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How to Overcome Drug Addiction

Treatment options.

• Steps to Take

Intervention

Frequently asked questions.

Drug addiction, or substance use disorder (SUD), is when someone continues using a drug despite harmful consequences to their daily functioning, relationships, or health. Using drugs can change brain structure and functioning, particularly in areas involved in reward, stress, and self-control. These changes make it harder for people to stop using even when they really want to. 

Drug addiction is dangerous because it becomes all-consuming and disrupts the normal functioning of your brain and body. When a person is addicted, they prioritize using the drug or drugs over their wellbeing. This can have severe consequences, including increased tolerance to the substance, withdrawal effects (different for each drug), and social problems.

Verywell / Ellen Lindner

Recovering from SUD is possible, but it takes time, patience, and empathy. A person may need to try quitting more than once before maintaining any length of sobriety. 

This article discusses how drug addiction is treated and offers suggestions for overcoming drug addiction.

How Common Is Addiction?

Over 20 million people aged 12 or older had a substance use disorder in 2018.

Substance use disorders are treatable. The severity of addiction and drug or drugs being used will play a role in which treatment plan is likely to work the best. Treatment that addresses the specific situation and any co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and social problems is optimal for leading to long-term recovery and preventing relapse.

Detoxification

Drug and alcohol detoxification programs prepare a person for treatment in a safe, controlled environment where withdrawal symptoms (and any physical or mental health complications) can be managed. Detox may occur in a hospital setting or as a first step to the inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation process.

Going through detox is a crucial step in recovery, and it's these first few weeks that are arguably most critical because they are when the risk of relapse is highest.

Detox Is Not Stand-Alone Treatment

Detoxification is not equivalent to treatment and should not be solely relied upon for recovery. 

Counseling gets at the core of why someone began using alcohol or drugs, and what they can do to make lasting changes. This may include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), in which the patient learns to recognize problematic thinking, behaviors, and patterns and establish healthier ways of coping. CBT can help someone develop stronger self-control and more effective coping strategies.

Counseling may also involve family members to develop a deeper understanding of substance use disorder and improve overall family functioning. 

Cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown effective in helping people overcome addiction. In one study, 60% of people with cocaine use dependence who underwent CBT along with prescription medication provided cocaine-free toxicology screens a year after their treatment.

Medication can be an effective part of a larger treatment plan for people who have nicotine use disorder, alcohol use disorder, or opioid use disorder. They can be used to help control drug cravings, relieve symptoms of withdrawal, and to help prevent relapses.

Current medications include: 

• Nicotine use disorder : A nicotine replacement product (available as patches, gum, lozenges, or nasal spray) or an oral medication, such Wellbutrin (bupropion) and Zyban (varenicline)
• Alcohol use disorder : Campral (acamprosate), Antabuse (disulfiram), and ReVia and Vivitrol (naltrexone).
• Opioid use disorder : Dolophine and Methados (methadone), buprenorphine, ReVia and Vivitrol (naltrexone), and Lucemyra (lofexidine).

Lofexidine was the first medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat opioid withdrawals. Compared to a placebo (a pill with no therapeutic value), it significantly reduces symptoms of withdrawal and may cause less of a drop in blood pressure than similar agents.

Support Groups

Support groups or self-help groups can be part of in-patient programs or available for free use in the community. Well-known support groups include narcotics anonymous (NA), alcoholics anonymous (AA), and SMART Recovery (Self-Management and Recovery Training). 

Roughly half of all adults being treated for substance use disorders in the United States participated in self-help groups in 2017.

Online Support Group Options

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, these groups that were often out of reach to many are now available online around the clock through video meetings. Such groups are not considered part of a formal treatment plan, but they are considered as useful in conjunction with professional treatment.

Other Options

Due to the complex nature of any substance use disorder, other options for treatment should also include evaluation and treatment for co-occurring mental health issues such as depression and anxiety (known as dual diagnosis). 

Follow-up care or continuing care is also recommended, which includes ongoing community- or family-based recovery support systems.

Substance Use Helpline

If you or a loved one are struggling with substance use or addiction, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database .

Steps for Overcoming Drug Addiction

Bear in mind that stopping taking drugs is only one part of recovery from addiction. Strategies that help people stay in treatment and follow their recovery plan are essential. Along with medical and mental health treatments, the following are steps you can take to help overcome substance use disorder. 

Commit to Change

Committing to change includes stages of precontemplation and contemplation where a person considers changing, cutting down, moderating, or quitting the addictive behavior. Afterward, committing to change can look like working with a professional in identifying specific goals, coming up with a specific plan to create change, following through with that plan, and revising goals as necessary.

Surround Yourself With Support

Enlisting positive support can help hold you accountable to goals. SAMHSA explains that family and friends who are supportive of recovery can help someone change because they can reinforce new behaviors and provide positive incentives to continue with treatment.

Eliminate Triggers

Triggers can be any person, place, or thing that sparks the craving for using. Common triggers include places you've done drugs, friends you've used with, and anything else that brings up memories of your drug use.

You may not be able to eliminate every trigger, but in the early stages of recovery it's best to avoid triggers to help prevent cravings and relapse . 

Find Healthier Ways to Cope With Stress

Stress is a known risk factor or trigger for drug use. Managing stress in healthy ways means finding new ways of coping that don’t involve drug use.

Tips to Cope With Stress

Coping with stress includes:

• Putting more focus on taking care of yourself (eating a balanced diet, getting adequate sleep, and exercising)
• Concentrating on one challenge at a time to avoid becoming overwhelmed
• Stepping away from triggering scenarios
• Learning to recognize and communicate emotions

Learn More: Strategies for Stress Relief

Cope With Withdrawal

Coping with withdrawal may require hospitalization or inpatient care to ensure adequate supervision and medical intervention as necessary. This isn’t always the case, though, because different drugs have different withdrawal symptoms. The severity of use also plays a role, so knowing what to expect—and when to seek emergency help—is important.

For example, a person withdrawing from alcohol can experience tremors (involuntary rhythmic shaking), dehydration, and increased heart rate and blood pressure. On the more extreme end, they can experience seizures (sudden involuntary electrical disturbance in the brain), hallucinations (seeing, hearing, smelling, or tasting things that do not actually exist outside the mind), and delirium (confusion and reduced awareness of one's environment).

Withdrawing from drugs should be done under the guidance of a medical professional to ensure safety. 

Deal With Cravings

Learning to deal with cravings is a skill that takes practice. While there are several approaches to resisting cravings, the SMART recovery programs suggest the DEADS method:

• D elay use because urges disappear over time.
• E scape triggering situations.
• A ccept that these feelings are normal and will pass.
• D ispute your irrational “need” for the drug.
• S ubstitute or find new ways of coping instead of using.

Avoid Relapse

The relapse rate for substance use disorders is similar to other illnesses and estimated to be between 40%–60%. The most effective way to avoid relapse and to cope with relapse is to stick with treatment for an adequate amount of time (no less than 90 days). Longer treatment is associated with more positive outcomes. Still, relapse can happen and should be addressed by revising the treatment plan as needed with medical and mental health professionals. 

An intervention is an organized effort to intervene in a person's addiction by discussing how their drinking, drug use, or addiction-related behavior has affected everyone around them.  

How Does an Intervention Work?

An intervention includes trained professionals like a drug and alcohol counselor, therapist, and/or interventionist who can help guide a family through the preparation and execution. It occurs in a controlled setting (not in the person’s home or family home). Intervention works by confronting the specific issues and encouraging the person to seek treatment.

Who Should Be Included at an Intervention?

Depending on the situation, interventions can include the following people:

• The person with the substance use disorder 
• Friends and family
• A therapist
• A professional interventionist

The  Association of Intervention Specialists (AIS) ,  Family First Interventions , and the  Network of Independent Interventionists  are three organizations of professional interventionists.

You may also want to consider if anyone in the list of friends and family should not be included. Examples are if a person is dealing with their own addiction and may not be able to maintain sobriety, is overly self-motivated or self-involved, or has a strained relationship with the person the intervention is for.

What Should Be Said During an Intervention?

While a person is free to say anything they want during an intervention, it’s best to be prepared with a plan to keep things positive and on track. Blaming, accusing, causing guilt, threatening, or arguing isn’t helpful.

Whatever is said during an intervention should be done so with the intention of helping the person accept help.

Bear in mind that setting boundaries such as “I can no longer give you money if you continue to use drugs,” is not the same as threatening a person with punishment. 

Overcoming drug addiction is a process that requires time, patience, and empathy. A person will want to consider actions they can take such as committing to change, seeking support, and eliminating triggers. Depending on the addiction, medications may also be available to help.

Loved ones who are concerned about a person’s drug or alcohol use may consider an intervention . Interventions are meant to encourage treatment. Ongoing support and follow-up care are important in the recovery process to prevent relapse. 

A Word From Verywell 

No one grows up dreaming of becoming addicted to a substance. If someone you love is experiencing a substance use disorder, please bear in mind that they have a chronic illness and need support and help. Learning about addiction and how not to enable a person is one way you can help them. Having the ongoing support of loved ones and access to professionals can make all the difference.

Helping someone overcome drug addiction requires educating yourself on the drug and on substance use disorder, not enabling the person's use, avoiding having unrealistic expectations of their immediate recovery and change, practicing patience and empathy, and encouraging the person to seek and stick with professional treatment.

Common signs of drug addiction include:

• Drug-seeking behaviors
• Drug cravings
• Using drugs despite the negative consequences
• Being unable to cut back or stop using

Overcoming drug addiction is a complex process that can occur at different paces for different people. There are 30-, 60-, and 90-day treatment programs, but even afterwards a person can benefit from follow-up care or continued care in the form of support groups or personalized therapy. These can get at the root of what was causing the person to start using.

American Psychological Association. What is addiction? .

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health .

Manning V, Garfield JBB, Staiger PK, et al. Effect of cognitive bias modification on early relapse among adults undergoing inpatient alcohol withdrawal treatment: a randomized clinical trial .  JAMA Psychiatry . 2020 ;78(2):133-140. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.3446

National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Principles of drug addiction treatment: A research-based guide; Cognitive behavioral therapy .

McHugh RK, Hearon BA, Otto MW.  Cognitive-behavioral therapy for substance use disorders .  Psychiatr Clin North Am . 2010;33(3):511-525. doi:10.1016%2Fj.psc.2010.04.012

National Institute on Drug Abuse. Principles of effective treatment.

Fishman M, Tirado C, Alam D, Gullo K, Clinch T, Gorodetzky CW.  Safety and efficacy of lofexidine for medically managed opioid withdrawal: a randomized controlled clinical trial .  Journal of Addiction Medicine . 2019;13(3):169-176. doi:10.1097/ADM.0000000000000474

Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. Results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: detailed tables . Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Wen H, Druss BG, Saloner B. Self-help groups and medication use in opioid addiction treatment: A national analysis . Health Aff (Millwood) . May;39(5):740-746. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01021

National Institute on Drug Abuse. Treatment approaches for addiction .

Lassiter PS, Culbreth JR.  Theory and Practice of Addiction Counseling . SAGE Publications; 2017.

SAMHSA. Enhancing motivation for change in substance use disorder treatment .

Mental Health America. How can I stop using drugs? .

NIDA and Scholastic. Stress and drug abuse . 

Clinical Guidelines for Withdrawal Management and Treatment of Drug Dependence in Closed Settings . 4, Withdrawal Management. Geneva:World Health Organization; 2009. 

SMART Recovery. 5 ways to deal with urges and cravings .

National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Treatment and recovery .

National Institute on Drug Abuse. How long does drug addiction treatment usually last? .

Association of Intervention Specialists. Intervention-A starting point for change .

Cornerstone of Recovery. Things not to do during an intervention for a drug addict or an alcoholic.

By Michelle Pugle Michelle Pugle, MA, MHFA is a freelance health writer as seen in Healthline, Health, Everyday Health, Psych Central, and Verywell.

Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care

How to reduce or quit drugs

Many different services are available to help you or someone you know quit drugs.

Why quit drugs?

It’s never too late to quit using drugs.

Reducing or quitting drugs can improve your life in many ways. It can:

• improve your physical and mental wellbeing
• reduce your risk of permanent damage to vital organs and death
• improve your relationships with friends and family
• help you reconnect with your emotions
• increase your energy
• help you sleep better
• improve your appearance
• save you money.

Recovered addicts say that they’ve never felt better after quitting drugs, although this can take time. Knowing why you want to quit drugs can help you to stay motivated during the withdrawal process.

What quitting drugs feels like

When you reduce or quit using drugs your body goes through a detoxification process (detox) or withdrawal.

Symptoms vary between people, and between drugs, and range from mild to serious. They can last from a few days to a few weeks — it's different for every person — but they are temporary. Cravings for the drug will sometimes be weak and at other times very strong. Learning how to manage them is important for staying drug-free.

Find out what withdrawal symptoms are for specific drugs .

Preparing to quit drugs

Reducing or quitting drugs can be hard – you may have become dependent or addicted. It’s a good idea to be prepared for what’s involved.

Admit you have a problem

The first step in quitting drugs is to admit that you have a problem. If you’re not sure, ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you taking drugs first thing in the morning or to get through the day?
• Do friends or family worry or complain about your drug use?
• Do you lie about how much you’re using?
• Have you sold possessions or stolen to pay for your drug habit?
• Have you participated in dangerous or risky activities, such as driving under the influence, having unprotected sex, or using dirty needles?
• Do you feel that you’ve lost control of your drug taking?
• Are you having problems with relationships?

If you answered yes to any of these questions it might be time to accept that you have a problem and ask for help.

See your specialist alcohol and other drugs service or local doctor

It’s important to talk to your specialist alcohol and other drugs (AOD) service or doctor about reducing or quitting drugs. They can help you get appropriate help and support.

It takes courage for someone to admit they may have a problem with drugs or alcohol. Recognising you might have an issue and asking for help is an important first step to making a change.

For free and confidential advice about alcohol and other drug treatment services, you can call the Alcohol and Other Drug hotline on 1800 250 015. It will automatically direct you to the Alcohol and Drug Information Service in your state and territory. These local alcohol and other drug telephone services offer support, information, counselling and referral to services. You can also visit a specialist alcohol and other drugs service or doctor directly.

If you’ve become addicted or dependent on drugs, it might be dangerous to quit on your own . Your AOD specialist or doctor can refer you to treatment such as detox, medication and counselling to help you manage withdrawal symptoms .

Remember, conversations with these services are private and confidential.

Know your triggers

Keeping track of your drug use can help you identify habits, emotions, and social situations that trigger the desire to take drugs.

It can be hard to completely avoid all those situations, but steps you can take include:

• avoiding places where you know drugs and alcohol will be available
• surrounding yourself with friends who don't use drugs
• knowing how to resist temptation
• learning how to cope with stress and relax without drugs
• distracting yourself with activities like exercise or listening to music.

Make a plan

Making a plan and writing it down can help you commit to quitting.

Setting goals for your recovery helps you stay motivated and can make the process less stressful. It’s important to set realistic goals – both short and long-term. Be specific and make them measurable.

Some examples of realistic, short-term goals are:

• I will see my doctor this week.
• I’m going to walk for half an hour 3 times this week.
• I want to be drug free for 2 weeks straight.

Long-term goals might include:

• being drug-free for a year
• having friends that are healthy and sober and provide support
• rebuilding family relationships by having regular get-togethers.

Reward yourself for success – with an enjoyable, drug-free activity such as going to a movie, or planning a holiday – and take it easy on yourself if you mess up.

It’s OK to fail, just don’t give up trying.

Ways to reduce or quit drugs

There is no treatment that works for everyone. Just as drugs affect each person differently, treatment needs to be individual. It’s important to find a program that works for you.

