Substance Abuse

Substance Abuse

People who use drugs and/or alcohol to change how they feel about themselves or to alter their mood are likely to be substance abusers.

Substance abuse is indicated by adverse consequences related to the use of drugs and/or alcohol. Individuals may demonstrate intoxication or other substance-related symptoms possibly when they are expected to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home. They may receive complaints about their use of substances. There may be repeated absences or poor work performance related to hangovers. The person may be intoxicated in situations that are physically hazardous (e.g., while driving a car, operating machinery, or engaging in risky recreational behavior such as swimming or rock climbing). Legal problems may emerge as a result of substance abuse. The person may continue to use the substance despite a history of undesirable social or interpersonal consequences, (e.g., marital difficulties or divorce, verbal or physical fights).

The variety of addictive substances continues to grow as new drugs become available. Addictive drugs can include an assortment of prescription drugs, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, LSD, ecstasy, GHB, anabolic steroids, inhalants, alcohol, nicotine, and others.

Although a diagnosis of substance abuse is more likely in individuals who have only recently started taking the substance, some individuals continue to experience substance-related adverse consequences over a long period of time without developing evidence of substance dependence.* However, substance abuse frequently leads to addiction.

More than half of the estimated costs of drug abuse have been associated with drug-related crime. These costs include lost productivity of victims and incarcerated perpetrators of drug-related crime (20.4 percent); lost legitimate production due to drug-related crime careers
(19.7 percent); and other costs of drug-related crime including federal drug traffic control, property damage, and police, legal, and corrections services (18.4 percent). Most of the remaining costs result from premature deaths (14.9 percent), lost productivity due to drug-related illness (14.5 percent), and healthcare expenditures (10.2 percent).**

Signs and symptoms of substance abuse: