Preview

The Use of Illicit Drug: a Significant Cause of Global Health Issue

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2179 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Use of Illicit Drug: a Significant Cause of Global Health Issue
The Use of Illicit Drug: a Significant Cause of Global Health Issue
1. Introduction
Many incurable diseases in the world are being cured and eliminated with the development of science and technology, while there are some new adverse factors probably can result in great harm to people 's health. Amongst these factors, the use of illicit drug is a crucial cause of spreading infectious diseases and deaths. It is estimated that more than 200 million people use illicit drugs in 2010 and among these user, approximately 100,000 deaths are related to the use of illicit substance (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2012). Furthermore, illicit drug use also indirectly hinders the development of economy and society, for instance, it accounts for the productivity losses, heavy financial burden, increasing criminals, and damaged environment (The Nossal Institute for Global Health, 2010). Under these unhealthy and unstable situations, the health problems caused by the use of illicit drugs are expanding rapidly and severely. The risk of illicit drug use impairs human body, undermines economic development and damage social stability.
2. Impact on health
The use of illicit drug causes global health issue that it brings about numerous fatal diseases including inducing stroke, lethal arrhythmias and hyperthermia, particularly blood borne. Drug use, especially injected drug use (IDU), is a crucial vector for spreading blood borne such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C. IDU induces high danger of spreading of HIV; as a result, IDU is responsible for approximately ten per cent of all HIV patients worldwide. Another relevant statistic of IDU is that amongst 16 million IDUs globally, about one in five is HIV-positive (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2012). Furthermore, the distribution of AIDS related to IDU in some parts of the world is considerable different, for instance, 50-90% HIV infections in central and eastern Asia, Eastern Europe and the Pacific are blamed on

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Drug abuse is a serious problem which has affected many individuals in American society for decades. When we take a look into American history, it is apparent the magnificent availabilities of science and technology available today have not always been around. With the lack of scientific knowledge and the once non-existence of drug abuse, it is fair to say our discoveries of drugs were once ingested in some form out of pure curiosity of the human mind. (Levinthal, C. F. 2010)…

    • 1415 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    I am writhing a paper on my opinion of what licit and illicit drug use might look like in twenty years. It is in my opinion that licit drug use will advance with technology and science.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “Drug policy regarding the control of the traditional illicit substances (opiates, cocaine, cannabis) is currently moving through upbeat times in almost all Western countries. Prohibition on the basis of repressive law enforcement not only seems to fail on a large scale, but also to create vast additional costs, problems, and harm for drug consumers, who often find themselves in extreme social, economic, and health conditions” (Fischer 1995: 389).…

    • 1744 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    About 200 million people or 5% of the global population are estimated to have used drugs at least once in 2006. Around 2.7% of the global population use drugs at least once a month, and around 0.6% are recognized as drug addicted or problem drug users. It is estimated that currently around 13 million persons worldwide inject drugs and that there is an increasing trend in the numbers of persons abusing cannabis and amphetamine-type stimulants (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2006). It can be seen from these figures substance abuse is an important issue which needs addressing. However alongside the concerns relating to the number of illegal drug users around the world are a barrage of other concerns. There are many problems which drug addiction causes to both individuals and societies. This includes disease transmission, most notably HIV/AIDS. The connection between the two is often a direct result of sharing unsterilized injecting equipment among injection drug users. It can also be indirectly a result of drug use, where injecting drug users transmit the disease through…

    • 4841 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    For a long period of time, illegal drugs have become a nuisance in the society. Many lives have been taken and wasted because of illegal drugs. Many families have also been broken due to drug involvement of one of the family members. The futures of the young people have also been risked by drugs. As such, the government has taken all the effort to curtail the illegal drugs in the society by enacting laws criminalizing illegal drug-related activities, implementing programs for the people, and creating agencies to enforce the law, among others.…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, these efforts are not sufficient as even new countries join to drug trafficking across the borders of the United States. The illegal drugs trade causes several social and economic effects. In addition to the drains of economy and state budget, the extensive consumption of illegal drug use causes several severe diseases. Given the direct responsibility of the government to protect interests and life of its nationals, the government of the United States can not afford itself to pay no attention to suicide, homicide and other consequences of drug use. In addition to this fact, it should be noted that the country still faces difficulties with measuring of the definite amount of drugs arriving to the…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There are three ways that drugs can lead to criminal activity: (1) by affecting the user’s mental state, (2) the need for the addict to support their habit by committing a crime for money, and (3) the sale of illegal drugs (Drugs and Crime, 2011). The first two scenarios…

