims and growing evidence of the involvement of both police and some government officials in the illegal drugs trade, a strong central policy has been deemed necessary. But in the course of implementing this antidrug effort, local officials, such as provincial governors, city and municipal mayors, and barangay captains and kagawad, have been tasked to cooperate with the police. Responses to this directive, however, have not been uniform.

Some barangays have very high death rates; others, far lower (in some cases zero). The varied experiences of local cities/barangays that have community-based rehabilitation programs and where killings are low or nonexistent, show that the community leaders (e.g., barangay officials, church leaders, police) can work together to pursue a more restorative approach consistent with the duty of local officials to ensure the general welfare of their citizens.

Restorative approaches to stemming drug use in communities

According to the PDEA, there have been over 1.3 million surrenderers. All surrenderees are supposed to go through assessment or evaluation and diagnosis, then referred, if appropriate, to rehabilitation facilities. Only a small fraction, a reported 189,816 of those who have surrendered, however, have undergone and completed recovery and wellness programs in community centers. The focus on enforcement and punitive strategies has crowded out solutions that have a more restorative and humane approach to drug use.

Given that the various levels of local governments have a clear mandate and directive to run their own programs against drug use in their areas, it is well within their powers to actively support community-based drug initiatives. Some local governments have implemented programs like drug education, community service, recreational activities, and counseling. Such rehabilitation efforts have been criticized by many, including President Duterte, for being not only ineffective but also too expensive. Local and international experience, however, reveals a uniform positive experience with success rates of community- and health-based drug rehabilitation and recovery programs.

Addressing drug use and dependence requires a nuanced understanding of the local situation within which substances are purchased and consumed, and a full awareness that drug users are individual people in specific contexts. Illicit drug use is often found to coexist with economic, social, and legal problems for individuals, and can be traced back to a variety of causes, including biological, social, and psychological dimensions. 7 Accepting that illegal drug use is a health condition rather than simply a form of criminal offense, means that it is best addressed by the health care system.

Community-based drug treatment

The Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) Taskforce on Drug Recovery Support reviewed experiences and success rates of community-based drug recovery programs and similar interventions. One example is a community-based program called Katatagan Kontra Droga sa Komunidad. It starts from the premise that drug use is learned, and can be unlearned, through planned and well-suited therapeutic strategies. A 12-module program was designed based on accepted theories of motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and family systems theory.

Initial experiences from pilot-testing this program in selected barangays of Quezon City among low to mid-risk illicit drug users suggest a high likelihood of recovery. Specifically, they find an increase in coping skills of users, a decrease in symptoms of substance use dependence, and improvements in psychological well-being.

The main drivers of a successful implementation of community-based drug treatment programs are a mix of family, social, community, and spiritual support.

Research agenda for the near future

A comprehensive cost-benefits analysis of health-led versus enforcement-led approaches needs to be conducted. Any such study must take into account direct and indirect costs based on statistics from all aspects of the antidrug campaign. The following are some costs that should be imputed in any accounting of the campaign:

• Budget allocated and spent by government (direct costs)
• Families losing breadwinners
• Trauma to children exposed to violence
• Trauma to communities
• Burden to grandparents who take care of children
• Growing distrust of the police
• Humanitarian costs of thousands of widows and orphans
• Cost to international trust and reputation of the country

To do an evidence-based assessment of the antidrug campaign, the government should provide access to information on its various aspects. For the most part, the government has released only aggregate figures related to drug-related killings, arrests, and operations. The current lack of transparency translates to an absence of accountability, making it difficult to conduct an independent validation of the campaign’s effectiveness and its impacts.

1. Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, 2015 Annual Report. http://pdea.gov.ph/images/AnnualReport/2015AR/AR2015page1to37.pdf

2. Martin Sadongdong, “Over 4,200 slain, 143 K arrested in drug war — #RealNumbersPH Year 2,” Manila Bulletin, May 29, 2018

3. Cecile Suerte Felipe, “PNP: 22,983 deaths under inquiry since drug war launched,” Philippine Star, June 11, 2018.

4. Social Weather Stations, “First Quarter 2017 Social Weather Survey,” April 18, 2017. https://www.sws.org.ph/downloads/media_release/pr20170418%20-%20Opinion%20on%20the%20campaign%20against%20illegal%20drugs%20and%20on%20EJK%20(Special%20Report_FINAL).pdf

5. “The War on Drugs: Threatening Public Health, Spreading Disease and Death,” from Count the Costs, http://www.countthecosts.org/sites/default/files/Health-briefing.pdf

6. Ma. Regina Hechanova, et.al., “The Development of Community-Based Drug Intervention for Filipino Drug Users,” Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, February 2018.

7. The health and social consequences of drug use are discussed in United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2017, https://www.unodc.org/wdr2017/index.html.

Essay on Illegal Drugs

Students are often asked to write an essay on Illegal Drugs in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Illegal Drugs

What are illegal drugs.

Illegal drugs are substances that the law says people cannot have, make, or sell. They are often dangerous and can hurt those who use them. These drugs can be natural or made in labs. Some examples include cocaine, heroin, and meth.

The Harm They Cause

Using illegal drugs can lead to health problems like heart attacks, infections, and even death. They can also make people act in ways that are not safe, causing accidents or violence. Addiction is another big risk, making it hard to stop using the drug.

Why People Use Them

Some people try these drugs because they are curious or have problems they want to escape from. Others might feel pressure from friends. Sadly, once started, it can be tough to stop, leading to more problems.

Fighting the Problem

Governments and communities work together to stop illegal drug use. They make laws, teach people about the risks, and help those who are addicted. It’s important to support friends and family to stay away from these drugs.

250 Words Essay on Illegal Drugs

Types of illegal drugs.

There are many kinds of illegal drugs. Some are called ‘cannabis,’ ‘cocaine,’ or ‘heroin.’ People use them to feel different or happy, but they can be very dangerous. These drugs can make it hard for people to think clearly or even make them very sick.

Why People Use Illegal Drugs

Some people try illegal drugs because they are curious or because friends are doing it. Others might feel sad or stressed and use drugs to feel better. But drugs don’t solve problems; they often make things worse.

Dangers of Illegal Drugs

Using illegal drugs can lead to sickness, addiction, and trouble with the law. Addiction means a person can’t stop using the drug even when it causes harm. Drugs can also lead to accidents because they can make people act without thinking.

Staying Away from Illegal Drugs

It’s important to stay away from illegal drugs. Talking to family, teachers, or counselors can help if you feel pressured to try drugs. Joining clubs or sports can also keep you busy and away from bad influences. Remember, saying ‘no’ to drugs is saying ‘yes’ to your health and future.

500 Words Essay on Illegal Drugs

Illegal drugs are substances that the law says people cannot have, make, sell, or use. They are also called “controlled substances” because the government controls them. These drugs can be dangerous to our health and can make people behave in ways that hurt themselves or others.

People might use these drugs for many reasons. Sometimes they want to feel different or better than they do normally. Other times, they might feel sad or stressed and use drugs to feel less so. Some people might not even know how dangerous the drugs are when they first try them.

The Dangers of Illegal Drugs

Using illegal drugs can be very risky. They can make you sick, hurt your body over time, and sometimes even kill you. Drugs can also make it hard to think clearly, leading to bad decisions like driving a car when it’s not safe. They can get you in trouble with the law, too, because it’s against the law to have or use these drugs.

How Illegal Drugs Affect Families and Communities

Getting help for drug problems.

