Recently, drug abuse and addiction are perceived to rank among the most important social problems and the trend of abuse and dependency is alarming especially among the youth. I’ve been opportune to meet some guys that care about nothing but their drug. You see a young man drugging himself to a state of coma, selling his wears at a disgusting price just to get his fix for the moment. Why is he doing this? Why does he abuse drug or get addicted to it?
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What is Drug abuse? ... What is Drug addiction?
Substance abuse or Drug abuse is the use of drugs for non-therapeutic effect. It is a patterned use of a drug in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods which are harmful to themselves or others. People take or abuse drugs for various reasons:
- To experience pleasure (-To feel good)
- To lessen the feeling of pain or distress (-To get better)
- To boost morale (-To do better)
- Adolescent experimentation (-Curiosity)
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Drug addiction is a “chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. in other words, addiction may be defined as a brain disorder that involves the continuous use of drugs which produces psychological and physiological habit formation. It is not limited to any group or class, sex or economic status; it is found among all levels irrespective of race, class or religion. The younger addicts use the drug as a means of stimulation while the older ones use it to blunt or kill pain, stress and trials for a competitive living. The wealthy abusers sell their wealth to purchase the needed drugs for their regular fix, while the poor abusers would go any length, even to the extent of committing a crime to be able to purchase the drug to which they have been addicted. Chronic drug addicts often engage in a variety of immoral and criminal activities as a result of strong dependency on the drug which makes the addicted person go any extreme to obtain the needed drug.
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A drug is a chemical substance which on administration alters biological function. Drugs that alter mood, cognition and behavior are termed Psychoactive. Psychoactive/Psychotropic substances are pharmaceutical drugs which act to stimulate or depress the nerves and particularly the central nervous system (CNS) and thereby causing alteration, in thought, vision, mind, action, behavior, perception mood and feeling. When abused, the user can become addicted to the drug.
Psychotropic substance may be classified as;
- Stimulants (excitants): cocaine, caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines
- Depressants(anti-anxiety drugs): heroine, codeine, methadone, pethidine, morphine, barbiturates
- Hallucinogens(mind blowers): LSD, PCP, Mescaline, Cannabis
These drugs are regarded as beneficial to human beings when properly used under medical supervision for the treatment of diverse ailment. However, when they are abused they pose serious threat to the user and the society.
Drug abusers are known to be prone to psychotic and behavioural disorders, hallucinations, cancer of the lungs, liver and kidney complications, violence, functional performance, disabilities, malnutrition, sleeplessness, accidental deaths, paranoia, economic ruin, suicide, sexual problems, unrealistic assessment or dangers involved in the addict's lifestyle.
The concept of a drug being used or misused depends not only on the pattern of consumption but also on the attitude of the abuser. Drug misuse is any taking of drug which harms or threatens to harm the physical or mental health or social well-being of an individual or the society at large.
The Physiology of Drug Addiction
The physiology of the addicted brain can be best understood by understanding the concept of Tolerance and Dependence of the body to drugs. The two phenomenon are response of the brain to drug. The brain is an integrative communicating centre consisting of billions of nerve cells that are responsible for the reception, integration and transmission of signals. The network formed by nerve cells(neurons) transmit messages back and forth among different structures within the brain, spinal cord and nerves in the rest of the body thereby coordinating activities of the body.
How does addiction affect the brain?
The brain has a special unit called the Nucleus Accumbens (Reward/Pleasure center) which functions to co-ordinate attractive and motivational stimulus that induces appetitive behavior. The reward center consists of a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience (i.e. Craving for a reward), associative learning (positive reinforcement), and positive emotions (pleasure).
The primary function of the reward center is to ensure the repetition of life-sustaining activities by associating them with pleasure and pleasant memories. Drugs that are abused directly or indirectly affect the reward center by over-stimulating it to produce euphoric effects, which strongly reinforce the behavior of drug use and teaching the user to repeat it. These drugs work by flooding the circuit with the neurotransmitter called Dopamine (this is usually in excess than the normal stimulation). In response, the brain adjusts to reduce the amount of dopamine in circulation thereby altering the physiological function.
