Romeo Vitelli - Substance Abuse

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Q&A Health Guides

Copyright 2018 by ABC-CLIO, LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Vitelli, Romeo, author.

Title: Substance abuse / Romeo Vitelli.

Description: Santa Barbara : Greenwood, [2018] | Series: Recent titles in Q&A health guides | Includes bibliographical references and index. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2018005414 (print) | LCCN 2018021730 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440860560 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440860553 (alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: TeenagersSubstance useTreatment. | TeenagersDrug useTreatment. | Substance abuseTreatment. | Drug abuseTreatment.

Classification: LCC HV4999.Y68 (ebook) | LCC HV4999.Y68 V58 2018 (print) | DDC 613.8dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018005414

ISBN: 978-1-4408-6055-3 (print)

978-1-4408-6056-0 (ebook)

222120191812345

This book is also available as an eBook.

Greenwood

An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC

ABC-CLIO, LLC

130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911

Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911

www.abc-clio.com

This book is printed on acid-free paper

Manufactured in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to Christina, Laura, Erica, and Anthony: the next generation. It is also dedicated to all of my substance-abusing clients, both within the prison system and in the community, and I thank you for the insights you provided. May this book help others find a way to overcome their addiction problems and stay clean.

Contents

Series Foreword

All of us have questions about our health. Is this normal? Should I be doing something differently? Whom should I talk to about my concerns? And our modern world is full of answers. Thanks to the Internet, theres a wealth of information at our fingertips, from forums where people can share their personal experiences to Wikipedia articles to the full text of medical studies. But finding the right information can be an intimidating and difficult tasksome sources are written at too high a level, others have been oversimplified, while still others are heavily biased or simply inaccurate.

Q&A Health Guides address the needs of readers who want accurate, concise answers to their health questions, authored by reputable and objective experts, and written in clear and easy-to-understand language. This series focuses on the topics that matter most to young adult readers, including various aspects of physical and emotional well-being as well as other components of a healthy lifestyle. These guides will also serve as a valuable tool for parents, school counselors, and others who may need to answer teens health questions.

All books in the series follow the same format to make finding information quick and easy. Each volume begins with an essay on health literacy and why it is so important when it comes to gathering and evaluating health information. Next, the top five myths and misconceptions that surround the topic are dispelled. The heart of each guide is a collection of questions and answers, organized thematically. A selection of five case studies provides real-world examples to illuminate key concepts. Rounding out each volume are a directory of resources, glossary, and index.

It is our hope that the books in this series will not only provide valuable information but will also help guide readers toward a lifetime of healthy decision making.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the various researchers and therapists whose efforts helped make this book possible. Thanks also go to Maxine Taylor of ABC-CLIO and their excellent support staff as well as those colleagues of mine who were kind enough to review sections of this book and provide helpful suggestions on how it could be improved.

Introduction

At the bottom of every persons dependency, there is always pain. Discovering the pain and healing it is an essential step in ending dependency.

Chris Prentiss, The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure

Whitney Houston, Robin Williams, Amy Winehouse, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Belushi, and so on, the roster of famous people whose deaths have been linked to drug or alcohol abuse seems endless. But they are just the tip of the iceberg considering how pervasive drug and alcohol abuse continues to be around the world.

Whether we are talking about alcohol, barbiturates, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, morphine (along with all of the other opioids), amphetamines, or the host of designer drugs being introduced on a regular basis, substance abuse continues to be a global epidemic affecting every country on Earth. In 2015 alone, available statistics report 307,400 deaths worldwide from substance use though the true number of drug- and alcohol-related deaths that occur each year seems impossible to know for certain.

But the true economic and social impact of substance abuse is far greater. Though many substance abusers seem able to function to some extent despite their dependence issues, the financial and social costs linked to substance abuse can be astronomical. They can include lost work days, an overburdened health-care system, automobile accidents, workplace injuries, violent crime associated with substance use, and the costs of police, courts, and prisons. But an even greater cost can arise from the emotional impact substance abuse can have on addicts and their extended familiesa legacy that can last for generations.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems, substance abuse refers to the psychological or physical harm resulting from overusing any addictive substance.