Illegal Drug Use Implications Essay

Drugs and Behavior

What are drugs exactly and what are some ways drug users get away with illegal usage?

Defining drugs use is a surprisingly difficult proposition. The definition as stated in the session II review is as follows: "any substance taken into the body that alters the function or structure of the body organs ... that changes body state or mental function." But this definition might not only apply to the substances that we would normally consider to be a "drug," but also to substances like chocolate. For example, chocolate has properties that have been shown to change body state and mental function by making a user feel happier for example. Furthermore, drugs can also be naturally occurring substances such as marijuana or mushrooms and thus cannot be further classified in regards to being synthetic substances. There are also countless useful drugs that significantly improve an individual's well-being. Thus the divisions between food and drugs, or good and bad drugs, are not as obvious as one might initially suspect.

The primary factors that make a drug a "bad" drug generally involve problematic behaviors and/or damages to the body that can result from their use. Many drugs are only illegal or "bad" if they are taken beyond what is otherwise directed. In fact, most drugs have a use that is beneficial to some people if taken in the correct manner. It is only when drugs are abused in some form that they become detrimental. However, the abuse is often hard to pick up on until it reaches a point in which it is blatantly obvious. Drug tests have become more sophisticated over the years but there are many ways for drug users to circumvent their effectiveness. For example, there are many ways to beat a drug test and these methods are published at length online (OHSINC, N.d.). Although these cheating methods are continually becoming less effective as testing procedures become more accurate, there are still simple methods for evasion. For example, if a person has a legal prescription for a medication then they can use this as a cover for taking illegal drugs in the same class as they can use the legal prescription to cover for their illegal behavior. This is one of the reasons that the prescription drug abuse epidemic has reached such massive proportions and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that nearly…