If someone has a problem with drugs, it’s important to get help. There are people who understand these problems and can help users stop taking drugs and start living healthier lives. This help can come from doctors, counselors, or support groups. It’s never too late to ask for help.

Illegal drugs are a big problem for individuals, families, and communities. They can be very harmful to health and can lead to other serious problems. It’s important to stay away from these drugs and to help others stay away from them, too. If someone is struggling with drug use, there is always hope and help available. Remember, making good choices keeps you safe and healthy.

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

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The Use of Illegal Drugs Such as Heroin and Cocaine- IELTS Writing Task 2

Updated On Aug 14, 2024

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The use of illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine are becoming more and more common in many countries. What are some of the problems associated with drug abuse and what are some of the possible solutions?

Problem and solution essay

Introduction

Explain the problems and its solution clearly in one or two lines. Explain in brief what you are going to write in the body paragraphs.

In Spite of the hazardous ramification, the use of illicit substances such as drugs has garnered a lot of attention from youngsters these days.

Body paragraphs

Paragraph 1: Drug abuse has some detrimental societal consequences.

Paragraph 2: People who are addicted to these substances require assistance and counseling in order to recover. It is critical that certain remedies be made in order to alleviate this problem.

Summarize the problems and their solutions.

Consumption of drugs like cocaine and heroin can have severe implications on people’s health. Despite the hazardous ramification, the use of illicit substances such as drugs has garnered a lot of attention from youngsters these days. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss these issues and provide potential solutions.

Drug abuse has some detrimental societal consequences. To begin with, drug abuse poses serious health hazards to addicts who must spend a significant amount of money on pharmacy. People who use these drugs become physically unwell and can die from an overdose. Further, they also become financially bankrupt, using their money and making it hard to hold down a job or keep up with schoolwork. Additionally, drug addicts experience drug-induced illusions and are unable to regulate their behaviors, such as aggression, which will lead to criminal activity.

People who are addicted to these substances require assistance and counseling in order to recover. It is critical that certain remedies be made in order to alleviate this problem. For young people to escape this evil and follow the regulations of national and local authorities, education is the greatest objective. Harsh enforcement hasn’t worked, and a booming “black market” flows money to organizations that intentionally work to make the world a more dangerous place. These groups would lose their major source of money if the government made these drugs legal and sold them themselves. It would also imply that the government would have a database of drug users and know who to target with rehab centers, which a high tax on narcotics might support.

In conclusion, because drug addiction often precedes unintended outcomes, the government should impose limitations to penalize offenders. Although it is difficult to eliminate drug usage completely, drug addicts should be re-educated on the dangers of drugs.

• Garnered 

Meaning: (verb) gather or collect (something, especially information or approval). Eg: The police officer has garnered more evidence to support his theory.

• Implications 

Meaning: (noun) the conclusion that can be drawn from something, although it is not explicitly stated. Eg: The implication of Emilia hiding her test report card was that her parents thought she had failed.

• Eliminate 

Meaning: (verb) completely remove or get rid of (something). Eg: Eating healthy food eliminates the risk of illness.

• Ramification

Meaning: (noun) a complex or unwelcome consequence of an action or event. Eg: Abusing someone can have negative ramifications on their psyche.

• Illicit 

Meaning: (adj) forbidden by law, rules, or custom. Eg: Some people believe that all illicit drugs are too dangerous to legalize.

• Potential 

Meaning: (adj) having or showing the capacity to develop into something in the future. Eg: The boss claims that a well-developed campaign can help them reach their potential customers.

• Detrimental 

Meaning: (adj) tending to cause harm. Eg: Taking stress can have detrimental effects on your mental health.

Meaning: (verb) make (suffering, deficiency, or a problem) less severe. Eg: Juhi’s words did little to alleviate Ritika’s fears.

Meaning: (verb) indicates the truth or existence of (something) by suggestion rather than explicit reference. Eg: Working does not necessarily imply efficiency.

Meaning: (verb) comes before (something) in time. Eg: Shivi lacked the thoughts that precede speech.

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• The Crisis of Drug Addiction Words: 950
• Cause and Effect of Drug Addiction Words: 598
• Drug Addiction: Advantages and Disadvantages Words: 2258
• Causes and Effects of Drug Addiction Words: 1287
• Drug Addiction among Nurses Words: 1305
• Understanding Drug and Non-Drug Addictions Words: 1149
• Drug Abuse and Drug Addiction and Various Policies Related to Drugs Words: 2917
• What Are the Costs of Drug Addiction to Society? Words: 636
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Drug Addiction in America: Effects and Solutions

The consumption of illegal substances and the development of addiction to them remains one of the primary health-related concerns in the American healthcare setting. The problem has grown particularly noticeably among high-school students, as the recent report by the National Institute of Health (2020) has indicated. Apart from the traditional list of illicit drugs, alcohol, and smoking, the 2020 report has also included more recent trends such as vaping (National Institute of Health, 2020).

Overall, the tendency for American citizens to abuse substances appears to be growing, which is a dangerous trend that must be curbed. Due to a drop in the efficacy of the immune system performance, increased strain on essential organs such as the liver, and the high probability of developing multiple types of cancer, drug addiction represents one of the most threatening and complicated conditions, which must be prevented with the help of appropriate programs.

Notably, the effects of drug addiction vary in severity and range depending on the type of drug that an individual chooses to consume. However, most illicit substances, namely, nicotine, cannabis, and opioids, affect the brain’s limbic system, particularly, the part of it that defines the production of dopamine (Berman et al., 2016). As a result, drugs cause an individual to experience a state of bliss. However, as an individual continues to consume drugs, the development of a habit causes the experience of pleasure to subside and the sense of dissatisfaction increases. Consequently, one experiences a severe need to increase the drug dose, which will eventually result in overdosing (Berman et al., 2016).

In addition to the described effect, illicit substances lead to the disruption and eventual destruction of the brain communication pathways. The described effect I especially prominent in patients abusing alcohol (Ray et al., 2017). However, the continuous consumption of other substances, especially opioids, will ultimately entail the same effects (Ray et al., 2017). Namely, the process of brain damage occurs once the amount of oxygen delivered to the brain is insufficient.

Apart from the brain, other organs are also severely affected by long-term drug abuse. For example, the liver suffers significantly due to exposure to toxic metabolic products resulting from processing illicit substances (Weissman et al., 2020). For the same reason, the stomach and the pancreas are also affected very often. Furthermore, the increase in blood pressure is caused by changes in the metabolism processes, as well as shifts in mood, which drugs cause, increase exposure to heart diseases, as well as severe problems with the nervous system (Weissman et al., 2020).

The threat of cancer also increases exponentially with the rise in the levels of illicit drug use. The described outcomes are particularly common for smoking, yet other drugs may also create an environment in which the cells of different body organs may experience unchecked growth and mutate, thus creating cancerous tumors in patients (Jett et al., 2018). Therefore, the threat of cancer is not to be underestimated as one of the crucial effects of illicit drug use, either.

In people abusing illicit drugs by injecting them, infectious diseases become a highly probable threat (Medina-Perucha et al., 2019). Moreover, in the instances of long-term drug injections, a patient’s veins may ultimately collapse, causing severe health outcomes (Medina-Perucha et al., 2019).

