After studying numerous cases about drug use and abuse, you become interested in finding out more about the effects of different drugs. Research the 3 drugs from the following list, and answer the questions listed in the assignment guidelines with regard to those drugs.
• Cocaine
• Heroin
• LSD
Assignment Guidelines
• Create a 750-900 words, address the following for each of the 3 drugs from the list above:
o What are the current demographics and trends for usage of the drug? Why?
o What are the short- and long-term effects of the drug on the brain and behavior? Explain.
o What are the short- and long-term effects of the drug on physical health? Explain.
o What are the symptoms of withdrawal from the drug?
• Which of the 3 drugs do you think presents the most serious public health issue for the United States? Thoroughly explain your answer.
• Compile your responses to the above questions into your final Word document.
o The content of the paper must be 750-900 words in length.
• All sources must be referenced using APA style.
Part II
Fran S. was arrested for prescription fraud when she tried to obtain prescription painkillers at a pharmacy with a fake prescription.
Fran S. is a 32-year-old employee at a local bank. She was briefly hospitalized after a car accident 14 months ago and sustained injuries to her neck and back. Her doctor prescribed painkillers for these injuries. He told her that she should only take the painkillers for a few months, but Fran found that she liked the feelings of calm and relaxation that the painkillers produced. Even though the pain from her neck and back went away, she kept telling her doctor that she was in pain so that he would continue prescribing the drugs. When her own doctor told her that he would no longer prescribe the painkillers for her, she found it difficult to go for more than a few days without the painkillers and found another doctor who would prescribe her painkillers.
Fran told herself that the painkillers helped her get through her day, but in fact, she started missing deadlines at work and repeatedly coming in late, putting her job in jeopardy. Her husband also noticed a difference in her behavior, saying that she was much more irritable and likely to start arguments over minor issues, which had not been a problem in the past. Fran started taking larger doses of the painkillers because she had stopped feeling their effects at the smaller doses. Her second doctor became suspicious of how frequently she needed prescriptions and refused to prescribe her any more drugs. Fran tried again to stop using the painkillers but found that she was experiencing problems, such as headaches, blurred vision, and anxiety, when she was not taking the painkillers. She could not find another doctor to prescribe her the painkillers, so Fran started submitting fake prescriptions to the pharmacy.
Assignment Instructions
The Diagnostic Statistic Manual 5 (DSM-5) lists the criteria for assessing whether a person has a substance use disorder, which it divides into three classifications: mild, moderate, or severe substance use disorder. Use your available resources to research DSM-5 criteria for these disorders.
Assignment Guidelines
• In a Word document of 1,000-2,000 words, address the following:
o Provide a summary of the symptoms necessary to diagnose a substance use disorder.
o Identify the differences in criteria for assessing mild, moderate, or severe substance use disorder according to the DSM-5.
o Explain physiological dependence.
What is tolerance?
Why does tolerance increase?
What is withdrawal?
What are the symptoms of withdrawal? Select 2 drugs to analyze for this.
Why does withdrawal occur?
o What level of Substance Use Disorder (if any) would you diagnose Fran with? Why?
Support your diagnosis with examples and research.
o What are current demographics and trends in the abuse of prescription medication? Explain.
What are the contributing factors to these trends and demographics?
o Give at least 2 suggestions for how a doctor might work to prevent a patient from becoming addicted to prescription drugs.
• Compile your responses to the above information into your final Word document.
o The paper should be 1,000-2,000 words in length.
• All sources should be referenced using APA style.