Treatment options range from counselling through to hospital care – it depends on which drugs are involved and how serious your dependence or addiction is. They include:

• going cold turkey – you stop taking drugs suddenly, with no outside help or support
• counselling and lifestyle changes – individual or group therapy can help you learn to cope without drugs. This can be successful if your drug use has been mild. Peer support groups are often run by recovered addicts – their personal experience can be helpful to others
• detoxification (detox) – you stop taking drugs and have medical treatment (known as pharmacotherapy) while your body clears the drug from your system
• rehabilitation (rehab) – this is a longer term treatment where you stay in a hospital or clinic, or at home . It also involves psychological treatment to help you deal with issues that may have contributed to your drug use

If you have mental health issues your treatment will need to address that at the same time for your overall treatment to be effective.

Support services

Quitting drugs on your own is difficult – it’s much easier with support. Tell your friends and family that you’re quitting so they can help you.

There are many support services available to help you. You can:

• call the National Alcohol and Other Drugs Hotline
• visit Counselling Online and email or chat to a counsellor
• find help and support services on the Alcohol and Drug Foundation website
• join a support group, such as Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous
• find a support service in our list of contacts .

Remember, your AOD specialist or doctor can also direct you to support services that are appropriate for your needs.

What if I relapse?

If you have a relapse and start using again, remember that recovery doesn’t happen overnight. Take the opportunity to remind yourself why you are quitting, forgive yourself and refocus on your plan.

Talk to your doctor. They can work out how to best resume treatment, or they may suggest a different type of treatment.

When you’re back on track, learn from what happened:

• What triggered the relapse?
• What went wrong?
• What could you have done differently?

Discover more about managing a relapse on the Alcohol and Drug Foundation website.

A relapse can be deadly!

If you’ve developed a tolerance for a particular drug over time and then quit taking it, your tolerance levels drop. If you have a relapse and use as much of the drug as you did before quitting, you can easily overdose.

If you, or someone you know, is in danger of overdosing, phone 000 immediately and ask for an ambulance.

Helping someone quit drugs

Watching someone you care about use drugs is stressful. Their behaviour can be erratic and talking to them about their problem is challenging.

Here are some tips on how you can help:

• Learn about the effects of drugs – this will help you understand why quitting can be hard.
• Show that you care without judging – being calm and respectful may encourage them to be open and honest with you.
• Be positive and encouraging rather than negative and nagging – remember relapses may happen, but they don’t mean the person can’t try again, and succeed.
• Offer practical support – sometimes just being there is enough, but you can offer to go with them to parties or join them for a walk or run.

Find more tips on helping someone quit drugs on the Alcohol and Drug Foundation site.

Is addiction hereditary?

Research shows that genetics does play a part in whether someone is likely to become an addict, but it’s not the only factor. Other factors include a person’s:

• environment – for example, growing up amongst addiction where drugs are more available
• temperament – for example, being more sensitive to stress or more impulsive.

Scientists continue to learn about the role of genes in drug addiction so they can develop new ways of preventing and treating it.

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Reasons for stopping or cutting down on drug use

• Being worried about their health or mental health
• Changes in their lives (like starting a new relationship or having a child)
• Worries about addiction, bad experiences with drugs or after effects
• Relationships with family
• Losing contact with suppliers or dealers
• Growing up, preferring to feel in control and moving on from what some described as boring, teenage behaviour

General health and well-being

Some of the people we talked to told us that they used cannabis to help them to relax but those who decided to stop using cannabis (in all its forms) and other illegal drugs often did so for health reasons. Joe wanted to get fit and decided that he needed to stop smoking tobacco. Stephanie too decided to give up tobacco after a relative was diagnosed with lung cancer. She also didn’t like the way that cannabis made her feel tired with no motivation. Experiencing anxiety and paranoia could make people feel that they were much better off not taking any drugs (see Mental health and drugs ). Sam started to give up skunk eight years ago and saw his mental health improve. He thinks that young people don’t realise the dangers of cannabis.

Jamie uses cannabis occasionally but is wary of paying for drugs, like ecstasy, that may have been mixed in with other substances.

Age at interview 26

Gender Male

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I mean, oh I’ve read a magazine where they show what is actually in these drugs and like Ecstasy, you know, it’s probably got about three percent of this MDMA which is the pure version isn’t it? And then, you know, there’s other things in there that are doing absolutely nothing, Paracetamol, Glucose, and all these other things in there and they contribute, add, add nothing, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they just chuck a bit of this plant food into some of them.

I don’t know the great extent of what they do put in them but there’s some truly horrific things that they put in them, rat poison [laughs] there’s plenty of things that they put in there that’s just ridiculous, and people are prepared to pay money for these.

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Sam has experienced mental health problems and thinks they were caused by his use of cannabis (skunk). (Played by an actor)

Age at interview 28

Probably the best thing that, the most important thing that I’ve realised is that a lot of the problems that I thought I had when I was taking drugs that I thought were caused by a lot of things was actually caused by drugs.

What kind of problems you thought you had?

Feeling depressed, not getting on with people, feeling too scared to do things, not doing well at college. Not being able to talk to my parents and have a decent relationship with my parents, not having any money to buy things I wanted. All of that was down to drugs. Then my depression because I did end up going to the doctors again and getting more tablets and they referred me to a psychiatric place. That was mostly down to smoking weed. I’d basically I’d smoked. It got to the point when I smoked weed and like I’d hear people saying horrible things about me like in my head. And I could actually hear the people say, you know, You’re shit. You’ve done this, you done. Yeah. And I have done some horrible things, you know, of course I have of. I was completely off my brain half the time.

And cannabis was really, really to blame. I’ve looked into it a bit more now , like you know long term effects of cannabis can cause, you know, depression, becomes long term depression and I think it’s definitely done it. I think about taking the other things like the hallucinogenic side like acid and mushrooms, PCP, I get flashbacks or well not even flashbacks like. Sometimes I get a really strong d√©j√† vu that I feel I know what’s going to happen next and I actually like see it, visualise it in my head and that. I don’t take drugs anymore. I’m clean now. I just, they were no good for me. I know

I made a decision to give up drugs probably completely I’d like to say 8 years ago. And I didn’t manage it until about 5/6 years ago. I wasn’t taking drugs when I started being a youth worker. It was. I wasn’t 100% off but I was nearly off but it’s not easy like. Smoking weed was my first step. I stopped smoking weed because that was a constant through all of my life like, it felt like. All my drug taking like that was the constant thing. But that was what was causing me the most difficulty. I’d have a smoke and I’d just go. I’d start to realise that I would go blank quite and I wouldn’t be able to interact with people.

And you started with giving up cannabis?

Because of the mental effect?

Because of the effects, yeah. And I got better. I stopped going to get help because like the doctor at the psychiatric place I went sort of pointed out that he thinks it’s cannabis. I was on. When I got there I was honest about it, obviously he weren’t happy about me getting hallucinogenics and that and he reckoned that somebody like me that could be problematic] which obviously it was [laugh].

And you know cannabis was first out and I felt so much better. You know, I thought it would be really hard because that was one of our set routines but I managed to sort of step out of that and I just started smoking more because I was smoking nicotine like so I just started smoking more and that sort of covered me for that. Yeah it was a bit weird at first but now if I was in a situation where someone was smoking cannabis it wouldn’t even bother me like you know. Don’t even interest me in the slightest because I know what it does to me. And that’s what makes me laugh when people like go Oh yeah cannabis is ok. It’s like actually I know it’s not. It’sreally not.

Craig is far more aware of the dangers of cocaine now. He is also convinced that smoking cannabis caused his paranoia.

Age at interview 22

I mean if somebody came up to me now and said, Do you want some cocaine’? I mean I’d probably smack them in the face to be completely honest with you because I do not agree with it anymore. I mean I’ve been there. I’ve tried it et cetera but I’m a lot more aware of the dangers of it now rather than I was when I was taking it. You know, it’s a foreign body being taken into you. I mean with the smoking it’s not healthy but your body can take it. Whereas you’re snorting something up your nose you know, it’s that close to the brain, I mean that’s quite scary. I didn’t know that by then and if I had known that I probably wouldn’t have gone down that route and tried so much.

If somebody comes to you and said that they don’t believe that smoking cannabis is associated with paranoia what would you tell them?

I’d probably say there’s two routes you can go down. You can try it yourself and find out the hard way or I would sit them down and tell them my story and hopefully they’ve listened because I can be very persuasive sometimes when I truly believe in the cause. And even if I can prevent one person from developing a mental health condition or, and /or paranoia then that’s a good thing.

Young people commented on the health benefits of stopping or cutting down. Chloe said she feels more energetic and healthy with a brighter complexion and clearer eyes. Karis also noted that her physical appearance improved after reducing her use of cannabis, she no longer looked ‘a bit grey’.

Karis says that she looks better since cutting down her cannabis use.

Age at interview 20

But you said that you would like to stop?

Karis’ I would like to stop. I mean yeah I would I think. In time obviously, do you know what I mean? I mean I have cut down, I have cut down quite a lot actually. There was a point where I was smoking a lot and it got to a point where I could actually see it physically in myself. I lost loads of weight and things like that.

Kasim’ And you just looked constantly…

Karis’ My face was going like

Kasim’ you just looked like a walking zombie like.

Karis’ Yeah, yeah my complexion was just going all, you know, a bit grey and stuff and I just, I did. I looked terrible honestly I did and you know that’s when I thought to myself, Do you know what I’ve got to cut down. And I have cut down but somewhere along the line I would like to. Actually do you know I don’t think stop altogether but yeah definitely cut…

Kasim’ Stop.

Karis’ down, definitely cut down.

Kasim’ Cut down. I don’t think you can just stop. I think you’d have to cut down and then stop.

Karis’ Yeah like I probably, yeah like in the, couple of nights.

Kasim’ Well I think for myself.

Karis’ In the week or you know a weekend thing.

Kasim…or maybe just on a Sunday.

Becoming a mother or father

Pregnancy and parenthood were described as powerful reasons to give up using illegal drugs. Young people we talked to didn’t think it appropriate to get high, or drunk, when they were responsible for children. When Karis had a job working with children she didn’t use cannabis during the week.

Tara doesn’t take drugs anymore because she wants to be a good mum to her little boy.

Gender Female

Are you still sort of smoking cannabis from time to time or?

I do…miss it though, I think you do miss the, just the experience of being able to chill out, forget a few things.

What are your reasons now for not doing drugs?

I have a two and a half year old son and I don’t want that around him [sighs] I couldn’t risk being completely off my face if something happened, so no.

I think part of me misses, misses the drugs, I think because you do get a good buzz off some of them and you have some, some good experiences in a, quite a weird way, so, I do miss it sometimes and there is like the temptation, to think I can just call up one of my old friends and I’ll have a spliff in half an hour’ so you’ve got to be quite…

So what do you do when you…?

I just think of my little boy and think he deserves better than that really, he deserves a good mother and that’s what I’m trying my hardest to be and that’s all that matters to me at the moment, is that I’m a good mother to my son and I’m, a good person, and just live my life, try and be a decent human being, try and do something, so.

That stopped you.

Yeah. I’ve just messed up so many times, and, [sighs] I’ve finally got my life back on track, I’m living with my son, I’ve got a nice house, I’ve got a lot going for me so I’m not going to ruin that.

Has the way you see yourself changed?

Oh yeah [sighs], yeah [sighs] I’m a completely different person.

Tell me a little, tell me more?

I’ve always, my confidence has soared, I’m very open. I look back and think I was not a nice person then.

In which way?

In every way really I was bitchy, I was nasty, I was snide, I didn’t care, and now I do, I’m, I now have a lot going for me but I didn’t feel like I did then. I have pride in myself, I’m proud to be who I am and what I’ve got, it may not be a lot to some people but this is what I’ve got.

So, and for what I’ve, for what I’ve come, come through, and through all my experiences to be here now saying all this, I’m very proud of that fact. So I’m a completely different person to who I was back then.

You said you don’t want drugs around you, you don’t want drugs around your son, why not?

Why not? because they’re dangerous, they’re, just it’s not a nice thing and I don’t want drug addicts who, when you’re on drugs you’re unpredictable, I’m not having that around my son, I don’t want someone who can, flip from being nice to nasty in a second, it’s dangerous.

Because that was your experience?

That was my experience yeah. So, I want my son to grow up and lead a good life and be a good [short laugh] little boy and. I don’t want him being pressured into doing drugs so I’m going to teach him, when he’s old enough to understand.

Will you talk to him about?

I will talk to him about the stuff.

Leah says she doesn’t use drugs because it would ruin her daughter’s life as well as her own.

Age at interview 17

I wouldn’t ever go near Crack or anything like that, I would never go near that, I am not stupid enough, I know the effects of that, but now I know the effects of Cocaine, what it can do to you and stuff like that I wouldn’t go and touch that stuff again. People have said to me, Oh do you want to again now?. I wouldn’t do it now because I’ve got a daughter, if I didn’t have her maybe.

Okay so she is like…?

She is like a barrier, she…

…stops me doing certain things.

Okay, so, is that it is something positive?

Do you mind repeating what are your reasons and motivations for not using drugs?

My motivation for not using drugs is because I’ve got my daughter, I am responsible for somebody else’s life, I don’t want to, it is not just mine I am going to be ruining it is hers as well. another motivation is now I have had, as far as I am concerned I have had my time, I have tried what I have tried, I have done what I have done, now it is time for me to be an adult, grow-up and get on in the real world, get a job, get a car, be driving, take her to nursery and school, I am not just a, teenage person now, I am a teenage mum, I am responsible for me and my daughter that’s mainly my motive, my motivation is because of her.

Not saying if you aint got motivation go and have a child [laughs] because don’t, but yeah.

[Laughs] okay, do you want to say more about that? [Laughs]

Don’t think because of what I have said that it is a good idea to have a baby because you are going to like, you have got someone there and you are never on your own and, you, do you know what I mean? You are not going to, you are going to stop doing your wild stuff because you have child because that is not always true. It is down to you whether you can motivate yourself and whether you are strong enough, because I know mums that still drink, that still do drugs, did it all throughout the pregnancy, they still do it now round their children, I know people that do that, they are not strong enough to stop doing that, it is just, you, that was just the situation I found myself in and I have learnt to deal with that, but if I could, I don’t regret her, but if I could change time I would change it so that I did it later on in life.

Having a child later on in life?

Peter doesn’t smoke cannabis when his son is with him and Raphael said that he thinks he will stop using cannabis when he becomes a father.

Worries about addiction

Addiction or dependency on drugs can make a person’s life miserable. Young people who had overcome addiction stressed that their personal life is much better and they are now able to plan for their future. Jim had lost family, friends and a home to his heroin addiction. Now that he is clean he doesn’t take for granted his child, girlfriend, flat and job – all of which provide motivation to avoid illegal drugs. For Harry, who has recovered from cannabis-induced psychosis, going back to his drug-taking days would feel like a personal failure.

Jim lost his family, friends and home due to his heroin addiction.

Age at interview 23

What were the reasons why you wanted to stop taking drugs?

I’d lost my family, my friends, my home. I was living in a tent for quite some time.

Ok so you were not living with dad or mum at that point?

No. This is afterwards, after I got back on the gear again. I was living in a tent not far from where I grew up, it was the middle of winter, all I’d got was a tent and a sleeping bag no facilities whatsoever. I was going out. Waking up in the morning and going out shoplifting, going to score some gear, come back, take that go out shoplifting again, score, come back, take it here, go to sleep. Get up and do the same thing again. That was my life at that point.

So it was pretty low?

Harry has three main reasons for not taking drugs anymore: health, a sense of personal achievement and the public’s negative attitude to drugs.

Well when people ask me like why I don’t take drugs, I say like three main topics. The first one like the foremost is my wellbeing like you just said like sort of like just my health I’ll just go downhill like I won’t be able to succeed in life.

And also the second one is if I start doing drugs now then I would, even just a line of cocaine or whatever, I wouldn’t have progressed I would have gone back on myself, I’ve been through that sort of stage in life and I won’t, I don’t want to go back to that and I would have felt I’d gone back on myself and reverted on myself.

