It is important to understand that abuse of psychotropic substances mainly starts at the peak of adolescence. During this crucial phase of development, the teenagers f either for different reasons. One of the reasons could be peer influence. Others will abuse simply because they are idle and they don’t have any lace to take energy to. It is always important for parents and guardians to monitor the young ones and teenagers to ensure that they are always safe. Another form of drug abuse is the drug overdose. When the drugs are used in any other way apart from the prescribed one, it becomes abuse, and it may lead to death. A lot of deaths have been reported that have been caused by drug overdose. Even those made to cure a certain disease, when taken in other than the prescribed way and in high quantity, become an overdose.
There has been a high rate of stigma when it comes to coverage and language used when stressing substance abuse. The use of words such as “substance abuser” and “addicts” is termed as more stigmatizing, and there is a need to use less-stigmatizing alternative words. The language included in news media coverage of media coverage contributes to widespread public stigma toward people who suffer from substance abuse (McGinty, 2019). This stigma may be an obstacle to achieving one’s goals in life. On preventive measures, substance abuse can be prevented if necessary, and measures are taken in time. Monitoring the adolescents and teenagers on what they are doing and with whom. This will serve as the first preventive measure as it will ensure that they will not be introduced to drugs and substances. Also, making sure that they are ever engaged all the time will be another good preventive measure. They won’t divert their excess energy on drugs and substance abuse.
On the other hand, the other preventive measures can be guidance and counselling. Using qualified counsellors who know the impacts of substance abuse can help resolve many problems among the abusers and help to reverse the extreme effects among the abusers. The counsellors must have an understanding of the consequences of abusing the drugs and hence come up with good approaches and methods to address each effect (Volkow, 2019). Rehabilitating the extreme abusers will be the other effective way of helping to reverse the damages caused by the drugs. The governments have helped a lot by ensuring enough rehabilitation centers and physiatrists handle such cases. The community, in general, has a role to play. If all can play their roles and take responsibility, then the substance abusers would be very few. Drug abuse is a global menace, and it needs a collective responsibility to eliminate it.
Among the highly abused drugs are alcohol, bhaji, and cigarettes, among others.
In conclusion, this essay has discussed the impacts of drug and substance abuse and also highlights preventive measures to control the rapid abuse of drugs. Comprehensive research on the causes of substance abuse has been discussed. In the future, it will be possible to have a drug-free society if these preventive measures are taken into consideration. If all take a collective responsibility, this will be attainable. In media reporting, polite language should be used when addressing those who abuse substances to ensure that there is no stigmatization. This will prevent causing more injuries to those affected by the already discussed menace. In a nutshell, substance abuse is a menace that should be faithfully taken by all seriously.
References
McGinty, E. E., Stone, E. M., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., & Barry, C. L. (2019). Stigmatizing language in news media coverage of the opioid epidemic: Implications for public health. Preventive Medicine, 124, 110–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.03.018
Volkow, N. D., Jones, E. B., Einstein, E. B., & Wargo, E. M. (2019). Prevention and Treatment of Opioid Misuse and Addiction. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(2), 208. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.3126
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