Drug and Substance Abuse

Introduction Drug and substance abuse is an issue that affects entirely all societies in the world. It has both social and economic consequences, which affect directly and indirectly our everyday live. Drug addiction is â€Å"a complex disorder characterized by compulsive drug use† (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Drug and Substance Abuse specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It sets in as one form a habit of taking a certain drug. Full-blown drug abuse comes with social problems such as violence, child abuse, homelessness and destruction of families (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010). To understand to the impact of drug abuse, one needs to explore the reasons why many get addicted and seem unable pull themselves out of this nightmare. Physiology and Psychology of Addiction Many experts consider addiction as a disease as it affects a specific part of the brain; the limbic system commonly referred to as the pleasure center. This area, which experts argue to be primitive, is affected by various drug substances, which it gives a higher priority to other things. Peele (1998) argues that alcoholism is a disease that can only be cured from such a perspective (p. 60). Genetics are also seen as a factor in drug addiction even though it has never been exclusively proven. Other experts view addiction as a state of mind rather than a physiological problem. The environment plays a major role in early stages of addiction. It introduces the agent, in this case the drug, to the abuser who knowingly or otherwise develops dependence to the substance. Environmental factors range from violence, stress to peer pressure. Moreover, as an individual becomes completely dependent on a substance, any slight withdrawal is bound to be accompanied by symptoms such as pain, which is purely psychological. This is because the victim is under self-deception that survival wit hout the substance in question is almost if not impossible. From his psychological vantage point, Isralowitz (2004) argues that freedom from addiction is achievable provided there is the â€Å"right type of guidance and counseling† (p.22). Prescription Drug Abuse A doctor as regulated by law usually administers prescription drugs. It may not be certain why many people abuse prescription drugs but the trend is ever increasing. Many people use prescription drugs as directed by a physician but others use purely for leisure. This kind of abuse eventually leads to addiction. This problem is compounded by the ease of which one can access the drugs from pharmacies and even online. Many people with conditions requiring painkillers, especially the elderly, have a higher risk of getting addicted as their bodies become tolerant to the drugs. Adolescents usually use some prescription drugs and especially painkillers since they induce anxiety among other feelings as will be discussed belo w.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Stimulants Stimulants are generally psychoactive drugs used medically to improve alertness, increase physical activity, and elevate blood pressure among other functions. This class of drugs acts by temporarily increasing mental activity resulting to increased awareness, changes in mood and apparently cause the user to have a relaxed feeling. Although their use is closely monitored, they still find their way on the streets and are usually abused. Getting deeper into the biochemistry of different stimulants, each has a different metabolism in the body affecting different body organs in a specific way. One common thing about stimulants is that they affect the central nervous system in their mechanism. Examples of commonly used stimulants include; cocaine, caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines and cannabis. Cocaine, which has a tremendously high addictive po tential, was in the past used as anesthetic and in treatment of depression before its profound effects were later discovered. On the streets, cocaine is either injected intravenously or smoked. Within a few minutes of use, it stimulates the brain making the user feel euphoric, energetic and increases alertness. It has long-term effects such as seizures, heart attacks and stroke. Cocaine’s withdrawal symptoms range from anxiety, irritability to a strong craving for more cocaine. Cannabis, also known as marijuana, is the most often abused drug familiar in almost every corner of the world, from the streets of New York to the most remote village in Africa. Although its addiction potential is lower as compared to that of cocaine, prolonged use of cannabis results to an immense craving for more. It produces hallucinogenic effects, lack of body coordination, and causes a feeling of ecstasy. Long-term use is closely associated with schizophrenia, and other psychological conditions. F rom a medical perspective, cannabis is used as an analgesic, to stimulate hunger in patients, nausea ameliorator, and intraocular eye pressure reducer. Insomnia, lack of appetite, migraines, restlessness and irritability characterize withdrawal symptoms of cannabis. Depressants Unlike stimulants, depressants reduce anxiety and the central nervous system activity. The most common depressants include barbiturates, benzodiazepines and ethyl alcohol. They are of great therapeutically value especially as tranquilizers or sedatives in reducing anxiety. Depressants can be highly addictive since they seem to ease tension and bring relaxation. After using depressants for a long time, the body develops tolerance to the drugs. Moreover, body tolerance after continual use requires one use a higher dose to get the same effect. Clumsiness, confusion and a strong craving for the drug accompany gradual withdrawal. Sudden withdrawal causes respiratory complications and can even be fatal.