Drug Addition among Young People in Australia1.docx

1、Drug Addition among Young People in Australia1Drug Addition among Young People in AustraliaSeptember 20th, 2016Word Count 2412Table of ContentsDrug Addition among Young People in Australia 11. Introduction 32. Body 42.1 Reasons for Australian young peoples drug addiction 42.1.1 Developmental factors

2、 42.1.2 Environmental factors 52.2 Health consequences of drug addiction 62.2.1 Change brain functions 62.2.2 Health Problems 73. Government solutions to tackle drug addiction 73.1 Education 73.2 Treatment 83.3 Law enforcement 94. Conclusion 9References 111. IntroductionIn Australia, the use and abu

3、se of illegal drugs creates an illegal market which is estimated to be worth A$6.7 billion, making it a daunting social, legal and health issue. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, over 60% percent of Australian people had never used illegal substances, but there were 14.7%

4、of Australians illicit drug were used by those aged at 14 and over in the last year. An increasing number of Australian young people are now addicted to drugs and they are dependent both physically and psychologically on various types of drugs, such as heroin, benzodiazepines, tobacco, cocaine and L

5、SD and magic mushrooms. Drug addiction is complicated and hurtful because it can not only damage young peoples health, but also influence their mental health and social connections. The main purpose of this report is to research drug addiction among Australian young people by proposing three researc

6、h questions. This report comprises of three main sections with each section dealing with one research question. The first part will identify the reasons for the occurrence drug addiction among young people in Australia. As what follows, it will analyze the health consequences caused by drug addictio

7、n. The third section will examine the government solutions to solve drug addiction problem. 2. Body2.1 Reasons for Australian young peoples drug addictionDrug addiction is a chronic disease caused by peoples legal or illegal use of medication and drug over a long period of time. There are many facto

8、rs leading to drug addiction among young people in Australia, including both developmental factors and environmental factors. 2.1.1 Developmental factorsThe typical age range for drug addiction is between 15 to 30 years old, a stage where people develops the fastest (Collins et al., 2007). Though it

9、 is possible for people at any age to get addicted after taking drugs, the earlier the drug use begins, the more likely it proceeds to addiction (Grichting & Barber, 2009). This is particularly true for teens because at their age, brains that make judgment, decisions and control over themselves are

10、still developing. Thus, young people are quite vulnerable to a variety of illegal things, drug use included. It all starts in schools usually teenagers are more prone to try drugs. First it comes psychologically and and then physically from the “want” to “need”. For instance, teenagers may first try

11、 drugs just to taste of what is like out of curiosity, experimentation or wanting to take risks (Schachter, 2012). Teenagers are at the age where new things intrigue them and they desire to try new things. It is not that they do not know the consequences of taking drugs, but they cannot help themsel

12、ves taking the second and third time after taking the first. They are not aware of the power of drugs in getting people addicted and addicted to drug unintentionally. Once taking them, most young people cannot control themselves because their brains are not mature enough for them to battle against t

13、he pleasantsensation drug brings to them. But when they get old, drug addiction will have already destroyed them in certain ways. Therefore, young people are addicted to drugs because they are still in a developing period when they cannot control themselves in trying new things and also cannot contr

14、ol once they want to try the second, third time, and finally get addicted to drugs.2.1.2 Environmental factorsExternally speaking, there are may environmental factors which leading to young peoples addiction to drugs, which include pressure from school and parents and influence from their peers.Pres

15、sure from schools and parents often cause young people to resort to drugs as a way to relax and relieve themselves. Young people are now placed high expectations by their parents who also impose more pressure on those young peoples academic studies. Schools, as an institution for them to learn, do n

16、ot implement many activities to help students to release those pressure. According to the National Drug Strategy Household Survey, there were approximately 73% of the adolescents reported heavy stress from parents and academic studies being the major reason for their drug abuse (Maxwell & Davey, 201

