People originally take drugs for one of two reasons. Either the drugs are prescribed by a physician to treat some physical or mental disorder, or they provide a pleasurable effect such as the warm, carefree drowsiness induced by heroin, or even the mild alertness produced by the caffeine in coffee, tea or cola. Whether or not a given drug is addictive varies considerably, not only from drug to drug, but also from person to person. Mildly addictive drugs such as codeine, together with such drugs as cannabis (marijuana) or cocaine are commonly known as “soft.” “Hard” drugs are drugs that can lead to severe addiction; they are covered here.

Anyone who is addicted to a hard drug must take it in gradually increasing doses both to maintain the pleasurable effects of the drug and to keep from breaking down physically and emotionally. This is called building up tolerance to the drug. If the addict’s need for the drug is not satisfied, unpleasant physical and psychological effects called withdrawal symptoms will result. In some cases the withdrawal symptoms can be harmful, or even fatal, and withdrawal from the drug should be medically supervised.

What are The Symptoms?

Every type of drug produces its own kind of mental and physical symptoms . In general, any addiction is likely to cause a gradual deterioration of the addict’s standards of work, personal relationships, or both. The behavior of addicts is often erratic and their moods may be changeable, with periods of restlessness and irritability alternating with extreme drowsiness. There is often a loss of appetite, and unreasonable fatigue and surliness. If someone close to you has some of these symptoms, they do not necessarily indicate drug addiction. But if he or she also spends increasing amounts of time away from home and seems to be always out of money for no apparent reason, you have cause for suspicion.

What are The Risks?

There are no reliable statistics available on the total number of drug addicts in the United States, partly because many addicts never receive treatment, and obtain drugs illegally. Estimates of the number of heroin users in this country range from about 400,000 to almost four million, and about seven million people are reported to use sleeping pills once a week or more. It is not known how many people are actually addicted to these drugs.

Hard drugs taken habitually violently upset the body’s chemical system. In extreme cases the result can be serious physical or mental illness, or even death. With some drugs, an addict can build up a tolerance for the drug that is dangerously close to the dosage at which the drug can kill you. Also, when drugs are obtained illegally, there are no controls over the strength or purity of the drug. It is very possible to take a fatal dose by mistake.

What Should be Done?

Anyone who is addicted to a drug needs help, but addicts are unlikely to seek help unless desperate. If you are concerned about drug abuse in yourself or anyone else, consult your physician or a drug counseling center.

What is The Treatment?

Self-help: No self-help is possible for severe addiction. If you seem to be dependent on regular doses of some prescribed drug such as a tranquilizer, do not hesitate to speak to your physician about the problem. The doctor will probably either allay your fear of possible addiction or recommend appropriate measures to break the habit.

Professional help:

Hospital treatment, preferably in a special drug unit, is essential. The addictive drug is withheld either immediately or gradually, depending on the severity of withdrawal symptoms for that particular drug or combination of drugs. Once the withdrawal process is over, the second stage of treatment begins. It consists of an attempt to prevent renewed addiction by means of psychotherapy and vocational therapy. It is not easy to “kick” a drug habit permanently. Before they are discharged from the hospital, “cured” addicts may be offered temporary housing in a new environment and are usually advised to avoid their drug-taking friends and form new relationships.