Introduction of Drug Addiction

Drug addiction begins with the introduction of drug use. Almost everybody, at one point in their life, is faced with a decision to try drugs.

In this position, some say yes and others say no.

Many factors contribute to the choice a person makes when faced with this challenge.

The drug involved, the legality status of the drug, and the social opinion of the drug, are often some of the key elements that have an affect a person's decision to say yes or to say no.

For example, a 'clean person' or 'straight edge' may have the personal morals to turn down certain drugs like cocaine or marijuana.

However, if a doctor were to write a prescription to that same person for an anti-depressant, that person may not think twice about consuming the drug.

All drugs have a physical effect on the user.

While those effects vary from drug to drug, and user to user, and the users’ expectations of the drug, many of the symptoms of drug addiction are similar and develop in a physical way.

You may think that illegal drugs are used for 'recreation' and prescribed drugs are used for treatment. This seems to be the common opinion, but new light has been shed on prescribed medication and even over the counter medication (like cough syrup) being used for recreation.

Illegal drugs can also be used for 'treatment', when a person 'self prescribes' a drug for the relief they feel and need. A person suffering an underlying disorder, or a victim of past sexual or physical abuse, may find the 'relief' they need when they consume an illegal drug.

So an addiction to cocaine is really not much different than an addiction to an anti-depressant like Zoloft or Prozac.

When a drug is taken because it provides relief, a drug addiction can develop much quicker than if a drug is taken for recreational purposes because there is already a need for the drug. Whether it is self prescribed or a prescription from a trusted doctor, a drug that offers relief can still lead to an addiction.

At the same time, a drug addiction can develop from recreational use once the brain chemistry has been adapted to the drug. An obsessive longing for the drug will develop, and this turns into a need or an addiction.

The pleasure a drug gives (when used for recreational purposes) often becomes a lack of pleasure in the absence of the drug. Even though there is less pleasure in the presence of the drug, an addiction develops when somebody no longer feels happy unless they are high.

Moodiness and irritability are just a few of the symptoms that a drug addiction is present. These symptoms, and other mood disorders like depression, occur when somebody is addicted to drugs because there is a physical element that controls the body once the toxins of the drug have infected the brain chemistry of the drug user.