Dangers Of Substance Abuse

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There is a difference between Substance abuse and substance dependence, which most people don't recognize is that substance dependence is a term used for physiological and behavioral symptoms that are caused by the use of substance use, and Substance abuse is a term used for the social consequences of substance use. Substance dependence or addictions could be caused by Substance abuse, but both are different from addiction. The abuse of a substance is almost always a cause of the dependence of the substance. The sequel of Substance abuse could be the reflection of a complex interaction between the abused substance, the society and the individual.

Risk factors that may influence a person or better yet a child to substance abuse could be the lack of parental attachment, school problems like inappropriat behavior or poor performance, the association with a group of individuals that are substance abusers, and also the perception of approval of drug use behavior. Almost all drugs produce a phenomenon known as tolerance which means that over time, the drug stops having the same strong effect, and that leads to the need of a larger amount of drug to produce the same intoxication. The most known substance that produces dependence and also abuse are tobacco, the main substance in cigarettes that produces dependence is nicotine, but cigarettes also contains a lot of other chemicals that could also damage the health of the consummator; alcohol is a substance that actually depresses the brain, the abuse of alcohol can lead to decrease muscle control and coordination, slurs speech and may other unhealthy effects; marijuana is produced from the plant Cannabis sativa and is the most commonly used illegal drug, the drug can be consumed smoked or eaten, smoked it contains more chemicals that can produce cancer then tobacco, marijuana can also lead to the dependence of a more powerful and dangerous drug, like cocaine, coca is a plant from South America that can be consumed injected, smoked, eaten and snorted, the intensity and duration of the drug depends on the way it has been taken. These are the primary and most known drugs that produce Substance abuse.

The first substance abuse symptoms is giving up activities that the individual used to do in the past, like sports going out with friends or school activities. Other symptoms are irritability and aggressiveness of the individual, forgetfulness he could even start robbing to provide himself with drugs, been selfish and not caring about others, pressuring other to drink or used drugs. Substance abuse is usually used as a synonym for chemical dependency, drug addiction and drug abuse, but it actually refers to the use of a drug/substance in a manner outside of sociocultural conventions. Jails and prisons usually mean the strong connections between crime and substance abuse and dependence that may lead to the increasing of the felony behavior of the individual.

Most substance dependence individuals believe they can stop using drugs when ever they want, but most who try, can't succeed without help.