Tasse Mock

Colton Fox

Health 1050-508

29 November 2023

Why People Choose to Do Drugs

The issue of illegal and prescription drug use-turned-abuse remains a complex

phenomenon that has intrigued scholars, healthcare professionals, and policymakers for years.

Individuals turn to drug use for many reasons, including a combination of psychological and

social factors. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, people often turn to drugs

because “drugs excite the parts of the brain that make you feel good” (NIH). Ironically, continual

drug use chemically changes the body as “the feel-good parts of your brain get used to it. Then,

you need to take more of the drug to get the same good feeling. Soon, your brain and body must

have the drug just to feel normal” (NIH). Perpetual drug users usually experience adverse

reactions ranging from physical illness and vomiting to emotional agitation, moodiness, and even

anger because they cannot achieve the same Nirvana high they first experienced when they

started. Furthermore, many individuals cannot relinquish the drug use pattern, and they become

stuck in addiction. So, knowing this concrete evidence of what drugs can do to the brain and

body, it may seem counterintuitive that rational people would subject themselves to potentially

addictive substances. By examining the desire to escape reality, satisfy curiosity, alleviate pain,

and fit in, one can better understand why people choose to do drugs and how drug usage strongly

affects our society today.

A desire to escape reality is one of the most common reasons people choose to use drugs

perpetually. Since drugs alter consciousness, they provide a temporary break for an individual’s
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body, thoughts, and emotions in a metaphysical world or expanded consciousness and away from

the limiting stress of the tangible world. The National Library of Medicine reports that

“individuals undergoing psychedelic experiences often have experiences and insights pertaining

to certain features of their own sense of self-awareness. These experiences may include mental

processes related to the sense of self, autobiographical reflection, or perceiving meaningful

eidetic imagery” (Yaden). Once drug users feel that pseudo-enlightenment, individuals facing

life's challenges want to return to that psychedelic solace by using mind-altering substances to

achieve it. While drugs may offer a break from emotional pain, anxiety, or depression by

providing a sense of euphoria or numbness, they provide only a temporary fix (Yaden). Over

time, addiction deadens the experience, entrapping individuals already struggling with reality

into a deepening pit of more potent drugs to create an escape.

Human curiosity plays a massive part in people’s desires to experiment with various

drugs. Curiosity, an essential human trait that helps cognitive learning, often drives individuals to

contemplate and explore the unknown—including the world of drugs. While most substance

experimentation may stem from the desire to escape from reality, people feel naturally inclined

to seek new experiences, like altered states of consciousness, that lead them to dabble and

usually submerge into drug usage. Moreover, health classes expose teenagers to the effects of

drugs. Some teens feel put off by the horrific side effects and addiction aspect of using drugs.

Still, more adolescents become curious, leading them to experiment with one or more

drugs—especially those drugs that will keep them stress-free, energized, and thin (Fort

Behavioral Health). The allure of the unknown, mixed with the discovery of what combinations

of products do, often leads individuals of all ages to try using questionable substances.
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Self-medicating to alleviate physical or emotional pain entices people to use drugs.

Whether dealing with chronic pain, emotional trauma, or mental health issues, individuals find

that drugs fix their symptoms enough to cope. The self-medicating choice usually starts as a

genuine attempt to relieve pain through prescription medications provided by healthcare

professionals. However, people commonly abuse the use of these painkillers. The National

Library of Medicine shares an eye-opening statistic: “After cannabinoids, opioids are the second

most commonly used illicit/nonmedical drugs, and prescription opioid use disorders (OUD)

constitute the second most prevalent drug use disorder in the U.S.” (Wu). Also, analysis by the

2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reports that socioeconomic factors

influence self-medicating and abusive drug-use patterns (Baptiste-Roberts). Groups facing

financial hardships and unemployment become more stressed, leading to multiple medical issues,

and are likely to abuse prescribed drugs to remove the heavy emotional and mental suffering

(Baptiste-Roberts). No matter the abundance or scarcity of drugs, people suffering from physical,

mental, or emotional pain perceive drugs as a way to stop their suffering. Therefore, the potential

for drug addiction and abuse happens when people begin to self-medicate.

Lastly, peer pressure creates a powerful incentive for people to use drugs. Human desire’s

pivotal reality is to do what is socially acceptable to be accepted socially. Peer pressure dangles a

social requirement, demanding “conformity,” and some susceptible people, who feel less

confident in their social status, willingly conform (Laursen). The power of wanting to belong or

fit in makes people susceptible, or “easily influenced or harmed by something,… Based on this

definition, one might reasonably conclude that a child who is susceptible to peer influence is

easily swayed by friends and affiliates” (Laursen). Therefore, a drug-using social environment

significantly influences the initiation and continuation of drug use. Low-esteem youth, usually
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going through physical changes, “face ridicule at school for their lack of friends or the way they

look” and often turn to drugs for relief (Fort Behavioral Health). Additionally, adults face the

peer pressure of associating with certain groups who do drugs, finding they will quickly cave to

drug use. Peer pressure to do drugs leads individuals of any age to addiction as well.

In conclusion, various physical, mental, emotional, and social circumstances motivate

people to use drugs. While drug addiction and abuse are wicked problems without a singular

solution, examining the complex issue of what triggers and motivates an individual to use drugs

may illuminate some ways healthcare professionals and officials can strategize how people

obtain and use drugs and hopefully curb the addiction and abuse that follow. Therefore,

awareness and support for people susceptible to drug use can alter their desire to use drugs.
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Works Cited

Baptiste-Roberts, Kesha, et al. “Socioeconomic Disparities and Self-Reported Substance

Abuse-related Problems.” Addict Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Apr. 2018,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6494986/.

Fort Behavioral Health. “Why Teens Experiment with Drugs.” Fort Behavioral Health, 17 Dec.

2020,

https://www.fortbehavioral.com/addiction-recovery-blog/why-teens-experiment-with-dru

gs/#:~:text=Curiosity,to%20know%20what%20they%20do. Accessed 10 Nov. 2023

Laursen, Brett, and Sharon Faur. “What Does It Mean to Be Susceptible to Influence? A Brief

Primer on Peer Conformity and Developmental Changes That Affect It.” International

Journal of Behavioral Development, U.S. National Library of Medicine, May 2022,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9387868/.

National Institutes of Health (NIH). "The Science of Drug Use: A Resource for the Justice

Sector." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 23 Nov. 2022,

nida.nih.gov/research-topics/criminal-justice/science-drug-use-resource-justice-sector.

Accessed 10 Nov. 2023.

Wu, Li-Tzy, et al. “Treatment Use and Barriers among Adolescents with Prescription Opioid Use

Disorders.” Addictive Behaviors, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2011,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3179790/.

Yaden, David B, et al. “Psychedelics and Consciousness: Distinctions, Demarcations, and

Opportunities.” The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, U.S. National

Library of Medicine, 20 Aug. 2021, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8378075/.