Drug Abuse Treatment and the National Landscape of Abuse

In order to fully understand the need for drug abuse treatment, it is important to understand the scale and scope of how drugs are influencing our national landscape. In a recent study, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA, found that there are persistently high rates of marijuana use and non-medical prescription drugs among the nation's teens. Teenagers are highly susceptible to addictive drugs and often find themselves in need of drug abuse treatment. Most parents are aware of the fact that teenagers are common targets of the drug industry. Fortunately, parents can find help through drug abuse treatment programs.

Different Drugs of Abuse

In 2012, it was found that 2.4 million people used prescription drugs non-medically for the first time within the last year. In many cases, the use of prescription drugs for non-medical purposes serves as a gateway to introduce people to even more addictive, and more powerful drugs. Eventually, people who start out by using prescription drugs, without a medical need, will need to find their fix elsewhere and rapidly turn to more addictive drugs like heroin. Incidentally, studies also show that drugs like heroin are far more easily acquired than prescription drugs. If you or a loved one is addicted to prescription drugs you should seek drug abuse treatment immediately, before it escalates to heroin or some other illegal substance.

Heroin has quickly gained the reputation as being the king of narcotics and is said to be the most addictive substance in the world. Heroin is one of the most difficult drugs to treat due to its highly addictive nature and the fact that it is now easily available in many cities across the United States. Another factor that makes heroin extremely difficult to treat is the fact that heroin consumption can cause intense feelings of temporary euphoria, pleasure, and detachment from their surroundings.

In the absence of the drug coursing through the system, these individuals are more grounded in the reality of the world and struggle with wanting more of those pleasurable feelings. As a result, individuals addicted to heroin will frequently seek out the substance, increasing the risk for addiction or relapse after a successful drug abuse treatment program. Only continued treatment and monitoring can help get a person completely off their heroin addiction.

How to Spot the Symptoms of Addiction

In order to know that a person requires drug abuse treatment, you need to know the symptoms of a drug addiction. Symptoms of drug addiction can include:

• One needs more and more heroin to achieve the same results because the body is building up a tolerance for it
• One is using more heroin than you had intended, and cannot stop yourself from craving and using it
• One is spending more money than he or she has, ignoring responsibilities, and feeling guilty when using heroin
• Others express a concern that the individual may need drug abuse treatment
• The only way for one to relax is to use the drug

If you are concerned about your own addiction or that of someone you love, call our office to discuss our drug abuse treatment program.