And the third one is like no one will ever have anything over me in life like in society or workplace or if I don’t take drugs not because, although even though I have like a sort of a with me personally I it’s sort of I’m quite sort of anti drugs on a personal level but I don’t judge other people for them taking drugs but a lot of other people are not like that.

Feelings after stopping or cutting down drug use

Those who stopped or cut down on their use of drugs, often said they felt better as a result.

Charlie says that she feels happier and lighter now that she is drinking and using drugs less. She has come to value being present in her own mind and body and sees this as a ‘virtuous’ circle which helps her to deal with things better.

Charlie is happy with using alcohol and drugs as an occasional enhancer’, but doesn’t rely on them to make social situations easier.

I’ve barely been drinking and barely taking many substances recently.

It’s been much lighter and much, yeah much happier, much happier generally which means I have less of a desire to take substances. They’re interesting as a social lubricant or they’re something interesting to do with friends but they’re not an escape. It’s fun to do it’s fun to drink, it’s fun to take Ecstasy if you go on a night out but it’s not got the same kind of trying to forget what’s actually going on in life. It’s more of an enhancer to what’s going on.

Like I’ve come to value an awful lot being present in my own mind and body I got into and I’m just getting into Buddhism again actually in that Buddhism is very much about being present in one’s body.

If you use drugs very often I think you tend to drift a lot more because you’re spending more of your time intoxicated. You’re spending less time interacting with people. I’d much rather for example, learn. I’ve always had issues with some sort of social interaction. I’ve never been particularly able talking to strangers. I get anxious in social situations. And drugs have been a way to ease off that a little bit. And now I’m in the place where I’d much rather learn to interact and go through all that instead of using drugs to make it easier. Because ultimately I don’t want to need a crutch to get by. See yeah there’s a very strong element of wanting to be in control.

Chloe and others said that now they want to experience life without the extra ‘high’.

Chloe says that she can’t allow herself to take any drugs because she is too obsessive to use them in moderation. She prefers to experience life naturally.

And if you can think of two reasons or your main reasons why you don’t want to do drugs any more what would those reasons be?

My main reasons would be because I would prefer to experience life through my natural mind state and be high of life and not need anything that’s not already within my body to make me feel good about it or to have a good time or to feel relaxed or whatever it is. I can come to that feeling within myself without anything else. That’s why one reason.

And two, because although obviously in moderate use some things won’t harm you, I do have a very compulsive and obsessive personality and moderate use isn’t something that I can do.

Reasons for cutting down on alcohol

Mixing drinks and drinking to excess was common among the young people we spoke to but drinking habits often changed as they got older. Joe...

Giving up or cutting down on drug use: challenges

People rarely seem to stick to exactly the same pattern of drug use throughout their teens and twenties. For example, Jamie uses cannabis from time...

Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Adolescence — The Use Of Drugs Among Teenagers

The Use of Drugs Among Teenagers

• Categories: Adolescence Drugs

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Published: Dec 3, 2020

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Tips for cutting down or stopping your drug use

If you’re worried about your drug use, and want to make some positive changes, we’re here to help. Addressing your drug use can help you to be happier, safer and healthier. Here are some steps you can take.

It can be hard to take that first step and take a look at your drug use, but it can have a big impact on how healthy and happy you are.

Any drug can become problematic, whether it’s cocaine, prescription painkillers or cannabis. You don’t have to be taking drugs every day for it to be an issue, either. Dependence on a drug can be physical, psychological or both.

You might have noticed that you can’t do everyday things without using first, or maybe you have experienced some kind of withdrawal when you’re not using.

Other people might have seen a change in your behaviour, or you might have started taking risks that put your health or safety in danger.

Whatever the reason, change is possible with the right support.

Things to think about before you start

If you’re thinking of taking steps to stop taking drugs or cut down, don’t be afraid to reach out for help. It’s much easier to make positive changes when you’ve got help and support from other people.

• Speak to your doctor about your worries. They’ll be able to give you advice and useful information.
• If you can, talk to family and friends about your drug use. Asking for help can make a big difference, especially in the first few weeks.
• Find your nearest drug service. You can search for your nearest service and look at treatment options further down the page.
• Join a peer support group like Narcotics Anonymous or Cocaine Anonymous.

If you have a dependency, please speak to a professional before stopping using suddenly, so you can carefully manage any withdrawal symptoms. 

Find your local service Drug treatment options

How you can start to reduce or quit taking drugs

Once you’ve made your decision, try these steps to address your drug use:

• Keep a drug diary. Make a note of when you use, what you take, and how much. It’s also worth including where you were, who you were with, and what you’d been doing just before.
• See if you can spot any patterns in your diary. You might always use around particular people, or after heavy drinking, for example.
• If you can figure out the people, places and things that trigger your drug use, you can begin to make a plan. You might want to cut some triggers out entirely, or avoid any combinations that give you cravings.
• Take your time if you need to. Gradual reduction is often the best way to quit.
• Be kind to yourself and celebrate each step towards your goal, no matter how small. Don’t feel guilty about any setbacks either. It's a process and every challenge is an opportunity to learn more about yourself. 
• If you start having cravings, distract yourself for a few minutes. Mindfulness or meditation apps and videos like this one are good distractions.
• Have a look at the NHS’s ‘5 steps to mental wellbeing’ . They could help you to feel calmer and more relaxed when you find yourself craving drugs.

Always remember that you’re not alone. There’s lots of support online and other people who are in a similar position to you. Take a look at the links below for more support.

Get help, advice and support

I need help now, speak to someone online, read success stories, useful websites and apps, alcoholics anonymous, breaking free online.

AA 12 Steps app

Smart recovery, drinks meter app, sober grid app, happify app, the apps above are produced and owned by third parties. we make no guarantees that the information within them is accurate or up to date. please get professional healthcare advice before taking any action..

Understanding Drug Use and Addiction DrugFacts

Many people don't understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. They may mistakenly think that those who use drugs lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop their drug use simply by choosing to. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting usually takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Drugs change the brain in ways that make quitting hard, even for those who want to. Fortunately, researchers know more than ever about how drugs affect the brain and have found treatments that can help people recover from drug addiction and lead productive lives.

What Is drug addiction?

Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. These brain changes can be persistent, which is why drug addiction is considered a "relapsing" disease—people in recovery from drug use disorders are at increased risk for returning to drug use even after years of not taking the drug.

It's common for a person to relapse, but relapse doesn't mean that treatment doesn’t work. As with other chronic health conditions, treatment should be ongoing and should be adjusted based on how the patient responds. Treatment plans need to be reviewed often and modified to fit the patient’s changing needs.

Video: Why are Drugs So Hard to Quit?

What happens to the brain when a person takes drugs?

Most drugs affect the brain's "reward circuit," causing euphoria as well as flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine. A properly functioning reward system motivates a person to repeat behaviors needed to thrive, such as eating and spending time with loved ones. Surges of dopamine in the reward circuit cause the reinforcement of pleasurable but unhealthy behaviors like taking drugs, leading people to repeat the behavior again and again.

As a person continues to use drugs, the brain adapts by reducing the ability of cells in the reward circuit to respond to it. This reduces the high that the person feels compared to the high they felt when first taking the drug—an effect known as tolerance. They might take more of the drug to try and achieve the same high. These brain adaptations often lead to the person becoming less and less able to derive pleasure from other things they once enjoyed, like food, sex, or social activities.

Long-term use also causes changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits as well, affecting functions that include:

• decision-making

Despite being aware of these harmful outcomes, many people who use drugs continue to take them, which is the nature of addiction.

Why do some people become addicted to drugs while others don't?

No one factor can predict if a person will become addicted to drugs. A combination of factors influences risk for addiction. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance that taking drugs can lead to addiction. For example:

• Biology . The genes that people are born with account for about half of a person's risk for addiction. Gender, ethnicity, and the presence of other mental disorders may also influence risk for drug use and addiction.
• Environment . A person’s environment includes many different influences, from family and friends to economic status and general quality of life. Factors such as peer pressure, physical and sexual abuse, early exposure to drugs, stress, and parental guidance can greatly affect a person’s likelihood of drug use and addiction.
• Development . Genetic and environmental factors interact with critical developmental stages in a person’s life to affect addiction risk. Although taking drugs at any age can lead to addiction, the earlier that drug use begins, the more likely it will progress to addiction. This is particularly problematic for teens. Because areas in their brains that control decision-making, judgment, and self-control are still developing, teens may be especially prone to risky behaviors, including trying drugs.

Can drug addiction be cured or prevented?

As with most other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, treatment for drug addiction generally isn’t a cure. However, addiction is treatable and can be successfully managed. People who are recovering from an addiction will be at risk for relapse for years and possibly for their whole lives. Research shows that combining addiction treatment medicines with behavioral therapy ensures the best chance of success for most patients. Treatment approaches tailored to each patient’s drug use patterns and any co-occurring medical, mental, and social problems can lead to continued recovery.

More good news is that drug use and addiction are preventable. Results from NIDA-funded research have shown that prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media are effective for preventing or reducing drug use and addiction. Although personal events and cultural factors affect drug use trends, when young people view drug use as harmful, they tend to decrease their drug taking. Therefore, education and outreach are key in helping people understand the possible risks of drug use. Teachers, parents, and health care providers have crucial roles in educating young people and preventing drug use and addiction.

Points to Remember

• Drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences.
• Brain changes that occur over time with drug use challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. This is why drug addiction is also a relapsing disease.
• Relapse is the return to drug use after an attempt to stop. Relapse indicates the need for more or different treatment.
• Most drugs affect the brain's reward circuit by flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine. Surges of dopamine in the reward circuit cause the reinforcement of pleasurable but unhealthy activities, leading people to repeat the behavior again and again.
• Over time, the brain adjusts to the excess dopamine, which reduces the high that the person feels compared to the high they felt when first taking the drug—an effect known as tolerance. They might take more of the drug, trying to achieve the same dopamine high.
• No single factor can predict whether a person will become addicted to drugs. A combination of genetic, environmental, and developmental factors influences risk for addiction. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance that taking drugs can lead to addiction.
• Drug addiction is treatable and can be successfully managed.
• More good news is that drug use and addiction are preventable. Teachers, parents, and health care providers have crucial roles in educating young people and preventing drug use and addiction.

For information about understanding drug use and addiction, visit:

• www.nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drug-abuse-addiction

For more information about the costs of drug abuse to the United States, visit:

• www.nida.nih.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics#costs

For more information about prevention, visit:

• www.nida.nih.gov/related-topics/prevention

For more information about treatment, visit:

• www.nida.nih.gov/related-topics/treatment

To find a publicly funded treatment center in your state, call 1-800-662-HELP or visit:

• https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/

This publication is available for your use and may be reproduced in its entirety without permission from NIDA. Citation of the source is appreciated, using the following language: Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institutes of Health; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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10 Strategies to Prevent Your Young Person from Using Drugs

Last Updated: Friday April 21, 2023

According to a study , young people who hadn’t used drugs up until their senior year in high school are more likely to use marijuana once they start college than their peers who don’t go to college.

Here are a few ways you can prevent your young loved one from using any drug before they head off to school and while they are in college.

Be Honest and Direct

Sitting down and having a direct, open and honest conversation about drugs, temptation and addiction before her or she goes to college is one of the best ways to prevent their future use.  Though it may be uncomfortable, you may want to discuss your own past drug use or one of your family members’ struggles with use and addiction.  

Give Them Praise

Do you have an awesome teen? Good grades, sweet, compassionate, well-rounded, and drug free? Celebrate them! A little bit of positive reinforcement can go a long way. You never know; you may become your teen’s inner voice that gives them the strength to reject drugs when he or she is offered them.

Make Sure They Know the Legal Consequences of Using Drugs

It’s not about scaring them— it’s just about being real. Getting caught with drugs, especially if it’s a significant amount, could land your teen in serious trouble with the law. To do this, you can search for news stories about young people getting caught up with drugs and having to face the consequences and casually bring it up to your teen. For example, “Did you hear about that teen in Virginia? He’s facing seven years behind bars for giving a girl a pill at a party that ending up killing her. That just isn’t worth it.”

Make Sure They Know the Life-long Consequences of Addiction

Being addicted to drugs can ruin a promising young person’s life – and it’s important your child knows that. Just while watching the news with your teen you are probably likely to see a story about how bad the drug addiction crisis is getting in the U.S. Discuss the pitfalls of addiction with them then. In addition, watching documentaries like “Chasing the Dragon”  which shows the reality of youth drug addiction, could also serve as a good conversation starter. Once again, it’s not about scaring them – but keeping it real.

Volunteer at a Substance Abuse Treatment Center or a Homeless Shelter

Seeing addiction live and up close could be a life-changing experience for your teen. By volunteering at a local substance abuse treatment center, he or she can also talk to people in recovery and learn from their experience to keep them from potentially going down the road to addiction. 

Do Your Homework

Before you talk to your teen about anything, it’s a good idea to do a little bit of studying first. Check out the latest research ( Monitoring the Future is a great source) to find out what drugs are popular for people in your child’s age range so you can target your message. You also may want to reach out to substance abuse professionals on your child’s college campus to find out what drugs may be popular at the school.

Learn more about drugs and drug paraphernalia. 

Make One-On-One Time

Make it a priority to spend one-on-one time with your young loved one. During that quality time, your teen is more likely to open up to you about what’s going on in his or her life, however mundane. You can use this opportunity to understand them better and to form a stronger bond. In the future, when your child is away in college and facing tough decisions, he or she will be more likely to confide in you and put more weight in your advice.

Keep Your Cool

Rolled eyes, heavy sighs, temporary deafness – you may experience all of these reactions from your teen when you try to talk to him or her about the dangers of drug use. Whatever you do, don’t lose your temper. Just try a different approach next time you want to bring up the topic.

Connect with Other Parents

More than likely the parents of your teenager’s friends will have the same concerns you have as they are entering college and leaving home for the first time. You may want to share ideas with them and find out how they are speaking to their teen about drug use.

Give Them the Facts

Lastly, giving your teen the straight facts by themselves could be enough to set him or her on the right path. Most drugs (illicit prescription drugs, synthetic marijuana, heroin, cocaine, etc.) can be  deadly – the statistics are out there . In addition, using marijuana has many negative effects on the brain and body .  You may also want to direct them to the DEA’s Teen resource site, JustThinkTwice.com to get the facts on drugs.   Get more information on how you can raise your child to be drug free in DEA's publication "Growing Up Drug Free: A Parent's Guide to Prevention."

Essay on Drug Awareness

Students are often asked to write an essay on Drug Awareness in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Drug Awareness

Understanding drugs.

Drugs are substances that can change how your body and mind work. They can be legal, like medicine prescribed by a doctor, or illegal.

Effects of Drugs

Drugs can make you feel different. Some might make you feel happy for a short time, but they can also harm your body and brain.

The Risk of Addiction

Some people may start using drugs out of curiosity or to feel good, but it can lead to addiction. Addiction is when you can’t stop taking the drug, even if it’s causing harm.

Staying Safe

It’s important to say no to illegal drugs and only take medicines as directed by a doctor.

250 Words Essay on Drug Awareness

Introduction.

Drugs are substances that alter the body’s physiological processes. While some drugs are beneficial and used for medicinal purposes, others can be harmful, leading to addiction, health issues, and societal problems. Drug awareness is a crucial topic, especially for college students, as it is the foundation for understanding and preventing drug misuse.

The Importance of Drug Awareness

Drug awareness is essential to equip individuals with knowledge about the potential risks and consequences of drug use. It helps in understanding the difference between use and misuse, the signs of addiction, and the effects of drugs on physical and mental health. This knowledge can be a powerful tool in preventing drug misuse and addiction.