Namely, the disruption of the blood flow, which the specified phenomenon entails, is likely to cause severe complications. In turn, the openness to infections, which the use of a syringe suggests, may lead to the development of STIs, as well as a multitude of other infectious diseases, which will pose a major threat to a patient’s health. Moreover, being infected via sharing needles may entail the contraction of HIV and AIDS, which, in turn, will most likely lead to a patient’s death 9). Therefore, the use of illicit drugs, particularly, opioids, will inevitably lead to fatal outcomes, even if the initial dose is minimal. Moreover, the development of lesions, sores, and other skin conditions becomes a probable outcome as a result of long-term exposure to illicit drugs.

To develop a viable solution to the issue of drug addiction among U.S. citizens, one must take the social aspect into account apart from the health-related one. Namely, the fact that an individual is likely to be coerced into continuing drug abuse by a drug dealer even after a successful intervention needs to be taken into consideration. For this reason, a program aimed at assisting people with drug misuse problems must include social protection and, particularly, the opportunity to restrict their access to a drug dealer to them.

Additionally, the problem of severe legal repercussions that one may face due to drug possession and consumption must be handled accordingly. Presently, extraordinarily severe legal implications for people possessing drugs may prevent individuals from seeking help. Therefore, it is crucial to introduce changes to the current legal system so that the emphasis should be placed on the correction of behaviors and the possibility of recovery rather than the punishment of people with drug addiction issues.

The problem of illegal drug use remains a major health issue in the United States. Affecting thousands of people, the specified concern must be handled on the level of state policies and by developing appropriate public health programs. Thus, one will be able to create an effective strategy for preventing drug abuse, as well as encourage the victims of drug misuse to address healthcare services and seek help.

Berman, M., Paran, D., & Elkayam, O. (2016). Cocaine-induced vasculitis. Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal, 7 (4), pp. 1-12.

Cherobin, T. Z., Stefenon, L., & Wiethölter, P. (2019). Oral lesions in crack and cocaine user patients: Literature review. Oral Health and Dental Science, 3 (1), 1-5.

Jett, J., Stone, E., Warren, G., & Cummings, K. M. (2018). Cannabis use, lung cancer, and related issues. Journal of Thoracic Oncology, 13 (4), 480-487.

Medina-Perucha, L., Family, H., Scott, J., Chapman, S., & Dack, C. (2019). Factors associated with sexual risks and risk of STIs, HIV and other blood-borne viruses among women using heroin and other drugs: a systematic literature review. AIDS and Behavior, 23 (1), 222-251.

National Institute of Health (2020). Monitoring the future study: Trends in prevalence of various drugs .

Ray, S., Biswal, B. B., Aya, A., Gohel, S., Srinagesh, A., Hanson, C., & Hanson, S. J. (2017). Modeling causal relationships among brain areas in the mesocorticolimbic system during resting-state in cocaine users utilizing a graph theoretic approach. Journal of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, 5 (4), pp. 1-8.

Weissman, S., Aziz, M., Perumpail, R. B., Mehta, T. I., Patel, R., & Tabibian, J. H. (2020). Ever-increasing diversity of drug-induced pancreatitis. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 26 (22), 2902.

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Original research

Impact evaluations of drug decriminalisation and legal regulation on drug use, health and social harms: a systematic review, ayden i scheim.

1 Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

2 Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Nazlee Maghsoudi

3 Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Zack Marshall

4 Social Work, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Siobhan Churchill

5 Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

Carolyn Ziegler

6 Library Services, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

7 Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

Associated Data

bmjopen-2019-035148supp001.pdf

bmjopen-2019-035148supp002.pdf

bmjopen-2019-035148supp003.pdf

To review the metrics and findings of studies evaluating effects of drug decriminalisation or legal regulation on drug availability, use or related health and social harms globally.

Systematic review with narrative synthesis.

Data sources

We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science and six additional databases for publications from 1 January 1970 through 4 October 2018.

Inclusion criteria

Peer-reviewed articles or published abstracts in any language with quantitative data on drug availability, use or related health and social harms collected before and after implementation of de jure drug decriminalisation or legal regulation.

Data extraction and synthesis

Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts and articles for inclusion. Extraction and quality appraisal (modified Downs and Black checklist) were performed by one reviewer and checked by a second, with discrepancies resolved by a third. We coded study-level outcome measures into metric groupings and categorised the estimated direction of association between the legal change and outcomes of interest.

We screened 4860 titles and 221 full-texts and included 114 articles. Most (n=104, 91.2%) were from the USA, evaluated cannabis reform (n=109, 95.6%) and focussed on legal regulation (n=96, 84.2%). 224 study outcome measures were categorised into 32 metrics, most commonly prevalence (39.5% of studies), frequency (14.0%) or perceived harmfulness (10.5%) of use of the decriminalised or regulated drug; or use of tobacco, alcohol or other drugs (12.3%). Across all substance use metrics, legal reform was most often not associated with changes in use.

Conclusions

Studies evaluating drug decriminalisation and legal regulation are concentrated in the USA and on cannabis legalisation. Despite the range of outcomes potentially impacted by drug law reform, extant research is narrowly focussed, with a particular emphasis on the prevalence of use. Metrics in drug law reform evaluations require improved alignment with relevant health and social outcomes.

Strengths and limitations of this study

• This is the first study to review all literature on the health and social impacts of decriminalisation or legal regulation of drugs.
• We systematically searched 10 databases over a 38-year period, without language restrictions.
• The review was limited to study designs appropriate for evaluating interventions, nevertheless, most included studies used relatively weak evaluation designs.
• Included outcomes were heterogeneous and not quantitatively synthesised.
• Heterogeneity in the details and implementation of decriminalisation or legal regulation policies was not considered in this review.

Introduction

An estimated 271 million people used an internationally scheduled (‘illicit’) drug in 2017, corresponding to 5.5% of the global population aged 15 to 64. 1 Despite decades of investment, policies aimed at reducing supply and demand have demonstrated limited effectiveness. 2 3 Moreover, prohibitive and punitive drug policies have had counterproductive effects by contributing to HIV and hepatitis C transmission, 4 5 fatal overdose, 6 mass incarceration and other human rights violations 7 8 and drug market violence. 9 As a result, there have been growing calls for drug law reform 10–12 and in 2019, the United Nations Chief Executives Board endorsed decriminalisation of drug use and possession. 13 Against this backdrop, as of 2017 approximately 23 countries had implemented de jure decriminalisation or legal regulation of one or more previously illegal drugs. 14–16

A wide range of health and social outcomes are affected by psychoactive drug production, sales and use, and thus are potentially impacted by drug law reform. Nutt and colleagues have categorised these as physical harms (eg, drug-related morbidity and mortality to users, injury to non-users), psychological harms (eg, dependence) and social harms (eg, loss of tangibles, environmental damage). 17 18 Concomitantly, a diverse and sometimes competing set of goals motivate drug policy development, including ameliorating the poor health and social marginalisation experienced by people who use drugs problematically, shifting patterns of use to less harmful products or modes of administration, curtailing illegal markets and drug-related crime and reducing the economic burden of drug-related harms. 19

Given ongoing interest by states in drug law reform, as well as the recent position statement by the United Nations Chief Executives Board endorsing drug decriminalisation, 13 a comprehensive understanding of their impacts to date is required. However, the scientific literature has not been well-characterised, and thus the state of the evidence related to these heterogeneous policy targets remains largely unclear. Systematic reviews, including two meta-analyses, are narrowly focussed on adolescent cannabis use. Dirisu et al found no conclusive evidence that cannabis legalisation for medical or recreational purposes increases cannabis use by young people. 20 In the two meta-analyses, Sarvet et al found that the implementation of medical cannabis policies in the USA did not lead to increases in the prevalence of past-month cannabis use among adolescents 21 and Melchior et al found a small increase in use following recreational legalisation that was reported only among lower-quality studies. 22

Given increasing interest in quantifying the impact of drug law reform, as well as a lack of systematic assessment of outcomes beyond adolescent cannabis use to date, we conducted a systematic review of original peer-reviewed research evaluating the impacts of (a) legal regulation and (b) drug decriminalisation on drug availability, use or related health and social harms. Our primary aim is to characterise studies with respect to metrics and indicators used. The secondary aim is to summarise the findings and methodological quality of studies to date.

