What Is Drug Abuse?

The effects derived from abusing drugs will differ depending on the type of drug, but the basic pattern of drug abuse is the same: a compelling urgency to acquire and use the desired chemical substance. With drug abuse comes drug addiction and, as the addiction grows stronger over time, the impulse to use the drug grows more powerful: powerful enough to alter relationships, destroy health, interfere with work schedules and disrupt normal activities.

Definition

• Drug abuse entails the excessive and/or repeated use of chemical substances (in any form) in order to achieve certain biochemical effects.

Significance

• The abuse of drugs is coupled with addiction, and obtaining and using the drug becomes increasingly more important than any other thing in life: friends, family, employment or even children.

Types

• Drug abuse involves chemical substances known as street- or illicit-drugs (illegal due to their potential for addiction), as well as prescription drugs that are acquired for pleasurable use rather than medical necessity.

Consequences

• The consequences of abusing drugs can be both physical and emotional, confounding the body's normal biochemical processes, making normal functions difficult to perform and impairing cognitive abilities--like judgment--to dangerous levels.

Effects

• As described by the Mayo Clinic, stimulants increase blood pressure and metabolism resulting in powerful rushes of energy and difficulty sleeping. Depressants and barbiturates produce calming sensations and excessive relaxation by reducing blood pressure, heart rate and breathing to dangerously low levels.

Potential

• Drug abuse over time chemically alters the brain's neurological functions, causing extreme discomfort and pain when it is deprived of the drug.