Human history of drug addiction is long, but it really picks up steam around the time of the second Industrial Revolution.
It was during this time that great advancements in chemistry were being achieved at a rapid pace. Of particular pertinence was the ability to filter available drugs (such as cocaine) into ever purer forms that increased potency, but also addiction and deleterious effects.
The second advancement was the ability to synthesize artificial compounds that could provide benefits and do things that compounds in the natural world just were not capable of. These advancements foreshadowed trouble that we are now experiencing.
Prescription drugs are theoretically intended to help the people that they are prescribed to. However, there are many points at which use can slide into the territory of misuse and sadly, down the road to abuse. We are already seeing this in the blossoming of opioid addiction—which is rooted in a tendency to prescribe drugs that contain opioids without investigating alternatives.
A sad side effect to the present state of affairs is that people who would not otherwise have access to misuse prescription drugs are finding ways to do so. Teenagers are particularly vulnerable.
A University of Florida study on health has discovered that the majority of teens who suffer from prescription drug misuse (specifically of stimulants), acquire the drugs from a third party’s cache. The number is reported at 88% of teens, which is staggeringly high.
The stimulant drug market had grown significantly since the turn of the millennium because of the rise in diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. ADHD is commonly treated with stimulants such as Adderall or Ritalin.
The effect of these drugs is to help people suffering from ADHD to focus on work that needs to get done and to help them to control their behavior. Of course, like all synthetic drugs, there are side effects to using stimulants and they include an increase in heart rate and blood pressure as well as a decrease in the ability or desire to sleep and to even eat.
As the dosage increases above recommended levels, it is entirely possible to suffer problems of the cardiovascular system, according to experts at SO YOU LIVE. A procedure known as ambulatory detox is an effective countermeasure to dangerous side effects incurred while trying to stop the abuse or prolonged use.
Only about 7 percent of the teenage population surveyed admitted that they used a prescription stimulant, but among that group, over four fifths reported acquiring the drugs from someone else. In order to deal with this problem, it pays not to go the punitive route.
As the multi-decade and multi-billion dollar war on drugs can attest, punitive enforcement from law enforcement will likely drive usage underground and towards less regulated drugs.
The solution is to understand the way friend groups work and to intervene and critical points. Checks on patients can also be provided as well as training on the importance of not distributing medication.
Source:
http://www.socialworktoday.com/news/dn_030916.shtml
The information in this video has been called the missing link in mental health and personal development. In a world full of shallow, quick-fix techniques, second rate psychology and pharmaceutical takeovers, real solutions have become nearly impossible to find. This presentation will turn your world upside down.
Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center and host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program.
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