Consistent with our aim of synthesising evidence on the impacts of decriminalisation and legal regulation across the spectrum of potential health and social effects, we conducted a systematic review using narrative synthesis 23 without meta-analysis. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed in preparing this manuscript. 24 The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42017079681) and can be found online at https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=79681 .

Search strategy and selection criteria

The review team developed, piloted and refined the search strategy in consultation with a research librarian and content experts. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, PAIS Index, Policy File Index and Sociological Abstracts for publications from 1 January 1970 through 4 October 2018. We used MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms and keywords related to (a) scheduled psychoactive drugs, (b) legal regulation or decriminalisation policies and (c) quantitative study designs. Search terms specific to health and social outcomes were not employed so that the search would capture the broad range of outcomes of interest. See online supplemental appendix A for the final MEDLINE search strategy. For conference abstracts, we contacted authors for additional information on study methods and to identify subsequent relevant publications.

Supplementary data

We included peer-reviewed journal articles or conference abstracts reporting on original quantitative studies that collected data both before and after the implementation of drug decriminalisation or legal regulation. We did not consider as original research studies that reproduced secondary data without conducting original statistical analyses of the data. We defined decriminalisation as the removal of criminal penalties for drug use and/or possession (allowing for civil or administrative sanctions) and legal regulation as the development of a legal regulatory framework for the use, production and sale of formerly illegal psychoactive drugs. Studies were excluded if they evaluated de facto (eg, changes in enforcement practices) rather than de jure decriminalisation or legal regulation (changes to the law). This exclusion applied to studies analysing changes in outcomes following the US Justice Department 2009 memo deprioritising prosecution of cannabis-related offences legal under state medical cannabis laws. Eligible studies included outcome measures pertaining to drug availability, use or related health and social harms. We used the schema developed by Nutt and colleagues to conceptualise health and social harms, including those to users (physical, psychological and social) and to others (injury or social harm). 18

Both observational studies and randomised controlled trials were eligible in principle, but no trials were identified. There were no geographical or language restrictions; titles, abstracts and full-texts were translated on an as-needed basis for screening and data extraction. We excluded cross-sectional studies (unless they were repeated) and studies lacking pre-implementation and post-implementation data collection because such designs are inappropriate for evaluating intervention effects.

Data analysis

Screening and data extraction were conducted in DistillerSR (Evidence Partners, Ottawa, Ontario). We began with title-only screening to identify potentially relevant titles. Two reviewers screened each title. Unless both reviewers independently decided a title should be excluded, it was advanced to the next stage. Next, two reviewers independently screened each potentially eligible abstract. Inter-rater reliability was good (weighted Kappa at the question level=0.75). At this stage, we retrieved full-text copies of all remaining references, which were screened independently by two reviewers. Disagreements on inclusion were resolved through discussion with the first author. Finally, one reviewer extracted data from each included publication using a standardised, pre-piloted form and performed quality appraisal. A second reviewer double-checked data extraction and quality appraisal for every publication, and the first author resolved any discrepancies.

The data extraction form included information on study characteristics (author, title, year, geographical location), type of legal change studied and drug(s) impacted, details and timing of the legal change (eg, medical vs recreational cannabis regulation), study design, sampling approach, sample characteristics (size, age range, proportion female) and quantitative estimates of association. We coded each study-level outcome measure into one metric grouping, using 24 pre-specified categories and a free-text field (see figure 1 for full list). Examples of metrics include: prevalence of use of the decriminalised or regulated drug, overdose or poisoning and non-drug crime.

Metrics examined by included studies. excl., excluding.

We also categorised the estimated direction of association of the legal change on outcome measure(s) of interest (beneficial, harmful, mixed or null). These associations were coded at the outcome (not study) level and classified as beneficial if a statistically significant increase in a positive outcome (eg, educational attainment) or decrease in a negative outcome (eg, substance use disorder) was attributed to implementation of decriminalisation or legal regulation, and vice versa for harmful associations. The association was categorised as mixed if associations were both harmful and beneficial across participant subgroups, exposure definitions (eg, loosely vs tightly regulated medical cannabis access) or timeframes. Although any use of cannabis and other psychoactive drugs need not be problematic at the individual level, we categorised drug use as a negative outcome given that population-level increases in use may correspond to increases in negative consequences; we thought that this cautious approach to categorisation was appropriate given that such increases are generally conceptualised as negative within the scientific literature. For outcomes that are not unambiguously negative or positive, the coding approach was predetermined taking a societal perspective. For example, increased healthcare utilisation (eg, hospital visits due to cannabis use) was coded as negative because of the increased burden placed on healthcare systems. The association was categorised as null if no statistically significant changes following implementation of drug decriminalisation or legal regulation were detected. We set statistical significance at a= 0.05, including in cases where authors used more liberal criteria.

Quality assessment at the study level was conducted for each full-length article using a modified version of the Downs and Black checklist 25 for observational studies ( online supplemental appendix B ), which assesses internal validity (bias), external validity and reporting. Each study could receive up to 18 points, with higher scores indicating more methodologically rigorous studies. Conference abstracts were not subjected to quality assessment due to limited methodological details.

Patient and public involvement

This systematic review of existing studies did not include patient or public involvement.

Study characteristics

As shown in the PRISMA flow diagram ( figure 2 ), we screened 4860 titles and abstracts and 213 full-texts, with 114 articles meeting inclusion criteria ( online supplemental appendix C ). Key reasons for exclusion at the full-text screening stage were that the article did not report on original quantitative research (n=59) or did not evaluate decriminalisation or legal regulation as defined herein (n=23). Details of each included study are presented in online supplemental table 1 . Included studies had final publication dates from 1976 to 2019; 44.7% (n=51) were first published in 2017 to 2018, 43.9% (n=50) were published in 2014 to 2016 and 11.4% (n=13) were published before 2014.

PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flow diagram.

Characteristics of included studies are described in table 1 , both overall and stratified by whether they evaluated decriminalisation (n=19) or legalisation (n=96) policies (one study evaluated both policies). Most studies (n=104, 91.2%) were from the USA and examined impacts of liberalising cannabis laws (n=109, 95.6%). Countries represented in non-US studies included Australia, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Mexico and Portugal. The most common study designs were repeated cross-sectional (n=74, 64.9%) or controlled before-and-after (n=26, 22.8%) studies and the majority of studies (n=87, 76.3%) used population-based sampling methods. Figure 3 illustrates the geographical distribution of studies among countries where national or subnational governments had decriminalised or legally regulated one or more drugs by 2017.

Characteristics of studies evaluating drug decriminalisation or legal regulation, 1970 to 2018

*Combined total exceeds number of studies because some evaluated both decriminalisation and legal regulation.

†One global study and one multi-country European study including Belgium and Portugal.

Number of included studies from countries that implemented decriminalisation or legal regulation by 2017. Note: Policy changes were classified, following the review inclusion criteria, based on the implementation of a change to national or subnational law to decriminalise drug use and/or possession or to legalise at least one class of drugs. We did not evaluate the extent to which legal changes were reflected in policing and criminal justice practice. Implementation of cannabis legalisation for medical purposes only is not reflected in this map.

