The Changing Face of Substance Abuse - Essay Example

# The Changing Face of Substance Abuse and the Cost to Our Society The face of substance abuse has dramatically shifted over the past 40 years. Before that time, substance abuse and the societal afflictions associated with it were almost inextricably linked to alcohol and a handful of predictable street drugs. However, as the problem has ballooned in Western society, and arguably the world over, so have the substances that are the vehicle towards addiction. Because of the breadth of the topic, this essay will focus on the systemic effects that substance abuse is having on the economy and society of the United States. From time immemorial, individuals have suffered from substance abuse. Whether this abuse was the over-indulgence of wine in ancient Mesopotamia, whether it was the first use of the cacao plant by the South American tribesman, or whether it was experienced in the opium dens of 19th century China, humankind has perennially sought out and cultivated methods in which to numb the cares and pains of their lives. This basic human need to cope with the struggles of their own times has led many towards a firm faith in gods and spirits; others it has led down a path of substance dependency. Whatever the cause of the dependency or the vehicle by which people’s pains and cares are numbed, the effects upon the lives of the afflicted, their loved ones and families as well as the society in which they live has changed little through the ages. Though addiction has changed little during the course of recorded human history, several factors have changed drastically. Firstly among these is the cost that the US government spends on average every year to perpetrate the so-called “War on Drugs”. It is not the intent of this paper to take sides on whether legalization should be pursued or discouraged; however, it is worth noting that the cost to the tax payer per annum now exceeds 44 billion US dollars per year (Executive Office of the President, 2004). This figure, as mind boggling as it is, only takes into account total bills generated from law enforcement efforts every year. That is to say, the figure is not inclusive of any type of rehabilitation, treatment, or grants to half-way houses etc. Perhaps now more than ever, the weight of this astoundingly high yearly bill rests uneasily on the shoulders of tax payers who are already burdened with a recession riddled US economy. However, despite the costs, it is understandable that the United States government finds itself in an uncomfortable position in this respect as without any type of drug enforcement, narco states and terrorists groups such as al Qaeda and the Taliban would enrich themselves even further; thereby increasing the security threats to the United States and her citizens (Peters, 2009). The second major morphology which differentiates substance abuse today from substance abuse 40 years ago is the substances which are being abused. Without even examining the exponential growth and variety of street drugs today as compared to 40 years ago, now substance abuse has moved wholesale into prescription drug abuse. Prescription drug abuse has become a massive problem in the quietest of towns, in suburbia, in middle-aged middle class America. As a result, the issues related to substance abuse are now intimately related to the nation’s own medical establishment. The third morphology lies with the changing demographics of substance abusers. At least a share of guilt lies with the United State’s medical establishment. Either through ease of patient/doctor relations or through the desire to move as many patients in and out of the office as possible on a daily basis, doctors and practitioners are willing and able to prescribe how powered pain medication for the most minor of maladies (Meisner, 2008). Secondly, pain clinics have sprung up all over the nation as a type of cottage industry to feed the growing demand that the population has for these opiates and their derivatives. Once a doctor capriciously prescribes Vicodin or some other type of codeine/opiate derivative, the patient has a high risk of involuntarily becoming addicted (Isralowitz, 2004). As a result, the patient may either continue to return to the doctor complaining of various ailments in a bid to further feed their habit, they will turn to pain clinics where the threshold of professional medicine is at a bare minimum, or they will continue to feed their habit by turning the streets to score the pills they so desire. Similarly, for the most minor of perceived psychological problems, doctors hastily prescribe Xanax, Zoloft, Lexapro and a host of other anti-depression anxiety medication. This serves a disservice to society as well as to the patient. By treating the symptoms of the underlying problem that brought the patient into the office rather than the root cause, doctors and practitioners have oftentimes enslaved a patient to a lifetime of dependency on a certain medicine that they perceive they cannot handle life without (Smith, 2001). As such, the face of substance abuse as well as the substances abused has dramatically changed from the not so distant past. In this way, our current medical establishment is irrevocably harming an entire generation of Americans by saddling them with unnecessary pain medication and anxiety/depression medication; all of which are highly habit forming and classified by the DEA under Class II and III narcotics. Lastly, the type of illegal/street drugs themselves has changed from those that were represented on the streets 40 years ago. 40 years ago, there were no synthetic cannabis, no bath salts, no ecstasy, and no widespread use of methamphetamine (Jenkins 1999). The exponential growth and availability of both street and prescription is no doubt one of the driving factors that the numbers of individuals suffering with substance abuse continues to climb. Furthermore, because the drugs themselves are changing so rapidly, methods of treatment are struggling to formulate and understand the effects and paths of treatment for the plethora of new entrants. As such even the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) struggles to continually amend their controlled substances list to counter act the incessant new wave of substances that threaten the population. The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Applied Studies released its 2002 findings regarding its “National Survey of Drug Use and Health”. According to the study, 22.1 million Americans suffer from substance abuse in the form of alcohol and drugs – over 13 percent of the population (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 2003). Figures and statistics alone are not enough to understand the scope of the issue. Yet, if a single set of statistics speaks to the gravity of the problem it is the increase in economic cost of substance abuse in the United States. Notwithstanding the information thus far presented, even if a person is not convinced that substance abuse poses a threat to society, to budget deficits, and to the user, consider the following: in 2002, the economic cost of drug abuse in the United States stood at over 181 billion dollars per year. (National Research Council, 2004) Ignoring the effects on society, ignoring the effects on the user, the effects on the family unit, and the long-term outlook for a nation increasingly addled with substance abusers, one cannot discount the strangling effect that this issue has on our national economy. Compared to ten years prior to the study (1992), the total cost of substance abuse to the US economy was 108 billion. This represents nearly a 60% level of increase in cost to our domestic economy. These figures alone are telling as to the size, nature and scope of the overall problem. Whether or not one has a strong opinion on legalization, the need spend more/less on the rehabilitation of the user, or the long term societal effects of a population addled with substance abuse problems, the fact remains that the problem is a growing one that demands attention. On a personal level substance abuse can literally leave a human being with nothing left to live for. At a societal level, the issue demands moral attention and economic judgment. Economically, our society cannot afford to continue the status quo with regards to substance abuse. Though humanity has changed little, and the old adage stands strong that there is nothing new under the sun, the cost of ignoring the issue of substance abuse in the vane hopes that it will just go away is an exceedingly foolish proposition. Bibliography Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2003). Results from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NHSDA Series H-22, DHHS Publication No. SMA 03–3836). Rockville, MD. Executive Office of the President. (2004). The Economic Cost of Drug Abuse in the United States. Retrieved 07/08/2012, from National Criminal Justice Reference Service Web Site: https://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/pdf/economic_costs.pdf Isralowitz, R. (2004). Drug Use: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Jenkins, P. (1999). Synthetic Panics: The Symbolic Politics of Designer Drugs. New York: New York University Press. Meisner, B (2008). What Constitutes Prescription Drug Misuse: Problems and Pitfalls of Current Conceptualizations. Retrieved 07/08/2012, from Bentham Science Web Site: http://www.benthamscience.com/cdar/openaccsesarticle/cdar%201-3/0002CDAR.pdf National Research Council. "Front Matter." New Treatments for Addiction: Behavioral, Ethical, Legal, and Social Questions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2004. 1. Print. Peters, G (2009). How Opium Profits the Taliban. Retrieved 07/06/2012, from United States Institute of Peace Web Site: www.usip.org/files/resources/taliban_opium_1.pdf Smith, D. E., & Seymour, R. B. (2001). Clinicians’ Guide to Substance Abuse. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Read More