Substance Abuse Articles, Blogs and Resources

Man on mountain thinking about Substance Abuse Addiction Hope is dedicated to providing timely and helpful information on the dangers of Substance Abuse as well as alcohol abuse.

Drugs are a chemical substance that can be used in the prevention, cure and treatment of an ailment or disease. Often, medications can be used to help an individual’s emotional and psychological well being, and they can enhance one’s physical abilities or well being.

Medicines can help heal a person or destroy a life. They can be naturally derived from plants or synthesized in some type of laboratory. A drug addiction can ruin a man or woman’s existence. It is disappointing that many of the medications that were originally developed to help heal people will be abused and devastate the life of someone with a substance abuse addiction.

Substance abuse is when a person begins using a drug in a way other than its intended use as prescribed by a doctor. A drug addiction can be created when a man or woman continually abuses drugs in order to get high (an intense euphoric feeling). Some drugs are so addictive that someone using for the first time can become instantly addicted.

When someone has developed a drug addiction, they can build up a tolerance to the drug and need more and more of the substance to have the same effect. The person will sometimes begin smoking, snorting, or injecting the drugs so as to reach a quicker and more intense high. This leads to constant repeated use and, thus, the creation of a drug addiction.

Substance abuse addiction is outstandingly difficult to quit. Often one substance is abused with other drugs or alcohol. Sadly and frequently, substance abuse co-occurs with other mental disorders such as mood disorders, mental disorders and eating disorders.

This adds to the complexities of stopping the drug abuse. However, it is imperative that the drug addiction is ended because constant substance abuse can be deadly. Heart attacks and strokes often occur. Some of the more common drug types include opioids (heroin, morphine, hydrocodone), hallucinogens (LSD, DXM, PCP), stimulants (cocaine, Ecstasy, meth), and depressants (alcohol, Quaaludes).

Please continue reading below to see our latest blog posts on substance abuse. Under the “Substance Abuse Navigation” menu, you can click on the drop-down arrow to see evergreen, general information on dozens of individual drugs, including prescription substances.

Preventing Teen Substance Abuse is More Important Than Ever

Young teenager thinking about Teen Substance Abuse

Every year that substance abuse is delayed during the adolescent brain development, the risk of substance abuse disorder decreases. Research shows that substance abuse initiated earlier in adolescence is indicative of a greater prevalence of substance use disorder (SUD) into adulthood. Amid the present epidemic of opioid use disorder and overdose mortality, making the prevention [...]
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Marijuana Use at Highest Level in Three Decades Among High-School and College Students

Person smoking pot and with Nicotine Dependence and Major Depression

Synopses of Recent Addiction Research Provided by Dr. Mark Gold Dr. Mark Gold's Research You Can Use The recent annual National Monitoring the Future Panel Study depicted record high marijuana use rates among college students and youth not in college in the past three decades. Crucial data depicting marijuana and other substance abuse statistics among [...]
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Depression & Self-Medication: A Dangerous Attempt at Self Care

picture of guy in midst of Depression & Self-Medication with head in hands and the picture is shattered

Depression is a mood disorder that is technically referred to as Major Depressive Disorder. It is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. Sadly, depression and self-medication are far too often intertwined. The sadness and pain are frequently too much to handle and sufferers resort to self-medicating with recreational drugs and alcohol [...]
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Middle-Aged Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Middle-Aged Alcohol and Drug Abuse mortality rates are on the rise, but this bucks the image of it mainly affecting the younger generations. In general, alcohol and drug abuse are thought to be the most problematic among younger generations, as statistics on the prevalence of substance use typically reflect this. For instance, in 2014, only [...]
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Mothers & Opioid Abuse: Increased Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

It’s likely you’ve seen the nation’s opioid epidemic in the news lately, as opioid use, use disorder, and overdose has vastly increased in the past several years. [1, 2, 3, 4, 6] The rate of women’s and pregnant women’s use and misuse of opioids have paralleled this increase. [4, 5, 6] Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) [...]
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