Choose Topics on Substance Misuse
Provide a discussion on the following issues:
Misuse of substances may start from a psychological predisposition to being addicted and careless behavior. In cases of treatment and / or intervention one addiction will be replaced by another one. This process is inevitable. A drug can be replaced by cigarettes, alcohol or coffee, physical exercise or religious practice. Consequently, it is possible to state that addiction can originate from obsessive and / or addictive complication rather than from being vulnerable to a certain substance.
How such programs of treatment like NA and AA came to such conclusion?
- Take into consideration aspects in this topic of a strong reliance of the above mentioned programs on religion and a wide spread understanding that substances, which are considered less harmful (for example, cigarette, alcohol and coffee) can replace addiction to highly addictive substances.
- Can such an approach help in treating the substance addiction or maybe it helps to simply manage this problem in a certain way?
Think and discuss the connection between lower income individuals and substance misuse.
- Here one can provide a discussion on the prevalence of substance addiction among lower income individuals.
- This problem is connected with a number of socio-economic factors. They include economic dependence on the illegal trade and a number of aspects widespread among individuals with lower income. As a result, it makes young people vulnerable to substance abuse, which has negative consequences later on in their life.
Switzerland is the first developing country ready to provide medical treatment for patients who suffer from substance abuse.
Patients are allowed to have an access to the strictly controlled dosage of illegal substances (for example, cocaine pharmacies). Discuss the following: consider the addiction nature and find out how these facilities support substance misuse or act as the main catalyst of substance misuse. How these facilities manage to help the addicted individuals to function successfully despite being addicted to harmful substances.
- Background information: in some clinics, located in Switzerland, cocaine addicted patients are allowed to have an access to the controlled amount of cocaine. Doctors prescribe the exact dosage of substance and patients can use it twice a day. It is believed that addicted individuals receive an opportunity to focus on their job and improve personal life since they do not have to look for the drug dosage. As a result, patients do not spend their time on sourcing the substances through crimes such as prostitution and theft. Consequently, it helps addicted individuals to concentrate on productivity.
- Some scientists argue that it promotes substance abuse since there is no reason to struggle with the addiction. On the other hand, the opponents state that substance addiction is a long-lasting battle with high possibility of recidivism. Therefore, clinics in Switzerland developed such a specific treatment, which gives an opportunity to addicts to live full life despite their addiction to substances.
- Similar treatment programs can be discussed as well. For example, legalization of less harmful and addictive substances, exchange of needles, and the increasing access to particular substances in pharmaceutical treatment.
- As an alternative, the topic can include discussion of substance abuse from sociological and psychological perspectives (for example, realizing and perceiving substance abuse instead of believing in utopian treatment of the addiction).
Consider the substance abuse nature and discuss the 12 steps program, which incorporates the psychological factor in treating abuse and addiction. AA and AN can be selected as a case study.
- When selecting this topic, one can describe any type of treatment programs (it is not necessarily to choose the 12-step program).
