People use drugs for a variety of reasons – mostly, though, to numb the pain of everyday life so they don’t have to face it. Eventually drug use turns to drug abuse and finally to drug addiction. Most people use the two terms interchangeably, but the truth is there is a difference between drug abuse and drug addiction.

Drug abuse is the use of illegal drugs or the inappropriate use of legal drugs. People who abuse drugs are using them to obtain a specific feeling – a “high” – that they can’t get from other substances. Often drug abuse is recreational with the drugs being used to loosen a person up and make them feel like they fit in with the crowd.

Drug addiction, on the other hand, is the uncontrollable use of drugs and the inability to stop using drugs in spite of health or social consequences. People with a drug addiction are physically and emotionally unable to stop using drugs. Their bodies have become used to having the drug in the system, and stopping the drug use brings about often painful physical and psychological symptoms.

Drug addiction does begin with drug abuse when an individual makes a conscious choice to use drugs, but addiction is not just "a lot of drug use." Recent scientific research provides overwhelming evidence that not only do drugs interfere with normal brain functioning creating powerful feelings of pleasure, but they also have long-term effects on brain metabolism and activity.

At some point, changes occur in the brain that can turn drug abuse into addiction, a chronic, relapsing illness. Those addicted to drugs suffer from a compulsive drug craving and usage and cannot quit by themselves. Treatment is necessary to end this compulsive behavior.

Many people view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem. Parents, teens, older adults, and other members of the community tend to characterize people who take drugs as morally weak or as having criminal tendencies. They believe that drug abusers and addicts should be able to stop taking drugs if they are willing to change their behavior. This just isn’t true.

People from all walks of life abuse drugs and become addicted. We can start combating these problems if we educate ourselves and each other about drug abuse and drug addiction. It is an ever-growing epidemic that doesn’t have to take hold of people or society. Drug abuse and drug addiction can be stopped, but only if we start with education.

People don’t start using drugs with the intent to become addicted. Drug addiction can be a sneaky foe sneaking up on a user before he or she knows it. Addicts didn’t set out to destroy their lives intentionally. All they wanted to do was have a little fun, escape a little stress, feel a little bit more normal.

But drug addiction is a very real consequence of drug use. For many, drugs seem to be a means of averting emotional and/or physical pain by providing the user with a temporary and illusionary escape from or way to cope with life's realities.

Example, an individual tries drugs or alcohol. The drugs APPEAR to solve his problem. He feels better. Because he now SEEMS better able to deal with life, the drugs become valuable to him. The person looks on drugs or alcohol as a cure for unwanted feelings. The painkilling effects of drugs or alcohol become a solution to their discomfort.

Inadvertently the drug or alcohol now becomes valuable because it helped them feel better. This release is the main reason a person uses drugs or drinks a second or third time. It is just a matter of time before he becomes fully addicted and loses the ability to control his drug use. Drug addiction, then, results from excessive or continued use of physiologically habit-forming drugs in an attempt to resolve the underlying symptoms of discomfort or unhappiness.

When a person is suffering from drug addiction, they are unable to control their urges to use drugs. They consciously KNOW that drugs are bad for them and in their hearts, they want to quit, but by the time addiction has taken control, it’s virtually impossible for them to do so. Their bodies have become used to the drug and going without it is a painful proposition.

Using drugs can turn into a double-edged sword. People start using drugs to escape pressure and guilt from everyday life, but then they are mentally stressed because of their unethical behavior and the only way they know to escape those feelings is to take more drugs. It’s a vicious cycle.

Drug addiction has taken hold of almost 35 percent of the American population, and that number is just growing. With effective treatment, recovery from drug addiction is possible, but it takes commitment and effort. A person doesn’t become addicted to drugs overnight, and becoming drug-free won’t happen overnight either. The good news is that a drug-free life is just around the corner – when you go looking for it!

The words drug abuse and drug addiction are often used interchangeably, but in reality, there is a difference between abuse of a drug and addiction. Addiction does begin with drug abuse, but addiction is much more than a lot of drug use. It is much more than that.

Drug abuse is basically the repeated or uncontrolled use of controlled substances. It can also be defined as the habitual misuse of a chemical substance. This definition includes the use of drugs for purposes other than what they were intended. In fact, drug abuse has a range of definitions, but all suggest disapproval at the use or overuse of a drug for non-therapeutic reasons.

Drug addiction, on the other hand is when the body has an uncontrollable craving for a drug and absence of that drug in a person’s system causes adverse effects such as insomnia, uncontrollable shaking, and nausea. Drugs interfere with the normal functioning of the brain making it altered to the point that functioning without the drug is virtually impossible.

