Substance Abuse and Overdose: Causes and Solutions

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Table of Contents

Background
Literature Review
Discussion
Works Cited

It is important to note substance abuse is a major social and healthcare problem, which incurs a massive cost to the entire society through loss of lives, productivity, and communal wellbeing. In order to properly comprehend the given analysis, one should know that drug overdoses are treatable and can be prevented even in the context of widespread addiction. Drug addicts need to be given resources and opportunities to be able to combat the disease. The assessment will cover the topic of substance abuse and overdose in Lake County, CA, with its causes and treatment. The topic is highly critical to understand and be knowledgeable about because it is an epidemic affecting thousands of American lives and incurring massive economic and societal losses. Thus, substance abuse and overdose are diseases due to the psychological effect of drugs, with the individuals in pro-drug social environments being highly vulnerable, where proper parenting and addiction treatment centers can be effective solutions.

Background

The topic of drug abuse and overdose is a well-known one in Lake County, CA. Many individuals, especially young people, die daily due to overdoses. In addition to the losses of their lives, the damage can also be found in the lack of economic input and loss of productivity due to drugs. The major culprit of the epidemic are opioids, such as heroin and fentanyl, with the latter being more potent and highly dangerous even at the smallest of doses (Allen). This obstacle comes to what it is today due to the prescription of painkillers based on opioids, which cause addiction.

Literature Review

Recent Statistics

The situation with drug abuse and overdose is worsening every year. From 2020 until April 2021, almost 100,000 people died from overdoses, which is a 30% increase compared to the previous period (Allen 1). The vast majority of these deaths, or 75% of them, are caused by synthetic drugs, mainly fentanyl (Allen 1). Therefore, there is a solid trend of increase in overdose cases as well as substance abuse in general, and today, the issue is becoming even worse than before.

Vulnerability and Social Environment

When it comes to drug addiction and overdoses, the youth are the most vulnerable ones due, which is determined by their circles, attitudes, and proximity to milder drugs. Major thoughts and opinions on this topic include the fact that substance abuse is not a choice for the most part but rather a disease, which means the addicts require external help. A study found that a young individual’s attitude towards drugs is correlated with his or her personal drug use, drug use among friends, risk perception, and pleasure orientation (Järvinen and Østergaard 333). In other words, people with pro-drug positions tend to underestimate the risks and be highly pleasure-oriented (Järvinen and Østergaard 333). In addition, parenting can also be a major determining factor in whether or not a person will become an addict (Coombs and Landsverk 473). However, individuals without drug-using friends and families and who do not use drugs themselves are more likely to be anti-drugs. Therefore, one can see how a person’s social environment and exposure can influence the likelihood of becoming addicted.

Drug Psychology and Biochemistry: Drug Addiction as a Disease

One of the most conflicting ideas when it comes to drug addiction and overdose is the notion that it is a choice all along. It is true that the initial use of a drug could be a deliberate choice made by a person, but the subsequent uses are not. The main reason is rooted in how drugs, especially the most addictive ones, operate in the brain. The human brain is comprised of neurons, which communicate with each other by transmitting neurochemical signals. These signals are passed from one neuron to another through neurotransmitters, which are released to a synaptic space and interact with the receptors in the signal-receiving neuron. Various drugs’ molecular structures mimic the natural neurotransmitters and hack the receptors causing an irregular response, which can be highly intense or prolonged than normal (Changeux 147). The most addictive drugs mimic the pleasure neurotransmitters and attach to their corresponding receptors providing a person with intense pleasure (Changeux 148). Therefore, drugs can be considered tools for hacking the human brain.

However, the addiction itself, with its eventual overdose, is the result of neuron adaptability to an intense signal from a drug. With frequent and intensive exposure to a substance, neurons reduce their receptor numbers to the drug or neurotransmitter, which results in reduced pleasure for drug users (Changeux 155). This prompts them to use higher drug doses to receive a similar level of ‘high’ as they experienced when they only started. Thus, a continuous cycle of dose increase, the chase of pleasure, and a decrease in receptors lead to overdose (Changeux 157). Considering the fact that social environment and early exposure make a person more likely to start using drugs, and the subsequent uses are hardwired by the brain physiology, substance abuse is a disease, not a choice. The direct triggers are “physical pain and introduction of pain medication/heroin/fentanyl/alcohol to relieve it” (Allen 2). The communities affected are usually the ones, which are racially, economically, and socially disadvantaged (Allen 2). Therefore, substance abuse and overdose manifest their harm in many aspects of communal life.

Discussion

Since it was well-established with supporting evidence that substance abuse and overdose should be considered a disease, the solutions should also reflect it. Moving forward, all parents should know that they play a major role in making their children either resilient or vulnerable to drugs because parenting matters (Coombs and Landsverk 473). In addition, addiction treatment facilities with substance use navigators (SUN) can also be useful in helping already addicted people. Tina Allen states that it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of such facilities, but any addict who was able to seek help from such institutions can already be considered as successful (2). The main reason is the fact that the problem is not the ineffectiveness of such centers but rather the lack of them or addicts’ unawareness of them.

I would like to see my Lake County community be no longer plagued with drug abuse and overdoses. I personally think that addiction should not be criminalized but rather treated as an illness. I believe that fentanyl is the major culprit of overdoses, specifically as pointed out by Tina Allen as well (2). Therefore, addiction treatment centers should allow addicts to consume their drugs at these sites in a supervised manner. It is important to note that the medical staff can ensure that no synthetic drugs are being used, and they can help in case of an overdose.

Works Cited

Allen, Tina. Interview. Adventist Health, 2022.

Changeux, Jean-Pierre. “Drug Use and Abuse.”Daedalus, vol. 127, no. 2, 1998, pp. 145-165.

Coombs, Robert H., and John Landsverk. “Parenting Styles and Substance Use during Childhood and Adolescence.” Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 50, no. 2, 1998, pp. 473-482. doi.org/10.2307/352012

Järvinen, Margaretha, and Jeanette Østergaard. “Dangers and Pleasures: Drug Attitudes And Experiences Among Young People.”Acta Sociologica, vol. 54, no. 4, 2011, pp. 333-350.

Click Here To Order Now!