The Heroin Epidemic Essay

Document Type:Thesis

Subject Area:Psychology

Document 1

Some illegal drugs are not addictive while at times some legal drugs are addictive. The harm caused to the society by legal drugs could at times outweigh the harm that is caused by the legal drugs. The legalization of drugs majorly depends on the social norms and power relationships (Charity warns that 'legal high' ban has led to switch to other illegal drugs, 2017). Over thousands of psychoactive plants that are found on the earth’s surface have been used by people of different ethnicities as traditional drugs. The abuse of drugs has become very common in the American society. As a result of the risks associated with the drug, it was classified as a narcotic and thus its availability in the market reduced.

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The intake of heroin can be either through injection, snorting or even smoking. The most common way that is used is injection because it ensures a quick entry into the blood system and the nervous system. Once in the nervous system, heroin does induce the feeling of reduced pain, pleasure, relaxation and at times the user experiences a sudden rush of euphoria. Prevalence of Heroin use Within the past decades, the use of heroin in the United States has been on the rise but the treatment options have also increased at the same time. Studies conducted on young individuals who are addicted to heroin reported that they in most cases struggle with emotional problems such as anxiety and depression whenever they fail to take the drug.

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It was discovered that users usually return to heroin to self-medicate. The use of heroin is known to numb the perception of both emotional and physical pain. Excessive use of the drug leads to the users experiencing severe physical and mental discomfort whenever they do not take the drug. This high sensitivity towards the discomfort of individuals for the failure of taking the drug causes the recovering addicts to undergo relapse. Instead of the individuals having happy and healthy relationships, they start hanging around the people who have common drug-using and drug-seeking behaviours. Being in this company of friends, they feel that their habits are being supported and they no longer feel judged by the nonusers. This also ensures that they do not spend most of their time isolated.

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To be able to cater to their drug needs, they start stealing, lying and performing other dishonest activities which end up further isolating them from their loved ones. The addicted heroin users may start feeling as if their family members and friends have turned against them and this leads to paranoia. The thoughts that prevail on the user’s mind are only about heroin and nothing else. For the body of the individual to function properly, it needs more heroin and whenever the amount of the drug is lowered, the user does experience withdrawal effects. These effects include; muscle pain, insomnia, restlessness, vomiting and cold flashes. The withdrawal may also result from anxiety, agitation and other associated mood instabilities. The pleasurable effects of heroin usage later turn into symptoms.

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The child will thus have to go through the withdrawal period and will be weaned off the opioid substances (Namboodiri et al. Therapeutic Intervention and Treatment In the society we are living today, there are various ways a heroin addict can fellow when seeking treatment for his/her addiction. Most of the heroin addicts go through medication and counselling. The two treatment methods go hand in hand and are usually necessary for the recovery program. Whenever a person addicted to the use of heroin does approach a crisis counsellor, it is very important that the crisis counsellor gives the person the best guidance and the resources necessary for the recovery program (Frew, 2014). The patients who are going through this program should be closely monitored to ensure that they take their medication as prescribed thus leading to a successful recovery program.

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The person who seeks treatment for the heroin addiction should always hold regular meetings with his/her counsellor. The meetings can be conducted either in individual therapy or group settings. This kind of therapy is very important to the patient’s mental state. Whenever the patient is going through the recovery process, it is important to have a person who keeps him/her accountable and monitors their progress. On the other hand, it is not necessary for every person who experiences a minor problem to receive a pills prescription. The largest percentage of the millions of people who abuse opioids prefer using heroin. In the recent past, the statistics of heroin users and the crisis of heroin addiction has been on the rise thus recording a large number than ever before.

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There are programs that the government has implemented to carry out the monitoring of prescription use. The reason why the government has taken that stand is to ensure that families will no longer have to go through the pain of losing their loved ones to the heroin menace. 1056/nejme0904243. Camacho, Mario Andres. "Changes In US Lifetime Heroin Use And Heroin Use Disorder Prevalence From The 2001-2002 To 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey On Alcohol And Related Conditions". The Journal Of Emergency Medicine, vol 53, no. 2, 2017, p. 1111/dth. Heidebrecht, F. , MacLeod, M. and Dawkins, L. Predictors of heroin abstinence in opiate substitution therapy in heroin-only users and dual users of heroin and crack. "The Temporal Influence Of A Heroin Shortage On Pregnant Drug Users And Their Newborn Infants In Sydney, Australia".

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