The Role of Education

Education plays a significant role in drug awareness. It is not only about imparting knowledge but also about fostering a healthy attitude towards drug use. Educational institutions, particularly colleges, hold a responsibility to provide students with accurate information, enabling them to make informed decisions.

In conclusion, drug awareness is a vital aspect of health education. It empowers individuals, especially college students, to make informed decisions about drug use, thus preventing potential misuse and addiction. The role of education in promoting drug awareness cannot be overstated, as it equips students with necessary knowledge and fosters a responsible attitude towards drug use.

500 Words Essay on Drug Awareness

The issue of drug abuse and addiction has become a global concern, with implications that transcend cultural, economic, and social boundaries. Drug awareness is a critical aspect in curbing this menace, as it equips individuals with the knowledge and skills to resist drug use, and encourages a healthier, safer society.

The Prevalence of Drug Abuse

The prevalence of drug abuse is alarming, with the World Health Organization estimating that nearly 5.5% of the world’s population aged 15-64 years have used drugs at least once in their lifetime. This statistic underscores the urgency for effective drug awareness programs. It is essential to understand the factors contributing to drug abuse, which include peer pressure, curiosity, stress, and the desire for escapism. These factors, coupled with the easy accessibility of drugs, create a potent recipe for addiction.

Drug awareness plays a crucial role in preventing drug abuse and addiction. Through education, individuals gain a better understanding of the dangers and implications of drug use. They learn about the harmful effects of drugs on physical health, mental health, and social relationships. Moreover, drug awareness programs can debunk myths surrounding drug use, such as the misconception that drug use is a victimless crime or that all drug users are morally weak.

Components of Effective Drug Awareness Programs

Effective drug awareness programs should be comprehensive, targeting various aspects of the drug abuse issue. Firstly, they should provide factual information about drugs, their effects, and the risks associated with their use. Secondly, they must equip individuals with the skills to resist peer pressure and make informed decisions. Lastly, these programs should provide support and resources for those struggling with addiction, emphasizing that recovery is possible and that help is available.

The Role of Society in Drug Awareness

Society plays a significant role in promoting drug awareness. Schools, workplaces, and communities can host awareness campaigns, workshops, and seminars. The media can also play an influential role in disseminating accurate information about drugs and addiction. Moreover, government policies can support drug awareness initiatives, providing funding and resources for these programs.

In conclusion, drug awareness is a crucial tool in the fight against drug abuse and addiction. By educating individuals about the realities of drug use and equipping them with the skills to resist it, we can foster a society that is healthier, safer, and more informed. It is a collective responsibility that requires the participation of all sectors of society, from the individual to the government. Through a concerted effort, we can make significant strides in addressing this global issue.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Drugs
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• Open access
• Published: 07 November 2021

How to prevent alcohol and illicit drug use among students in affluent areas: a qualitative study on motivation and attitudes towards prevention

• Pia Kvillemo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9706-4902 1 ,
• Linda Hiltunen 2 ,
• Youstina Demetry 3 ,
• Anna-Karin Carlander 4 ,
• Tim Hansson 5 ,
• Johanna Gripenberg 1 ,
• Tobias H. Elgán 1 ,
• Kim Einhorn 4 &
• Charlotte Skoglund 1 , 4  

Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy volume  16 , Article number:  83 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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The use of alcohol and illicit drugs during adolescence can lead to serious short- and long-term health related consequences. Despite a global trend of decreased substance use, in particular alcohol, among adolescents, evidence suggests excessive use of substances by young people in socioeconomically affluent areas. To prevent substance use-related harm, we need in-depth knowledge about the reasons for substance use in this group and how they perceive various prevention interventions. The aim of the current study was to explore motives for using or abstaining from using substances among students in affluent areas as well as their attitudes to, and suggestions for, substance use prevention.

Twenty high school students (age 15–19 years) in a Swedish affluent municipality were recruited through purposive sampling to take part in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis of transcribed interviews was performed.

The most prominent motive for substance use appears to be a desire to feel a part of the social milieu and to have high social status within the peer group. Motives for abstaining included academic ambitions, activities requiring sobriety and parental influence. Students reported universal information-based prevention to be irrelevant and hesitation to use selective prevention interventions due to fear of being reported to authorities. Suggested universal prevention concerned reliable information from credible sources, stricter substance control measures for those providing substances, parental involvement, and social leisure activities without substance use. Suggested selective prevention included guaranteed confidentiality and non-judging encounters when seeking help.

Conclusions

Future research on substance use prevention targeting students in affluent areas should take into account the social milieu and with advantage pay attention to students’ suggestions on credible prevention information, stricter control measures for substance providers, parental involvement, substance-free leisure, and confidential ways to seek help with a non-judging approach from adults.

Alcohol consumption and illicit drug use are major public health concerns causing great individual suffering as well as substantial societal costs [ 1 , 2 ]. Early onset of substance use is especially problematic since the developing brain is vulnerable to the effects of alcohol and drugs, increasing the risk of long-term negative effects, such as harmful use, addiction, and mental health problems [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Short-term consequences of substance use include intoxication [ 5 , 7 ], accidents [ 8 [, academic failure [ 9 ], and interaction with legal authorities [ 10 ], which calls for effective substance use prevention in adolescents and young adults. Such prevention interventions may be universal, targeting the general population, e.g., legal measures and school based programs, or selective, targeting certain vulnerable at-risk groups, i.e., subsections of the population [ 11 ]. Selective prevention can be carried out within a universal prevention setting, such as health care or school, but also be delivered directly to the group which it aims to target, face-to-face or digitally [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ].

The motives to use substances are governed by a number of personal, social and environmental factors [ 16 ], ranging from personal knowledge, abilities, beliefs and attitudes, to the influence of family, friends and society [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Cooper and colleagues [ 21 ] have previously identified a number of motives for drinking, i.e., 1) enhancement (drinking to maintain or amplify positive affect), 2) coping (drinking to avoid or dull negative affect), 3) social (drinking to improve parties or gatherings), and 4) conformity (drinking due to social pressure or a need to fit in). Similar motives for illicit drug use have been found by e.g. Kettner and colleagues, who highlighted the attainment of euphoria and enhancement of activities as prominent motives for use of psychoactive substances among people using psychedelics in parallel with other substances [ 22 ], along with Boys and colleagues [ 23 , 24 , 25 ], who reported on changing mood (e.g., to stop worrying about a problem) and social purposes (e.g., to enjoy the company of friends) as motives for using illicit drugs among young people. Additionally, the authors found that the facilitation of activities (e.g., to concentrate, to work/study), physical effects (e.g., to lose weight), and the managing of the effects of other substances (e.g., to ease or improve) motivated young people to use illicit drugs.

Prior research has repeatedly shown that low socioeconomic status is a risk factor for substance use and related problems [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. However, recent research from Canada [ 29 ], the United States [ 30 , 31 , 32 ], Serbia [ 33 ], Switzerland [ 34 ], and Sweden [ 35 ] suggest that high socioeconomic status too is associated with excessive substance use among young people, although for other reasons [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Previous research has highlighted two main explanations for excessive substance use among young people in families with high socioeconomic status; i) exceptionally high requirements to perform in both school and leisure activities and ii) absence of adult contact, emotionally and physically, due to parents in resourceful and affluent areas spending a lot of time on their work and careers [ 36 , 37 ]. In addition to these explanations, high physical and social availability due to substantial economic resources and a social milieu were substance use is a natural element, may enable extensive substance use among economically privileged young people [ 30 , 38 , 39 ].

In parallel with identification of various groups at risk for extensive substance use, a growing number of young people globally abstain from using substances [ 1 , 40 , 41 ]. By analyzing data derived from a nationally representative sample of American high school students, Levy and colleagues [ 40 ] found an increasing percentage of 12th-graders reporting no current (past 30 days) substance use between 1976 and 2014, showing that a growing proportion of high school students are motivated to abstain from substance use. However, while this global decrease in substance use among adolescents is mirrored in Swedish youths, in particular alcohol use, a more detailed investigation shows large discrepancies across different socioeconomic and geographic areas. Affluent areas in Sweden stand out as breaking the trend, showing increasing alcohol and illicit drug use among adolescents [ 42 , 43 ].

To date, we lack in-depth knowledge of why youths in affluent areas keep using alcohol and illicit drugs excessively. Furthermore, despite implementation of various strategies and interventions over the last decades [ 14 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ], we have yet no clear guidelines on how to effectively prevent substance use in this specific group, although the importance of parents’ role for preventing substance use in privileged adolescents has been highlighted in a recent study [ 29 ]. Moreover, despite the fact that attitudes are assumed to guide behavior [ 49 , 50 ] and consequently the reception and effects (behavior change) of prevention interventions, the knowledge about affluent adolescents’ attitudes toward current substance use prevention interventions remains limited. To our knowledge, the only study exploring adolescents’ attitudes to substance use prevention was carried out among Spanish adolescents who participated in “open-air gatherings of binge drinkers”. The study concerned adolescents irrespective of their economic background and revealed positive attitudes to restrictions for drunk people [ 19 ]. Thus, extended knowledge on what motivates young people in affluent areas to excessively use substances, or abstaining from using, as well as their attitudes to prevention is warranted.

In the current study, we aim to explore motives for using, or abstaining from using, substances among students in affluent areas. In addition, we aim to explore their attitudes to and suggestions for substance use prevention. The findings may make a valuable contribution to the research on tailored substance use prevention for groups of adolescents that may not be sufficiently supported by current prevention strategies.

A qualitative interview study was performed among high school students in one of Stockholm county’s most affluent municipalities. The research team developed a semi-structured interview guide (supplementary Interview guide) covering issues regarding the individual’s physical and mental health, extent of alcohol and illicit drug use, motives for use or abstinence, relationships with peers and family, alcohol and drug related norms among peers, family and in the society, and attitudes towards strategies to prevent substance use. Examples of interview questions are: How would you describe your health? Which are the main reasons why young people drink, do you think? How do you get hold of alcohol as a teenager?

What do you know about drug use among young people in Municipality X? How would you describe your social relationships with peers in and outside Municipality X?

The study was approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (dnr. 2019–02646).

Study setting

Sweden has strict regulations of alcohol and illicit drugs compared to many other countries [ 45 , 46 ]. Alcohol beverages (> 3.5% alcohol content by volume) can only be bought at the Swedish Alcohol Retailing Monopoly “Systembolaget” by people 20 years of age or older, or at licensed premises (e.g., bars, restaurants, clubs), at the minimum age of 18 years. The use of illicit drugs is criminalized. The study was carried out in a municipality with 45% higher annual median income than the corresponding figure for all of Sweden, along with the highest educational level among all Swedish municipalities, i.e., 58% of the population (25 years and over) having graduated from university and hold professional degrees, as compared with the national average of 26%. Furthermore, only 6.1% of the inhabitants receive public assistance, compared to a national average of 13.4% [ 51 ].

Recruitment

Purposive sampling was used to recruit students from the three high schools located in the selected municipality. Contact was established by the research team with the principals of the high schools that agreed to participate in the study. Information and invitation to participate in the study was published on the schools’ online platforms, visible for parents and students. Students communicated their initial interest in participating to the assistant principal. Upon consent from the students, the assistant principal forwarded mobile phone numbers of eligible students to the research team. Also, students from other schools in the selected municipality were asked by friends to participate and upon contact with the research team were invited to participate. Forty students signed up to take part in the study, of which 20 were finally interviewed, representing four schools (three in the selected municipality and one in a neighbor municipality). Before the interview, informed consent was obtained by informing the students about confidentiality arrangements, their right to withdraw their participation and subsequently asking them about their consent to participate. The consent was recorded and transcribed along with the following interview. Twenty students who had initially signed up were excluded after initial consent due to incorrect phone numbers or if the potential participants were not reachable on the agreed time for participation. The reason for terminating the recruitment after 20 interviewees was based on the fact that little or no new information was considered to occur by including additional participants.

Participants

The final sample consisted of 20 students. Background information of the participants is presented in Table  1 . The group included eleven girls and nine boys between 15 and 19 years of age. Seven participants attended natural sciences/technology/mathematic programs and 13 attended social sciences/humanities programs. Twelve participants lived in the socioeconomically affluent municipality where the schools were located and eight in neighboring municipalities. The sample included three abstainers and 17 informants who were using substances, the latter referring to self-reported present use of alcohol and/or illicit drugs (without further specification). Additionally, 18 of the participants reported that at least one of their parents had a university education.

During April–May 2020, semi-structured telephone interviews with the students were conducted by five of the authors (PK, YD, AKC, TH, CS). The interviewers had continuous contact during the interview process, exchanging their experiences from the interviews and also the content of the interviews. After 20 interviews had been conducted, it was assessed that no or little new information could be obtained by additional interviews and the interview process was terminated. The interviews, on average around 60 min long, were recorded on audio files and transcribed verbatim.

Qualitative content analysis, informed by Hsieh & Shannon [ 52 ] and Granheim & Lundman [ 53 ], was used to analyze the interview material. To increase reliability of the analytic process, a team based approach was employed [ 54 ], utilizing the broad expertise represented in the research team and the direct experience of information collected from the five interviewers.

The software NVivo 12 was utilized for structuring the interview data. Initially, one of the researchers (PK) read all the interviews repeatedly, searching for meaningful units which could be grouped into preliminary categories and codes, as exemplified in Table 2 . During the process, a preliminary coding scheme was developed and presented to the whole research team. After discussion, the coding scheme was slightly revised. Following this procedure, a second coder (CS) applied the updated coding scheme along with definitions (codebook) [ 54 ], coding all the interviews independently. Subsequent discussions between PK, YD and CS, resulted in an additionally revised coding scheme. This scheme was utilized by PK and another researcher (LH), who had not been involved in the interviewing or coding, coding all of the interviews independently. The agreement between the coders PK and LH was high and a few disagreements solved through discussion. No change in the codes was necessary and the research team agreed on the coding scheme as outlined in Fig.  1 .

Final coding scheme

The interview material generated three main categories, six subcategories and 27 codes. The results are presented under headings corresponding to the identified subcategories, since they are directly connected to the aim of the study. Content from the main category “External factors” is initially presented to illustrate the context in which the students form their motivation to use or abstain from using substances, as well as their attitudes towards prevention.

External factors

The external factors found in the interview material concerned wealth, availability of alcohol and other substances, parental norms and peer norms. Informants living in the affluent municipality described an expensive lifestyle with boats, ski trips, summer vacations abroad, and frequent restaurant visits, in contrast to informants from other areas who described a more modest lifestyle. These differences were further accentuated by informants’ descriptions of large villas in the affluent municipality, where students can arrange parties while the parents go to their holiday homes. Some informants further pointed to the fact that people in this municipality easily can afford to buy illicit drugs, increasing the availability.

The reason why they do it [use illicit drugs] in [the affluent municipality] is because the parents go away, which make it easier to have parties and be able to smoke grass at home, and also because they can afford it .

Parents’ alcohol norms seemed to vary between families, but most informants described modest drinking at home, with parents consuming alcohol on certain occasions and sometimes when having dinner. However, several informants described that they as minors/children were offered to taste alcohol from the parents’ glasses. Most of the informants meant that their parents trust them not to drink too much when partying.

They [my parents] have said to me that drinking is not good, but that they understand if I drink, sort of.

Both parents’ and peers’ norms appear to influence substance use among the students, The impression is that there is an alcohol liberal norm in the local society among adults as well as among adolescents.

If you want to have a social life in community X, then it is very difficult … you almost cannot have it if you don’t drink at parties.

Motives for using substances

Confirming that both alcohol and illicit drugs are frequently used among students in the current municipality, a number of motives for substance use were expressed by the participants. The most prominent motive appeared to be a desire to feel a part of the social milieu and to attain or maintain high social status, with fear of being excluded from attractive social activities and parties if abstaining from substance use. The participants indicated that you are expected to drink alcohol to be included in the local community social life, claiming that this applied to the adult population as well. Alcohol consumption and even intoxication are perceived to be the norm in the students’ social life and several of the participants noted that abstainers risk being considered too boring to be invited to parties.

