Substance Use Disorder Assignment Report

Running head: SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER 1
Substance abuse disorder
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SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER 2
Abstract.
Substance use disorder is a condition that develops due to over usage or drug abuse.
The sickness affects the patient's behaviour and also damages their brain cells. Substance
abuse disorder leads to a lack of control over the victim's body; they are unable to control
themselves, making it a medical condition. The use of drugs at first starts with experimental
amounts and grows gradually and starts to use these drugs more frequently. This frequent
usage turns into dependency and later addiction. At this stage, the user is unable to do without
the medication.

SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER 3
Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................3
Commonly abused prescription drugs....................................................................................3
Signs of prescription drug abuse............................................................................................4
Treatment options for drug addiction.....................................................................................5
Nursing diagnosis...................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................8

SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER 4
Introduction.
Drug addiction can arise from prescription medication. In this case, a patient abuses a
prescribed drug for a very long time to the extent of getting some withdrawal syndrome when
they stop using the medication. Some of the commonly abused prescription drugs are;
Opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and stimulants. In these texts, we focus
on the abuse of prescription drugs, its diagnosis, and available treatment therapies.
Commonly abused prescription drugs.
People tend to use prescription drugs their pleasure by taking the wrong dosages or
even consider other people's prescribed meds just for the fun of it. It is estimated that at least
20% of youth have used medicine for another purpose other than the prescribed one (Santos,
et al 2016). The leading prescription drug that is abused being opioids. Opioids can either be
natural or synthetic. An example of a natural opioid is heroin. Synthetic opioids like
morphine and codeine are also a leading cause of death due to overdose. A study carried out
in the US shows that up to 128 people per day die in America due to overdose of opioids.
80% of this number consisting of youths (Anderson et al 2016). This has been a big crisis for
public health practitioners. Not only has this affected the users of the drug but also their
families through financial loss in treatment and payment of fines due to criminal activity.
This crisis is a result of high rates of prescription of this medication due to its fast effects.
Here in Australia, misuse of opioid drugs has been on the rise since 2016. This can be
attributed to the increase in the illegal production of drugs.
The second most abused prescription drug category is that of CNS depressants and
stimulants. These drugs are used in the hospital to treat patients with anxiety and sleep
disorder. CNSs include sedatives tranquilizers and hypnotics. These drugs are highly
addictive; doctors who prescribe for this type of medication advise for guidance at the end of