Introduction
A lot of individuals play around with possibly addictive drugs. Addiction is much more than plain and simple drug use. It is characterized exclusively as an obsessive pattern of drug-seeking and drug-taking actions that occurs to the detriment of most other activities. The key issues in addiction, for that reason, are why a number of vulnerable persons go through a changeover from casual drug use to obsessive patterns of drug use.
There have been numerous models to give explanation to the phenomenon of addiction and each field of explanation has been sustained by a number of empirical proofs. These diverse fields continue to be incorporated into a more inclusive model of addiction. At present the biopsychosocial paradigm of addiction (and roots of addictive behavior) shapes the foundation of treatment (Marlatt & VandenBos, 1997) Thus, one would take for granted that it is the most established and widely used. In contrast to the disease paradigm it looks at addiction as a complex behavior model having sociological, biological, psychological and behavioral elements. These takes account of the incidence of longing, immediate contentment at the risk of continuing damage, unpredictable alteration in psychological and physical conditions. Addictive behavior is differentiated from other behaviors by the person’s pathological, great contribution in drug use, the yearning to carry on the utilization and lack of command over it. It is as a result difficult to perceive it in the context of a habit.
This paper intends to look into the phenomenon of addiction within society through the perspective of the author. The views of the author will be aided by the citing of different existing works on drug abuse. Specifically, the effects of substance addiction to healthcare and other crime related actions will be taken into consideration. Similarly, the role of the social worker in the prevention and control of addiction in society will be discussed in the paper.
Drug Abuse and Healthcare
Addiction to drugs is characterized mainly of the intake of drugs. This might be ingested or smoked. The more common type of substance that is frequently abused by individuals is cannabis. Cannabis has been deemed as an atypical drug, in that it did not interrelate with the brains’ reward arrangement. Nonetheless, research has exposed that the active element of cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), constructs improvement of brain-stimulation reward in rodents, at (proportional) spells within the series of individual use (Gardner 1992). Studies have similarly shown that cannabinoid receptors in fields connected with brain reward and that THC boosts dopamine levels. (Adams and Martin, 1996) It is these reward structures that addicted individuals have trouble prevailing over.
Moreover, the succeeding tolerance to the results of drugs and withdrawal when drug utilization ceases are both the consequence of neuroadaption (Koob, Caine, Parsons, Markou, & Weiss, 1997). Animal models have revealed that stressful stimuli trigger the dopamine reward system, so susceptibility to relapse from abstinence is hypothesized to take place. Accordingly, drug utilization carries on in an effort to steer clear of the symptoms that tag along if drug utilization ceases (Koob & Lemoal, 1997).
Criminal Justice and Drug Abuse
It is often recognized that drug-related crime are triggered by the violence that is brought about by the altered state of mind that illicit drugs induce. In attempting to comprehend the manners in which alcohol and drug utilization may have a say to violent actions, it is similarly imperative to deem the manner in which substance abuse is about human actions generally. A number of attempts have been carried out in the study of psychological expectancies in relation to alcohol's consequence on actions (Grube et al 1994), the connection involving alcohol and cognitive functioning (Pihl et al 1993), and the dynamic developmental consequences of untimely introduction to alcohol and aggression among young individuals (White et al 1993) and among women who have been wronged as kids and as grown-ups (Widom & Ames 1994).
Comparable work has tried to recognize the connection involving illicit drugs and behavior, even though as a result of the interest centered on the indiscretion of these substances; this organization of work have the tendency be most caught up with unlawful behaviors that may well be connected with drugs. Instances from this literature takes account of assessments of the connections involving drug use and criminal behavior amongst juveniles (Fagan 1993); associations involving substance use and domestic aggression (Bennett 1995); the manners in which the employment and circulation of illicit drugs are connected to all kinds of crime, principally nonviolent property misdemeanors (Baumer 1994); and the effects of drug employment on the capability to sustain interpersonal relationships (Joe 1996).
Role of Social Workers in Addressing Drug Abuse in the Community
Social workers have an important role in the social resolve of substance abuse. However, the discussions in this part of the paper will be on account of the resolve of the social workers in dealing with substance abuse among the public. One issue is the participation of social workers in treatment schemes for substance abuse. Increasing the contribution of social workers in substance abuse treatment scheme would perk up the success of this very important service area. The underlying principle for such extended contribution takes account of development in direct services to customers, assessment and accountability of schemes, assessment on practice concerns, and growth of new treatment paradigms.
Social workers are skilled in and accustomed to positive therapeutic methods that present the best possibility of productively employing and assisting chemically dependent consumers. The notions of self-evaluation and examinations for practice development acquire comparatively diminutive attention in substance abuse treatment schemes. This lack of evaluation is partially due to the diverse origins and historical separation of substance abuse treatment from the conventional medical and mental health care arrangements. Social workers can carve up the development of substance abuse treatment by launching higher norms of professional accountability and by scheming and performing research on key programmatic concerns. For instance, social workers are well prepared to break through in generating instruments to track clients' treatment development and effects for their programs.
0 comments:
Post a Comment