    • 3456 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    MDMA Research Paper

    • 2361 Words
    • 10 Pages

    United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2004). World drug report. Vol. 1: Analysis, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,…

    • 2361 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Controversy On Drugs

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Over the past few decades, we as the people have come across the controversy of illegal drugs. Countless research has shown that drugs impact people every day. Yet, drugs do not only impact its users. The usage of illegal substances has caused and economic downfall to all of its users. The government has tried many methods to solve the pandemic of illegal substances. Overall drugs do impact society in numerous ways.…

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Drug Control

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages

    As we know, all countries in the world prohibited hard drug, but it means that we are safe and far from drugs? Definitely not! Drug eliminated from aboveboard; still lived under the night. Prescription drug abuse is the Nation’s fastest-growing drug problem; smuggling of drug can never disappear (2011 National Drug Control Strategy 4). By the way, women’s involvement in drug trafficking in recent years has expanded dramatically (Campbell 233). Spreading of Drug decreases a nation’s physical quality, psychological condition, and life expectancy. Because no country could afford those integral losses bring from pressure of public medical benefit, no one open hard drugs. Drug is the demon, which come in from crack of door, continue his villainy that should be bar out. We cannot wait to raise awareness of drug control; we cannot wait to improve our tactics; we cannot wait to arrest more loss happen. Executions of prohibitions, living examples of suffering, and confirmed side-effects warn us must focus on the issue.…

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Drug use and trafficking is still rising despite the majority of law enforcements effort being aimed at drug users. According to Miron, A.J. and Waldock, K. (2010). An estimated $41.3 billion would be saved from enforcement and incarnation costs if illicit drugs for personal use were decriminalised. Enforcement is also aimed towards users rather than organised criminals, which massively undermines users’ health and safety and human rights. It further fuels crime by increasing drug prices making it more attractive for potential criminals and harder for users to buy encouraging them to commit crimes. The unstable, vulnerable environments created by unregulated drug markets are easily exploited by drug producers and undermines economies. According to Kitchen, N. (2012). the war on drugs has been an ongoing failure yet it is still been allowed to continue so this essay will discuss the recommendations put forward by the global commission on drugs and what outcomes they will have on the harmful effects of illicit drugs. The recommendations made by the Global Commission on Drugs (2014).…

    • 2666 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug abuse can be a cause of other diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS. Addiction to a substance can lead to those diseases or worse, death. Globally, the misuse of legal and illegal drugs kills around 200,000 people annually (Drug Abuse Kills). Addiction should not be taken lightly or treated like the addict’s own fault. As such, substance abuse should be considered a disease and treated as such in order to effectively rehabilitate addicts.…

    • 1275 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Legalization of Marijuana

    • 2272 Words
    • 10 Pages

    United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2012. World drug report 2012. New York: United Nations Publications. http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2012.html/. Date accessed: 24/04/2013.…

    • 2272 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is a gruesome tale of dependence on drugs (substances) that have destroyed individual’s, communities, and countries ability to function in an efficient manner. This is a matter that has become more and more relevant as the increase in addictions and violence have risen steadily over a period of time. This epidemic knows no boundaries, it has affected every country, both individually and collectively internationally. I believe that addiction of any sort is a tool used by many to mask pain.…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Surely, when reading the word “drugs” you must get the idea that some unlawful substance is mentioned in this paper, and so it is. Leading medical, health and human rights organizations like the International Red Cross, The American Public Health Association, American Civil Liberties Union, have joined the approach of worldwide drug decriminalization. So, what is decriminalization? It can be defined as “the lessening of criminal penalties in relation to certain acts.” By implementing decriminalization laws on drugs around the world, consumption and abuse of substances along with overdose rates can be significantly reduced. As we can see around the world, alarming rates of people are drug users and/or drug addicts. “In 2008 an estimated 3.9% of the world’s population between the ages of 15 and 64 abuse marijuana, and an estimate of about 208 million people internationally consume illegal drugs.” “Of American adults aged 12 and older about 21.5 million battled a…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays