Reasons for use (psychoactive drugs): pleasure, joy, euphoria; meeting social expectations, stress reduction, escaping!
Key terms :
Addiction - means that a person has developed a behavioral pattern of drug abuse that is marked by an overwhelming & compulsive desire to obtain & use the drug; even after stopping. (memory aid: the addiction of the mind to the drug)
Tolerance - The power possessed or acquired by some persons of bearing doses of medicine which in ordinary cases would prove injurious or fatal.
Dependency - being abnormally tolerant to & dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs) (memory aid: the dependency of the body on the drug)
Withdrawal symptoms - The physical or psychological state experienced when substances are withdrawn from an addicted person.
• The use of drugs both legal & illegal is widespread.
• Control of illegal drugs is relatively ineffective.
Drug Overview 