17、0). Some of them usually choose a wrong way to solve that. When they use drugs, they may feel better temporarily and continue abusing drugs to keep them being on a constant high state. Hence, many young people in Australia use drugs to act as a short-term fix for the stress and pressure they are und

18、er. In addition to pressure from school and parents, there are many young people taking drugs and become addicted due to the influence of their peer groups. As stated by Maxwell and Davey (2010), the biggest group of drug addicts are students in that they first get off their families and they are no

19、t under parents control anymore. Giudice (2004) found that young people opt to drugs because they want to fit in to the peer group he or she is, and there is someone or many have already been addicted to drugs. Many youngsters might feel the need to follow whatever their friends are doing and giving

20、 into peer pressure in order to fit in and be considered cool enough to be accepted into a social group. This suggests that young people take drugs because the peers are taking them and they do not want to be socially left out. Hence, adolescents try drugs and take them to under the influence of the

21、ir peer groups.All in all, there are both developmental factors and environmental factors explaining the reasons why Australian young people become addicted to drugs. Due to the fact that young people are at a stage of brain developing, they may have little control over themselves and be curious abo

22、ut new things. Besides, stress from schools and parents and also influence of their peers, can leads to Australian young peoples drug addiction. 2.2 Health consequences of drug addictionThere are some daunting facts about about drug abuse. There are more than 527,000 costly emergency rooms taken up

23、by illicit drug users each year due to drug related problems and 26% of them are young people age between 15 to 30. In addition, more than 1/3 of state prison population increase are drug offenders. Those statistics indicated that the abuse of drug can lead to serious physical and psychological cons

24、equences. According to XXX, illegal drug use accounts for 1/4 deaths in Australia. Those who are dependent on drugs are at higher risks of unintentional injuries, accidents, domestic violence, medical problems and death (). The following part identifies three health related consequences of drug addi

25、ction including changing of brain functions and health issues, as detailed below. 2.2.1 Change brain functionsUndoubtedly, drugs are chemicals and due to different chemical structures different drug embodies, the effect on the body can also vary. As a matter of fact, some drugs causes changes to a p

26、ersons body and brain in a ways that last long even if the person stops taking drugs. The change can be permanent. The entrance of drug into human body can also be in a number of different ways, such as inhalation, injection and ingestion. Different methods of drug entering human body also exerts di

27、fferent influences on health. For instance, when drugs are injected, they go directly to the blood stream causing immediate effects while ingestion requires the drug to pass through the digestive system delaying the effects (Hughes et al., 2010). However, although the effects may differ according to

28、 different chemical structure and different using method of the drug, the majority of drugs target the brains reward system directly or indirectly by flooding the circuit with dopamine (Maxwell & Davey, 2010). As a neurotransmitter in the brain, dopamine plays the role of regulating movement, emotio

29、n and cognition. Thus, when drugs enter the brain, they act on the brain which changes the way brain performs. In a vicious circle, these changes give rise to compulsive drug use, the beginning of addiction. 2.2.2 Health ProblemsThe most far-reaching consequence of drug addiction is that it is in a

30、position to endanger almost every organ in human body. Firstly, the use of drugs can weaken the immune system consequently making the body be more susceptible to infections. Secondly, cardiovascular problems can also be caused by drug addiction, such as abnormal heart rate and even heart attacks. Th

31、irdly, injection of drugs result in collapsed veins and making blood vessels and heart valves easily infected. Fourthly, nausea, vomit and abdominal pain can also result from drug abuse. Fifthly, when taking drugs, the liver will be overloaded to function harder which leads to liver failure or damag

32、es to liver. Sixthly, drug addiction also contributes to seizures and stroke. To sum up, health risks that caused by drug addiction include the change of how brain functions in decision-making, emotion and movement; and health problems such as weakening of immune systems, cardiovascular problems, liver failure and stroke. 3. Government solutions to tackle drug addictionWith a growing realization of the severe consequences of drug addiction, the Australian government has undertaken many endeavors to deal with this issue.3.1 EducationThe Australian government has launched sensiti