Medically, 'use' of drug means the proper application of any stimulants in therapeutic practice while 'misuse or addiction' applies to the initiation of a potentially harmful course of treatment. When any drug is self-administered or is taken without any medical supervision in a large dose, which can lead to addiction, abnormal behavior, and psychological devastation, the term drug addiction or abuse comes into the existence. Hence, excessive use of addictive substances or drugs non-medically and illegally, ignoring all the physical, social or psychological problems, can effectively called “drug addiction”. It can normally be categorized under public health, mass communication, medical, political, criminal justice, etc.

The history of taking non-medical drugs dates back to ancient periods. The uses of naturally obtained but indigenously processed things like opium, alcohol, and fermented fruits were well accepted in the ancient societies. But with the innovation of several newer categories and more effective drugs to get rid of frustration due to various social, economic, or political reasons, the percentage of drug abuse among the people of various age groups has alleviated by manifold.

But performance-enhancing drugs are used by the modern day athletes and other sportspersons to increase muscular strength. On the other hand, psychoactive drugs can affect the mental condition and can produce changes in emotion, mood, feeling, and awareness. They can also cause undesirable, threatening, or hallucinogenic effects on the user.

Drugs, which are commonly associated with addiction or abuse, are amphetamines, alcohol, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, ethaqualone, cocaine, cannabis, opium alkaloids, etc. Some anabolic steroids can even cause heart, liver, or other organ damages, leaving apart psychological devastation.

Drug addiction damages the central nervous system (CNS) and produces significant changes in the awareness level or perceptions and can alter other physiological systems also. Uncontrolled use of some drugs, ultimately converts the person into an unfortunate prey of abusiveness and his/her level of dependence exceeds the limit of deterioration in social activities, work or health. Dependence on psychotropic drugs can be psychological or physical, or both. In addition, its compulsive effect or extent may vary from drug to drug.

Physical dependence due to drug addiction can become clearly evident when the intake of a specific drug is reduced or stopped and an uncontrolled sickness, termed as ‘withdrawal syndrome’ (or self-denial) occurs. Opium derivatives or opiates and some antidepressant drugs like alcohol and barbiturates, which act on central nervous system, can cause physical dependence. The psychological addiction can be diagnosed by the total dependence on the drugs producing a sense of well-being. But the type of addictive behavior generally differs with the user (rather ‘abuser’) and the substance taken. In extreme cases, a severe obsession for the drug grips the person and all his/her interests start orbiting around the thought of obtaining the drug by hook or by crook!!

Sometimes drug addiction or abuse during pregnancy can cause placental lesion or abortion in the mother and the fetus may die or suffer from chromosomal damage, lower birth weight, etc.

Don’t live in the illusion that the drugs give relief from anxiety. They are monstrous whirlwind leading to destruction.