When a person is addicted to drugs, they continue to use the drug despite adverse health reactions and possible damage to their bodies. They disregard their personal health in favor of continuing the feeling that they get when they are on their drug of choice. Stopping usage is just not a viable option for them. This is when abuse becomes addiction and when it must be faced and addressed head on.

Understanding drug abuse and addiction can help in preventing drug use to rise to problem proportions. When you know exactly what you are dealing with, it’s a little easier to begin looking for treatment options.

Whether you or a loved one is abusing drugs or are addicted to drugs, treatment needs to be sought as soon as possible to help ward off serious health implications. Treatment can have a profound effect on both the drug user, but also on society as a whole. Healing the addicts in our society improves social and psychological functioning and makes for a more peaceful community and world.

In fact, drug abuse is the number one cause of preventable illness and death in the United States. It doesn’t matter if we talk about cocaine, heroin, or alcohol, a drug is a drug and those drugs cause problems with the human body. It is preventable and education is the first step.

Drug abuse and addiction are blights on society. Both have been around for years and years, but if we take the time to recognize not only the difference between the two, but also the signs and signals that indicate drug use, we can begin to heal ourselves both as individual people and as a society.

Even though drug addiction is a complex disease, assigning a definition for that disease is actually quite simple. Drug addiction is, in its simplest form, defined as the continued compulsive use of drugs in spite of adverse health or social consequences.

The definition of drug addiction should also include the fact that it is a state of heavy dependence on a specific drug. Generally, it’s thought of as a physical dependence, but in actuality, there is a psychological addiction as well as an emotional dependence. Some say that it is compulsive and pathological drug use or substance dependence.

Drug addiction is also a behavior disorder as the initial drug use is generally done as a reaction to a behavior or situation that seems out of control to the user. The user seems to have no other choice but to use that drug because of the body’s dependence on the fact that the drug will remain present in the system.

A distinction should be made between drug use and drug addiction. It is possible for people to use drugs without becoming addicted, but that is generally limited to prescription drug use. People who take drugs to cope with a physical ailment do so to control pain or the adverse effects of a physical condition. Those drugs improve the quality of life for the sufferer, but they are not necessarily addicted to the drugs.

To be dependent on a drug – or addicted to it – the user must take the drug regularly, and they experience unpleasant symptoms if they stop using the drug such as nausea or sleep disturbance. Substance abuse or addiction is present when a person uses a drug despite the harm that it causes to their system.

There is a difference between drug abuse and drug addiction. Drug abuse occurs when a person uses excessive amounts of a drug at one time or frequently. Drug addiction is present when a person cannot stop using the drug and stopping the drug seems like an impossibility.

Of course, no definition of drug addiction is complete without noting that it is both a physical dependence as well as a psychological one. Physical dependency occurs when a drug has been used habitually and the body has become accustomed to its effects. Psychological dependency is present when the drug is used habitually and the mind has become accustomed to the effects the drug produces.

When drug addiction affects a person’s life, the definition of that drug addiction becomes a bit less important than the reasons why people use. However, it can help multitudes if a definition is specified so that a better understanding of drug addiction can occur.

You can hear it or see it in the news all the time. When cops bust up a drug ring, they are often hailed as heroes – and they pretty much are. Drug rings are sophisticated networks of drug dealers who distribute drugs in a widespread area. They begin with one person responsible for importing or manufacturing drugs. Those drugs are given to a second level person who distributes to individual dealers who sell the drugs on the street.

The people who run these drug rings are living a lavish lifestyle and profiting off the drugs that they peddle. Some of the biggest drug ring busts we hear about occur along the coastlines where smugglers will bring over large quantities of drugs from places like Columbia or Costa Rica.

But cops bust drug rings all the time right here in the United States. A quick “Google” search shows all sorts of news stories about how police have busted up drug rings in American cities. These busts usually involve intense surveillance and take quite a bit of time in order to build a case against the dealers.

Drug rings are located all over the United States, Canada, and also in foreign countries. You see, drugs are big business, so when these dealers find a way to increase their traffic and make more money, that’s when they begin to form a drug ring. When cops go to bust a drug ring, they have spent a lot of time building a case against the people involved.

Drug kingpins who run drug rings find out quite quickly that a bust is a very “expensive” endeavor. By “expensive”, we mean all assets acquired by the leader will be seized if cops suspect those assets were bought with drug money. Bank accounts are frozen, and personal property is gathered as the case against the leader gets stronger.