The view is that you cannot have fun without alcohol and therefore, you don’t invite sober people.

There seemed to be a high awareness of one’s own as well as peers’ popularity and social status. Participants evaluated peers as high or low status, fun or boring, claiming that trying to be cool and facilitate contact with others motivates people to use substances. High status students are, according to some participants, frequently invited to parties where alcohol and other substances are easily accessible.

I would say that our group of friends has more status. [… ] You know quite a few [people] and you are invited to quite a lot of parties. You can often evaluate the group of friends, i.e. their status, based on which parties they are invited to. […] Some [groups of friends] only drink alcohol and some even take drugs and drink alcohol.

Some differences in traditions and norms between schools was discerned, with certain schools being especially known for high alcohol consumption and drug use procedures when including new students in the school-community. One of the participants described fairly extensive norm violations, with respect to the law, on these occasions, e.g., strong peer pressure to drink alcohol and use illicit drugs, combined with humiliation of new students, careless driving under the influence of substances with other students in the car, and “punishment” by future exclusion from social events of those who don’t participate at these occasions. On the other hand, already popular, or more senior students, appear to be able to abstain from substance use on occasions without being questioned or risk social exclusion. High self-esteem and a firm approach when occasionally saying no to substances is often respected according to the participants. To avoid peer pressure to use alcohol or illicit drugs, the participants suggested acceptable excuses, such as school duties, bringing your moped or car to the party, having a sports activity or work the day after, or having plans with your parents or extended family during the weekend.

Apart from peer influence, several students expressed hedonistic motives, such as enjoying a nice event or simply to have fun.

If you want a little extra fun, then you take drugs.

Apart from social enhancement motives for using substances, some students reported that relaxing from academic pressure or rewarding oneself after an intense period of studying motivates them to use substances. Almost every participant expressed high academic ambitions. One participant who claimed to be very motivated to study expressed drinking due to stress, as illustrated in the extract below:

You study a lot and you are stressed over school. Then it can be very nice to go out and drink and you can forget everything else for a few hours. […] So it can be a “stress reliever” in that way.

Yet another participant explained that academic failure had previously made her use substances to comfort herself. Coping with mental health problems, such as depression, was also stated as a reason for substance use. Moreover, some participants reported that they use ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) medication to be able to study more intensively.

Motives for abstaining from using substances

A number of motives for totally or temporarily abstain from substance use were put forward by the students, such as a wish to be healthy, keep control and avoid embarrassment, influence of parents, academic pressure, sports ambitions or simply lack of interest. Lack of interest in alcohol and drugs was expressed foremost by those attending natural sciences programs and those who totally abstained from substance use.

I attend the engineering program and I don’t think the interest in alcohol and parties is as present as it might be on social sciences programs.

Fear of health consequences was predominantly related to abstaining from illicit drugs, but also alcohol. Motives for abstaining from alcohol included perceived risk of being addicted, due to relatives having alcohol problems (heredity), and taking medicine, for example ADHD medicine, since combining alcohol and medication was perceived as risky. Some students had observed friends getting “weird” or “laze” after using illicit drugs, which made them hesitant to use such substances themselves. With regard to parental norms, most parents were by the participants reported to be “normal drinkers” themselves and quite relaxed about their teens’ alcohol consumption. This applied to both the parents of older teens and minors. However, many of the participants reported that their parents would be upset and disappointed if they found out that their child used illicit substances, which motivated some of them to abstain. Reasons for abstaining from substance use included academic strivings, sports performance ambitions, driving, or other activities requiring sobriety, which the students referred to as socially acceptable reason to abstain from substance use. Prioritizing studies over partying was explicitly expressed as the primary motive to abstain by some of the participants.

We are a group of five or six who come from other municipalities. […] We don’t party and such things and we may be seen as a bit boring. But we are a little more responsible and we are more motivated to study than the others in the class.

A wish to save money and reluctance to support the illegal drug production were also mentioned as reasons to abstain from substance use, however to a lesser extent.

Universal prevention viewed as attractive or feasible

With regard to substance information interventions, some students wanted detailed information about different substances’ physical and psychological effects. The participants emphasized the importance of credible sources or persons providing the information, mentioning researchers, young medical students and even parents as credible sources of information. Individuals who had experience of substance use were also suggested.

You have to tell the facts in a way that makes us want to listen. With the help of various spokespersons who have been involved in it, for example.

Several students stressed the importance of being able to identify with the person sending the message and suggested influencers as plausible sources. Someone who is difficult to relate to was given as an example of a non-credible, as the following excerpt shows:

They shouldn’t take a heroin addicts who talk about having found Jesus, because I do not think it would touch the children or touch the young. You have to somehow find … someone that can relate to the young people.

As for universal prevention, the students also suggested intensified legal measures for companies and people providing young people with alcohol or drugs.

For example, make it difficult for young people to have access to alcohol [...], allocate more time as a police officer to catch the drug dealers.

Both alcohol and illicit drugs were reported as easily accessible. Students can obtain alcohol via social media platforms, such as Instagram and Snapchat, where “liquor cars” market themselves and offer home delivery. In addition, older siblings or peers and even some parents were, according to the informants, providing minor students with alcohol. The main way to access illicit drugs is via parties where older students offer drugs to younger peers. Access to prescription drugs was also reported.

Several of the participants agreed that parental involvement is constructive for substance use prevention. Many of them reported having supportive and caring parents involved in their lives, but at the same time referring to friends’ parents as being more absent, resulting in extensive partying in large homes without parental control. Some students reported that parents don’t realize to what extent youths are using substances and that the parents should pay even more attention to what their children do.

I think [parents should be] keeping track, good track of the kids […] . Keeping track of what they are doing and ask them how they feel and things, I think that helps.

In line with leisure activities as a reason to abstain from substance use, some participants suggested that social activities other than partying could be a way of preventing substance use, as expressed by one participant when asked about plausible ways to prevent substance use.

Find a sport or friend that you train with […] instead of going to a party,

Talking about their leisure activities, the participants expressed joy and that these activities made them relax while being social.

The leisure interests, like working out and hanging out with friends, is relaxing and in contrast to the everyday in some way .

Universal prevention viewed as inappropriate

Several of the participants expressed great skepticism towards traditional universal preventive strategies, such as lectures by teachers, social workers or researchers. Some teachers were perceived as ignorant and unengaged, lecturing about substances only by duty.

The teachers have been a bit like ‘now we’re going to talk about drugs […] and then you have fifteen minutes and they say something like ‘here we are a drug free and smoke and tobacco free school’, and no one obeys.

Some students also doubted that the information provided from school and society is true, suspecting exaggerated report on harm, and that they prefer information from social media platforms such as Youtube or other online sources.

It feels like the information we get in school is a bit exaggerated, a bit made up for us […] A bit like this, ‘now we’ll get the young people to stop’.

Selective prevention viewed as attractive or feasible

In circumstances where students are worried about their own or peers’ substance use, participants stressed the need for a way to connect with local authority, health care or other support anonymously, without being registered in medical records or being reported to the authorities. Moreover, the participants emphasized the importance of a non-judging approach from professionals when they reach out to students at risk of excessive substance use.

If you wonder about something or if you are worried about something, then you should be able to turn to adults without being yelled at and know that you are getting positive feedback like ‘I understand you’ and ‘how can we fix this?’

Selective prevention viewed as inappropriate

As indicated above, help-seeking seemed to be counteracted by fear of being recorded in medical records or in the criminal registries. One participant mentioned an incident where a student, caught smoking marijuana, was prosecuted and that this student’s life had been severely affected with cancellation of planned studies abroad and rejection of driving license application. These consequences had, according to the participant, resulted in the student “giving up” and selling illicit alcohol to other students instead of trying to strive for a good future life. Admitting that such an incident can serve as a warning to other students, the fear of consequences is, according to the participant, still an obstacle to seeking help.

People don’t really know what to do when they see their friends do it [use substances]. You don’t want to tell on them, because they are afraid that if it is written down somewhere, then everything can be ruined.

Also, parents were by the participants reported as being reluctant to seek help for their children, because of fear of the reporting of their child’s behavior or crime to authorities, with subsequent negative consequences.

Parents do not dare either because they don’t want it to be about their children. I know some parents who have found drugs in their children’s rooms, but do not want to ruin [future prospects] for them.

The current study aimed to explore motives for using or abstaining from using substances, including alcohol, among students in affluent areas, as well as their attitudes to and suggestions for substance use prevention.

Summary of results

The motives for using substances among the students are associated with social aspects as.

well as own pleasure and coping with stressful situations. The most prominent motive appears to be a desire to feel a part of the current social milieu and to attain or maintain high social status within the peer group. Several of the students expressed fear of being excluded from attractive social activities if abstaining from substance use, although some meant that they were not interested in substances and didn’t care if they were perceived as boring, and also had found a small group of friends with whom they socialized. Motives for abstaining, apart from lack of interest, included academic ambitions, activities requiring sobriety, parental influence, and a wish to stay healthy. The students expressed negative attitudes towards current information-based prevention as well as problems with using selective prevention interventions due to fear of being registered or reported to the authorities. Students’ suggestions for feasible universal prevention concerned reliable information from credible sources, stricter substance control measures, extended parental involvement, and social leisure activities without substance use. Suggestions regarding selective prevention were guaranteed confidentiality and non-judging encounters when seeking help due to substance use problems.

Comparison with previous research

Children of affluence are generally presumed to be at low risk for negative health outcomes. However, the current study, in accordance with other recent studies [ 29 , 55 ], suggest problems in several domains including alcohol and drug use and stress related problems, even if the cause of these problems cannot be determined based on our interview study. Previous explanations for extensive substance use among affluent young people have been exceptionally high-performance requirements in both school and in leisure activities, and absence of emotional and physical adult contact, resulting from parents in affluent areas spending a lot of time on their jobs and careers [ 30 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]. These explanations can be viewed in the light of Cooper and colleagues’ [ 21 ] as well as Boys and colleagues’ [ 23 , 24 , 25 ] previously identified coping motive for substance use. Coping appears among affluent young people as a central motive for substance use, i.e., coping with performance requirements and perhaps with negative affects due to parents’ absence. In the current study, however, social motives, including conformity, i.e., using substances due to social pressure and a need to fit in [ 21 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] appears to be the most prominent motive, supporting the social learning theory which proposes that behavior can be acquired by observing and imitating others and by rewards connected to the behavior [ 16 , 59 ]. Interestingly, a small group of participants, especially from natural sciences programs, resisted the general pressure to use substances and found a social context of a few friends with whom they socialized without striving for high social status in the larger social context. The wish to be included in the social life and achieve high social status within the peer group was described as a central motive for substance use among a majority of the students, along with fear of being excluded if abstaining. Previous research show that high socioeconomic status is a protective factor for substance use disorder among adults [ 60 ], but among young people it may be the opposite. High status appears to be an important risk factor for the use of substances, at least among those striving for higher status. The students report that they, to achieve high status, must attend parties and at least drink alcohol. After achieving high status, which has resulted in frequent invitations to parties, students then may pose an even higher risk of excessive alcohol and drug use. In line with previous studies, results show that individuals with larger social networks, which has shown to be an indicator for social status among young, also drink more [ 35 , 61 ]. However, status can also act as a protective factor. Individuals with higher status have, according to the interviewees, slightly more room for maneuver to temporarily say no to substances at a party, without being pressured or ashamed. Nevertheless, several of the interviewees reported that they have to choose between using substances or being excluded from desirable social activities, as abstainers are considered “boring”. The results further show that alcohol and other drugs are popular among affluent youth and the information from the participants indicate that the students perceive substance use to be under control. One possible explanation is that high affluence can contribute to a sense of control over one’s life [ 62 ]. Although previous studies show that young people from affluent areas drink more, the risk of developing alcohol problems is still greater among young people who grow up in more disadvantaged areas [ 57 ]. Why this is the case is unclear. There is a widespread belief that affluent youngsters have plenty of social and financial resources in the family and thus receive the right help (e.g., psychotherapy) when they have problems [ 62 ], which could explain why they do not develop alcohol problems. However, research also shows that parents in affluent areas seek less help than others when their children are troubled [ 30 , 63 ], partly due to difficulties in accepting and revealing problems within the family [ 62 ]. In the current study, the informants expressed doubts about the possibility to be guaranteed confidentiality when seeking help, which may mean that there are concerns among both children and parents about the risk of losing status and a good reputation if seeking help for substance use problems. Consequently, there is a risk that any substance use problems will not be noticed in this group [ 62 ].

Previous research indicates that academic pressure may promote substance use [ 56 , 64 ]. However, in the current study academic pressure, due to high ambitions, was reported both as a reason for using substances and abstaining, the former to cope with stress or relax, the latter to maintain a sharp intellect and receive high grades. Moreover, previous research has demonstrated an association between pressure from extracurricular activities or “over scheduling” and negative outcomes among affluent students ( 39 ). In the current study, this did not stand out as a critical vulnerability factor. Instead, students reported extracurricular and leisure activities as relaxing and fun and an accepted reason to abstain from substance use while still attending activities where peers were using substances.

With regard to adult or parental contact, previous research shows that mental health and substance use among adolescents in socioeconomic affluent areas are associated with parents’ lack of reaction to teenage substance use (i.e. liberal, allowing attitudes and minor or no repercussions on discovering use) and parents’ lack of knowledge of their teens’ activities [ 30 ]. In our study, the students reported that their parents do not generally react with punishment due to their child’s alcohol consumption. However, the participants thought that parents probably should react more condemningly due to illicit drug use, if revealed. The Swedish criminalization of illicit substance use [ 46 ] may influence parents to adopt stricter norms with regard to their children’s illicit substance, because of the consequences for revealed substance use that may occur in the Swedish context. Also, parents in the current study were reported as being reluctant to seek help for their children out of fear of negative consequences that may affect their children. This result is in line with previous research, showing that concern about admitting problems in their children is elevated among affluent parents [ 30 ], mentioned above. In the current study, the participants further reported closeness to their parents and that their parents cared about how they spent their time. That said, some parents of wealthy peers were reported as being more absent, resulting in extensive partying in large homes without parental control. Previous research has shown the nature of family relationships and perceptions of closeness to be important protective factors for adolescent mental health [ 56 ], and this seems to apply to the students in the current study.

The students’ attitudes to current substance use prevention, aimed to increase students’ knowledge, are to a large extent negative. Information provided in school were reported as exaggerated and uninteresting. Instead, students suggested interventions focusing on credible sources of reliable information, such as from people with personal adverse experiences of substance use and people whom they can identify with. Whether people with own experience of substance use are credible or helpful in a more objective way can be disputed, but the students seem to put their trust in them rather than other persons. This result is partly in line with previous research on school-based programs in general, suggesting that the role of the teacher (the one who deliver the information) is central and that the use of peer leaders can be successful in engaging the students who receive the message [ 65 , 66 ]. Some informants in the current study meant that the teachers in school were ignorant and unengaged, lecturing about substances only by duty, which of course can be problematic for the sense of credibility among those receiving the information. Previous research has demonstrated that for older adolescents, a social influence approach can increase the effectiveness of alcohol and drug prevention interventions, as can health education, basic skills training and the inclusion of parental support [ 67 ]. Again, this research applies to adolescents in general and not to affluent youth specifically.