Study quality

Quality assessment was performed for the 93 full-length articles included in the review, excluding 21 conference abstracts ( online supplemental table 1 ). Scores ranged from 7 to 18 of 18 possible points, with a mean of 14.4 (SD=2.56). Quality scores were similar comparing US to non-US-based studies ( X =14.4 and 13.7, respectively, p=0.386) but higher for studies evaluating legal regulation ( X =14.8) versus decriminalisation ( X =12.8) (p=0.003). Study quality differed significantly (p<0.001) by the direction of the association with the outcome of interest, with higher quality scores among studies estimating mixed ( X =15.4) or beneficial ( X =15.2) versus null ( X =14.2) or harmful ( X =13.1) effects of legal change on the outcome of interest. Study quality did not appear to increase over time (eg, X =14.0 in 2014 and 14.4 in 2018).

Study outcome measures and metrics

Across 114 studies we extracted 224 outcome measures, which were coded into 32 metrics ( figure 1 ). The most common metric employed by studies was the prevalence of use of the decriminalised or legally regulated drug, which was examined in 39.5% of studies (n=45) and represented 22.3% of outcome measures (n=50). Of these studies, 13 (28.9%; 8 full-length articles and 5 abstracts) did not report any other metric 26–38 and an additional 6 studies (13.3%) reported on the prevalence of use in addition to a single drug-related perception metric (either harmfulness or availability). 39–44 The second most common metric was the frequency of use of the decriminalised or legally regulated drug (14.0% of studies, n=16) and the third was the prevalence or frequency of use of tobacco, alcohol or drugs that remained illegal (12.3% of studies, n=14). The fourth most commonly employed metric was any change in the perceived health harmfulness of using the decriminalised or regulated drug (10.5% of studies, n=12), which was assessed among adolescents or young adults in all studies except for one that assessed this metric among parents. 45

All other metrics were assessed in <10% of included studies. Health service utilisation was evaluated in 7.9% of studies (n=9) using 12 outcome measures, primarily related to emergency department visits and/or hospitalisations. Prescribed (primarily opioid) drug use and perceived availability of the decriminalised or legally regulated drug were reported in 7.0% of studies each (n=8). Overdose or poisoning by the decriminalised or regulated drug, and by other drugs (predominantly opioids), were examined in 5.3% (n=6) and 6.1% of studies (n=7), respectively. Driving while under the influence or with detectable concentrations of the decriminalised or regulated drug (cannabis) was examined in seven studies (6.1%) inclusive of eight outcome measures. Notably, one study assessed self-reported impaired driving, 46 while others assessed the proportion of fatally injured drivers screening cannabis-positive or the overall prevalence of driving with detectable tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentrations in blood. Remaining metrics were measured in less than 5% of studies ( figure 1 ). Some pre-specified metrics were not represented in any of the articles, including infectious disease incidence (eg, HIV, hepatitis C), environmental impacts (eg, drug production waste, discarded needles) and labour market participation.

Studies outside the US

Of the 10 studies conducted outside the USA, 6 focussed on cannabis decriminalisation. All three studies from Australia examined the prevalence of cannabis use post-decriminalisation, 31 34 47 while one also measured perceived cannabis availability. 47 Following cannabis decriminalisation, one European multi-country study including Belgium and Portugal examined the prevalence of cannabis use and uptake of cannabis-related addictions treatment 48 and one Czech study considered the age of first cannabis use. 49 An international study using United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime data from 102 countries compared availability, as reflected by cannabis seizures and plant eradication, in countries that had decriminalised cannabis versus those that had not. 50 Three non-US studies evaluated decriminalisation of all psychoactive drugs. Two studies from Portugal examined healthcare and non-healthcare costs and psychoactive drug prices, respectively. 51 52 One study from Mexico examined drug-related criminal justice involvement (arrests) and (violent) crimes. 53 Finally, a study of historic opium legalisation in China (1801 to 1902) measured the price and availability (quantity of exports) of opium before and after legalisation. 54

Impacts of decriminalisation and legal regulation

Results of individual studies are provided in online supplemental table 1 . Online supplemental table 2 tallies findings and average quality scores for each of the metrics; here we summarise findings for metrics examined in more than 5% of studies, in descending order based on the number of datapoints. Across all three substance use metrics (prevalence of use, frequency of use and use of other alcohol or drugs), drug law reform was most often not associated with use (with null findings for 48.0% to 52.4% of outcome measures falling under these metrics). With respect to change in perceived harmfulness of the decriminalised or regulated drug, mixed results were found in half of cases, with heterogeneity detected on the basis of age, gender and state. 39 43 55–57 For example, legal regulation of cannabis for medical use was associated with greater perceived harmfulness of cannabis among eighth graders but not older students in an analysis of US Monitoring the Future data 39 while a study employing US National Survey on Drug Use and Health data found greater perceived harmfulness of cannabis among young adults aged 18 to 25 but not adolescents aged 12 to 17. 57

Among nine studies that employed health service utilisation metrics, harmful effects were reported for 6 of 12 outcome measures, with increases in emergency department visits and/or hospitalisations attributed to decriminalisation or legal regulation. 58–63 However, all but one of those studies 58 assessed change over time in one jurisdiction, without a control group. Further, two studies that also examined changes in acute care use for non-cannabis drugs found reductions in those visits or admissions following cannabis decriminalisation or legal regulation. 60 64 In contrast, six of nine prescription drug use associations were beneficial, with reductions observed in rates of opioid 65–69 and other drug prescribing 70 71 attributed to legal regulation of cannabis for medical use; outcomes in this category came from studies of higher average quality ( X =16.3). Perceived availability of the decriminalised or regulated drug appeared largely unaffected by decriminalisation (null associations for five of nine outcome measures) but two studies indicated increased perceived availability of cannabis among Colorado, US, adolescents following legal regulation for adult use 72 and among adults in US states with legal regulation for medical use. 44 Across the subset of seven outcome measures for overdose or poisoning by the decriminalised or regulated drug (cannabis), in all cases an increase in calls to poison control centres or unintentional paediatric exposures was reported. 59 73–77 However, studies assessing the impacts of cannabis regulation on overdose or poisoning by drugs other than cannabis concluded that the effects were either beneficial (four outcome measures 64 76 78 79 ) or mixed/null (three outcome measures 80–82 ). Driving with detectable concentrations of THC was most often found to increase following decriminalisation or legal regulation (five of eight outcome measures; 83–87 ), but these studies were of lower average quality ( X =12.0).

Impacts of decriminalisation

Of the 19 studies evaluating impacts of decriminalisation, six measured the prevalence of use of the decriminalised drug with eight unique outcome measures. No association was detected for all but three outcomes; following cannabis decriminalisation lifetime use increased among adults in South Australia, 31 while past-month use increased among 12 th graders but not younger students in California, 56 relative to the rest of the country in both cases. After peyote use for ceremonial purposes was decriminalised in the USA in 1994, self-reported use increased among American Indians. 88 Three studies evaluated relationships between decriminalisation and drug-related criminal justice involvement in Mexico and the USA. One high-quality study found that decriminalisation positively influenced criminal justice involvement: in five US states, arrests for cannabis possession decreased among youth and adults. 89 When possession of small amounts of cannabis was decriminalised in the 1970s in Nebraska, however, the mean monthly number of arrests did not change, while cannabis-related prosecutions increased among youth. 90 In Tijuana, Mexico, decriminalisation of all drugs had no apparent impact on the number of drug possession arrests. 53 Two historical and one recent study measured healthcare utilisation. US states that decriminalised cannabis in the 1970s saw greater emergency department visits related to cannabis, but decreased visits related to other drugs. 60 In Colorado, US, decriminalisation was associated with increased emergency department visits for cyclic vomiting. 62 Addiction treatment utilisation, healthcare and non-healthcare costs, driving after use, price of drugs, availability of drugs, frequency of use, attitudes towards use and perceived harmfulness were each evaluated in only one or two studies of decriminalisation.

