According to professionals, the continuous use of addictive drugs causes drug misuse or addiction. There are various types of drugs such as alcohol, marijuana, hallucinogens, and opioids. The report states that more than 7 million individuals suffer from drug disorders and one out of every four fatalities occur due to drug use.
More deaths, illnesses, and disabilities are caused due to drug abuse than other health issues. Drug and alcohol addiction draws a higher risk of unintentional injuries, accidents, and domestic violence.
A person can take drugs in various ways such as injection, inhalation, and ingestion. The effects of the drugs on the body depend upon the way of their delivery. Direct injection of drugs into the bloodstream has an immediate impact but ingestion of drugs puts a delayed effect.
All the drugs affect the brain. They produce a huge amount of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate human emotions, motivation, and pleasure.
Drugs can lead to change in the working procedure of the brain and it interferes with an individual’s ability to choose and cravings. Along with the brain, they also affect the physical health of a person. Let’s discuss the two health consequences of drug addiction in detail.
Physical Consequences of Drug Abuse
Usage of drugs is linked to a wide range of immediate and long-term health consequences. These effects can vary based on the amount of drug, type of drug, an individual’s health, and the time interval. They have the potential to harm each and every human organ.
- A weaker immune system might make a person more susceptible to sickness and infection.
- Drug-induced cardiac problems range from irregular heart rates to heart attacks, ruptured veins, and blood vessel infections.
- Abdominal pain, nausea, change in appetite, and weight loss are some common side effects.
- The increased liver strain increases the risk of serious liver damage or failure.
- Problems related to concentration, memory, and decision-make daily life more challenging.
Death is one of the most serious health effects of drug addiction. Heroin and synthetic opioid-related deaths have increased the most. 212,000 people aged 12 and above have taken heroin for the first time in the last year. Every day, more than 90 people in the United States die as a result of an opioid overdose.
Illegitimate drug use brings risks for pregnant mothers and their newborns as drugs might contain impurities that are hazardous to an unborn child. Pregnant women who take drugs may put their fetuses in danger by engaging in hazardous activities. Moreover, drug abuse can also tend to premature delivery or low birth weight.
The research mentions that an estimated 14 percent of adults with an illicit substance use disorder started receiving treatment in the past year.
Mental Consequences of Drug Abuse:
Drugs such as nicotine, methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, and others affect the reward circuit of the brain. The reward circuit is a part of your limbic system. Instinct and emotion are influenced by this part of the brain.
Drugs attack this system and work by flooding the brain with high levels of dopamine, a brain chemical that helps control emotions and sensations of pleasure. This releasing of dopamine causes drug addiction.
- Drugs can change brain chemistry, even if initial usage is consensual. This can alter how the brain functions and impair a person’s capacity to make decisions.
- Drugs can disrupt the pathway communication of the brain which can influences behavior, mood, and other functions based on the cognitive part.
- Damaging of the brain can also occur through alcohol-induced nutrition deficiencies, alcohol-induced seizures, and liver disease.
- Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can affect the brain of an unborn child, leading to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
- Abuse of drugs can also lead to various problems in short term as well as in long term. These problems can include paranoia, hallucinations, aggressiveness, addiction, impulsiveness, impaired judgment, loss of self-control, and so on.
These problems of drug abuse put serious consequences such as punishable offenses, missed work, injuries, and accidents.
A study reveals that in the U.S., alcohol, and drugs are partly to blame in an estimated 80 percent of offenses leading to jail time. These issues include driving while intoxicated, domestic violence, and crimes including property damage. Methamphetamine is one of the most widely used drugs in the US and it is also considered to be one of the most highly addictive ones.
So usage of drugs for a long time can cause brain damage which will drag you to seek out. It is better to seek help before it’s too late. There are various rehab programs for meth addiction and other similar problems in the States that can help you overcome this problem. They have a full recovery plan that includes detoxification, counseling, and therapy.
