EssayCause and Effect Essay
Sep 28, 2007
Many people associate drug misuse and addiction with crime and a lack of moral principles or willpower. The decades-long war on drugs in the US only reinforces this mindset. However, drug addiction is a complex chronic disease that does not just involve one person. Drug misuse is a societal issue as much as it is a medical issue, and therefore should not be simplified as a crime to be fought.
In order to see drug addiction as the disease it truly is, this essay explores the causes and effects of drug addiction. The succeeding body paragraphs will discuss the reasons why people use illicit drugs, how addiction develops, and why it’s difficult to simply drop the addiction. Then, the author will tackle the effects of drug abuse on the individual, their family, and society, as well as how the consequences of drug abuse often compound the issue and make it difficult for those with drug addiction to rehabilitate and recover. This cause and effect essay then concludes with the thesis statement that much of the causes of drug abuse are often the result of normal choices that lead individuals toward addiction and is thus beyond the individual’s control or willpower, and the various effects of drug addiction make it disproportionately difficult to return to a life of sobriety.
Drug addiction is the chronic compulsive behavior of seeking illicit drugs. Drug use is categorized as addiction when use is continued despite salient harmful consequences. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) uses the category “substance use disorder” to describe “the problematic pattern of use of an intoxicating substance leading to clinically significant impairment or distress … occurring within a 12-month period” (NIDA, 2020a). SUD has three categories—mild, moderate, and severe.
It is worth noting that there is a difference between drug misuse and addiction. Drug misuse is the unhealthy use of prescribed medication (NIDA, 2020a). This primarily includes the use of prescription drugs in ways other than medical purposes or using someone’s prescription, such as with what happened in the US opioid crisis, often done for the purpose of producing pleasure, alleviating stress, or altering reality (NIDA, 2020a). Drug addiction, on the other hand, is characterized by the inability to control the urge to use drugs despite the negative consequences. DSM-5’s description of Substance Use Disorder corresponds with drug addiction. Despite the differences, both spectrums of drug use have adverse consequences on the individual, as well as on the people
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