This systematic review identified 114 peer-reviewed publications and conference abstracts evaluating the impacts of drug decriminalisation or legal regulation from 1970 to 2018. Within this search period, 88.6% were published in 2014 or later. This rapid growth in scholarship was driven by the implementation and subsequent evaluation of cannabis legalisation in a number of US states beginning in 2012, and knowledge production will surely continue to accelerate as longer-term data become available and as other jurisdictions (eg, Canada and Uruguay) analyse the effects of recently implemented cannabis legalisation. Indeed, a first study on the impacts of cannabis legalisation on adolescent use in Uruguay was published in May 2020 (finding no impact on risk of use 91 ). The present study provides an overview of the emerging literature based on our systematic review and suggests three key patterns.

First, peer-reviewed longitudinal evaluations of drug decriminalisation and legal regulation are overwhelmingly geographically concentrated in the US and focussed on cannabis legalisation. Importantly, the lack of non-US studies evaluating legal regulation of cannabis for medical use may reflect the more tightly controlled nature of medical cannabis regulation in other countries, and thus the more limited potential for population-level effects. It is notable that decriminalisation in the absence of legal regulation was evaluated in only 18 studies (15.8%), despite being far more common globally than legal regulation. These gaps may hamper evidence-based drug law reform in countries that are less well-developed, that play a substantial role in drug production and transit or that have different baseline levels of substance (mis)use as compared with the US.

Second, prevalence of use was the predominant metric used to assess the impact of drug law reform, despite its limited clinical significance (eg, much cannabis use is non-problematic) and limited responsiveness to drug policy. This is because ecological analyses have indicated little relationship between drug policies and prevalence of use, 52 as have studies assessing within-state change in use related to legal regulation. 21 These findings are supported by the preponderance of evidence synthesised in this review, although some variation is evident in relation to the specific provisions of legal reforms (eg, liberal vs tightly regulated medical markets 92 ). Impacts of legal cannabis regulation on prevalence and frequency of use continue to be evaluated, with recent data suggesting small increases among adults, but not youth. 93 Drug policies may be more able to influence the types of drugs that people use, drug-related risk behaviours and modes of drug consumption. 94 Metrics to assess these outcomes, however, were lacking in the reviewed literature. For example, only one study (0.8%) investigated whether legal regulation of cannabis was associated with changes in the mode of cannabis consumption. 72 Although the prevalence of use was often measured alongside more clinically or socially significant metrics (eg, prevalence of substance use disorders, educational outcomes among young adults), 42.2% of studies assessing substance use prevalence included that metric alone or in combination with a single drug-related attitude metric.

Third, there was a lack of alignment between the stated policy objectives of drug law reform and the metrics used to assess its impact in the scientific literature. For instance, removal of criminal sanctions to prevent their negative sequelae is a key rationale for decriminalisation and legal regulation, 12 13 95 but only four studies (3.5%) evaluated changes in drug-related criminal justice involvement following drug law reform. Similarly. improving the physical and mental health of people who (already) use drugs is a motivation for drug policy reform but no included studies examined mental or physical health outcomes (aside from substance use disorders) in this population. As a result, there is a risk that decisions on drug policy may be informed by inappropriate metrics. Promisingly, in recent months, additional studies assessing legal regulation that employ a range of criminal justice metrics have been published. 96–98 Finally, despite ample evidence of the impact of criminalisation on infectious disease transmission and acquisition risks, 5 we found no studies evaluating the impact of decriminalisation on these outcomes.

Both the included studies and our systematic review have important strengths and limitations. To our knowledge, we conducted the first review of all global literature on decriminalisation and legal regulation and applied no language restrictions. All eligible articles identified were published in English; this may reflect a paucity of evaluation research published in other languages and/or limitations of our search strategy (eg, some non-English journals may not be indexed in the 10 databases searched). In addition, we excluded grey literature, non-original research and study designs that are not suited to evaluating policy effects (eg, cross-sectional studies), but these restrictions narrowed the geographical scope of included studies. For example, two articles on Portugal were excluded as non-original research, but nevertheless provide important insight on impacts of decriminalisation. 99 100 Despite restricting eligibility to more rigorous study designs, most included studies used relatively weaker eligible designs that are known to be vulnerable to pre-existing trends and confounding; only 22.8% and 5.3%, respectively, used controlled before-and-after or interrupted time series designs to address these threats to validity. The use of these study designs may be related to limited resources for prospective drug policy evaluations, with many studies relying on publicly available, routinely collected data. That the US is unique in the extent to which data on drug use and related harms are routinely collected helps to explain its over-representation in our review. Scoping reviews inclusive of grey literature and cross-sectional designs would be valuable for describing the full range of evaluations that have been conducted globally.

While beyond the scope of our high-level synthesis, the implementation and specific provisions of drug policies vary widely. Decriminalisation policies vary in their definitions of quantities for personal use, application of administrative penalties and the extent to which the law ‘on the books’ is reflected in policing and criminal justice practice. Indeed, in some jurisdictions with nominal decriminalisation, arrests for possession of small quantities of the decriminalised drugs remain routine. 53 Legal regulation models for cannabis are also heterogeneous. For example, policies legally regulating cannabis for medical use may or may not allow for legal dispensaries, and this provision has been shown to substantially modify the impact of legal regulation on cannabis use. 101 To the extent that individual studies employed crude exposure measures (eg, presence vs absence of a law), they may have obscured context-dependent effects of drug law liberalisation. Further, the impact of drug laws on drug use and related outcomes may be limited by a lack of public awareness of the details of local laws. 102

Our use of vote-counting in this synthesis (ie, categorising individual outcome measures as indicating beneficial, harmful, mixed/subgroup-specific or no statistically significant associations) is subject to the same limitation. Vote-counting should also be interpreted with caution in light of the heterogeneity of outcome definitions, the inherent arbitrariness of statistical significance thresholds and the key distinction between statistical and clinical significance. In addition, many included studies are evaluating the same policies (eg, cannabis legalisation in western US states), sometimes using overlapping data but drawing different conclusions based on analytical choices and timeframes. The existence of multiple datapoints for a particular outcome does not imply that the outcome has been well-studied across diverse contexts such that scientific consensus on its effects has been reached. Moreover, as illustrated by a recently published extension of the included article by Bachhuber et al , 79 multiple high-quality studies may generate results that are later revealed to be spurious as additional follow-up data become availability. Specifically, Shover et al demonstrated that the positive association reported between medical cannabis legalisation and opioid overdose mortality in 1999 to 2010 reversed direction in later years, suggesting that earlier findings of a protective effect should not be given causal interpretations. 103 This was foreshadowed in the included article by Powell et al , which found that the purportedly positive effect of medical cannabis legalisation was attenuated in 2010 to 2013. 82 This scientific back-and-forth can be expected given that most included articles are evaluating legal changes introduced rather recently, and thus are examining early impacts with limited years of follow-up. Longer-term impacts of non-medical cannabis legalisation, and how they might be influenced by increased commercialisation, are yet to be seen. 104

The findings of this review indicate a need for a broadening of the metrics used to assess the impacts of drug decriminalisation and legal regulation. Given the growing number of jurisdictions considering decriminalisation or legal regulation of psychoactive drugs, 14–16 the disproportionate emphasis on metrics assessing drug use prevalence, as well as the limited geo-cultural diversity in evaluations, are concerning. Experts have called for a more fulsome approach to evaluating drug policies in line with public health and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with attention to the full breath of health and social domains potentially impacted, including human rights and social inclusion (eg, stigma), peace and security (eg, drug market violence), development (eg, labour market participation), drug market regulation (eg, safety of the drug supply) and clinically-significant health metrics (eg, drug-related morbidity). 105 Drawing on methods such as multi-criterion decision analysis, 19 the engagement of both scientists and policymakers in priority-setting may help to produce evidence that provides a more comprehensive understanding of the breadth of impacts that should be anticipated with drug law reform efforts. Funding will also be required to support rigorous prospective evaluations of legal reforms.

