Drug Addiction Facts

Treating drug addiction effectively requires developing a customized plan for each individual. Because of the array of addictive drugs available, addiction will manifest itself in different ways depending on the drug and the person taking them.

If you or a loved one needs help for addiction, please call us today: 1 (877) 779-1468

Below, learn more about what makes these drugs addictive and how they can harm not only the person using them, but the people around them as well.

Alcohol:

Alcohol depresses your central nervous system, lowers your inhibitions, and impairs your judgment. Drinking can lead to risky behaviors, including violence or having unprotected sex. This may expose you to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases or cause unwanted pregnancy. Aggressive or chronic use of alcohol can damage your liver, kidneys, stomach, and other organs.

Alcohol is absorbed directly into your bloodstream and can increase your risk for a variety of life-threatening diseases, including cancer.

Drinking alcohol can lead to:

  • A loss of coordination
  • Poor judgement
  • Slowed reflexes
  • Distorted vision
  • Memory lapses
  • Blackouts

For additional alcohol addiction information, click here.

Club Drug:

Ecstasy, GHB, Ketamine, Rohypnol, LSD, and Methamphetamine are sometimes known as club drugs. Club drugs are attractive in today’s society because they are inexpensive and produce increased stamina and intoxicating highs. Because many of these drugs are colorless, tasteless, and odorless, they can be secretly added to beverages by individuals who want to intoxicate or sedate others.

Research has shown that club drugs can have long-lasting negative effects on the brain, especially on memory function and motor skills. When club drugs are combined with alcohol, the effect is intensified, and they become even more dangerous and potentially fatal.

Crack and Cocaine:

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug of abuse. Once an individual tries cocaine, they cannot predict or control the extent to which he or she will continue to use the drug. Crack is the street name given to cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a free base for smoking.

Heroin:

Heroin is a highly addictive drug, and its use is a serious problem in America. Current estimates suggest that nearly 600,000 people need treatment for heroin addiction. Recent studies suggest a shift from injecting heroin to snorting or smoking because of increased purity and the misconception that these forms of use will not lead to addiction.

Marijuana:

Long-term marijuana use leads to addiction in some people. That is, they cannot control their urges to seek out and use marijuana, even though it negatively affects their family relationships, job performance, and recreational activities.

In addition, some heavy marijuana users develop a tolerance to its effects. This means they need larger and larger amounts of marijuana to get the same desired effects as they used to get from smaller amounts.

Prescription:

Over $78 billion in prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are produced each year in the United States. Although most people use these medications properly, a significant number do not. They might take them without a doctor’s prescription, use more than prescribed, or take them for reasons other than those that the drugs were prescribed for.

OxyContin:

OxyContin is a trade name product for the generic narcotic oxycodone hydrochloride, an opiate agonist. Opiate agonists provide pain relief by acting on opioid receptors in the spinal cord, brain, and possibly in the tissues directly.

Opioids, natural or synthetic classes of drugs that act like morphine, are the most effective pain relievers available. Oxycodone has a high abuse potential and is prescribed for moderate to high pain relief associated with injuries, bursitis, dislocation, fractures, neuralgia, arthritis, and lower back and cancer pain.


Drug addiction can manifest in many ways, but help is available.

Speak to a Caring Counselor Today: 1 (877) 779-1468