Causes of Drug Abuse

There are numerous causes of drug abuse. However, several key areas can be pinpointed. Drugs and alcohol kill the pain of ordinary life; they destroy the physical and emotional pain by changing an addict’s perception on life. Drugs and alcohol make the user become numb to the pain, unhappiness, or hopelessness that is a part of their lives. A person may abuse drugs such as alcohol, prescription drugs, inhalants, or other street drugs (cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, etc.). Understanding one’s initial causes of drug abuse can help stop future users from becoming addicts.

When it comes to the causes of drug abuse, it is not likely that anyone begins using a drug with the intention of becoming addicted. Experimentation and curiosity are the first factors that draw many to even try drugs. They want to feel that “high,” the sense of euphoria that comes with drug use. Additionally, drug abuse and addiction often results in painful withdrawal symptoms when drug use is stopped suddenly. This frequently provides drug users with another reason to continue their destructive drug behavior.

The medical causes of drug abuse are not fully understood. Researchers can only state with assurance that the repeated use of addictive drugs can bring about dramatic changes in both the structure and the function of the brain in destructive ways that can result in compulsive drug abuse. Another one of the causes of drug abuse is the effect of drugs on the user. By stimulating the internal reward system in the user’s brain, drugs and alcohol make the addict crave the drug to again stimulate this reward center. These cravings lead the addict to stop focusing on those things that used to be important, and begin focusing on another dose of their drug or alcohol.

Common Causes of Drug Abuse:

• Advertising or media influence
• As a novelty
• As a relief from fatigue or boredom
• Childhood loss or trauma
• Curiosity
• Early initiation
• Easy access
• Emotional distress
• Family history, genetic predisposition
• Low self-esteem
• No interest in conventional goals
• Patterns of use in the addict's family or subculture
• Peer pressure
• Poor control
• Poor stress management
• Preexisting psychiatric or personality disorder, or a medical disorder
• Psychological distress
• Reinforcing effects of drugs
• Sensation seeking. (Feeling high)
• Social rebelliousness
• To escape reality
• Withdrawal effects and craving

Drug abuse can lead to drug dependence or addiction. Drug dependence may also follow the use of drugs for physical pain relief, though this is rare in people without a previous history of addiction. Another cause of drug abuse is peer pressure. However, at least half of those who go on to addiction have depression, attention-deficit disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder or another psychological problem. Children who grow up in an environment of illicit drug use may first see their parents using drugs. This may be another cause of drug abuse by putting them at a higher risk for developing an addiction later in life for both environmental and genetic reasons.

Lastly, easy accessibility to drugs and lower prices are additional causes of drug abuse. Drugs can be found anywhere if a person simply asks. Street corners and alleyways are no longer the only place to find drugs. Schools, workplaces, and even the family next door might be new places to find drugs. With more drugs being produced, the price has also been driven down.