Critically Analyse the Reasons Why People Take Drugs

Running Head: PSYCHOLOGY 0
“Critically Analyse the Reasons Why People Take Drugs”
Essay
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PSYCHOLOGY 1
Analyse: The Reasons why people take drugs
The drug is a kind of medicine or a harmful substance that has a physiological effect on the
body after the consumption of it. In addition, it might cause a change in the organism's
physiology, when consumed (Drug Aware , 2019). Drug consumption can be done via
inhalation, dissolution, absorption, smoking, patch on skin, injection and ingestion. Long-
term usage of the drug can influence the chemical system of the brain and adversely affects
the body’s functions of learning, judgement, decision-making, stress, memory, and behaviour
of the person. Despite all these negative factors, which has harmful results, some people have
become addicted to it. There are many reasons for the usage of drugs by people.
The usage of the drugs at early ages could cause harmful changes in developing brains. The
people feel the livelihood progress and they become drug additives as they are taking it in a
constant manner, which is injurious to health. Especially some of the drugs such as opioid
painkillers, stimulants and cocaine are the more addictive drugs as compare to the other ones.
Behind the drug addiction, there are lots of reasons such people want to do an experiment,
they have the family history of drug addiction, loneliness, peer pressure, mental disorder,
prescribed by the doctors or it provides the pleasure to them. Even many people are not able
to understand that when they use become drug addicted. The drug addiction is kind of the
complex disease, which can be cured but it takes time and strong will power. The high usage
of drug occupies the consumer’s brain in such a manner that it has become harder for him to
quit the drug usage.
The consequences of drugs influence physically, psychologically, legally, and socially. In
long-term consumption of the drugs, it effects harmfully and causes lungs or heart disease,
cancer, mental disorder, AIDS, and another disease. In addition, the long-term consumption

PSYCHOLOGY 2
of the drug is the reason for drug addiction, which leads to brain disorder (Gateway
foundation, 2019). Hence, the drugs can cause critical physical loss. In the case of
philological effects, the drugs are the proactive effect on the people mood. The drugs can
cause a certain reaction to the emotion of people, which changes the mood of the people and
some people find it enjoyable. Hence, they become psychologically drug addicts. The legal
consequences of the drug abuse people are that they have to face many problems related to
survival, which leads to the difficulty in obtaining employment. The illegal consumption is
the crime in the eyes of law (Black Bear , 2019). Hence, it can negative consequence to the
drug addicts to survive in this environment. The social consequences of drug abuse influence
the behaviour of drug addicts. The people who consume the drug illegally is not acceptable in
society, and they have to face many of the social problems which influence their behaviours
negatively (María, 2015).
In accordance with the World Health Organisation, drug addiction is referred to the
hazardous use of the psychoactive substance, which leads to the dependence syndrome
(World Health Organisation , 2019). These substances include drugs consumption, opioid
analgesics, alcohols and benzodiazepines. In Australia, there was a survey conducted to find
the prevalence rate of drug consumption, almost 324 adults had participated in this survey
and it had been observed that males have the highest prevalence rate as compared to females
(Australian Government , 2019). The significant differences found in the substance abuse
were for age, income, retirement, community involvement and gender. In addition, this
survey reveals that the females, retired individuals and the non-baby boomers protectively
use the drugs and they are not addicted to it. While in the case of the upper-medium income
earner are the addicted ones. Apart from this survey, according to the studies happened in
America, it had been found that the people belong to 50 age group and above needs the

PSYCHOLOGY 3
treatment for their addictions in recent years. In addition, it had been predicted that by 2020,
almost 4.5 million people of this age needs the addition treatment (Li & Caltabiano, 2017).
The reason behind the dependency of the people on drugs had been related to the variety of
theories and to understand these approaches, there is the summary in the following
paragraphs with the details explanation in three different areas of it. The first theory had a
focus on the drug’s effects (Smith, 2019). The name of the theory is neurobiological theory
suggests the understanding of behaviour and learning of the people. This theory helps in
elaborating the drug dependency in the biological terms. The second theory had the focus on
behavioural model and differences of the individuals. The name of the theory is
psychological theory suggests the understanding of human thoughts, behaviours and
emotions. This theory helps in elaborating the behaviour of the person who is drug addicted.
The final theory had a focus on environmental and cultural factors. The name of the theory is
sociocultural theory suggests the understanding of the contribution to society for the
development of the individual (Bancroft, 2010). This theory helps in elaborating the causes of
drug dependency due to the social factors, present in the culture and the environment. These
theories help in understanding the reason why people take drugs.
As per the world recent years survey, the drug consumption dependency is the considered as
the “International Classification of Diseases” and it had been observed that there is the
presence of more than three indicators of dependence in the last preceding years. In addition,
in this survey consumption of Tobacco smoking had not been included (Our World in data ,
2019). With the help of the widespread under-diagnosis, it had been estimated that the use the
combination of a source includes the records related to the records of medical and national
aspects, epidemiological and survey data, and models of meta-regression. Almost 208 million
populations international consume the drugs illegally. In the United States as per the national
survey of drug consumption and health denotes that across the nation almost 19.9 million