Harmful Effects of Drug Addiction

There are numerous harmful effects from drug addiction. The harmful effects of drug addiction include changes to the user?s brain, body, and sprit. Drug addiction is an ever increasing epidemic spreading throughout the United States. People are addicted to not only street drugs such as heroin, cocaine, crack, meth, and marijuana but also prescription drugs including Valium, Percocet, Hydrocodone, OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax, and Ritalin.

Drug addiction comes with a heavy price. There are extremely harmful effects of drug addiction which can range from mild itching to comas and death. In addition to the physical effects of drug addiction mentioned, there are many psychologically harmful effects of drug addiction. The most serious being drug addiction itself. When abusing drugs, be it legal or illegal, it is important for the user to know the possible harmful effects of the drugs they are ingesting. This information can help in preventing overdose, medical complications, as well as provide information on any changes that they may be experiencing due to their drug addiction. It is a well known fact that the harmful effects of drug addiction can be extremely difficult to endure. That is why drug addiction treatment is available to help with such issues.

The harmful effects of drug addiction are an extremely large area of research. When an individual takes a particular drug they expect a desired effect to take place. This is true not only for legal drugs such as cough medicine, where the desired drug effect is the suppression of coughing, but illegal drugs as well. A person abuses such drugs as marijuana, alcohol, crystal meth, heroin, methadone, crack cocaine, morphine, and ecstasy for their desired effects. However, different drugs produce different harmful effects. For example, the harmful effects of marijuana are much different than the harmful effects of crack cocaine. It will be unlikely that the marijuana addict will die from the harmful effects of marijuana addiction. Where on the other hand, there is a much greater chance a crack addict will die from the harmful effects of their drug addiction.

Addictive drugs enter the body through a variety of routes. The drugs then make their way to the bloodstream and go straight to the brain, where they exert their harmful effects. Scientists have determined that most addictive drugs initially affect the brain?s reward system. This part of the brain rewards us when we do the things necessary to survive--eating, drinking, having sex to perpetuate our species, and so on. Cells in this part of the brain release chemicals that make us feel good (reward us) when we engage in these behaviors and teach us to repeat them. Drugs mimic the brain's natural chemicals. Instead of teaching us to repeat survival behaviors, drugs teach us to take more drugs. If use continues, the harmful effects of drugs gradually change the user?s brain and lead to drug addiction. If you or someone you care about is experiencing the harmful effects of drug addiction, we can help.