Drug Addiction in Townsville

Drug Addiction in Townsville
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Drug addiction is a disease affecting people globally due to its ability to alter the brain functioning of the users. Being addicted refers to a chronic brain disorder characterized by compulsive search and use of drugs regardless of the harmful consequences. Addiction is treatable and preventable, but if left unattended it can lead to adverse lifetime conditions.
There are a variety of drugs which include stimulants, hallucinogens, depressants, Cannabis, Narcotics, and Anabolic Steroids. Depressants suppress brain and nerve activity in the central nervous system causing a calming effect. Its users aim at relieving anxiety, enhancing sleep and they include substances like alcohol, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines. Stimulants increase the central nervous system activity causing a feeling of attentiveness, focused, and energetic. They have the potential for anger and paranoia. Examples of stimulants include Cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine. Hallucinogens alter their users’ perception of reality, space, and time by acting on the central nervous system. They cause one to see and hear nonexistent things, and they include substances such as Psilocybin, Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Cannabis is one of the most abused drugs and is derived from a plant and includes various forms such as bhang, charas, ganja, and hashish oil.
Reports by the Salvation Army in Townsville read an 88% increase in patients at their treatment centers with amphetamine being more abused than cannabis, cocaine, and ecstasy.

Cases of mental and mood swing disorders have been on the rise as a result of the drug ‘ice’ abuse. In the past, 50-year old reported more cases of drug addiction, but the age bracket has dropped to as young as 30 years old apart from the long-serving 18-year olds who have always reported cases of addiction (Tlozek & Larkins, 2014).
Some of the reasons that why people choose to engage in drugs include; to feel good, to feel relaxed, to feel motivated and do better, and some reasons as simple as a mere curiosity as in teenagers. The question remains, what is the problem with the drugs if they have all the named positive effects? Continued use of a drug even causes one to get hooked on the drug to the point that they cannot feel or act normally without the drug. For some people, they result in increased doses of the drug which means they are already addicted.
There are significant risk factors for drug addiction which contribute to the explanation as to why some people get addicted while others do not. The risk factors include lack of parental supervision among teenagers, poor social skills characterized by antisocial behavior, low-income status, easy access to the drugs, prevailing mental and emotional disorders, and early exposure to the drugs.
Recently, there has been an outbreak of chemical inhalant abuse in Townsville and the entire region of North Queensland. Teenagers have been reported to be chroming, a practice which involves inhaling harmful chemical fumes which makes them feel high. Towards the end of 2017, two teenagers were reported dead from the abuse (Chen, 2017).
Some of the signs of addiction include an irresistible desire to use the drug frequently, less concern with how one looks, continued use of the drug even after getting into trouble, spending all your money on the drug, and feeling of illness when one tries to quit the drug. In 2016, a former soldier in Townsville pleaded guilty to drug abuse where he was charged with 15 counts of distributing an illegal drug and public misconduct including assaulting a woman in public.
Drug addiction is manageable and can be treated and prevented through medication by professional doctors to reverse the effects and through therapy sessions with a counselor. Rehabilitation ensures that the addicts adhere to the treatment and recover without interruption. In Townsville, NC, the Drug, and alcohol treatment centers offer a range of services which address the following; alcoholism, stimulant addiction, and marijuana addiction, prescription drug addiction, heroin addiction. There are treatment services for conditions such as anxiety and depression which are as a result of drug addiction.
References
Chen, D. (2017). Growth in Chroming Worrying Authorities after Two Teen Deaths in Townsville. Teen Chroming Outbreak in North Queensland Has Authorities Worried. ABC News. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-30/teen-chroming-outbreak-north-queensland-has-authorities-worried/9208710?site=northqldNational Institute on Drug Abuse. (2014). Drug Abuse and Addiction. Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction. Retrieved From https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drug-abuse-addictionTlozek, E. & Larkins, D. (2014). Salvation Army Report 88pc Rise in Townsville Ice Treatment Numbers. Ice use in Queensland Increases Dramatically. ABC News. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-24/ice-use-in-queensland-increases-dramatically/5913542