Youth and Drugs

Abstract
We live in a drug taking society. Most of us use drugs every day - caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. Drugs can give us more energy when we need it, help us to feel good about ourselves, help us to socialise and give us "time out" when we want it. Young people are using more drugs now than thay have before - both legal and illegal.
Drugs are also categorised by their affects. The categories are: Stimulants, Depressants, Hallucinogens and Analgesics.
Substance abuse has many negative physiological health effects, ranging from minor issues like digestion problems or respiratory infections, to potentially fatal diseases, like AIDS and hepatitis C. Of course, the effects depend on the drug and on the amount, method and frequency of use. Some drugs are very addictive, like heroin, while others are less so. Drug abuse also causes brain damage. Drug abuse damages the ability of people to act as free and conscious beings, capable of taking action to fulfill their needs. A drug abuser loses what makes humans admirable and unique.
There are social effects: isolation, financial, on relationships, on family, on professional life, criminal activity.
There are health complications: bacterial diseases of the heart and liver (acquired through infected needles), and other infectious diseases like AIDS, hepatitis, and tuberculosis may also develop during the course of drug dependency. In some large, urban areas, it is estimated that 60% of those dependent on heroin are infected with HIV.
Drug rehabilitation (often drug rehab or just rehab) is an umbrella term for the processes of medical and/or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent is to enable the patient to cease substance abuse, in order to avoid the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences that can be caused, especially by extreme...