Drug abuse and AIDS
Warming-up.
Why do people turn to and get addicted to drugs?
Are all drugs addictive? What makes them addictive?
Can a person get addicted if I do it just once and a while?
Are prescription drugs safe?
How do you know if someone is addicted to drugs?
What can you do to help a person who is addicted to drugs?
Should there be punishments for dealing drugs?
Should there be punishments for using drugs?
Should drug dealers get the death penalty?
Read the following text. Why is drug abuse a global problem? What health problems does it cause? What are the main reasons why people turn to drugs?
Make sure you understand the meaning of the following words and word-combinations:
to become addicted to drugs
to lack moral principles and willpower
to quit
voluntary
to challenge
treatable
to interfere with
treatment
to cure
behavioral therapy
to ensure
prevention programs
to decrease their drug taking
continued recovery
Drug abuse
Many people don't understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. They may mistakenly think that those who use drugs lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop their drug use simply by choosing to. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting usually takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Drugs change the brain in ways that make quitting hard, even for those who want to.
Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs.
Long-term use also causes changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits as well, affecting functions that include: learning, judgment, decision-making, stress, memory, behavior. Despite being aware of these harmful outcomes, many people who use drugs continue to take them, which is the nature of addiction.
About a quarter of a billion people used drugs. Of these, around 29.5 million people - or 0.6 per cent of the global adult population - were engaged in problematic use and suffered from drug use disorders, including dependence. Opioids were the most harmful drug type and accounted for 70 per cent of the negative health impact associated with drug use disorders worldwide, according to the latest World Drug Report.
Tansnational organized crime groups across the globe were estimated to have generated between one fifth and one third of their revenues from drug sales. Mobile communications offers new opportunities to traffickers, while the darknet allows users to anonymously buy drugs with a crypto-currency, such as bitcoin. While drug trafficking over the darknet remains small, there has been an increase in drug transactions, of some 50 per cent annually. Typical buyers are recreational users of cannabis, "ecstasy", cocaine, hallucinogens and NPS.
Can drug addiction be cured or prevented? As with most other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, treatment for drug addiction generally isn’t a cure. However, addiction is treatable and can be successfully managed. People who are recovering from an addiction will be at risk for relapse for years and possibly for their whole lives. Research shows that combining addiction treatment medicines with behavioral therapy ensures the best chance of success for most patients. Treatment approaches tailored to each patient’s drug use patterns and any co-occurring medical, mental, and social problems can lead to continued recovery.
More good news is that drug use and addiction are preventable. Researches have shown that prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media are effective for preventing or reducing drug use and addiction. Although personal events and cultural factors affect drug use trends, when young people view drug use as harmful, they tend to decrease their drug taking. Therefore, education and outreach are keys in helping people understand the possible risks of drug use. Teachers, parents, and health care providers have crucial roles in educating young people and preventing drug use and addiction.
Questions to discuss:
- Should employers be allowed to "drug test" their employees?
- Why do you think people start using drugs?
- What would you do if someone in your family were addicted to drugs?
- What do you know about drugs?
- Why do people take drugs if they know it is bad for them?
- Who do you think pressure people to take drugs?
- Why do people buy drugs?
- Can you legally use drugs in your country?
- What happens to an addict who goes into a rehab center?
- What is the influence of drugs in your community?
- Do you think that soft drugs lead to hard drug use?
- Do you agree that "once an addict, always an addict"?
- Why when we speak about drugs it is often linked to AIDS?