Facts About Drug Addiction
You may rightfully get upset when you find out someone you love is an addict. You may think that the person chooses to take drugs for fun. Choosing to take drugs is not a choice in the life of an addict. He or she is addicted to drugs and it should be treated like a disease.
Estimates of the total overall costs of substance abuse in the United States exceed half a trillion dollars each year. That includes $181 billion for illicit drugs, $168 billion for tobacco and $185 billion for alcohol. What is important to know though is the cost of drug addiction extends to every citizen in the United States of America. We pay for the drug addiction through family disintegration, loss of employment, failure in school, domestic violence, child abuse, and other crimes.
Drug addiction changes the structure and function of the brain and is frequently referred to as a disease because of these characteristics. The brain’s communication system is disrupted and changed from repeated use of substances and so when the addict stops using drugs, a craving is induced. It is for this very reason that addicts are compelled to do whatever it takes to purchase more drugs; prostitution, theft or other crimes. In fact, most incarcerations are somehow directly or indirectly tied to addiction.
