The Dangers of Addiction

By Matthew O'Donnell, 2020

Published 10/18/19

Drug use is becoming a more and more controversial topic these days. Many people are targeting vaping, saying there are likely potential health risks involved. Marijuana is also a fairly large topic as well, as many states are trying to make it legal. Often, people consider marijuana to be a rather safe drug. They argue that it doesn't have any long term health risks, and it is therefore completely safe to use. However, with drugs, how addictive it is is just as important to consider as well as the potential risk to one's health.

The way the brain works is when a person does something it sees as good, such as eating food or spending time with friends and family, it releases dopamine, which makes you feel happy. This causes us to practice habits such as eating meals and frequently spending time with others. Unfortunately, this brain function can also be abused.

As an example, let's imagine someone decides to order their first cup of coffee one morning. Upon drinking it, they feel less tired, and more energized. As a result, the person may decide to order another cup the next day. The person will likely begin the habit of ordering a cup of coffee every day. However, let's say that one day, this person is running late to work, so they skip buying coffee. The person will likely feel extremely tired, more tired then they would have felt before starting their coffee ordering-habit.

After some time, the person may notice the coffee doesn't have as strong of an energizing effect on them as it used to. As a result, they could potentially order larger, more expensive cups, or even multiple cups. Only then will the person feel any effect.

This can be directly applied to drugs such as traditional/e-cigarettes, marijuana, and more. When a person first takes a drug like marijuana, they will feel a high for some amount of time. After it wears off, the person will likely want to have another one to feel its effects again. But, like in the coffee example, they will eventually notice themselves getting used to the effect of the drug, meaning they'll probably have to smoke more and more of it at once to feel its effects.

While coffee doesn't really have any long term negative effects on people, many people consider it unhealthy regardless, mostly due to its addictive nature. Marijuana and other drugs are no different; however, people tend to only really care about whether a drug physically harms their body or not.

There are many problems with getting addicted to drugs. Many people have a hard time functioning unless they have had their morning coffee. The same applies to drugs. Often, a person will have uncontrollable cravings to use a drug they are addicted to. The only way to stop these cravings is to take the drug. Another problem is cost. Those who get addicted to drugs can spend large amounts of money on them. This can cause a person to be unable to pay for things like rent, which can get them evicted from an apartment. Many people are homeless due to spending all their money on drugs.

Drug addictions can also be indirectly lethal. Eventually, a person will get to a stage in their addiction where their one purpose in life is their drug of choice. The person may stop doing things like eating or drinking because all they care about is doing drugs. A person may even decide to attempt suicide to escape their overwhelming urge. A drug addiction can very easily take control of you.