Motivating factors of drug use

• Drug use is motivated by the following factors

• To attain some degree of euphoria

• For increased enjoyment of other activities; and

• As a recreational pursuit.

Levels of Drug-taking:

• Drug use- It occurs when the effects of a drug sought can be realized with minimal hazard,
whether or not used therapeutically, legally or as prescribed by a physician.

From the word drug use syempre a person who takes drugs . Drug use

is dangerous. It can harm your brain and body, sometimes
permanently. )

• Drug Misuse- It occurs when a drug is taken or administered under circumstances and a dose
that significantly increases the hazards to the individual or to others.

Drug misuse occurs when you use illegal substances or medicines in ways that
your doctor or the manufacturer does not recommend. Taking dangerously high
amounts of drugs.

Examples of drugs that are commonly misused include:

 illegal drugs,
 alcohol,
 tobacco,
 prescribed medicines including painkillers, sleeping tablets, and cold
remedies,
 Drug Abuse- It occurs when a drug is taken under circumstances and a dose that significantly
increases their hazards or potentials whether or not used therapeutically.

Drug abuse means the habitual taking of addictive or illegal drugs.

General Patterns of Drug - taking:

• Circumstantial - Situational use - Drug - taking on a short-term basis as a way of coping with
some immediate distress or pressure.
 Drugs are used when specific tasks have to be performed and special degrees
of alertness, calm, endurance or freedom from pain are sought. (e.g. truck
driving, shift work or studying for exams).
• Experimental Use - It implies short-term use of one or a variety of drugs, either singly or in
combination. Curiosity to experience something new, or peer group pressure are the major
motivations for experimental drug use.

• Social - Recreational Use - Very similar to experimental use of drugs occurs within social
settings and is motivated by desire to share pleasurable experiences among friends. Although
this type of use tends not to escalate to other uses, it is more on such social settings or just co-
incidence rather than experimental use.

• Intensified use - Implies the regular and long-term consumption of a drug or series of drugs by
an individual to achieve relief from persistent problems or stressful situations in the desire to
maintain a certain self-prescribed level of performance.

• Compulsive Use - It is characterized by diminished social integration and functioning. It has

escalated to the point to the point where a reduction in the intensity or frequency will be
accompanied by increasing discomfort on the part of the individual.

Social factors that help determine the levels and patterns of Drug - Taking:

• Information - Friends and relatives may offer information on situations in which certain
substances may be used for specific purposes.

• Example - The occasional user may learn by watching the behavior of peers, what situations
are appropriate for certain kinds of drug use and what levels of use can be deemed excessive.

• Ideology - Participation in drug - using groups provides supporting ideologies that neutralize
some of the negative opinions and attitudes surrounding illicit drug use and provide positive
reinforcement and justification for drug - taking behavior.

• Opportunity - The more people there are in the environment who use drugs on a regular basis,
the more likely that opportunities to use them will arise. At times when an individual may not
otherwise have thought of consuming a drug, he might be tempted to do so if he discovers
more sources of illicit drugs.

The Term Dependence

• Dependence- Originally, the term used popularly to describe dependence on drugs was" Drug
Addiction. This term has been replaced by the World Health Organization (WHO) with the
term Drug dependence.

• Drug Dependence- has become a severe social problems for its adverse effects upon our most
precious resource the youth. It is widespread not only among youngsters but also among men
and women of disparate social, financial, or economic status. It is harmful; It ruins one's life, It
breaks down discretion leading to criminality and even suicide. Drug dependence has been
found to be a common problem not only in large urban areas but even in the remotest parts
of the country.
• Physical Dependence - It is the result when a drug has been used for a long period of time. It is
only identified when a characteristic withdrawal or abstinence syndrome occurs after its use is
discontinued.

• Psychological Dependence- It refers to a state in which an individual has a compulsion to take

a drug but one in which there may not be a physical dependence.