Constant source of new drugs fuels addiction

One of the biggest potential problems with addiction is that there are always new and different drugs becoming available for people to try, and may possibly become addicted to.  In some ways, well known drugs such as cocaine and heroin are preferable to any new drugs, because we have experience with these substances, and have dedicated a lot of research into the best ways to help people recover from these addictions.  Sometimes the people in the most danger are those who experiment with totally new drugs, that health services are unable to help with.

A report into new designer drugs that are similar to ecstasy found that although these drugs have similar effects to ecstasy, there are variations that make helping people difficult, as the full extent of any damage or side effects is not known (BBC News, 2011).

These differences make it difficult for health services and drug centers to actively treat people who are addicted to these substances.  It may be that common methods or treatments will be equally as effective in these cases as with drugs such as ecstasy, however until further information is available it is near impossible to know what the consequences of such drug use may be.

Drug use and addiction is a very hard topic to address, as it seems to be a never ending cycle.  The government constantly bring out new rules to address the growing number of substances available to people, but as one drug is outlawed, it seems another one is ready to pop up almost instantly.  This often means that people who are desperate to use drugs whatever the consequences, put themselves in a great amount of danger, as these drugs may have long lasting negative effects that we know nothing about.

Unfortunately, there is relatively little society can do about this state of affairs, but the one thing we can do is to continue investigations into these new substances, and continue to offer treatment services for those who are brave enough to try and combat their addiction.

BBC News.  (2011).  Designer drug: Effects on brain chemistry 'like ecstasy'.  Sourced from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16185373

Published by on 02/05/2020.