Write 5 page essay on the topic Substance Abuse/Substance Dependence.Download file to see previous pages... From time immemorial, individuals have suffered from substance abuse. Whether this abuse was

Write 5 page essay on the topic Substance Abuse/Substance Dependence.

From time immemorial, individuals have suffered from substance abuse. Whether this abuse was the over-indulgence of wine in ancient Mesopotamia, whether it was the first use of the cacao plant by the South American tribesman, or whether it was experienced in the opium dens of 19th century China, humankind has perennially sought out and cultivated methods in which to numb the cares and pains of their lives. This basic human need to cope with the struggles of their own times has led many towards a firm faith in gods and spirits. others it has led down a path of substance dependency. Whatever the cause of the dependency or the vehicle by which people’s pains and cares are numbed, the effects upon the lives of the afflicted, their loved ones and families as well as the society in which they live has changed little through the ages. Though addiction has changed little during the course of recorded human history, several factors have changed drastically. Firstly among these is the cost that the US government spends on average every year to perpetrate the so-called “War on Drugs”. ...

s now more than ever, the weight of this astoundingly high yearly bill rests uneasily on the shoulders of tax payers who are already burdened with a recession riddled US economy. However, despite the costs, it is understandable that the United States government finds itself in an uncomfortable position in this respect as without any type of drug enforcement, narco states and terrorists groups such as al Qaeda and the Taliban would enrich themselves even further. thereby increasing the security threats to the United States and her citizens (Peters, 2009). The second major morphology which differentiates substance abuse today from substance abuse 40 years ago is the substances which are being abused. Without even examining the exponential growth and variety of street drugs today as compared to 40 years ago, now substance abuse has moved wholesale into prescription drug abuse. Prescription drug abuse has become a massive problem in the quietest of towns, in suburbia, in middle-aged middle class America. As a result, the issues related to substance abuse are now intimately related to the nation’s own medical establishment. The third morphology lies with the changing demographics of substance abusers. At least a share of guilt lies with the United State’s medical establishment. Either through ease of patient/doctor relations or through the desire to move as many patients in and out of the office as possible on a daily basis, doctors and practitioners are willing and able to prescribe how powered pain medication for the most minor of maladies (Meisner, 2008). Secondly, pain clinics have sprung up all over the nation as a type of cottage industry to feed the growing demand that the population has for these opiates and their derivatives.