Interestingly, the students also suggested stricter regulations on substances with intensified legal measures for those providing substances. Positive attitudes to limiting access of alcohol for drunk people have previously been shown in a Spanish study among adolescents participating in an open-air gatherings of binge drinkers [ 19 ]. The positive attitude to stricter regulations for those providing substances is interesting in the light of the students’ desire for a non-judging approach when having to seek help for own substance use, as described below. Previous research, however, supports strict policy measures to decrease availability as an effective measure for substance use prevention in the general population [ 68 ]. The students further suggested increased parental control and activities and venues which can be attended without using substances, for example sporting/training with friends. Leisure activities without substance use have recently been offered to e.g., adolescents in general in an Icelandic prevention strategy [ 69 ], however more research is needed to see if this kind of prevention is attractive also for large groups of affluent students as an alternative to parties and whether it also appears to be effective in reducing substance use in this group. Clearly, some affluent students without ambitions to receive high social status do find socialization without using substances attractive, as shown in the current study. With regard to selective prevention, the students were critical of the current risk of being reported to parents, registered within medical records or reported to the authorities if turning to professionals for support for substance use problems. They claimed that this circumstance serves as a massive counteracting force to seek help at an early stage for oneself or for peers and that the possibility of reaching out anonymously is essential for taking the first step in seeking help. Moreover, the adolescents in this study call for an open and non-judging approach when turning to health care staff, parents or other adults, which is in line with so called Motivational Interviewing, a non-judging approach aimed to enhance motivation to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence about e.g., substance-related behaviors [ 70 ], which has shown promising results with regard to reduction of alcohol consumption among young people [ 71 ].

Strengths and limitations

The current study has a number of strengths. Firstly, we were able to recruit both male and female students between 15 and 19 years of age, living inside the affluent community as well as in neighboring municipalities, which provided us with a broad base of the students’ social context. Secondly, we included informants using substances as well as abstainers, increasing the possibility to get a broad view of motives to use or abstain from using substances among affluent youth. Thirdly, the research group has extensive experience in qualitative analysis as well as working with adolescents and young adults with mental health problems, including alcohol and drug consumption or abuse. However, our study must also be viewed in the context of some limitations. Students with more severe health or psychosocial problems may have refrained from participating, biasing the results towards adolescents of more stable psychosocial functioning. Moreover, interview studies are always vulnerable for social desirability bias due to a potential desire to give socially acceptable answers [ 72 ]. However, the possibility to terminate participation at any time, along with the circumstance that most of the interviewers are health care professionals, thereby used to handle secrecy in consultation situations, may have decreased the risk of desirability bias in the current study.

Several of the motives guiding substance use behavior among young people in general also seem to apply to affluent youth. A desire to feel a part of the current social milieu and to attain or maintain high social status within the peer group were reported as prominent motives for substance use among affluent students in the current study. Given that the social milieu is crucial for the substance use behavior in this context, future research on substance use prevention targeting this group could with advantage pay attention to suggestions on prevention strategies given by the students. Students’ suggestions include reliable prevention information from credible sources, stricter substance control measures targeting those providing substances, parental involvement, leisure activities without substance use, and confidential ways to seek help, involving a non-judging approach from professionals and other adults.

Availability of data and materials

Collected data will be available from the Centre for Psychiatry Research, a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and Region Stockholm, but restrictions apply to their availability, as they were used under ethical permission for the current study, and so are not publicly available. However, data are available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission from the Centre for Psychiatry Research.

Abbreviations

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

natural sciences/technology/mathematic programs

social sciences/humanities programs

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the participating students for making this study possible.

The work was funded by the Alcohol Research Council of the Swedish Alcohol Retailing Monopoly (grant no. 2018–0010). The funding body had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, data interpretation or writing the manuscript. Open Access funding provided by Karolinska Institute.

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PK contributed to conceptualization, methodology, investigation (data collection), data curation, formal analysis, writing original draft, review & editing, funding acquisition. LH contributed to conceptualization, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, validation, review & editing. YD contributed to project administration, methodology, investigation (data collection), data curation, formal analysis, validation, review & editing. AC contributed to investigation (data collection), review & editing. TH contributed to investigation (data collection), review & editing. JG contributed to conceptualization, methodology, review & editing, funding acquisition. TE contributed to conceptualization, methodology, review & editing. KE contributed to review & editing. CS contributed to conceptualization, methodology, investigation (data collection), data curation, formal analysis, review & editing, funding acquisition, supervision. All authors approved the submitted manuscript version.

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Kvillemo, P., Hiltunen, L., Demetry, Y. et al. How to prevent alcohol and illicit drug use among students in affluent areas: a qualitative study on motivation and attitudes towards prevention. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy 16 , 83 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-021-00420-8

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The effects of drug abuse and addiction on family and friends

Understanding your loved one’s substance abuse, recognizing drug abuse in a loved one, how to talk to someone about their drug abuse, supporting a loved one’s addiction recovery, setting healthy boundaries, taking care of yourself, helping someone with a drug addiction.

Does someone you love have a drug problem? Whether it’s illegal substances or prescription medication, you can’t force anyone to stop abusing drugs. But there are ways to support their recovery.

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You may worry about where your loved one is at any given time, their risk of overdosing, or the damage they’re doing to their health, future, and home life. You may be in debt from paying their living expenses, the cost of legal troubles resulting from their drug abuse, or from failed attempts at rehab and recovery. You may also be worn down by covering for your loved one at home or work, having to shoulder the responsibilities they neglect, or being unable to devote more time to other family, friends, and interests in your life.

As despairing as you may feel, you’re not alone in your struggle. A Pew Research Center survey in 2017 found that nearly half of Americans have a family member or close friend who’s been addicted to drugs. Across the Western world, the abuse of prescription pain relievers and tranquillizers has skyrocketed in recent years, creating a public health crisis. (Along with marijuana, they’re now among the most frequently abused drugs.)

Whether the problem is with recreational drugs or prescription medications, drug abuse and addiction can affect people from all walks of life, wrecking families, tearing relationships apart, and destroying lives. But there is help available. While you can’t force someone to tackle their addiction, your love, support, and patience can play a vital part in their recovery. With these guidelines, you can learn to support your loved one’s efforts, set the necessary boundaries to preserve your own health and welfare, and find some stability for both yourself and your loved one.

People start using drugs for a lot of different reasons. Many turn to substances to cope with the emotional pain of a mental health problem, such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Known as self-medicating , some people may be aware they have a mental health issue but are unable to find healthier ways of coping, while others remain undiagnosed and use drugs to manage specific symptoms.

Other people turn to drugs to change how they feel, to fit in, or to alleviate boredom or dissatisfaction with their lives. Then there are those whose substance abuse develops from a doctor’s well-intentioned efforts to treat a medical condition. Of all the people prescribed opioids to relieve pain, for example, estimates suggest that more than a quarter will end up misusing the drug.

[Read: Opioid Addiction]

Whatever your loved one’s reason for starting, though, not everyone who uses drugs develops a problem. While the exact causes of addiction aren’t clear, genetics likely plays a role, along with environmental factors. While one person is able to use substances without detrimental effects, another finds even casual use quickly escalates into compulsion and addiction—a very dark hole from which they can feel powerless to emerge.

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It’s not always easy to recognize if a loved one is abusing drugs. In teens, for example, drug abuse can often resemble normal adolescent moodiness. Furthermore, there’s no specific amount or frequency of use that indicates someone’s drug use has become a cause for concern. Whether your loved one is using every day or every month, it’s the adverse impact their drug abuse has on their life that indicates a problem.

[Read: Drug Abuse and Addiction]

Signs your loved one may have a substance use disorder include:

Experiencing problems at work, school, or home . They appear high more often, for example, and take more days away from work or school to compensate. Their work performance or school grades suffer, they neglect their responsibilities at home, and encounter more and more relationship difficulties. They may even lose their job, drop out of school, or separate from a long-term partner.

New health issues , such as changes in sleep schedule, often appearing fatigued or run-down, pronounced weight loss or weight gain, glassy or bloodshot eyes, and forgetfulness or other cognition problems. Depending on the type of drug they’re abusing, they may also exhibit frequent sniffing, nosebleeds, or shaking.

Changes in their mood and behavior . Your loved one may be more secretive and lie about what they’re doing, where they’re going, or how much they’re using. They may be quick to anger or lash out, especially if you try to talk to them about their drug use. Heavy drug users often lose interest in old hobbies, lack energy, and become more moody, withdrawn, and sad. They may even neglect their appearance and personal hygiene, and suffer withdrawal symptoms if deprived of their drug of choice.

Recurring financial problems . Your loved one may run up credit card debt to support their drug use, seek loans, or ask to borrow money without any solid reason. They may even steal money or valuables to sell for drugs.

Drug paraphernalia to look out for

You may also be able to spot a loved one’s substance abuse through the new or increased presence of drug paraphernalia.

• Paper wraps, small pieces of cling film, and tiny plastic bags are used to store drugs.
• Rolling papers, pipes, bongs, or pierced plastic bottles or cans are often used to smoke drugs.
• Burnt foil, spoons, and syringes may indicate heroin use.
• Those abusing prescription medications may be renewing their prescriptions more frequently or have bottles of medication prescribed for someone else.

Starting a conversation with someone about their drug addiction is never easy, but it’s important you come from a place of compassion and understanding. Remember, no one sets out to become an addict. Drug abuse is often a misguided attempt to cope with painful issues or mental health problems. Stress tends to fuel addictive behavior, so criticizing, demeaning, or shaming them will only push your loved one away and may even encourage them to seek further comfort in substance abuse.

Discovering someone you love has a drug problem can generate feelings of shock, fear, and anger, especially if it’s your child or teen who’s using. These strong emotions can make communicating with a drug user even more challenging. So, it’s important to choose a time when you’re both calm, sober, and free of distractions to talk. Offer your help and support without being judgmental.

Don’t delay . You don’t have to wait for your loved one to hit rock bottom—to get arrested, lose their job, suffer a medical emergency, or publicly humiliate themselves—to speak out. The earlier an addiction is treated, the better.

Express your concerns honestly . Emphasize that you care for the person and are worried about their well-being. Offer specific examples of your loved one’s drug-related behavior that have made you concerned—and be honest about your own feelings.

Listen . Even when you don’t agree with the person, take the time to listen to what they have to say, without trying to argue or contradict them. The more your loved one feels heard, the more they’ll see you as supportive, someone they can confide in.

Offer them information about how they can address their drug problem—whether that’s calling a helpline, talking to a doctor or counselor, entering a treatment program , or going to a group meeting such as SMART Recovery, or a 12-step program like Narcotics Anonymous (NA) .

[Read: Overcoming Drug Addiction]

Be prepared for denial. Your loved one may become defensive or angry and refuse to discuss their drug use. Many people feel a sense of shame when confronted by their behavior and will try to deny they have a problem. Don’t argue with them, just revisit the issue another time.

Avoid trying to lecture, threaten, bribe, or punish the person. Getting angry or making emotional appeals will likely only add to the user’s feelings of guilt and reinforce their compulsion to use.

Don’t expect a single conversation to fix the problem. This will likely be the first of many conversations you’ll need to have regarding your loved one’s drug use. There’s no quick fix to overcoming addiction. It may take several conversations for them to even acknowledge they have a problem, the first step on the road to recovery.

Staging an intervention

Staging an intervention tends to be a last-ditch effort to make someone realize they need treatment. However, many addicts can react angrily when confronted by a group or feel their loved ones are ganging up on them.

If you decide to stage a family meeting or intervention, it’s important everyone involved comes from the same place of compassion and understanding. This is not an excuse for people to vent their grievances about the addict’s behavior or make them feel bullied or ashamed. The problem is the disease of addiction, not the person in its grip.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to overcoming an addiction to drugs, and it’s rarely a process that’s quick or straightforward. While you can support your loved one and encourage treatment , you can’t force them to change or control their decision-making. Letting your loved one assume responsibility for their behavior and choices is an important step on their road to sobriety.

Adjust your expectations . Everyone is different. Recovery for one person may mean total abstinence from drugs. For another, it could mean cutting back or staying mostly drug-free. Being too rigid in your expectations can lead to disappointment and a sense of failure, even if your loved one finds stability in their life again.

Encourage your loved one to seek help . While some people are able to quit drugs on their own, the more help and support a person has, the better their chances of success. Offer to sit with your loved one while they call a helpline or accompany them to a doctor’s appointment, counseling session, or peer support group meeting .

Ensure they address any co-occurring issues . The problems that triggered your loved one’s drug use in the first place will still be there once they get sober. If they turned to drugs to self-medicate a mental health problem such as anxiety or depression, they’ll need to find healthier ways of coping with these issues without resorting to substance abuse. To achieve long-term recovery, it’s vital they tackle both their addiction and their mental health issue at the same time.

[Read: Dual Diagnosis: Substance Abuse and Mental Health]

Help plan for triggers and cravings . Your loved one will need to find ways to cope with drug cravings and triggers . You can help distract them with other activities or encourage them to learn how to ride out the urge, but ultimately, they have to be responsible for their own sobriety.

Encourage them to explore new interests . Quitting drugs can leave your loved one with a lot of extra time to fill. To help them avoid slipping back into old habits, encourage them to develop new interests—ones that don’t involve drugs but do add meaning to their life. Think volunteering , taking up a new sport or hobby, enrolling in a class, or spending time in nature hiking or camping, for example—anything that doesn’t generate a trigger to use.

Accept the likelihood of relapse . Despite your efforts and your loved one’s best intentions, the truth is that recovery often involves relapse. If that happens, encourage the person to recommit to getting clean and support them as they try again. Try to stay patient. Each relapse is an opportunity for your loved one to learn from their mistakes and find a new way forward.

Treatment options

Treatment can take place at home, as a hospital outpatient, or in a residential facility or sober living community. While it can vary according to the type of drug your loved one is addicted to, their age, and any other issues they’re facing, most treatment plans include some of the following elements:

• Detox to purge the body of drugs, manage withdrawal symptoms, and achieve stability.
• Treatment for any co-occurring mental health problems.
• Counseling , whether it’s individual, group, or family therapy —or a combination of all three—to tackle the root cause of the drug use and learn better ways of coping.
• Medication to help with withdrawal or treat any co-occurring disorders.
• Ongoing peer support meetings, such as a 12-step program, to keep the recovery on track and maintain sobriety.

[Read: Choosing Drug Rehab and Addiction Treatment]

When someone you love has a problem with drugs, it’s easy to fall into the trap of shielding them from the consequences of their addiction. Referred to as “enabling”, you may cover up for the person, take over their responsibilities, put their feelings before your own or other family members’, rearrange your life to accommodate their addiction, or provide financial assistance when they’re unable to pay bills or get into legal trouble because of their drug use.

While it may seem that you’re being supportive, enabling your loved one will only help maintain their addiction—and damage your own health and well-being along the way. Of course, it can be extremely hard to say “no” to someone you love, especially if it’s your child, but protecting the person from the consequences of their drug abuse often means you’re removing the motivation for them to seek help and change.

To better help someone with a drug addiction, it’s often necessary to hold them accountable for their actions by establishing limits or boundaries for what is and isn’t acceptable behavior. Without boundaries, your loved one never has to face the consequences of their actions—and you’ll eventually feel burned out from all the attempts to cover up, excuse, or compensate for their behavior.

Establishing boundaries for a loved one abusing drugs could include:

• Not allowing drug use, drug paraphernalia, or other drug users in the home.
• Not covering up for them if they miss work or school, not lying to get them out of trouble, or not taking over any responsibilities they’ve neglected.
• Requiring they pay their share of rent and other bills on time.
• Refusing to give them money to pay off debts or cover legal expenses if they’re arrested.
• Insisting that they always treat you with respect, even when high.

How to set boundaries—and stick to them

• Talk to your loved one about boundaries at a time when you’re both calm and not under the influence of drugs. Clearly outline what behavior you will and will not tolerate and what the consequences will be if they break your rules.
• Follow through . It’s almost inevitable that someone with an addiction will test any limits you set, so be prepared to follow through. If you don’t enforce the consequences you’ve outlined, your loved one will know the boundaries are worthless and their destructive behavior will continue.
• Remind yourself why you’re doing this . No one wants to see someone they care about suffer, but a meaningful, respectful relationship cannot exist without boundaries. Having to face the negative consequences of their behavior could be the impetus your loved one needs to get clean.

