Drug Use Social Issue.

Drug outbreak: How can we save ourselves and each other- what do we look out for?

Makayla Hudson, Moriah Owens and Amiya Robinson

Our Social Issue: Drug Usage

Drug Outbreak- How can we save our environment and our selves from harmful and addictive drugs

What do we need to know more about drugs and its effect on people?

What is the science behind drug addiction?

The root cause of drug use:

Why do people take drugs

• Addiction is defined as chronic- characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite the consequences.
• Drugs includes functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, self control and stress.
• Addiction is like a disease- both have serious and harmful effects and can be prevented and treated and if left untreated they could last a lifetime may even lead to death

How does it impact our community?

• The secondhand impact is serious, disease could spread through the population, which is more risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, lung disease, HIV, Hepatitis B + C, the list goes on. It doesn’t even just have to be regular bodily diseases; in one case it could cause more lethal car crashes or which infact hurts other people without another person taking a drug. So, by this, one person getting affected by drug abuse can hurt a whole community more than people think.

How do we get involved?

• One way is pretty self-explanatory, it limiting our drug use. Drug epidemics could be so much easier to solve if they were taken more seriously and not so normalized. Addiction is treatable though not exactly cured, even a day of no drugs is helpful for your brain. If taken care of accordingly, drug abuse has a small chance of happening. All the community needs are the right supplies and medication to help people. Not only that, if we had more options towards healthcare and counseling, I’m sure most of the problem would’ve already been handled.

Why is drug misuse important to address?

How can we educate ourselves on drug addiction?

• Drug misuse can lead to overdose and death. Addressing addiction at its early stages can prevent those outcomes.

• Some people often have external factors that lead them to take drugs. Recognizing this, addressing this, and being patient with them can have a lot of positive impacts.

• Can prevent people from the exposure of the high-risk behaviors that are associated with drug use.

• Drug use can negatively alter the brain and contribute to the development of serious mental illnesses.

Our Response As Service Leaders

• Call 988- Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

• If you see something, say something.

• Pull the person aside and offer your assistance in the best way possible

• Intervene during the early stages before it is too late

Home and Family. The home environment, especially during childhood, is a very important factor. Peer and School. Friends and other peers can have an increasingly strong influence during the teen years. arly use. Although taking drugs at any age can lead to addiction, research shows that the earlier people begin to use drugs, the more likely they are to develop serious problems. How the drug is taken. Smoking a drug or injecting it into a vein increases its addictive potential.

A medical condition that impacts the brain and alters behavior, resulting in an inability to regulate the consumption of either legal or illegal substances or medications.

To feel good. Drugs can produce intense feelings of pleasure. To feel better. Some people who suffer from social anxiety, stress, and depression start using drugs to try to feel less anxious. Curiosity and social pressure. In this respect, teens are particularly at risk because peer pressure can be very strong.