Many Americans struggle with some sort of addiction. Sadly, since the down fall of the economy is when the addiction rate began to rise. Very few of us may have witnessed a loved one with an addiction or may have had an addiction ourselves. Regardless of the two we all need to stick together as a whole and fight addiction together. My husband and I always used to go to this one diner here in town. The waitress was the nicest and sweetest lady you could ever meet. We eventually became really close and she disclosed to us about her alcoholism she suffered from. Her children wanted nothing to do with her and she worked more hours then she could even count. Watching her through the years we witnessed her get her life together. She recently …show more content…
I feel that if any individual is around drugs alcohol they are more prone to try it and gain an addiction.
2) Marijuana is a 'gateway drug'-The addiction rate for marijuana is lower than that of alcohol, and there is little scientific evidence that it acts as a trigger for harder drugs. While teen marijuana use is not to be encouraged, the real "gateway drug" risk might be from abusing prescription opioids and stimulants, like OxyContin, Vicodin and Adderall, or with inhalant drug use. These have strong addictive properties and more accessible to teens.
A 2010 study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that among 12th graders, 8% abused Vicodin and 5.1% abused OxyContin. Inhalant use peaks in the 8th grade at around 17%, far earlier than all other drugs. (Jaffe, 2012) My view: Personally, I feel that this may have been true a few years ago. Now in 2015 marijuana is not considered as dangerous as other substances. In fact some states are even making medical marijuana legal for health reasons. The people who went to high school with me were into marijuana. Although, they drank and smoked marijuana none of them had the
…show more content…
Indeed, for the large majority of people, marijuana is a terminus rather than a so-called gateway drug. New evidence suggests that marijuana can function as an "exit drug" helping people reduce or eliminate their use of more harmful drugs by easing withdrawal symptoms.” (Drugpolicy.org)
3) Addiction is for life-This simply isn't true, and it places a huge emotional and psychological burden on recovered addicts. Addiction is a spectrum disorder, like depression, and every person is different. While there are plenty of cases where addicts struggle for years to overcome a drug addiction, many more cases reveal the opposite -- short-term users who manage to put the past behind them and lead normal and productive lives. According to the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, 75% of alcoholics recover without treatment. (Jaffe, 2012)
My view: Sure a lot of individuals suffer from addictions long term. That does not mean everyone will. It all depends on whether or not they receive help. Take my uncle for example he one day broke a blood vessel in his nose and it would not stop bleeding.
He almost died. Apparently the blood vessel broke from all the drugs he did. (that
Instead of a gateway drug, it should be considered as a gateway away from drugs. Secondly, marijuana is note a gateway drug because the use of marijuana will decrease if decriminalized. A 2004 study involved Amsterdam and San Francisco, where marijuana was decriminalized in Amsterdam and criminalized in San Francisco at the time. This study lead to the authors realizing the criminalization for marijuana did not reduce use, while decriminalization did not increase use. Lastly, marijuana should not be considered a gateway drug because marijuana is not involved in the several factors that act as a gateway to drugs. These factors included poverty and poor social environment, association with people who use hard drugs, certain mental illnesses like bipolar disorder, and that criminalization nad prohibition are the “real gateways to harder drugs” (newsweek.com)
think marijuana is a dangerous drug that can kill. This is true if taken in heavy doses but
Addiction has turned into an open discussion in America. A huge number of Americans have been affected by compulsion somehow or another. Numerous individuals know somebody who has been affected by this horrible sickness whether it be a parent, accomplice, kin or companion or may have been influenced themselves. This scientist has seen direct what habit can do to a man. While these individuals remain on the sidelines viewing the individual they know and love transform into somebody totally unrecognizable. At the point when a dependence begins it might simply be utilizing on the ends of the week, all over, or as the specialist endorses. As time ticks on, it turns out to be twice the same number of as recommended and before they know it, it has
There are multiple cases of Marijuana deaths in America. There are thousands of reasons why marijuana shouldn't be legal. For instance, it can cause major car crashes, it can lead you into different and even worse drugs, cause your memory to fail, your attention span to diminish, and your ability to learn even harder than others. This list could go on and on, Marijuana is bad for you, no matter what you say there are facts that show how
