Drug addiction is a problem that can incapacitate various important functions in our society. Addictions impact on society affects close relatives and friends, however, this problems extends to the social order seeing as it affects financial, emotional and by and large other functional areas. Therefore, it is important to understand how this problem affects the person, immediate family members, neighbors and the society at large.
Addictions Unpredictable Nature
Addiction has become a major concern owing to its unpredictable nature. The society has to urgently deal with this problem since it has become widespread. Previously, addiction was commonly associated with the poor and the under privileged, but more people in all age brackets have joined the band wagon making it a problem for the entire populace.
Associated Complications
Addictions impact on society has seen many people succumb to the associated complications. Some people of great influence from the most elite to the icons of the world and even those of high posts have become entangled in this web. Since there are many addictions related challenges, the society has to deal with difficulties related to this devastating epidemic owing to the acceptability and legality the problem. It is easy for people to come across drugs, alcohol and other forms of addictions on the street, and over the counter. The problem heightens with the dominant nature of the electronic age, hence the ripple effects around the world.
There are several ways that addictions can have an impact on society.
Crime Rate Increase
- Drug addicts are going to do whatever they have to in order to get money for their drugs. Most of the time, this means that a person is going to be stealing money or things that they can sell to get money. This means that a person could hurt or kill someone in the process of their robbery if the person gets in their way.
Health Care Costs
- Drug abuse causes many health problems that cripple the body of an addict. Some of these health problems include lung disease, cirrhosis of the liver, an overdose, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. The lung disease comes from where a person has done a lot of smoking, the cirrhosis is when a person drinks a lot of alcohol, and the other things can happen to a person when they are really high and are having unprotected sex with several people.
Child Abuse and Neglect
- When a parent is doing drugs, they are going to be a lot more likely to neglect their child. The parent might also abuse their children if they get angry at the child when they are high on the drugs. Therefore, the children are probably going to be taken away from a parent who is on drugs and put into foster care. This is probably going to save the child’s life in the long run.
Addictions Impact on Society Continues to Grow
The commonly known causes of addiction are generally not acceptable in many societies, and yet addictions impact on society continuous to grow
because we support what brings about addiction. This has placed millions of people in these behaviors; the reasons why most people overlook the risks involved and take the treacherous path exposing themselves to addictions. As a society, we have to deal with these facts; a very big group of people become unsuspecting victims as it is always difficult to know until addictions completely takes over.
Captive Nature of Addiction
The captive nature of addictions has various devastating effects on the society. Dealing with this problem costs billions of dollars yearly, and this has a negative effect on the economy. Addictions also increase an individual’s propensity to go out of control, thus, crime, irresponsibility, aggression and unlawful behaviors follow suit. Addictions impact on society has led to a lot of fatalities. Besides spread of disease like HIV, addiction also exposes people to greater dangers like road rage, impaired judgment, depression and withdrawal symptoms. These are some of the common problems associated with addictions that bring misery to the general public.
The True Picture of Addictions Impact on Society
It is very hard to paint a true picture on addictions impact on society. This problem goes a long way since it destroys many lives. Addictions break many people’s hearts; this includes the person with addiction, close relatives and friends. In totality, it introduces misery to the rest of the societal members since watching the potential of another human wasting away is a very depressing feeling. Many people faced with addiction problems directly or indirectly go through emotional difficulties, depression, confusion, disparity, anger and other forms of suffering. To an extent the impact of addiction on our society goes deeper than most people can describe.
