Drug Dependence & Abuse

• Drug Dependence & Abuse Overview
• Drug Dependence & Abuse Causes
• Drug Dependence & Abuse Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Exams and Tests
• Drug Dependence & Abuse Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medical Treatment
• Next Steps
• Follow-up
• Prevention
• Outlook
• For More Information
• Web Links
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors

Drug Dependence & Abuse Overview

Drug abuse and drug dependence represent different ends of the same disease process.

Drug abuse is an intense desire to obtain increasing amounts of a particular substance or substances to the exclusion of all other activities.

Drug dependence is the body's physical need, or addiction, to a specific agent. Over the long term, this dependence results in physical harm, behavior problems, and association with people who also abuse drugs. Stopping the use of the drug can result in a specific withdrawal syndrome.

• Drug abuse is a common problem that plagues all ethnic groups and social classes worldwide. Control of drug abuse is a top priority of the United States Surgeon General as outlined in the Healthy People 2010 goals for the nation.

• Different people will be affected by drugs in different ways. Some people are more prone to addiction than others.

• Drug abuse and dependence is a disease and not a character defect. A person being treated for this condition requires the same respect as a person with any other medical condition.

• A person who abuses drugs may not realize that he or she has a problem. Family members often bring the abuse to the attention of a health care provider. Unfortunately, some people who abuse drugs only realize they have a problem after they have been arrested for a drug-related problem.

• A wide variety of substances can be abused. These take the form of illegal drugs (such as phencyclidine known as PCP and heroin), plant products (such as marijuana or hallucinogenic mushrooms), chemicals (the inhalation of gasoline, for example), or prescription medications. More information can be found at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

• Substances can be taken into the body in several ways:
  
  
  • Oral ingestion (swallowing)
  
  
  
  • Inhalation (breathing in) or smoking
  
  
  
  • Injection into the veins (shooting up)
  
  
  
  • Depositing onto the mucosa (moist skin) of the mouth or nose (snorting)

• In addition to health care costs from drug abuse, society pays a huge price for this disease.
  
  
  • Monetary costs from theft by abusers to support their drug habits
  
  
  
  • Additional tax money to pay for law enforcement agencies, including the US Coast Guard
  
  
  
  • Loss to society of the potential contributions the drug abuser would have made to his or her community had he or she remained sober and productive