Supplementary Material

Acknowledgments.

The authors would like to thank Gelareh Ghaderi for assistance with screening and data extraction.

Twitter: @aydenisaac

Presented at: Presented at the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (May 22, 2019) and the International Harm Reduction Conference (April 29, 2019).

Contributors: DW and AIS conceptualised and supervised the review. CZ designed and conducted the literature searches. AIS drafted the manuscript. SC, ZM and AIS conducted screening and data extraction. NM contributed to drafting the manuscript and developing figures. All authors contributed to interpretation of findings and revising the manuscript for important intellectual content.

Funding: This review was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) via the Canadian Research Initiative on Substance Misuse (SMN-139150), the MAC AIDS Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations. Ayden Scheim was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship. Nazlee Maghsoudi is supported by a CIHR Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. Dan Werb is supported by a US National Institute on Drug Abuse Avenir Award (DP2- DA040256), a CIHR New Investigator Award, an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science and the St Michael’s Hospital Foundation.

Map disclaimer: The depiction of boundaries on the map(s) in this article does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of BMJ (or any member of its group) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, jurisdiction or area or of its authorities. The map(s) are provided without any warranty of any kind, either express or implied.

Competing interests: None declared.

Patient and public involvement: Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

Patient consent for publication: Not required.

Provenance and peer review: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Data availability statement: All relevant data are contained within the article and supplementary materials.

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Problem and Solution: Drug Abuse Essay

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Example Of Illegal Drug Abuse Essay

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Drugs , Drug Abuse , Emotions , Bullying , Commerce , Violence , Family , Health

Words: 1900

Published: 12/28/2019

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Drug addiction is a growing serious problem that has drastic physical and emotional effects on the user and family and a long road to recovery

Illegal Drug Abuse

Undoubtedly, drug abuse and addiction is one of the leading factors in causing psychological, emotional, and physical problems among individuals. While abuse of drugs is a disorder that causes significant problems due to the destructive patterns of drug use, drug addiction is a disease that affects individuals making them incapable of withdrawing from the use of the substance. Substances that cause euphoric feelings are more likely to be used. No finger can be pointed to specific factors as being the major factors that cause drug addiction, but several risk factors have a likelihood of developing dependencies on chemical substances. Drug addiction is a growing serious problem that has drastic physical and emotional effects on the user and family and a long road to recovery. This leads to detrimental and drastic effects to individuals with respect to the execution of their user and family functions. Equally, drug related disorders inflict misery trails to the community in addition to inflicting direct damage and harm to victim. Huge costs are often incurred in efforts aimed at reducing the challenges caused by drug related problems by the society and the government. Such costs include health care, crime, and at the worst of circumstances, death(Zimic, & Jukic, 2012).

Drug addiction and Drug abuse

As mentioned above, drug abuse refers to a disorder caused by the continued and destructive pattern of using drugs. Many a drug consumed in this pattern are believed to relieve users of persistent pains in addition to acting as stimulants for conditions such as Attention Deficit Disorder and relieving stress (Zimic, &Jukic, 2012).While drug abuse refers to a substance disorder, drug addiction refers to a disease characterized by dependence on substances. Drug addiction is a complex disease that affects the brain leading uncontrollable and compulsive tendencies to seek the use of drugs. This can be attributed to the effects occurring from the prolonged use of drugs. Other people may experiment with drugs less often, in very low amount,and experience little or no effect on their lives, families, and relationships. This however is not the case. No matter how little or less oftenyou engage in drug related habits, it causes some problems at the work place or elsewhere. Drug use moves from casual to problematic but varies with an individual(Zimic, & Jukic, 2012).

Emotional and physical effects on the user

The addicted patient is affected emotionally, psychologically and physically in a number of ways. This change usually occurs after the addiction has taken place.Nevertheless, different patients may exhibit different problems on different levels. After a research was conducted, it was noted that most users became violent to their family members(Orford, et al, 1992). Such violence is caused by agitation because of the drug use in some cases. Conversely, such violence is experienced when the users are asking for money to go buy more drugs. A recorded case was of Sandra a woman taking part in the research who revealed that her son user once damaged the whole house and even threatened her using a machete though never hurt her in search of money to go buy more drugs. Unpredictable behavior is also change noted on addicts(Orford, et al, 1992). This is due to the mood swings caused by the drug use and especially when the drug lacks in the users body system. This is because drugs interfere with the brain and one’s ability to think clearly and controlling their behavior. This therefore results to upredictability and therefore no one can rely on the user for anything since they wouldn’t know how the patient will be the next time they are needed. Stealing or selling property is another change noted in most users(Orford, et al, 1992). This is because drug addiction is an expensive habit.Since most users are teenagers who have no means to fend the habit or adults who have lost jobs due to the addiction they result to stealing and selling property. The most affected are the family members and friends because they have easy access and have an established rapport. Once the family members realize the disappearance of processions and take caution, the addict s result to stealing from the rest of the community and that is how most of them result to crime. This leads to many addicts dying while committing crimes and they few lucky ones result in doing time. A number of addicts spend long periods in bed. This is due to the release of the dopamine hormone in the brain that makes addicts find the normal day-to-day activities of a productive human being non-welcoming. This hormone makes the patient uninterested in eating working and cleaning and only interested in keeping to themselves trying to enjoy the high of the drugs. Some may stay in bed due to the shame they fell when they meet people who know of their addiction and therefore opt to keep away.