Due to recent changes in legalization of Marijuana, the question of it being an addictive substance has come up often. According to Dale Archer, M.D., the vast majority of people that are avid marijuana users show no addictive symptoms, they can take it or leave it (Archer, M.D., 2012). This topic is of great interest as the response to the legalization of marijuana is gaining differing opinions from different generations. Many people assume that marijuana itself is addicting, research shows that the main ingredient THC or Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is not chemically addictive (Archer, M.D., 2012). There is a line between use and abuse; any substance can be abused, whether it is soda, food, cocaine or other drugs. The question is do the chemicals in
Substance use disorders and addiction are affecting Americans at an alarming rate. People of all backgrounds, cultures and socioeconomic status have suffered the impact this epidemic is causing on loved ones, friends or maybe even themselves. Some individuals seek treatment and with the help of a support network they can change their life. Others are not so lucky. It is estimated that 62,497 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016. That is more casualties than the Vietnam War (Lopez, 2017). This number does not include deaths resulting from diseases of long term use such as liver cirrhosis, hepatitis and AIDS. It would be easy to conclude these addicted individuals died in vain simply due to their poor life choices and lack of morals, but
Many people who develop addictions with dangerous drugs such as heroin and cocaine have started somewhere smaller. Marijuana is a common street drug and there is lots of controversy around it. There are several arguments about its use, and one of them is whether it is a gateway drug.
In the world of addiction and recovery, many professionals often fail to look at the root cause of addiction. Instead, many tend to focus on the patients reliability on prescription medications and not why the
Marijuana is a gateway drug. A gateway drug, such as marijuana, is a drug that leads people to do more harmful drugs such as cocaine or heroine. The American Council for Education did a recent study showing that people who smoke marijuana are 85 times more likely to use other drugs compared to people who do not smoke marijuana. According to Andrew Cox, a licensed addiction counselor , “Most of the people that we see in drug court started out with marijuana… anywhere from 12 to 14 years of age, and gradually progressed to other kinds of
Depression is a widespread issue in today’s world. It can be caused by abuse, conflict, a sudden change in one’s life, and much more. The number one cause of depression is stress. Cannabis, or marijuana, has been used to treat depression dating back to the year 1621 with doctors in India using it to treat depression in their patients. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, was shown to change negative images or emotions in the minds of the patients who smoked marijuana. Many patients stated that it took them to another world, a place where they felt comfortable and the feeling of depression was obsolete. The sad part is that since marijuana is still classified as a
However one defines addiction, the addicted person has to first start using a substance, and this is where other key factors come in.
on the main articles of discussion of marijuana. Contrary to many users’ beliefs, marijuana is an addictive
Everything has they’re number of health risk and marijuana is one of them. Consuming marijuana at an adolescent age and making it a habit could be damaging to the mental health. By that being said, there are hundreds of risks associated by anything being put in they’re bodies. Eating too much sugar can cause diabetes and a fast track of rotting they’re teeth. Taking too much salt can cause high cholesterol and could increase the chance of having a stroke. On the other hand, marijuana and alcohol have some sort of similar risk associated with them but what is unique about both is how these substances are treated under the law; Alcohol and nicotine get a free pass under the Controlled Substances Act. Alcohol and tobacco cause so much death across the country and organizations should take a look and prioritize their focus on that. The people with open arms and willing to fight for legalization could have a greater effect on the health and well being of this country by shifting their attention to alcohol and cigarettes and showing the damages it causes. Organizations could then grab the attention of the people and shift them to the safety of marijuana and the benefits it could provide and eliminate that illusion that marijuana is worst than alcohol or any other
potentially lethal effects, but marijuana is not such a substance…Marijuana in its natural form, is one of the safest active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical core," [3] the Guardian Newspaper printed in 1993 on the issue.
Approximately 1 out of 8 people in the United States suffers from some kind of addiction, according to www.brainz.org. If stats are correct a few of us in this room has or will struggle with addiction in our lifetime.