Establishing financial boundaries

In addition to the heavy emotional costs, money problems can also mount for families of drug abusers. Heavy drug use can be expensive, as can the cost of rehab and resolving legal problems stemming from your loved one’s drug dependency. It’s not uncommon for spouses to lose their homes bankrolling their loved one’s addiction, parents to empty their retirement accounts bailing their child out of debt, or for other family members to max out their credit cards paying for costly rehab programs.

That doesn’t make cutting off your loved one any easier. When setting financial boundaries, it’s important to consider how far you’re willing go. For example, are you willing to see your loved one spend time in jail instead of covering their legal fees? Are you willing to see them evicted or living on the street instead of paying their living expenses?

While setting boundaries won’t cure your loved one of their drug addiction or guarantee they seek help, neither will spending money. If your loved one chooses not to address their addiction, it won’t matter how much money you spend trying to change that. Ultimately, all you can control is how well you look after your own health and welfare.

Your loved one’s recovery from drug addiction can be a long process and the negative impact on your own health, outlook, and well-being can multiply over time. It’s important you maintain a balance in your life to avoid burnout from all the stress and frustration that comes from helping someone get clean.

Find support . Expressing what you’re going through can be very cathartic, so look for support from trusted friends and family, or a peer support group for family members of drug addicts. Talking to others who are facing similar challenges can help you find comfort, reassurance, and new ways of coping.

Manage stress . The stress of witnessing someone you love battle addiction can take a heavy toll. You can reduce your stress levels by eating right, exercising regularly , sleeping well, and practicing a relaxation technique such as yoga, deep breathing, or meditation. Since stress levels can escalate when quitting drugs, you can even encourage your loved one to do the same.

[Listen: Eye of the Storm Meditation]

Practice acceptance . At some point, you’ve probably asked yourself “Why me?” or even blamed yourself for your loved one’s struggle with addiction. But dwelling on circumstances outside your control will only sap your energy and damage your mood. Instead of searching for someone to blame or asking questions with no easy answers, learning to accept the things you can’t change can help you focus on the things that you do have control over.

Maintain other interests and relationships . It’s easy for your loved one’s battle with addiction to become all-consuming. But you’ll find it easier to cope with a difficult situation when other areas of your life are rewarding. Set aside time in your day to pursue activities and relationships that bring you joy—and try to keep up with work, hobbies, and social plans.

Support for sufferers of substance use disorders

Call the  SAMHSA helpline  at 1-800-662-4357.

Find  NHS drug addictions support services  or call the  Frank helpline  at 0800 776600.

Download the PDF  Finding Quality Addiction Care from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.

Find support or call the  Alcohol and Drug Foundation  helpline at 1800 250 015.

Support for families and loved ones

For parents in the U.S.:   Get One-on-One Help to Address Your Child’s Substance Use  or call the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids helpline at 1-855-378-4373.

Nar-Anon , a 12-Step Program for Family & Friends of Addicts, with worldwide chapters and online support groups.

SMART Recovery  offers online and in-person support worldwide for family and friends.

Group and 12-step programs for your loved one (most have worldwide chapters)

SMART Recovery

Narcotics Anonymous

Cocaine Anonymous

Crystal Meth Anonymous

Marijuana Anonymous

More Information

• Intervention: Help a loved one overcome addiction - Tips on holding a successful intervention. (Mayo Clinic)
• Coping When a Parent Has an Alcohol or Drug Problem - Help for teenagers and adolescents. (TeensHealth)
• Step by Step Guides to Finding Treatment for Drug Use Disorders (PDF) - Guides for adults, teens, or those helping someone addicted to drugs. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
• Effective Treatments for Opioid Addiction - Medications used in the treatment of opioid addiction. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
• What is Substance Abuse Treatment? A Booklet for Families - Learn about treatment options and what you can do. (SAMHSA)
• How can prescription drug addiction be treated? - Treatment options for prescription drug addiction including addiction to opioid painkillers. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
• Overcoming Addiction: Find an effective path toward recovery - Special health report from Harvard Medical School. (Harvard Health Publishing)
• Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders. (2013). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . American Psychiatric Association. Link
• O’Brien, C. P. (2011). Evidence-Based Treatments of Addiction. FOCUS, 9 (1), 107–117. Link
• Gramlich, J. (2017, October 26). Nearly half of Americans have a family member or close friend who’s been addicted to drugs. Pew Research Center . Link
• 2019 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Releases | CBHSQ Data . (2020, September). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Link
• Magill, M., & Ray, L. A. (2009). Cognitive-behavioral treatment with adult alcohol and illicit drug users: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 70 (4), 516–527. Link
• Vowles, K. E., McEntee, M. L., Julnes, P. S., Frohe, T., Ney, J. P., & van der Goes, D. N. (2015). Rates of opioid misuse, abuse, and addiction in chronic pain: A systematic review and data synthesis. PAIN, 156 (4), 569–576. Link

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Essay on Drug Addiction in Youth

Essay on the Signs of Drug Addiction

Essay on the causes of drug addiction, essay on the effects of drug addiction.

• Essay on the Prevention of Drug Addiction
• Essay on the Treatment of Drug Addiction

The most disturbing thing about drug addiction is that people in different countries of the world are becoming addicted to all kinds of drugs. There are different types of street drugs such as – cocaine, meth, marijuana, crack, heroin etc. Heroin is one of the dangerous drugs that suppress your heart’s work and is appropriate to achieve narcotic effect.

The alarming rate of drug consumption has always been a problem and has detrimental effects on the society. Personal and family problems also lead to drug abuse among youngsters who fail to deal with personal problems. The physiological effects of drug addiction can be difficult to endure and this is why the addict must be treated for their condition. The worst thing is that drugs are that they affect youth in every country of the world.

The term drug not only means medicine, but fatal narcotics with different specifications. These drugs have their evil effects on mind and body cells of the addicts. The addict becomes dependent on the drug to a great extent that he/she cannot stop using it. Despite of having full knowledge of its effects on health, addicts use it on a regular basis.

Drug addiction is basically a brain disease that changes the functioning of brain. There is an uncontrollable desire to consume drugs, as a result of which addicted people engage in compulsive behavior to take drugs. The addicts find it impossible to control the intake of drugs, as a result of which they fail to fulfill day-to-day responsibilities in efficient manner. Drug addiction is also referred as drug dependency, as the addict develops dependency for particular substance.

Drug addiction is a compulsive disorder that leads an individual to use substance habitually to achieve desired outcome. Millions of people in the world are suffering with drug addiction and the number is expected to increase in the coming years. If the person is using drugs for a longer period, the outcome may change. For example – early experimentation with drugs is rooted in curiosity. However, as the frequency of substance becomes frequent – the body starts to depend in it to function properly.

The most common signs and symptoms of drug addiction are – obsession with a particular substance, loss of control over the usage of drugs, abandoning the activities which you used to enjoy, etc. Drug addiction may have long term impact on life and one may develop severe symptoms such as – fatigue, trembling, depression, anxiety, headache, insomnia, chills and sweating, paranoia, behavior changes, dilated pupils, poor coordination problems, nausea etc.

There are a number of reasons why youth and teenagers are addicted to drugs or related substances. Lack of self-confidence is considered as one of the primary causes of drug addiction. It can also be due to excessive stress, peer pressure, lack of parental involvement in child’s activities etc. some people consider drug addiction can be the cause of drug use and ignorance. The ignorance of drug addiction along with physical pain of condition becomes a primary cause of drug addiction. Here are some of the causes of drug addiction.

High Level Stress

Young people who have just started their college life or moved to a new city in search of job often face problems with life change. They are more likely to alleviate stress through the use of drugs and similar substances. Finding an easy fix often seems easier than facing the real problem and dealing with it. Trying illegal drugs can lead to addiction and becomes a long term habit.

Social Pressure

Today, we are living in a highly competitive world and it is difficult to grow in such world. There is always a peer pressure in young and old people. However, it is never visible. A lot of young people expect to experience the pressure to use drugs, smoke and drink alcohol. Young people find it difficult to be the person who doesn’t drink or smoke. As they feel isolated and like a social outcast, they make a habit of taking drugs.

Mental Health Conditions

Another primary reason for trying drugs is mental health condition. People who are emotionally weaker tend to feel depressed about the facts of the world. They look for ways to feel free and live life in a normal way as they go through the period of growing up. In such situation, they make a habit of taking drugs and can lead to addiction.

Psychological Trauma

A history of psychological trauma appears to increase the risk of substance abuse. More than 75% of people who suffered from psychological trauma use drugs as a part of self-medicating strategy or provide an avenue towards self-destructive behaviors. Women are more sensitive to drugs than men, and hence need less exposure to similar effects. The availability of these drugs plays an integral role in perpetuation of addictive behaviors within families.

Exposure to Drug Abuse

Exposure to drug abuse in which the young people are raised is another cause why young people get addicted to drugs. If the individuals grow up in an area where adults use drugs, then the person is likely to try the substance themselves. Setting a good example is extremely important to keep them off drugs and related substances. Providing genuine information about drugs is the best way to prevent drug addiction.

There are many negative effects of drug addiction on physical and mental health. As said, drug addiction refers to compulsive and repeated use of dangerous substances. The effects of drug addiction are wide and profound. The psychological effects of drug addiction comes form the reason that the user is addicted to drugs as well as the changes that take place in brain. Many people start using drugs to handle stress. However, the psychological effects of drug addiction involves craving of the substance and using it to the exclusion of all else.

Emotional Effects

The emotional effects of drug addiction include – mood swings, depression, violence, anxiety, decrease in everyday activities, hallucinations, confusion, psychological tolerance to drug effects etc. Besides these, there are many physical effects of drug addiction that are seen in the systems of the body. The primary effects of drug addiction take place in brain, which changes the brain functions and impacts how the body perceives pleasure.

Physical Effects

Other effects of drug addiction include – heart attack, irregular heartbeat, and contraction of HIV, respiratory problems, lung cancer, abdominal pain, kidney damage, liver problem, brain damage, stroke, seizures, and changes in appetite. The impact of drug addiction can be far-reaching and affects every organ of the body. Excessive usage of drugs can weaken immune system and increase susceptibility to infection.

Brain & Liver Damage

The effects of drug addiction are seen in people because the drug floods the brain repeatedly with chemicals such as – serotonin and dopamine. The brain becomes highly dependent on these drugs and cannot function without them. The effects of drug addiction are also seen in babies of drug abusers and can be affected throughout their life.

Drug addiction can cause the liver to work harder, causing significant liver failure or damage. Regarding brain function, drugs can impact daily activities by causing problems with memory, decision making, mental confusion and even permanent brain damage.

Short Term Effects

Different drugs affect body in different ways. There are some short term effects that occur in drug users depending on the amount of substance used, its purity and potency. Drugs can affect the person’s thinking, mood and perception to a great extent. Drugs can temporarily impair motor functioning and interfere with decision making and even reduce inhibition. The most common substances of drug addiction include – opiates, alcohol, barbiturates, inhalants etc.

A lot of people do not realize the damage caused by drug addiction because the short term effects are not apparent at first. The individual may feel quite invincible and unaware that drugs can actually affect almost every system in the body. The long lasting effects of drug addiction may not be known to addict. If treatment is not sought in time, the physical and emotional health will deteriorate.

Long Term Effects

The long term effects of drug addiction can have disastrous consequences on physical and mental health. As the body adapts to the substance, it needs increasing amount of it to experience the desired outcome. As the individual continues to increase the dosage, he/she may develop physical dependence. The individual may face deadly withdrawal symptoms, once he/she stops using the substance.

Legal Consequences

Drug abuse not only causes negative effects on your physical and mental health, but can have legal consequences. Individuals may have to deal with the legal consequences for the rest of their life. A lot of companies require the employees to take drug test before offering job. Driving under the influence of drugs can lead to serious legal action and even heavy fines.

By understanding the physical impact of the substance, individuals can make informed decision regarding their health. Remember that it is never late to seek help, when it comes to treat drug addiction. There are many rehabilitation centers that help you combat drug addiction in a supportive environment.

Essay on the P revention of Drug Addiction

As said, prevention is always better than cure. It is always best option to deter people from drug abuse. Though it is practically impossible to prevent everyone from using drugs, there are things we can do to avoid drug addiction. Here are some effective tips to prevent drug addiction.

Deal with Peer Pressure

The biggest reason why people start using drugs is because of their friends or colleagues who utilize per pressure. No one in this world likes to be left out, especially teens and youngsters. If you are in such situation, you should find a better group of friends who won’t pressure you into harmful things. You should plan ahead of time or prepare a good excuse to stay away from tempting situations.

Treat Emotional Illness

Individuals suffering with any mental condition such as – anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress etc. should seek help from a physiatrist. There is a strong connection between mental illness and drug addiction. Those with weak emotional status may easily turn to drugs.

Learn to Deal with Pressure

People of today’s generation are overworked and often feel like taking a good break. However, they make the mistake of turning to drugs and end up making life more stressful. Many of us fail to recognize this. The best way is to find other ways to handle stress. Whether it is taking up exercising or reading a good book, you should try positive things that help in relieving stress.

Understand the Risk Factors

If you are not aware of the risk factors of drug addiction, you should first know about drug abuse. Individuals who are aware of the physical and emotional effects of drug addiction are likely to overcome them. People take up drugs when something in their life is not going well and they are unhappy about their life. One should always look at the big picture and focus on priorities, instead of worrying about short term goals.

Develop Healthy Habits

Eating a well-balanced diet and doing regular exercise is the best way to prevent drug addiction. A healthy body makes it easier for people to deal with stress and handle life effectively, which eventually reduces the temptation to use drugs.

The above tips are a just a few ideas that can help prevent drug addiction. However, if the person has already developed drug addiction, he/she should seek drug detox treatment at the earliest.

Essay on the T reatment of Drug Addiction

Drug addiction can be managed effectively like other chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma etc. Treatment of drug addiction is becoming personalized. The comprehensive treatment options not only address addiction, but treat the underlying issues resulting in addiction.

Though there are many options to treat drug addiction, it is not easy. Drug addiction is a chronic disease and one can’t stop using drugs within a few days. A lot of patients need long term or repeated care to stop using drugs completely. Drug addiction treatment depends on the severity of drug abuse. The treatment must stop the person from using drugs as well as keep him away from drugs.

Different treatment methodologies are employed in treating drug abuse. The treatment plan will be devised as per the condition of the addict. It is essential that the treatment is tailored to the unique individual as there is no single treatment that works for all.

Inpatient drug abuse treatment is one of the options that allow the addict to focus on his/her recovery. Attending this treatment facility can increase the chances of completing the drug addiction rehabilitation program, especially if the addict does not have good support system at home.

Outpatient drug abuse treatment is ideal for those addicts who have a supportive environment at home. It is usually recommended for those who want to attend short-term inpatient treatment program.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is another treatment option that is highly effective in treating drug addiction issues. CBT helps in controlling negative thought patterns that lead to drug abuse. Patients can identify the triggers that cause them to use drugs and learn to respond without the need to turn to the substance.

Drug addiction is a complex disease that results from a number of factors such as genetic predisposition, history of violence at home and stress. Researchers have been able to identify the factors that lead to drug abuse. Understanding the root cause of drug addiction is one of the best ways to improve treatment options and outcomes of drug addiction in future.

A lot of people do not understand why people get addicted to drugs and related substances. They mistakenly view drug abuse as a social problem and characterize the addict as a weak person. Though there is no scientific evidence on how exactly drugs work in brain, it can be successfully treated to help people stop abusing drugs. There are many treatments that help people counteract the disruptive effects of drug addiction and regain complete control over life.

