Effects of Drug Abuse; Family and Friends

Published May 14, 2010

Dealing with Drug Abuse in the Family
What exactly is drug abuse?
The use of a drug for a nontherapeutic effect. Some of the most commonly abused drugs are alcohol; nicotine; marijuana; amphetamines; barbiturates; cocaine; methaqualone; opium alkaloids; synthetic opioids; benzodiazepines, including flunitrazepam (Rohypnol); gamma-hydroxybutyrate; 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy); phencyclidine; ketamine; and anabolic steroids. Drug abuse may lead to organ damage, addiction, and disturbed patterns of behaviour. Some illicit drugs, such as heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide, and phencyclidine hydrochloride, have no recognized therapeutic effect in humans. Use of these drugs often incurs criminal penalty in addition to the potential for physical, social, and psychological harm.

Ecstasy â Class A – Article

Drug abuse does not just effect those abusing the drug â it also effects those around the user, including (but not limited to); family, friends and co-workers. In this article Iâll explain two things to you; what these effects are, and how you can get help to tackle them.

Effects:

Children, young children especially, are easily affected by drug abusing parents. When a childâs parents are abusing drugs openly it can push the child into viewing themselves as different. It might seem like a small thing, but feeling different from everybody else is one of the most common roads to depression, and depression kills more than drugs â indirectly. He or she may feel outward from their peers or even strangers in their own home â if you had a drug abusing parent, would you take your friends home to play the play station?
It also puts a heavy implication on them to develop an OCD or even worse, wind up involved in crime.

The friends of a drug addict will often feel rejected as the drug abuser starts to stay at home taking drugs rather than going out with friends, this can lead to the friends feeling not only rejected, but it also puts them in a tricky situation. Friends are important and if a person is going to quit drugs â then they will need all of the support they can get!

Drug abuse has a very negative effect on a personâs financial status. Drugs are not cheap at the best of times â but it doesnât help that drug dealers tend to offer them at a low price first, and then raise the price when the user is addicted so that they are prepared to pay absurd amounts of money for a âfixâ. If money isnât legally available then an addict might eventually be pressured into crime or âserviceâ â which means theyâll be either stealing money to pay for drugs, or theyâll be âworkingâ illegally for drugs.

Help:

Help can come from many places, below is a list I compiled of websites and organisations which I feel can help you!

Websites and Organizations;
http://www.lifeline.org.uk
www.drugsline.org
âUnhookedâ

Liam Hayman is a 16-years-old school kid – just your average school kid. This is why he views his articles based on mostly teen issues to be of value because they are from the eyes of a current teenager!

Effects of Drug Abuse; Family and Friends

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