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Drug
abuse is characterized by taking more than the recommended
dose of prescription drugs such as barbiturates without medical
supervision, or using government-controlled substances such
as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, or other illegal substances.
Legal substances, such as alcohol and nicotine, are also abused
by many people. Abuse of drugs and other substances can lead
to physical and psychological dependence.
Drug abuse can cause a wide variety of adverse physical reactions.
Long-term drug use may damage the heart, liver, and brain.
Drug abusers may suffer from malnutrition if they habitually
forget to eat, cannot afford to buy food, or eat foods lacking
the proper vitamins and minerals. Individuals who abuse injectable
drugs risk contracting infections such as hepatitis and HIV
from dirty needles or needles shared with other infected abusers.
One of the most dangerous effects of illegal drug use is the
potential for overdosing-that is, taking too large or too
strong a dose for the body's systems to handle. A drug overdose
may cause an individual to lose consciousness and to breathe
inadequately. Without treatment, an individual may die from
a drug overdose.
Drug addiction is marked by a compulsive craving for a substance.
Successful treatment methods vary and include psychological
counseling, or psychotherapy, and detoxification programs-medically
supervised programs that gradually wean an individual from
a drug over a period of days or weeks. Detoxification and
psychotherapy are often used together.
The illegal use of drugs was once considered a problem unique
to residents of poor, urban neighborhoods. Today, however,
people from all economic levels, in both cities and suburbs,
abuse drugs. Some people use drugs to relieve stress and to
forget about their problems. Genetic factors may predispose
other individuals to drug addiction. Environmental factors
such as peer pressure, especially in young people, and the
availability of drugs, also influence people to abuse drugs.
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