Psychology of Addictions Psychology Research Paper

Psychology of Addictions
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Psychology of Addictions
Introduction
Do you believe the general reasons why people use, and abuse drugs have changed over the years? And if so, how?
The history of drug abuse extends across many centuries back. The research by the University of Pennsylvania posits that alcoholic beverages were already being produced as early as 7000 B.C. further, there was the production of hallucinogens as indicated by samples found in caves in Peru that were as old as 5600 B.C. The concept of understanding the means of providing guidance alongside treatment requires an understanding of the history of drug use and extensive research on the impact of drugs, which will be essential in finding trends in the 21st century (Jalal et al., 2018).
There have been numerous bad reports concerning the use of drugs in the last decade despite the show of some good signs. For instance, the statistics reveal that the use of drugs by the young generation across all substances shows a downtrend from a peak of approximately 34% in 1997 to 27% in 2014. However, such statistics do not represent the true picture since there are specific cases where drug abuse has shown worse trends. A good example is the age-adjusted rate for deaths resulting from drug poisoning, especially the use of heroin. This is since the number of deaths almost tripled from 0.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2000 to 2.7 deaths per 100,000 in the year 2013 with the graph heightening from early 2010 (Jalal et al., 2018).
The aspect of drug and substance abuse as applicable in this study does not only refer to just illicit drugs such as heroin that could easily lead t addiction. But also refers to the various prescription medications such as painkillers or sleeping pills that can easily trigger similar issues. It is evident from research that in the United States, prescription painkillers provide one of the groups of most abused drugs followed by marijuana. There are more deaths reported on those using an overdose of powerful opioid painkillers as compared to deaths resulting from traffic accidents or guns. Currently, the abuse of these painkillers is seen as the major risk factor in the use of heroin (Mital et al., 2018).
Evolution of drug addiction
There are numerous cases concerning the act of people taking various substances that are mind-altering. Some of the cultures consider alcohol consumption as part of their daily pleasures. There has been evolution and changes made on drugs from natural substances owing to technological advancements. Some of the drugs used from prehistoric times include; alcohol, Cannabis, opium, blue lotus, cocaine and tobacco (Ngwu et al., 2020). In the 21st century, despite the same substances being used, the aspect of science and technology increases the level of drug as well as alcohol potency alongside the creation of new kinds of drugs and synthetics. For instance, some of the additional drugs common in the 21st century include; Amphetamines, prescription painkillers, morphine, crack cocaine and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). It has been difficult for patients undergoing extreme pain to withdraw from the various drugs as prescribed in recent years. The current socio-economic pressures within ...