When cops bust a drug ring, the people who are arrested face a pretty hefty sentence as well. These vary from state to state and from country to country of course, but in general, sentences can run anywhere from 10 years to life in a penitentiary. They also face hefty fine and their families are inevitably affected.

Busting drug rings is a high priority for not only our federal government, but also for state and local municipalities. It’s essential for controlling the effects that drugs have on our society. When cops bust more drug rings, that’s one less chance that drugs will be available for sale and consumption – and then we can begin winning the war on drugs!

Drug addiction knows no boundaries and doesn’t pick or choose who it will affect. Celebrity drug addiction is commonplace today in the business, and it is just spotlighted more because of the high profiles of today’s celebrities. It’s not uncommon to hear about another celebrity entering rehab for drug addiction. The list can read like a Who’s Who of Hollywood.

Big names like Whitney Houston, Keith Urban, Charlie Sheen, Robert Downey, Jr., and Drew Barrymore, to name just a few, have all been through drug rehabilitation for their addictions, and the list is much longer than that! Why do so many celebrities fall prey to the perils of drug addiction?

Just like people who are not in the limelight, celebrities deal with different stresses in their lives. The difference is that their stresses are much larger in general than everyday people. They have to deal with paparazzi, managers, critics, the media, and every word they say is noted and commented on.

There is a lot of insecurity in the world of fame and fortune. When celebrities feel that insecurity so strongly, they look for a way out, an escape from their problem – that escape is often drugs. That’s not even taking into consideration the price that comes with sudden fame.

When celebrities go from being everyday people to being thrust into the spotlight, they often have trouble adjusting. Leading a private life doesn’t become an option as their every move is followed and their rises and falls are noted sometimes with scorn from fans.

There’s something that goes along with celebrity in that many stars feel as if they’re almost immune to the possibility of becoming addicted to drugs. It’s a matter of having so much money, they figure, “Why not, I won’t get addicted”. Being a celebrity is a hugely stressful profession and actually, they are more prone to drug addiction because of that stress.

Celebrity drug addiction is really no different from non-celebrity drug addiction. It is just as serious and just as difficult to quit. That is why so many celebrities are seeking out rehab facilities in an attempt to kick their habit for good. Places like Promises and The Betty Ford Clinic are brimming with celebrity patients seeking to overcome their drug addiction.

The good news is that with celebrity drug addiction becoming so well-known, more people are less afraid to seek out treatment for their own addictions. They realize that if the people they look up to – celebrities – can fall victim to drug addiction, so can they. And if those same people are strong enough to be treated for that drug addiction, they can be strong as well.

Narconon is a secular rehabilitation program that specializes in treating the causes of drug addiction along with the addiction itself. Narconon is based on the beliefs and writings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and looks at the causes of drug addiction from an addict’s perspective so it can effectively treat the drug addiction.

The treatment does not use any drugs of any type to ease the pain of withdrawal and provides drug rehabilitation, education, and prevention services. Much of Narconon’s programs are presented in school classrooms using materials developed by the Narconon professionals. The materials are meant to supplement the school’s existing drug prevention program.

Proponents of the Narconon program claim a 70 percent success rate with combating drug addiction compared to a 30 percent rate in other rehabilitation programs. Hubbard created the program after doing extensive research and studies on drug addiction causes and how to combat the disease effectively without the use of drugs.

The premise of the Narconon model states that addicts can resume normal, healthy, productive lives when they work with the skills they are given in the program. The program can be administered out-patient or at an in-patient Narconon sanctioned facility.

Generally, the Narconon program takes four to six months to work effectively. Participants are said to be going “back to school” to become re-educated on drugs, the dangers of drug, drug addiction, and drug recovery. All of this is done without the benefit of pharmaceutical help.

Like the Scientology religion, Narconon has its opponents who say that the information that is presented isn’t always scientifically sound even if the program claims it is. They say that Narconon skews information so that it supports their conclusions and doesn’t give the whole picture. Some see that as a form of brain washing and thus write off Narconon as a scam.

Opponents also say that the educational materials given to schools don’t take into account developmental abilities of the students they are trying to reach. The materials for elementary schools are basically the same as the materials for high schools. The materials are more scientific without providing explanations or definitions for presenters to help children with their comprehension of what is being presented.

The causes of drug addiction are wide and varied and Narconon claims to address them fully through their program. Even if their information isn’t as accurate as some would hope, they do have a certain amount of success with those who go through their classes. Because the causes of drug addiction are far-reaching, perhaps Narconon is an answer for those who need it.