DRUG DEPENDENCE

Drug Dependence Drug dependence psychological and sometimes physical state characterized by a compulsion to use a drug to experience psychological or physical effects. Drug dependence takes several forms: tolerance, habituation, and addiction. (Bennett, 1997) Tolerance, a form of psychological dependence, occurs when the body becomes accustomed to a drug and requires ever-increasing amounts of it to achieve the same pharmacological effects. The condition is worsened when the certain drugs are used at high doses for long …

…the incidental medical consequences of drug use such as malnutrition and medical problems caused by unsteriliazed needles. Abusers of barbiturates and amphetamines may require hospitalization for detoxification, as is common among alcoholics. Other, such as those arrested repeatedly for possession of marijuana, may, in lieu of imprisonment, be forced to undergo treatment designed primarily for opioid abusers. Whatever the substance abused, the goal of most treatment programs is to foster abstinence in the patient. (Keliher, 1997)