Past and Current Trends Of Use and Abuse of Substances in the United States Essay

Current trends show that illicit drugs are a source of significant cause of mortality in the United States. It accounts for approximately 17,000 deaths annually nearly a thousand in persons aged 12 to 21 years. Illicit drug use is also associated with significant morbidity and has far-reaching public health effects. A National House Hold Survey on drug abuse in 2003 showed that an estimated 19. 5 million Americans aged 12 or over were current users of drugs at that time. The survey showed that marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug. There was also the use of non-medical use of any prescription-type pain relievers, tranquilizers, sedatives or stimulants. Marijuana even currently is widely used because of its low cost and easy availability. New drugs that have gradually been noted coming into the market include methaqualone in the late 1970s, crack cocaine in the early 1980s, flunitrazepam in early 1990s and most recently Oxycontin (Bulletin on Narcotics, 2003). Teens are the group that is most affected by the drug use in the US. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) shows that among the drugs highly used in the United States are Marijuana which has a the highest consumption, then followed by Psycho- therapeutics, cocaine, Hallucinogens and inhalants. Alcohol is a substance that has a detrimental effect on peoples’ health and is equally commonly used. The survey shows that over 50% of teens have tried an illicit drug by time of high school completion. This is an alarming percentage bearing the devastating effects drugs have in individuals’ lives. However, there is a notable decline in the use of nicotine among the youth- this trend in the history of survey that began in 1997. This is particularly notable since nicotine is often used before any other drugs of abuse (it is used by armatures), and tobacco addiction is the leading contributor to many of America’s public health problems. It is estimated that 19. 5 million Americans aged 12 or older are current users of illicit drugs. The use of cocaine in the US has equally declined over years while that of crack has increased. This has been attributed to the risk that comes along with injecting of ones’ self thus risking AIDS infection. Marijuana was the most widely used illicit drug, in 2003, with an estimated 14. 6 million people being users of marijuana. 2004 reports show that approximately 23% of the students in grade 7-12 had 5 or more drinks on one occasion during the past year. The rate of binge drinking is decreasing from 27% in 2000 to 26% in 2002. Among the 18 to 25 years old group, about 58% were current drinkers and 40% were binge drinkers. The current drinkers among the older group drops to about 50%. Binge drinkers drops to about 23%, and 5% heavy drinkers. About 14% of students in grades 9 through 12 admitted they had driven a car after having had a good bit to drink at least once in the past year, and 24% of the seniors said so. 11% of students in grade 9 through 12 reported having driving when they were high on drugs and 18% of the seniors said so. Cocaine has high prevalence in the United States especially in Texas State. Approximately 7% of the 18 to 25 years old population reported using cocaine. Use of alcohol, but not cigarettes, marijuana and cocaine, is higher among college students than among non-college youth of the same age. There is a significant difference in the use of cocaine between border and non-border Hispanics. More recently, while the use of crack cocaine was decreasing among some populations, in particular African-American, it was increasing among Hispanic youth. The finding shows that there is a disparity by ethic/racial group. Although African-Americans have lower rates of substance abuse prevalence, they have a higher rate of homicides. The attitudes towards the use of drugs have changed over the period of times in American culture. (Kozel, 2003) argues that substance abuse or use in American society reflects â€Å"a wrenching tension between conflicting ideals of liberation and communal obligation. † This has been noted by the increase of use of drug during the period of national crisis like American Revolution, in the civil war and the 1960s, as drug use was linked to independence and forging of new identities. In one way or another change in prevailing ideological and religious beliefs, fluctuations in norms and values and transformations in technology are some of the cultural fluctuations that affect drug use in American society. The African American music, which glorifies drug and violence, is a significant example of how culture promotes and encourages the use of drugs. It is also the norm in the United State for young people to have alcohol as a regular drink forgetting that alcohol is addictive; this culture works to promote the use of drugs. Drugs use has adverse effects on the health of Americans. Mental health of individuals is affected when people use drugs. Drugs use and abuse has been associated with risk-taking behaviors that leads to multiple consequences, including the on going transmission and acquisition of HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmission diseases. These are some of quite challenging health hazards in the contemporary world. In addition, impairment due to drug use can lead to unintended pregnancy, impacts of which are far reaching, as teenage mothers are more likely to not finish high school or college. Drug use is the source of chronic liver disease. America’s chronic liver disease prevalence rate is high at 9. 5. Over 90% of deaths due to this disease happened to individuals in the older age groups. Hispanics have a greater rate of deaths due to chronic liver disease (25. 5) than other groups, 18. 6 for Whites and 12. 7 for African-American. This reflects the effect of Hispanic culture and the influence it has in encouraging drug use. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Lung cancer, heart disease, and illnesses such as emphysema, bronchitis, and chronic airways obstruction are responsible for largest number of smoking related deaths. Majority of individuals whose cause of death is lung cancer were in the 65 years old or older group. The age disparity shows long-term effects of cigarette smoking. Alcohol is the substance that is used by the greater percentage of population who use substances. Its use begins early, and the percent of users peaks in early adulthood. Its use continues to be high during adulthood, but the percent of users decline with age. Most hard drug users develop from the use of alcohol and thus alcohol acts as a bridge. Essentially, each drug has its physiological effect on the user. Most drugs are not used in their pure form and may be mixed with harmful substances. In addition the way the drug is used can have health effects. For instance, injecting drugs, in particular with unclean needles, can cause emboli or clots, sepsis and other infections that require medical attention. Sometimes users overdose and die.