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Drug and Substance Abuse specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Narcotics Narcotics have been used for ages for various ailments and as a pain reliever pain. They are also characterized by their ability to induce sleep and euphoria. Opium, for instance was used in ancient China as a pain reliever and treatment of dysentery and insomnia. Some narcotics such as morphine and codeine are derived from natural sources. Others are structural analogs to morphine and these include heroin, oxymorphone among others. Narcotics are highly addictive resulting to their strict regulation by a majority of governments. Narcotics act as painkillers once they enter the body. They are used legally in combination with other drugs as analgesics and antitussives but are abused due to their ability to induce a feeling of well being. Their addiction potential is exceptionally high due to the body’s tolerance after c onsistent use, forcing the user to use and crave for more to get satisfaction. Increase in respiration rate, diarrhea, anxiety, nausea and lack of appetite are symptoms common to narcotic withdrawal. Others include; running nose, stomach cramps, muscle pains and a strong craving for the drugs. Hallucinogens Hallucinogens affect a person’s thinking capacity causing illusions and behavioral changes especially in moods. They apparently cause someone to hear sounds and see images that do not exist. Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which commonly abused hallucinogen, has a low addiction potential because it does not have withdrawal effects. They also affect a person’s sexual behavior and other body functions such as body temperature. There are no outright withdrawal symptoms for hallucinogens. References Isralowitz, R. (2004). Drug use: a reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Clif.: ABC-CLIO. Print. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2010). NIDA INfoFacts: Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/understanding-drug-use-addiction Peele, S. (1998). The meaning of Addiction: Compulsive Experience and its Interpretation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This essay on Drug and Substance Abuse was written and submitted by user Taliyah Rowe to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Gun Control

Gun Control Gun Control The issue of gun control is of immense significance to the United States for a number of reasons. Firstly, America is the only country in the world with 300 million firearms in circulation, which implies that virtually every adult possesses a firearm. This fact cannot but evoke deep concerns about an increase in homicide rates. Secondly, the point is that the murder rate in the U.S. is fifteen times higher than that in other developed countries, which have implemented stricter laws regulating the private ownership of firearms. As Major Michael Bloomberg mentioned, We are the only industrialized country that has this problem. The only one (In Other Countries, Laws are Strict and Work, 2012). Therefore, it can be reasonably argued that tougher gun laws will help to decrease the homicide rate, since it will be very hard to get any kind of weapons. To see how strict gun laws work, it is essential to consider practices of other countries. Australia is the brightest example. When a gunman shot thirty-five people in 1996, the government needed several weeks to ban shotguns and assault weapons, tighten licensing and finance buyback programs and gun amnesty. Since then, the homicide rate in Australia dropped by 59 %, and there were no gun massacres causing people deaths. Likewise, the British government imposed stricter gun laws after the school massacre in 1996, in Scotland. The authorities have banned all automatic weapons and almost all handguns, so that a person could not easily get even a hunting rifle. Further, in Japan, with its very tough laws, only eleven deaths were caused by firearms in 2008, whereas the same rate in the U.S. constituted 12,000 (In Other Countries, Laws are Strict and Work, 2012). According to other data, tougher gun laws are necessary, since weak gun control greatly contributes to an increase in justifiable civilian homicides, especially if combined with stand-your-ground-laws, implemented in the U.S. in 2005. Since then, as the Guardian analysis proves, the homicide rate has increased by 25%. What makes matters worse is that these measures encourage citizens to kill a potential enemy at once rather than try to escape or avoid threats first (Enten, 2012). It irreversibly leads to the fact that more people will carry guns in more places in order to defend themselves, which, in turn, cannot but cause a general increase in shootings. Besides, if more civilians carry firearms, it will be even easier for experienced criminals to steal weapons and kill people with their help. Although the opponents of tough gun laws, including Sohn (2012), argue that the latter will not prevent offenders from committing homicides, since criminals will find