A drug is any substances that when used, can modify one or more of our body functions. Doctors use drugs as medicine to cure diseases and to improve health.
Drug abuse means taking drugs not under a doctor's advice, taking more drugs
than instructed by a doctor and taking drugs for fun.
The essential mindset
of drug abuses is to change the state of mind of a person, whether to provide
pleasure, or to give relief from anxiety, tension or pain.
Drug abuse will lead to drug addiction or dependence. When addicted to a drug, the person depends on the drug for his daily functioning. He is no longer in control of his own life. The addict is only obsessed for his next dose. If he does not have the money, he is likely to lie, cheat or rob to get the money to buy drugs. This will cause many problems and difficulties.
Drug addiction or dependence may take 2 forms:
Physical dependence
The addict must take the drug regularly, if
not he will suffer from great pain or discomfort. Symptoms like restlessness,
sleeplessness, runny nose, abdominal cramps and so forth will occur depending on
the drug consumed. Very often the addicts continue to take to drug to avoid
these discomfort.
Psychological dependence
Addiction will also cause mental craving
for drugs. The craving will cause the addict to do almost anything just to
obtain the drug. A person can be psychologically dependence without being
physically dependence. It is more difficult to cure this form of addiction. Many
ex-addicts take drugs even though they are no longer physically dependent on the
drug because of this craving.
Addiction can also lead to tolerance of the drugs. This means that a person
who abuses a drug regularly for his pleasure has to gradually increase his
dosage in order to get the desired effects.
If the addict stop taking the
drug for some time, he will lose this tolerance and later if he were to take a
dose which he formerly do, he might die of overdose.
For more information on preventive drug education and frequently asked question, please go to Central Narcotics Bureau homepage.
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