Analysis of Peer-Based Approaches in Addiction Treatment

Running Head: HEALTH CARE
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ADDICTIONS MILESTONE 2
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THE HARM-REDUCTION
1. Analysis of peer-based approaches in terms of neuroscience for addiction
treatment
Addiction is the most dangerous form of drug abuse that causes brain disorder characterized
by strong biosocial factors on an individual. The effects are detrimental to both an individual
and society. The understanding of the underlying effects of addiction has improved over the
decades due to the milestone progress in neuroscience research as well as the development of
the latest technologies (Pavarin, 2015). These developments have paved way for neurological
advances through which a combination of biology, social, and cultural factors have
contributed to the resistance to the vulnerability for the use of drug and addiction (Des Jarlais,
2015). The understanding of the sociocultural and biological impact on human being has
brought a new understanding of the issue resulting in new methods of treatment of addiction.
The most common one is disrupting an individual's ability to prioritize behaviors resulting in
benefits for the long term rather than those providing short term benefits.
One method of deterring adolescents from drug addiction is to handle them like adults.
Researchers have reported that people who use drugs like marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco
while still, teenagers are most likely to use dangerous drugs at adulthood. In the US, it has
been discovered that most people in 30s and 40s who use recreational drugs at teenage
become the most affected by an overdose of opioids (Few et al., 2014). One discussion is
about the campaign on drug prevention for teenagers. This focuses on the application of
neuroscience that encourages young people to make decisions that back the promotion of
brain health.
Analyses of harm-reduction approaches in terms of the neuroscience of addiction and
treatment models

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THE HARM-REDUCTION
Harm reduction refers to a set of policies, programs, and practices that are focussing on
reducing health, social and economic effects of drug and substance abuse. Application
procedures may include certain strategies, for instance, those that will provide a safer
environment for the use of heroin. It may also help regulate the use of heroin so that
prevention of overdose can be realized. However, strategies will always vary depending on
the type of drug being used by an individual. Many countries around the world have adopted
their own harm-reduction strategies. For instance, the United States offers needle and syringe
programs as well as opioid substitution therapy (Guydish et al., 2017). Harm reduction
acknowledges that it is important to abstain from drugs as a way of avoiding addiction and its
consequences. If users can believe that no individual should die from preventable conditions
like addiction to drugs, it would be easy to control the use of these drugs and minimize their
effects on human beings. The harm-reduction procedure involves:
 Acknowledge that drug abuse is inevitable and finding correct ways of minimizing its
effects
 Understand that dealing with drug abuse is a complex thing and therefore some
methods are safer than others
 Using voluntary methods and ensuring that the people and the community affected are
not forced into participation programs to combat and to minimize the effects of drug
abuse
 Making sure that drug users participate with their own views on the campaign to
inform them and the public on the dangers of drug abuse
The role of culture in substance abuse and use is crucial in the determination of the effects,
management, and treatment of drug and substance abuse. The social and cultural setup of a