a way to access guns no matter what the rules are, this argument seems rather week. Firstly, even if a criminal is an insane person and wants to steal a gun, he will simply have no way to do that, since ordinary citizens will not carry weapons, and it will be rather hard to steal them from a police officer or specialized shops. Secondly, the Sohns (2012) argument that an armed citizen is one of the criminals biggest fears does not necessarily imply that an offender will not shoot at an armed person. Thirdly, the belief of Sowell (2012) that guns are not the problem but people including people who are determined to push gun control laws is false in essence: if there were no firearms, including other kind of weapons, there would be no murders. To sum up, taking into consideration the above mentioned facts, it can be claimed that stricter gun laws are necessary to reduce the number of homicides. This conclusion is based on the real data proving that limited access to firearms or even the complete prohibition of weapons really works. The prevailing opinion that these are not guns but people, who are guilty of the overwhelming number of murders, seriously undermines the possibility of human survival. It is true that homicides are usually committed by violent or insane people, but violence cannot overcome violence. If more and more individuals possess firearms, homicide rates will swiftly go up. Moreover, easy access to weapons will only intensify the already existing tendency that people get accustomed to murders and approve them as a means of self-defence. They become completely incapable of solving problems without weapons, and this phenomenon cannot but disturb. The wild west system of defence and justice is unacceptable i n the twenty-first century, if humanity wants to survive, and it is high time for every nation and country to acknowledge this.

Critically appraise union strategies to involve women and minority Assignment

Critically appraise union strategies to involve women and minority groups - Assignment Example (Reynolds, 2006, p.187) Thirty years ago, the Working Women Charter in Australia coined the slogan of â€Å"Women need unions need women.† The slogan pointed out the responsibility of representing women and women’s gendered needs. But most of the union leaders had problems with the women workforce participation in the union. The most significant agenda of equal pay for both the sexes was going on for over a century in the world economy and even then it has been noticed that the male union leader had stood by the employer while denying equal pay for women (Rea, 2005, p.50). Not only women are under-represented in the trade union, the union has also failed to represent the minority ethnic community. The trade union has always demonstrated a racist attitude towards the ethnic minorities. In the 20th century the trade unions developed a politics of unity, but it was always constrained by the ethnic understandings of the workforce. The unity in the union workforce has always been constrained by protecting the gains and growth among workers. Recently there has been an effort concerning industrial relations, philosophy of rights, racisms, and social inclusion (Lucio & Perrett, 2007, p.4; Healy, Bradley and Mukherjee, 2003). The trade union in the recent past has started addressing these issues in a more supportive and strategic manner. The paper discusses the union’s effort towards inclusion of women and minorities in the workforce. The survival of the union depends upon the expansion of the trade union. In order to expand the trade union’s recruitment the traditional areas have to include the service sector in its domain. The inclusion of women in the trade union would also ensure the expansion of the same. The trade unions have recognized the under representation of women in the union structures and hence adequate measure have been taken in UK and worldwide to redress the imbalance. In UK seats have been reserved for women in the union st ructure and proportionality has also been adopted. Despite such likely transformation the trade union are highly characterized as patriarchal. The major priority of all the trade union now is the recruitment. The trade union has experienced a steep decline in its membership since 1979. It was at its peak of around 13 million memberships which decreased down to seven million- that is only one third of the employees. UK witnessed a major restructuring in the economic and the labor market, where the manufacturing industries were heavily unionized with male domination, and the industries were undergoing a severe contraction, where as the service sector was mostly dominated by female and the sectors were less unionized as compared to the manufacturing sectors. In the phase of the social and economic changes the trade union had failed to recruit new members from the expanding sectors thus resulting in a decreasing union membership. (Kirton and Haley, 1999, p. 31) The gender gap in the uni on membership has narrowed down from eleven percentage points in 1990 to five percentage points in 1996. In UK the women membership is around 40 percent of the total union membership. The recruitment policies of the union have undergone a change in order to attract more women members and thereby retain them. (Kirton and Haley, 1999, p. 32) It is also noteworthy that over the last three decades most part of the global south has undergone an event known as the â€Å"