Behavioral therapy is the best way to ensure success in most of the drug addicts. The treatment approaches are tailored to meet the drug abuse pattern of patients. It is not uncommon for an individual to relapse and start drug abuse again. In such case, an alternate treatment is required to regain control and recover completely.

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Guest Essay

The D.E.A. Needs to Stay Out of Medicine

By Shravani Durbhakula

Dr. Durbhakula is an anesthesiologist and pain medicine physician from Nashville.

Even when her pancreatic cancer began to invade her spine in the summer of 2021, my mother-in-law maintained an image of grace, never letting her pain stop her from prioritizing the needs of others. Her appointment for a nerve block was a month away, but her pain medications enabled her to continue serving her community through her church. Until they didn’t.

Her medical condition quickly deteriorated, and her pain rapidly progressed. No one questioned that she needed opioid medications to live with dignity. But hydrocodone and then oxycodone became short at her usual pharmacy and then at two other pharmacies. My mother-in-law’s 30-day prescriptions were filled with only enough medication to last a few days, and her care team required in-person visits for new scripts. Despite being riddled with painful tumors, she endured a tortuous cycle of uncertainty and travel, stressing her already immunocompromised body to secure her medications.

My mother-in-law’s anguish before she died in July 2022 mirrors the broader struggle of countless individuals grappling with pain. I’m still haunted by the fact that my husband and I, both anesthesiologists and pain physicians who have made it our life’s work to alleviate the suffering of those in pain, could not help her. It is no wonder that our patients are frustrated. They do not understand why we, doctors whom they trust, send them on wild goose chases. They do not understand how pharmacies fail to provide the medications they need to function. They do not understand why the system makes them feel like drug seekers.

Health care professionals and pharmacies in this country are chained by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Our patients’ stress is the result not of an orchestrated set of practice guidelines or a comprehensive clinical policy but rather of one government agency’s crude, broad-stroke technique to mitigate a public health crisis through manufacturing limits — the gradual and repeated rationing of how much opioids can be produced by legitimate entities. This is a bad and ineffective strategy for solving the opioid crisis, and it’s incumbent on us to hand the reins of authority over to public health institutions better suited to the task.

Since 2015, the D.E.A. has decreased manufacturing quotas for oxycodone by more than 60 percent and for hydrocodone by about 72 percent. Despite thousands of public comments from concerned stakeholders, the agency has finalized even more reductions throughout 2024 for these drugs and other commonly prescribed prescription opioids .

In theory, fewer opioids sold means fewer inappropriate scripts filled, which should curb the diversion of prescription opioids for illicit purposes and decrease overdose deaths — right?

I can tell you from the front lines that that’s not quite right. Prescription opioids once drove the opioid crisis. But in recent years opioid prescriptions have significantly fallen, while overdose deaths have been at a record high. America’s new wave of fatalities is largely a result of the illicit market, specifically illicit fentanyl . And as production cuts contribute to the reduction of the already strained supply of legal, regulated prescription opioids, drug shortages stand to affect the more than 50 million people suffering from chronic pain in more ways than at the pharmacy counter.

Doctors may be forced to ration medications or choose which patients out of a qualifying group receive scripts, and drug prices may increase for consumers. In an aging population with increasing pain medication needs, more patients may struggle more frequently to fill prescriptions that treat their pain, and because of known treatment biases in pain medicine, women and people of color could be disproportionately affected, widening existing disparities .

Paradoxically, the D.E.A.’s production cuts may drive patients to seek opioids on the illicit market, where access is easy but drugs are laced unpredictably with fentanyl, xylazine and other deadly synthetics. My patients confide that they cannot go through cycles of pain relief and withdrawal and cannot spend hours in the emergency room; in their minds, they have no choice but to turn to the streets.

We’ve seen this play out before: When the D.E.A. made legal access to products containing hydrocodone more difficult in 2014, the sale of opioids through online illicit markets increased to 13.7 percent of all drug sales from an estimated 6.7 percent, and sales shifted toward more potent opioids like fentanyl.

The D.E.A. isn’t new to this criticism. As recently as January, it insisted that manufacturing issues or other supply-chain disruptions were the real issues limiting patient access to pain medication, not manufacturing quotas or the imposition of limits. And the agency suggested that action would be taken if the Food and Drug Administration told it about shortages, which the F.D.A. hasn’t so far. But when more than a third of health care professionals attest that their patients struggle to fill opioid scripts, something is clearly not working. The D.E.A.’s responses read more like a deflection of blame than a serious strategy.

My profession makes me acutely aware of opioid risks, including addiction and overdose, but at times and under careful dosing and monitoring, opioids are the right choice for our patients. Still, some health care providers are reluctant to prescribe them , even for cancer pain, for which opioids are a mainstay of treatment. Many cited opioid dispensing at pharmacies as a barrier.

This is concerning, since untreated pain is associated with decreased immunity , a worsening of depression , reduced mobility and adverse effects on quality of life . Ineffective pain management has also been associated with increased medical costs. Among people with sickle cell disease , for instance, 10 percent of patients account for 50 percent of emergency room visits. Although they suffer from other possibly contributing disorders, the common feature among them is chronic pain.

Dangerous prescription drugs require safeguards, but a scalpel has more promise than a sledgehammer. The D.E.A., an agency staffed with law enforcement officials, is not equipped to distinguish appropriate from inappropriate prescribing, and it has apparently confused inappropriate with criminal . Instead of defining medical aptness, the D.E.A. should pass the baton to our nation’s public health agencies.

Collaboratively, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services can take a tailored, more precise approach to opioids that is informed by medical and clinical acumen. The F.D.A., in particular, should strengthen existing risk evaluation and mitigation strategies programs, which place controls on individual medications and respond to signs of inappropriate prescribing. Although such programs have not always responded effectively , they can be improved with planning, time and resources. And lastly, the government should strip the D.E.A. of its authority to suspend providers’ controlled substance licenses when dangers arise and should hand that power over to these public health agencies.

As the rates of chronic pain rise, I fear the future. Our medical students report reservations about treating pain patients, and while a dedicated medical school pain curriculum can shift attitudes, few schools offer one. The number of unfilled pain medicine fellowship training positions has more than doubled in the past three years , and pain physicians are leaving the specialty . For the field to recover, the thoughtful consideration of clinicians must be empowered by our nation’s health entities. It is time for the D.E.A. to stop meddling in medicine.

Shravani Durbhakula is an anesthesiologist and pain medicine physician. She serves on the board of directors of the American Academy of Pain Medicine Foundation and is a former director of the pain medicine fellowship and of the medical school pain course at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Is the war on drugs back on? | The Excerpt podcast

On Sunday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: It's been just over 50 years since President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. Since then, drug policy at the state level has mostly been progressing toward legalization, embracing liberal attitudes that aim to destigmatize drug use. But that experiment may soon be drawing to a close. In the wake of surging overdose deaths, Oregon has recently moved to recriminalize drug use and possession. Are we back to square one? Kassandra Frederique, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, joins The Excerpt to argue that policy makers simply didn't put the right safeguards in place.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.  This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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President George H. W. Bush:

All of us agree that the gravest domestic threat facing our nation today is drugs. Drugs have strained our faith in our system of justice. Our courts, our prisons, our legal system are stretched to the breaking point. The social costs of drugs are mounting. In short, drugs are sapping our strength as a nation.

Dana Taylor:

That was then President George HW Bush speaking in his first televised address from the Oval Office back on September 5th, 1989. Fast-forward 35 years, and a lot has changed with regards to how we view drug use, but have we really evolved our policy since then? Hello and welcome to The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. In 2020, voters in Oregon approved Measure 110, making it the first state in the US to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs.

Today, the Oregon legislature has just passed a bill to reinstate criminal penalties for drug possession. Does the demise of Measure 110 signal a return to America's war on drugs? Here to discuss Oregon's Measure 110 and drug decriminalization is Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, the leading organization in the US, working to end the drug war. Thanks for joining me, Kassandra.

 Kassandra Frederique:

Thank you so much for having me, Dana.

Measure 110, also known as the DATRA, the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, was a significant win for drug decriminalization advocates. How did the drug policy shift in Oregon following its passage?

When Measure 110 passed, the point of it was to end the horrors of criminalization. So stopping the arresting of people with drug possession, because people recognized that arresting people for drug possession was not actually going to get people connected to the resources that they had or the resources that they needed. So when the measure passed, I think it had a rocky start in implementation, but the data and the research has shown that Measure 110 prevented tens of thousands of Oregonians from being shuttled into a horrific criminal legal system.

What we found, despite the rocky start of implementation that was created by the Oregonian bureaucracy, is that people did get connected to care. So in the first six months of implementation, Measure 110 increased services by 44%. It also improved the quality of care with 100% increase of people actually gaining access to everything from peer support to harm reduction services. And this includes 143% increase in people accessing substance use disorder treatment, as well as 296% increase in people accessing housing services, which was one of the biggest issues that people struggled with while Measure 110 was being implemented.

Your organization, the nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance, has said that Measure 110 has been scapegoated by drug war advocates. How so?

So, so much of what Oregonians express frustration around were the conditions on the street. There was chronic homelessness that was exploding. There was a density population of unsheltered individuals. There was a lot of public drug use. And people made the connection to Measure 110, despite the fact that a lot of the issues and conditions that people were witnessing on the street and experiencing were a result of decades of inaction around housing.

It was about the fact that in the larger country, fentanyl, which is a more fast-acting opioid, has just made it to the West Coast, including Oregon, and that, in general, people's ability to get access to support has long been hindered by the lack of infrastructure in Oregon. And when I say the lack of infrastructure of support, Measure 110's purpose was to supplement the Oregon infrastructure.

However, what we learned was that decades of divestment in that infrastructure, as well as the Oregon Health Authority not listening to advocates about ways to improve the citation process, the ways that they needed to increase training for law enforcement about what Measure 110 did and what it didn't do, made it really difficult and confusing for Oregonians to actually see what was in front of them.

According to the CDC, in the 12 months ending January of 2020, there were 621 overdose deaths reported in Oregon. Then in the 12 months ending January of 2023, there were 1,431 overdose deaths reported, a significant increase. Is it fair to tie that increase to the passage of Measure 110?

Absolutely not. And in fact, it's not just advocates that are saying that. RTI actually came out with a study, and they're not the only ones, that they looked at the same period. What they found was that there was not a shred of evidence that showed that Measure 110 actually increased crime, increased homelessness, or increase the overdose rate.

What people are attributing that astronomical increase to is the introduction of fentanyl into the West Coast drug supply. And we know this to be true because the pattern of growth that Oregon is experiencing is similar to the pattern of growth that we saw on the East Coast, in places like New York and Massachusetts, when fentanyl entered its drug supply. And so part of the thing that it's important to disentangle is that Measure 110 was coming into implementation at the same time that the Oregon drug supply was changing.

You mentioned RTI. Who is RTI?

RTI is a research institution that held a conference a few months ago that looked at all the issues around implementation. They're also one of the academic institutions that is running an evaluation on Measure 110, about what worked and what didn't work.

Measure 110 was also enacted, as you've said, to address concerns related to incarceration rates for people of color. What kind of movement have you seen there?

So here, one of the things that the Oregon officials that focus on criminal justice statistics have said is that the recriminalization of drug possession will increase the amount of Oregonians of color that are incarcerated, or arrested, or engaged by the criminal legal system. And so this is something that continues to be an area of concern for us because part of the impetus for pushing the end of criminalization or ending the arrest was because of the historic disproportionate law enforcement engagement in communities of color, specifically that of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Oregonians.

I know that funding from marijuana tax revenue was allocated to expand access to addiction treatment services. Have any of those programs been successful?

You're seeing a 296% increase in people getting access to housing services. That would not have occurred outside of Measure 110. The money that people are able to put into these services have been really important. And I think you know that because when the conversation of recriminalization came up, everyone, all the elected officials said that that funding has to remain in place.

Kassandra, is there any argument that substance abuse became more visible in Oregon, particularly in the Portland area, after Measure 110 passed?

I think this is a great conversation. Public drug use happens because people usually don't have access to shelter or a home. Most people who use drugs have homes and don't use drugs in the street, and most people who are unhoused don't use drugs. There is a growing population of people who are unhoused, who are using drugs in the street, and the preeminent factor in that public drug use is that they don't have a home. And so I think if you're looking at the history of how homelessness rose in this time because of the eviction laws that were passed, because of the COVID eviction moratorium protections that were lifted during this time, you'll see that the unsheltered population rose, and those that are struggling and using drugs to cope with being unsheltered became more public and more visible. And those issues can't be attributed to Measure 110. They're attributed to the longstanding issues in Oregon around homelessness.

I want to turn now to the legalization of drugs versus the decriminalization was passed with Measure 110. You've advocated for legalization. What do you see as the upside of that?

I think in the moment that we're in right now, where our drug supply is continuously changing with more fast acting drugs, more powerful drugs, drugs that we have less scientific research around, it makes it more difficult for us to actually support people when the drug supply is shifting and shifting faster than we had in past years. And so, the conversation around the regulation of drugs is really about stabilizing the drug supply so that we can create the supports for people who use drugs.

In 1970, President Nixon signed the CSA, the Controlled Substances Act, into law. Was the signing of that act the beginning of the war on drugs.

The signing of the CSA was not the beginning of the war on drugs. Unfortunately, the war on drugs globally has been going on for a very long time. And in the United States, the first evidence of it here is in the late 1800s in California, where we passed the first drug laws, in part as a political tool to control Chinese migrants who had been working on the railroad. And so, we have had a long-standing strategy around drug criminalization and drug prohibition that has honestly set up the situation that we're in today.

What do you see as the specific failures of the war on drugs?

The war on drugs, as we see it, has really focused on criminalization. And that criminalization is not just something that we see in our criminal legal system. That strategy of criminalization, of surveillance, of stigma has infiltrated all our systems, and it's made it more difficult for us to give access to support for people who need it. It's also heavily relied on the legal system, which has incurred incredible amounts of incarceration, criminalization, deportation.

It's also really ripped apart families. People often don't speak to the ways that children are taken away from their parents, forcing other loved ones to be caretakers, and the disruption that is happening in the psychic impacts of what that looks like. And I think most urgently what we're seeing now is that our strategy of prohibition has made the drug supply more toxic and made it more difficult to manage, which has made it even more difficult for us to create the healthcare infrastructure to support people who are struggling with their use.

The Drug Policy Alliance has spent the last two decades in the pursuit of alternatives to criminalization. How do we stem the tide on the abuse of drugs like fentanyl?

Part of the things that we really need to focus on is what are the supports that are necessary for people? How are we giving people access to public education about fentanyl? How are we giving public education about all drugs? How we're giving public education around testing materials, giving people the opportunity to have testing materials so that they can know what is in their drug supply before they use them. How are we increasing access to different kinds of addiction services? So not just inpatient and outpatient treatment, as people traditionally have known. But what are the additional supports that can lead to someone stabilizing their use? And I think we have to look at our healthcare system, which has also really been impacted.

Kassandra, as you know, there are people who are opposed to Measure 110 and have been since the beginning. What do you see as the path forward that will benefit all of the communities that are grappling with drug addiction and the people living there?

I think we have to remind people that criminalization is not an appropriate way to deal with drug use. We know that because overdose has gone up in the hundredfold inside jails and prisons. We know that because when people come out of a jail in prison, they are 27 times more likely than the general public to have an overdose. People are frustrated, and I can appreciate that. I'm frustrated as well. My family members are frustrated with that as well. I'm living in the same wall that everyone else is, I'm experiencing the same wall that everyone else is, and I just truly believe that criminalization is not a pathway forward for us to get the things that we say that we want.

Kassandra, thank you for being on The Excerpt.

Thank you for having me.

Thanks to our senior producers, Shannon Rae Green and Bradley Glanzrock, for their production assistance. Our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to [email protected]. Thanks for listening. I'm Dana Taylor. Taylor Wilson will be back tomorrow morning with another episode of The Excerpt.