However, in this case, the brain demands the use of the drug to reinforce the stimulation of dopamine to compensate for the normal dopamine level. The more the quantity of drug taken to attain a specific stimulation, the more the brain keeps adjusting to maintain a normal level thereby leading to Dependence/Tolerance. The reward center sees the drug as a life-sustaining substance just like food, therefore, creating an appetite for the process to be repeated. Due to the greater effect of the drug stimulation than the normal pleasure stimulation, the brain prioritises taking of the drug over any other pleasure. This causes them to lose interest in any other thing and give an excuse for getting a break while doing something that seems exciting to every other person.
Understanding Drug Tolerance and Dependence
WHO in 1964 defined Drug dependence as a state, psychic and sometimes also physical resulting from interaction between a living organism and a drug, characterized by behavioral and other responses that always include a compulsion to take the drug on a continuous or periodic basis in order to experience its psychic effects, and sometimes to avoid the discomfort of its absence. In other words, dependence refers to a physical condition in which the body has adapted to the presence of a drug in such a way that the person will experience some symptoms (withdrawal syndrome) if suddenly stopped.
Tolerance occurs from the remarkable capacity of the body to alter itself in response to disturbing stimuli. Drug users seek central effects from their drug, which although reinforcing and generally pleasurable, upset the chemical equilibrium within the brain thereby requiring a higher dose to produce a given effect. Just like the heavily exercised muscle will develop more and thicker muscular fibres to carry the increased load, so also organs whose function are repeatedly triggered/ altered by drug may respond by readjusting to the present situation. therefore requiring a continous increase of the dose to attain the level of stimulation intended by the user.
Tolerance arises from three mechanisms;
- Altered disposition of drug within the body
- Diminished responsiveness of neurons directly affected by the substance
- Homeostatic adjustment of neuronal systems not immediately disturbed by the compound.
Drug dependence and tolerance are both physical consequence of drug use and they have the potentials of developing into addiction.
Is it drug abuse… or drug addiction?
Drug abuse is a habitual misuse of a drug either by taking more than the quantity prescribed, using someone else’s prescription or taking the drug with the intention of getting high. On the other hand, Drug addiction is a chronic brain disease that poses a compulsion to seek and use the drug despite the harmful consequences. Addiction is a disease because there has been some disruption or changes in the brain structure and function. Although drug abuse may lead to drug addiction but not all drug abusers are drug addicts. Addiction sets in when the user loses conscious control of the use of the drug. Drug abuse becomes an addiction when the abuser is incapable of putting limit or resistance to the urge of seeking and taking the drug, despite harmful or negative threat and consequences.
Conclusion
Drug abuse, Drug dependence, Drug Tolerance and Drug addiction although technically different, are branches of the same tree. They might go different ways or length but they are fed by the same root and so bear similar fruits. A drug being a chemical substance alters biochemical reactions in the body and can go as far as manipulating control areas in the brain. Drug abuse/ Addiction can be treated or managed successfully; YES!! But just like all medical conditions “Prevention is better than Cure.”
References
- Substance abuse and dependent; an introduction for caring profession. Edited by Hamid Ghodse, Douglas Maxwel: st. George’s Hospital and Medical school
- Understanding Drug Addiction and Alcoholism: Akin Odebunmi – professor of counseling psychology (published by; Y-books)
- Epidemiology and control of substance abuse in Nigeria: Edited by Isidore Silas Obot, PhD, M.P.H (University of Jos)- Center for research and Information on substance abuse, Jos, Nigeria.
- https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/media-guide/science-drug-abuse-addiction-basics
- https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reward_system
- https://drugabuse.com/library/tolerance-dependence-addiction/
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