Emotional and physical effect on the family’s user

Research has shown drug use has serious consequences on the welfare of the family and the community. The most affected are the parents and the spouses if married. There has been very little research conducted on the managing of addicts by the close family and the negative effects the drug use has on them. Majority of family members have revealed that the member’s addiction has had negative effect on their own emotional health. In most cases, the women were noted to suffer more and consequently more sortpsychiatric help. This caused family split, problems in marriage and sibling relationship. Otherfamily members recorded financial strain because of a member’s addiction. This is common in cases where the addicted was the major financial support of the family and thereby prioritizes the drug use to the family. In cases where the addict sells, the family property to support his drug use caused financial strain to the rest of the family members.Another reason is the strain caused by the expensive treatment sort to help in rehabilitating the addict especially in the absence of insurance. This entire are the expenses incurred that would have been avoided if the addict led a normal life. Betrayal and loss of trust is another form of emotional ramifications to the family members of the addicts. According to Jackson, Usher and O’Brien’s research paper, the relationship between the family members and addicts became entangled with deceit stealing, dishonesty and broken promises. The addicts can never be entrusted with family chores and responsibilities. The addicts become very good liars and though at first the family members live in denial and disbelieve on the reports brought on the deeds of the addicts, they soon accept the changes and take precautions. The addicts also take some family processions and steal money and therefore this contributes to the loss of trust and betrayal. The parents and spouses in most cases feel responsible for the addictions. This takes an emotional toll on the affected members of family with the thought that their actions pushed the addicts to these habits. Jackson, Usher, & O’Brien, (2006) attributes this to the direct affect members feel that their actions directly reflect the previous relationship they had with them. In the case of Sandra, a participant in Jackson, Usher and O’Brien’s research, her mother and sister directly apprehended her for supporting her boy but she felt she needed to do some of these things to keep him alive (Jackson, Usher, & O’Brien,2006). In the case of Betty, she felt that in the past she had been blind. She blamed herself for not noticing the addiction earlier. Another effect is the isolation, disgrace, and humiliation. This is because the shame they experienced due to the embarrassing acts of the addicts as well as their criminal activities. The members feel stigmatized, humiliated, and shame of dealing with the drug use. This makes it difficult for them to look for help and they feel that they are on their own. They carry this burden on their own and may sometimes lead to depression and other health related problems. Resentment of siblings and anger is also an effect that leads to dysfunctional family members. The addicted sibling causes conflict in the home when they take the other sibling belongings to fend for their addiction. Another cause is the abusive nature to the younger siblings as a way to release the tensionand due to the mood swings caused by the hormones secreted after the drug use. The parents become very concerned with the safety of the other siblings and most of the times choose to separate the addicted member from the other siblings causing a drift in the family relationships.

Ways of coping with addiction and conclusion

Some of the methods that the affected family members of the addicts result to at times be very beneficial while others may be very destructive to both the addicted victim and the family member. The most common coping mechanisms are control: the family member feels that there must be some way to help the addict and try to control them. This in most cases does not help the user because the develop ways to deceive the concerned family members. Avoidance is another common strategy that creates drifts in the family and keeps the other family members safe from the violent activities of the addicted member. Tolerance is coping method that is exercised by family members that feel that they might be responsible for the addiction. This however may cause the affected family member to go deep into depression. Confrontation is a method that is easiest to adopt but the most depressing fact is that the addicted members will not heed to any advice given or even care (Orford, et al, 1992). Drug addiction is a very emotional taxing complication that does notspare anyonein the community. The family members are however, the most affected and should choose the method of coping that lest affects the addicted member but they should not compromise their own life and happiness. Counseling for the affected family members is also recommended as well as support groups that will ensure an easier adoption of measures to help the addicted members in overcoming the addiction since it is the desired result.

Jackson, D., Usher, K. & O’Brien, L. (2006). Fractured families: Parental perspectives of the effects of adolescent drug abuse on family life. Contemporary Nurse 23: 321- 330 Orford, J,.Rigby, K., Miller, T., Tod, A., Bennet, G., &Velleman, R. (1992) Ways of coping with excessive drug use in the family: A provisional typology based on the accounts of 50 close relatives.Journal of Community & Applied social Psychology2:163-183 Saad, L. (2006). Families of drug and alcohol abusers pay an emotional Toll: Alcohol addiction just upsetting as drugs. Princeton, Zimic, J. I. &Jukic, V. (2012).Familial Risk Factors Favoring Drug Addiction Onset. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 44 (2): 173-185

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The Solutions Of Substance Abuse At Schools

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Works Cited

• Gorman, Anna. “Inside the 'Recovery' High Schools Just for Teens With Addiction.” Time, Time, 23 Jan. 2019, time.com/5509829/sober-high-school-addiction/.
• Taylor, Derrick Bryson. “Ohio High School Plans to Drug-Test All Students at Least Once a Year.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/11/16/us/badin-high-school-drug-testing.html.
• Yaffe, Deborah. “Recovery High Schools Make Dent in Teen Substance Abuse.” District Administration, 20 May 2019, districtadministration.com/recovery-high-schools-dent-teen-substance-abuse/.

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Problem Solution , Drug Abuse

Drug abuse is a widespread problem that affects every society, age group, social class, and family. The consequences of drug addiction can be devastating, including ruined relationships, loss of jobs, financial strain, and crime. Communities and governments spend billions of dollars trying to regulate drug use, treat addicts, and fight drug-related crime. To combat drug abuse, education is key. Children need to be taught about the dangers of drug abuse at home and in school. Families and counselors need to talk to at-risk children. Police departments need more resources to enforce the law and stop dealers. While the problems of drug abuse may seem difficult to eliminate, there are steps that can be taken to weaken the effects of drugs on families and society, and everyone has a role to play in the battle against drug abuse.

Problem Solution Essay

Drug abuse is widespread throughout the world. Every society, age, social class, and family has been affected by drug addiction. The government spends billions of dollars trying to regulate drug use, treat addicts, and battle drug-related crime. Drugs affect nearly everyone and need to be fought better.

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Drug abuse causes many struggles for families and communities. Addicts are often too sick, to function as normal, liable members of a family or of society (“Addiction Science”). For instance, they ruin their relationships with their families and drain resources; especially if they require costly treatment or hospitalization (“Addiction Science”). Addicts can lose their jobs and, have no income to support themselves or anyone depending on them. Children and teens who abuse drugs become more distant from their families and do not have a healthy relationship with them. A second problem of drug abuse is the crimes committed by addicts. Increased police time and effort are needed to fight smuggling and dealing illicit drugs.

Communities continue to fight to find ways to prevent drug abuse and to help rehabilitate addicts. Dealing with drug problems takes up the police departments resources as well as the communities’. Because many cities and communities are struggling financially, adding more police protection, puts a strain on the citizens through taxes. Despite these difficulties, drugs can be fought.

Education is our best hope and effort. Children need to be taught at home and in school about the menace of drug abuse. For example, discussions around the dinner table, family events, and school programs and activities in health classes can give children information to help them stay away from drug use. Families and counselors need to talk to the kids at risk of drug abuse, or any path or decisions that could lead to drug abuse. Another approach to the problem of drug abuse is to increase police resources enforce the law and stop dealers. Statistics show the bigger the drug problem in a community, the bigger its crime rate (“International Statistics”). Even though the cost of adding more police may hurt a community and its citizens financially, protecting its children from drug abuse and cutting down on drug-related crimes is worth it.

Although the problems of drug abuse may seem difficult to eliminate or control, there are steps that can be taken to weaken the effects of drugs on families and on society. Parents, teachers, and communities must take steps to educate children about the harmfulness of drug abuse and need to offer safe, fun activities for children at risk to do to keep them healthy. Also, police departments must be provided with more resources and community support to fight drug-related crimes. If we are to win the war on drugs, everyone must understand that they have a role in the battle and in its success.

Works Cited

“Addiction Science.” National Institute On Drug Abuse. NIH. December 2012. Web. 12 April 2013. “International Statistics.” Foundation For A Drug Free World. 2008. Web. 12 April 2013.

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Ielts essay # 1160 - youth drug abuse is a serious problem, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, youth drug abuse is a serious problem., what are the possible causes of this behaviour what could be done to control that.

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Home — Essay Samples — Law, Crime & Punishment — Drugs Legalization — Effects of Drugs on Society

Effects of Drugs on Society

• Categories: Drugs Drugs Legalization

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Words: 656 |

Published: Mar 20, 2024

Words: 656 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Economic effects, social effects, health effects.

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