Introduction to Drug Addiction
What is drug addiction?
It is a habit, it is a life-changing decision, it is a disease. No one wakes up and thinks to himself “I’m going to become a drug addict today”. The How’s and Why’s people get addicted are as different and individualized as the people themselves.
Some are on prescription medication for an injury or an ailment. It gets to their brain and the brain says, “Wow, what is this? It makes me feel good” and the brain then sends mixed messages to the person so that it gets to the point he needs more and more of the prescription in order to fight off the pain he was feeling. This is an illusion sent to him by the brain.
A young person goes to a party with friends and wants to fit in that night so he smokes a couple of joints with everyone. It happens again and again. Before he realizes it, he is hooked on marijuana. Some people assume that marijuana is not addicting but it is.
Some people assume that marijuana is not addicting but it is.
The same can be said for alcohol and stronger illicit drugs. The fact is, once a person is addicted, he or she needs help to overcome the addiction and recover successfully. It is an extremely rare case where an individual can say “I’m going to stop being a drug addict today.” Starting is much easier than stopping because it has affected the body and brain both physically and psychologically.
* Drug Addiction is a very serious and very real problem in society.
Those who do not understand it, quite probably do not have a family member affected nor have they ever been addicted. It can completely change a person’s personality, uproot a family, destroy relationships, bankrupt people, ruin lives and lead to permanent health problems or death.
A person can be introduced to drug addiction simply by taking a couple of drinks of beer at the lake party, or smoking a joint with friends late one night. Unwittingly and unknowingly, one person can have a couple of drinks that completely changes his life while his friend can drink a couple of beers and not even think about it till he is at another party a couple of weeks later. The difference can be caused by genetics, by a person’s central nervous system and brain communicating with him, by the luck of the draw.
Nobody wakes up to say “I think I will become a drug addict today” or just decide “I think I will get cancer today”. This is a very real disease and needs to be treated as such.
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