Q: Why do people start using drugs?
A: People take drugs because they want to change something about their lives.
Here are some of the reasons young people have given for taking drugs:
- To fit in / peer pressure
- To escape or relax
- To relieve boredom
- To seem grown up
- To rebel
- To experiment
There are some other reasons why people become dependent on drugs
- environmental reasons (such as families and quality of parenting, access to health-care, to schooling, laws, community and societal level norms, physical environment, etc)
- easy access to alcohol and drugs
- temperamental traits and genetics
- chronic medical conditions needing prescription drugs for long periods (e.g. pain killers, sedatives etc)
Q: What drugs are commonly abused?
A: People commonly abuse opioids, narcotics drugs, amphetamine type stimulants, prescription medicines such as sedatives and hypnotics etc. This application covers the drugs most commonly abused in Myanmar. For more information on commonly abused drugs, see Commonly Abused Drugs, for a chart containing information on street and commercial names of abused drugs and their health consequences or check UNODC website at www.unodc.org and world drugs report https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr2015/World_Drug_Report_2015.pdf) & https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/WDR2011/Youth_tables_complete_WDR2011.pdf
Q: What is drug dependence?
A: Drug dependence is considered a multi-factorial health disorder that often follows the course of a relapsing and remitting chronic disease which results in withdrawal upon cessation of the use of drug. Unfortunately in many societies drug dependence is still not recognized as a health problem and many people suffering from it are stigmatized and have no access to treatment and rehabilitation. Over recent years, the biopsychosocial model has recognized drug dependence as a multifaceted problem requiring the expertise of many disciplines. A health sciences multidisciplinary approach can be applied to research, prevention and treatment. (UNODC-WHO principles)
Drug dependence is a preventable and treatable disease, and effective prevention and treatment interventions are available.
Q: How quickly can I become addicted to a drug?
A: There is no easy answer to this common question. If and how quickly you become addicted to a drug depends on many factors, including your biology (your genes, for example), age, gender, environment, and interactions among these factors. Vast differences characterize individual sensitivity to various drugs and to addiction vulnerability. While one person may use a drug one or many times and suffer no ill effects, another person may overdose with first use, or become addicted after a few uses. There is no way of knowing in advance how quickly you will become addicted—but there are some clues, one important one being whether you have a family history of addiction.
Q: How do I know if someone is addicted to drugs?
A: If a person is compulsively seeking and using a drug(s) despite negative consequences, such as loss of job, debt, family problems, or physical problems brought on by drug abuse, then he or she probably is addicted. And while people who are addicted may believe they can stop any time, most often they cannot, and will need professional help—first to determine if they in fact are addicted, and then to obtain drug abuse treatment. Support from friends and family can be critical in getting people into treatment and helping them to maintain abstinence following treatment.
Q: If a pregnant woman abuses drugs, does it affect the fetus?
A: Many substances including alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs of abuse can have negative effects on the developing fetus because they are transferred to the fetus across the placenta. For example, nicotine has been connected with premature birth and low birth weight as has the use of cocaine. Heroin exposure results in dependence in the newborn, requiring treatment for withdrawal symptoms. It is often difficult to tease apart the confluence of factors that go with drug abuse during pregnancy—poor nutrition, inadequate prenatal care, stress, and psychiatric comorbidities—all of which may impact fetal development.
Q: Are there effective treatments for drug dependence?
A: Drug dependence can be effectively treated with behavioural therapies and, for addiction to some drugs such as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol, medications. Treatment will vary for each person depending on the type of drug(s) being used. Multiple courses of treatment may be needed to achieve success.
The best results are achieved when a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach which includes diversified pharmacological and psychosocial interventions is available to respond to different needs. Even taking into account the requirements for the delivery of evidence–based treatment, its costs are much lower than the indirect costs caused by untreated drug dependence (prisons, unemployment, law enforcement, health consequences). Research studies indicate that spending on treatment produces savings in terms of reduction in the number of crime victims, as well as reduced expenditures for the criminal justice system. At a minimum there was a 3:1 saving, and when a broader calculation of costs associated with crime, health and social productivity was taken into account, the rate of savings to investment rose to 13:1 . These savings can improve disadvantaged situations where opportunities for education, employment and social welfare are undermined, and increase possibilities for families to recover battered economies, thus facilitating social and economic development. Individuals involved in the criminal justice system may be at higher risk of health and social consequences of drug dependence. Drug taking behaviour inside the prison involves more harmful patterns leading to increased risk of contamination with infectious diseases like HIV and Hepatitis. The potential for imprisonment to cause harm should not be underestimated.
1. The treatment system for substance use disorders is comprised of multiple service components, including the following:
- Individual and group counselling
- Inpatient and residential treatment
- Intensive outpatient treatment
- Partial hospital programs
- Case or care management
- Medication
- Recovery support services
- 12-Step fellowship
- Peer supports
- A person accessing tr available resources are invested in evidence-based interventions ?
2. A comprehensive treatment system offers a wide range of evidence-based and integrated pharmacological and psychosocial interventions, aimed at treating the whole person. The range includes interventions of diverse intensity, from outreach, low-threshold and brief interventions to long-term, structured treatment
3. the duration of treatment interventions is determined by individual needs, and there are no pre-set limits to the duration of treatment
4. whenever possible, services are staffed by multidisciplinary teams adequately trained in the delivery of evidence-based interventions
5. basic services including detoxification, psychosocially assisted opioid agonist maintenance pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence, counselling, and social support are available through the territory
6. more complex cases, including patients with concomitant severe somatic and psychiatric disorders receive adequate care, possibly through referral to specialized services
7. psychosocial interventions have demonstrated to be effective in rehabilitation and relapse prevention, both in out-patient and residential settings, in particular cognitive behavioural therapy, motivational interviewing and contingency management, employment and vocational training, counselling and legal advice.
8. interventions are adapted for relevance to the socio-cultural environment in which they are applied, constantly updated in accordance to research developments and diversified research is conducted in all regions of the world.
Research has revealed 13 basic principles that underlie effective drug addiction treatment discussed in NIDA's Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide and for further information on drug dependence treatment principles, please check UNODC standards on drug dependence treatment at https://www.unodc.org/docs/treatment/treatnet_quality_standards.pdf
Q: What is detoxification, or "detox"?
A: Detoxification is the process of allowing the body to rid itself of a drug while managing the symptoms of withdrawal. It is often the first step in a drug treatment program and should be followed by treatment with a behavioral-based therapy and/or a medication, if available. Detox alone with no follow-up is not treatment.
Q: What is withdrawal? How long does it last?
A: Withdrawal describes the various symptoms that occur after long-term use of a drug is reduced or stopped abruptly. Length of withdrawal and symptoms vary with the type of drug. For example, physical symptoms of heroin withdrawal may include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, and cold flashes. These physical symptoms may last for several days, but the general depression, or dysphoria (opposite of euphoria), that often accompanies heroin withdrawal may last for weeks. In many cases, withdrawal can be easily treated with medications to ease the symptoms, but treating withdrawal is not the same as treating addiction.