(View entire post here)

 

When most people hear the phrase "drug addict," it calls up a mental image of a crack-smoking street thug, a skid row bum, covered with scabs from injecting heroin or other illegal substances, or a prostitute, hopelessly strung out on meth.  My own experience as a drug and alcohol counselor, and crisis interventionist, has informed me otherwise.  More often, the chemically dependent people I encounter are part of seemingly normal families. People with a bright future or a respectable past, and once-productive lives that have been shattered by prescription drug abuse.

Indeed, yesterday I got a phone call from a relative.  He comes from an upper-middle class, Midwest family who has loved and nurtured him. He's good-looking, intelligent, and possesses special abilities.  He's had all the advantages anyone could ever hope for, yet he's now addicted to prescription pain killers.  I'm grateful he called for help, unlike so many who suffer in silence, but his case represents a growing and alarming trend in addiction.  A recent report by the U.N. International Narcotics Control Board predicted that the scale of the problem of addiction to legal drugs will soon overtake addiction to banned substances.

Addiction may be defined as a pattern of compulsive drug use characterized by a continued craving for drugs and the need to use these drugs for psychological effects or mood alterations. Many abusers find that they need to use drugs to feel "normal." The user exhibits drug seeking behavior and is often preoccupied with using and obtaining the drugs of choice. These substances may be obtained through legal or illegal channels.