Tips on Assessing Drug Abuse

Wayne Weiten, author of "Psychology: Themes and Variations," states that there are multiple factors that affect how a person will be impacted by drugs. Therefore, assessing drug abuse for an individual requires an understanding of the types of drug being taken, the person consuming the drug and the length of time that the individual has been ingesting the substance.

Types of Drugs

• Six categories of drugs exist: alcohol, narcotics, sedatives, stimulants, hallucinogens and cannabis.

  Hallucinogens and cannabis include the least risk of resulting in an overdose, a low risk of mental dependence, no risk of developing physical dependence and cause a gradual tolerance to the drug in the body.

  Alcohol and stimulants both have a moderate potential for physical dependence. Stimulants, however, allow the body to develop a tolerance to the drugs rapidly, there is a high potential for psychological dependence on the drugs and there is a moderate to high rate of overdosing on the drugs. Alcohol, on the other hand, reportedly leads to moderate levels of physical and mental dependence, allows the body to develop a gradual tolerance to the drug and has overdoe rates low to high, depending on the individual.

  Narcotics and sedatives are the most serious recreational drugs. Both types of drugs cause rapid physical and mental dependence on the substance, lead to a rapid dependence andare the cause of numerous incidents of overdose.

Individual

• When assessing a person for drug abuse it is important to consider the individual and that person's history. Weiten indicates that the mood of the person can contribute to the effects that a drug will have on the individual, as well as the person's age, weight, mental and physical condition at the time of taking the drug, and the dose of the substance. In addition, Weiten argues that the person's expectations when taking a recreational substance may also be a factor in the end results of the drug on the body. According to Weiten, the sense of serenity or happiness may be enhanced by the psychological expectations of the person, increasing the effect of the drug chosen. Because of all of these factors it is evident that the manner in which one drug affects two people may be significantly different.

Length of Drug Use

• When individuals are involved in taking recreational drugs they can develop a tolerance for those drugs over time. This means that while the person may have been able to take a small dose of a recreational drug when the drug use first began, as time progresses, the individual may have to take increased dosage of the drug the more it is used. It is also possible that the initial affects of the drug on the mind and body will be altered each time the drug is taken, or that the individual will begin to believe that the primary drug must be supplemented with other drugs to achieve the desired end result.