Drug addiction is more than simply a bad habit. It’s a disease that, like any other chronic illness, requires professional medical care and understanding for the patient. The effects of addiction extend well beyond the addicts themselves.
There are serious consequences for the addict and for society and families. Also, the workplace as a whole when someone develops a drug addiction.
Health
Drug issues cause ill health in several different ways. Drugs also encourage the production of dopamine. But over time, the brain can become dependent on drugs to make, transmit, and receive dopamine.
This causes dependency and emotional problems. A person may suffer from anhedonia, feeling a lack of pleasure from activities that stimulate them. Each drug has its own impact on other parts of the body. Opioids can slow someone’s breathing down to the point that they lose consciousness and die. Cocaine can cause heart muscles to become stiff, inducing a heart attack.
Families
One person’s drug use can have consequences for their entire family. If someone does drugs in front of their family members, being high or drunk at family gatherings is stressful as well.
A child who lives with a parent who has an addiction may have great trouble growing up. They may become neglected or abused.
Some people may start using drugs to deal with difficulties in their personal lives. This may provide a temporary fix, but it will eventually make their problems worse.
Workplace Issues
People who use drugs have far less productivity in the workplace than others. The average worker misses 15 days a year due to illness or injury. But someone with a substance use disorder misses an average of 24.6 days. Training an employee can cost thousands of dollars. If someone with addiction leaves work early, they cost their employer a lot of money. Many people with addictions quit their jobs because they can’t meet their job requirements.
Crime
Drug use can inspire someone to commit crimes. They may steal money or belongings from their relatives to cover the cost of more drugs. In rare cases, employees steal petty cash from their companies to buy drugs.
Being high or drunk can lead someone to commit a crime. Drugs can destroy a person’s decision-making abilities, leading them toward risky choices. They may feel fewer inhibitions, believing that they are free to do whatever they wanted.
Drugs negatively affect society in more ways than one. They redirect dopamine in the brain and hurt heart and lung function. They can pull parents and children apart from each other. Children may witness their parents’ using drugs, as a result they start to use them themselves. Workers with addictions are less productive and more likely to lose their jobs. They are also more likely to commit crimes. Growing and producing drugs pollutes the ground and destroys water resources.
