Drug Addiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Drug Addiction - Essay Example They crave for the drug so much that they can do anything they could to get a dose for them to relax. For those who are addicted they will continue taking the drugs even after realizing the harm it has on their body. (Amusable, 2008) The risk factors of drug addiction are common as for the other condition. Risk factors include family history of addiction where it is usually common on the families that had prior addiction before the current case. In addition, addiction of drug is dominant in males than female according to statistics. Stats show that the addiction in male is two folds compared with their counterparts. Peer pressure is also a contributing factor. This according to stats is seen mostly in the young people trying to fit in their social stratum. After the first introduction into drug abuse, the body develops a tolerance with time and eventually dependence. Drug addiction is a physiological process on its own. It is a physiologic process, because, it does not just happen at once but develops slowly and in sequential stages. Dopamine is the main hormone that is involved physiologically in the process of drug addiction. Drugs such as cocaine, morphine, and alcohol alter the pathway of dopamine. The first dose taken by an individual has no big effect. Additional drug abuse cause tolerance effect and soon the level of dopamine increase and consequently cause a feeling of being happy. Continuous administration of drugs also has a sensitization effect on the extracellular cells. So when an individual has reduced, or the dose reduce in the blood also the happiness causing hormone, dopamine, also goes down and the craving also start to go back to normal. The drugs taken tend to increase dopamine and when withdrawn the level of this dopamine dwindle and the cycle repeat itself. This cycle is what is known as drug addiction (Hanson, 2005). Will power to withdraw from drugs is most a time futile. The physiologic development of regulation effect