The Consequences Of Drug Use, Abuse And Addiction

There are many differences between drug use, drug abuse and drug addiction. People often tend to use these terms interchangeably. However, knowing what these terms really stand for can help you better recognize the problems they refer to and also better understand the consequences of drug use.

This is very important because drug use is becoming one of the most pressing issues of our time. An entire generation of young people is therefore at risk of suffering the consequences of drug use.

Studies show that patterns of drug use have been changing in recent times. In the 1980s and early 1990s, heroin was the most popular drug. Today, however, a whole lot of new drugs have been added. Today, the most popular and most common drugs are synthetic drugs.

Alcohol and tobacco are still more widely consumed than the rest of the chemicals available on the market. However, we also have a whole category of illegal drugs.

Cocaine use among young people is also increasing. In this article, we are mainly going to talk about the differences between drug use, abuse and addiction.

What does the DSM-5 say about the effects of drug use?

Today, most psychologists rely on the American Psychiatric Association ‘s Handbook of Classification of Mental Disorders (the DSM-5). The DSM-5 serves as a reference for establishing the differences between drug use, substance abuse, and drug addiction.

In the DSM-4, drug abuse was defined as a mild or early phase of drug use. Drug addiction, on the other hand, was considered a more severe manifestation of the same characteristics.

In practice and for certain cases, the diagnostic criteria for drug abuse were quite severe. The drug use and drug addiction categories were therefore merged into one disorder in the DSM-5, the so-called substance-use disorder (SUD). These are the diagnostic criteria:

• Consumption of large amounts of the drug or consumption over a longer period of time than expected.
• Repeated, unsuccessful attempts to stop or regulate use.
• Spending a lot of time trying to obtain, use or maintain the intoxicating feeling.

• Intense desire to use the drug.
• Recurring use gets in the way of academic, work, or household tasks.
• Continued consumption despite recurring home or work problems caused or exacerbated by substance use.
• Decreased involvement in social and work activities due to substance use (or completely avoiding them).
• Continued and repeated use, even in situations that may cause physical harm.
• Tolerance.
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

This is the most recent definition of the problems that substance use disorder can cause. However, what are the differences between drug use, abuse, and addiction?

Differences Between Drug Use, Substance Abuse, and Drug Addiction

First of all, it is good to know that we speak of drug use when the substance has no direct consequences for the user or his environment. This may depend on the amount used, the frequency of use or the personal situation of the user.

In clinical practice, this term is rather complicated. It is not enough just to look at how often someone uses a substance. An individual may use a particular substance only sporadically, but clearly misuse it when doing so.

However, it is not enough just to look at the quantity. An individual can also use very small amounts of a substance, but still do so so often that he becomes addicted to it. It is therefore very important to be careful when using the term ‘drug use’.

We can define ‘drug abuse’ as substance use that has negative consequences for the user or his environment. This can also depend on the amount used, the frequency of use or the personal situation of the user.

For example, a woman can drink and smoke moderately without any problems. However, should she maintain the same habit during her pregnancy, her consumption would fall under the category of substance abuse.

Finally, we speak of a drug addiction when the user places the use of the substance above everything else in his life. So something that may have started out as an insignificant, sporadic habit is now beginning to take control of his entire life.

Someone who is addicted is doing most of his time with drug use drugs, obtaining drugs, buying drugs, doing drugs etc.

Finally

It is important to give this issue the attention it deserves. The first step to achieving this is to make sure you understand all three terms.

Once this is the case with most of the population, we can take steps to combat this really serious problem. Through the right intelligence and collective action, we can change the harsh reality of drug abuse.