Cause and Effect about Drug Addiction

Drug overdose has become the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. Richard Leadbeater (2017). Addiction does not discriminate and can tear even the most loving family apart. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019) noted an estimated 69,029 people died of a drug overdose in a year period ending in February 2019. Seven of the ten of these overdose deaths were due to opioids. The addiction to opioids is so multi- faceted in it’s causes and revolving door effects it cant be hard to pinpoint exactly what caused an addict to start using. So what caused addicts get addicted you may ask? Studies show that children who grow up witnessing a family member with addiction are more likely to develop substance abuse problems as an adult. Krystina Murray (2020). Most of these people who have become addicted come from troubled homes where these drugs were easily accessible.

It does not take much to end up addicted to opioids and most people who are addicted never thought they would be. They may have been peer pressured into only do it once at this party and thinking I’ll be done with it. Little did they know that was the start of a downward spiral in their life. Another cause for opioid addiction is over use of prescription drugs. This can happen to just about anyone who has had a major surgery or has some type of painful disability and been prescribed pain medication and did not follow the exact directions for use. The problem with opioids is that long term use causes brain damaged suppressing the brain from it’s ability to create dopamine which is a natural pain reducer. This in turn leaves addicts needing more and more just to feel good again. Addicts are not able to get off of these drugs by themselves and will need the help of a medical professional to help them.

Most commonly used to help opioid addicts detox are suboxone and methadone. They are not meant for long term use and commonly end up being abused as the original drug of choice was. Addicts can end up effecting not only their life, their families and friends lives, but also business owners and residents of their town with the revolving door effects of their habit. Opioid addicts can run their families hefty bills. Destiny Bezrutcyzk (2020) wrote that an opioid users habit can cost up to $70,000 a year. This tears families apart emotionally and financially over and over again because who wants to let a family member be suffer and be homeless? But who wants to enable that person and have them in their home using drugs? Addicts cause the children that are immediately in their presence so much indirect pain they will never understand.

Krystina Murray (2020) notes these children end up developing guilt and self blame for their family parents abuse and are often removed from the household and placed in foster homes. Children growing up around these opioid addicts is indirectly part of the revolving door effect. They see the addict using, blame themselves and end up a user as an adult. When an addicts money and the money from family runs out they often times resort to stealing from local businesses and other local homeowners to pay for their habit causing them loss of inventory and their hard earned items. Opioid addiction has effected almost every local law enforcement agency to the criminal activity addicts do while influenced by these horrible drugs as well as having to revive all of the people have overdosed everyday.

The opioid crisis is nothing short of a very sad situation for all involved. It’s causes and effects are so widespread it takes a toll on a whole community. From the revolving door effect of children growing up around an addict and then using themselves to abusing prescription medication from a physician. All of this tears families apart emotionally and financially, local businesses suffer financially and local law enforcement has to respond to and exponential amount of unnecessary calls because of the criminal activity taking place while addicts are under the influence of opioids. Not to mention having to use Narcan to save their lives over and over again.

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