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Cristian Castro
Professor Batty
English 113
23 November 2015
Self-Control: How to Defeat Addiction
Addiction is the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or
activity. Drug addiction is very common and according to society, addiction is a disease. Many
people suffer with substance abuse, but how do you defeat it. There are many different
viewpoints for drug addiction. 2.4 million Americans use prescription drugs non-medically
which sooner or later leads to addiction. To defeat drug addiction we should restrict all drugs and
should be used to cure serious medical issues only. Although there is many places you can get
drugs.
First, drugs should be given out when there is a serious emergency. They should be given
out if you broke your leg and you need to stop pain. Then of course you need something to
stop the pain. Drugs to stop pain are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Most people dont
use them for pain. They rather use them to get high which is not an appropriate reason. Drugs
should be given out when a person really needs them to be sane. Examples of pain drugs are
ibuprofen and naproxen they should only be used when people need them. For example my
mother who deals with bi polar disorder. My mother had a nervous breakdown and ended up
with mental health issues. When my mother does not take her medication she has no self-control
and even hallucinates. She does not feel pain or know what she is saying when shes not
medicated. Her mood changes drastically and gets depressed. Drugs overall are not good for your

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health. If you keep using them after a while it would not make any affect. All drugs have side
effects that will affect your health in the long run.
Secondly, marijuana is common in society because most people say its not bad.
Marijuana is known as the gateway drug. Marijuana is a main issue in society at the moment
because they want to make it legal. Its not one of the worst drugs, but it is still not something
you should abuse or get addicted. Marijuana is the easiest drug to get in school grounds, many
dont think its bad since everyone does it, but later the outcome can be bad. What people dont
know is people who over abuse marijuana end up with sleeping problems, depression, and many
more. Should it really be legalized? Depression is a very common disease in all over the world.
Depression most of the time lead to suicidal thoughts. Then suicidal thoughts lead to death. Do
we really need more people to die because of depression or drugs? I have a friend who always
needs to be faded which is a slang word for high. When he is not high he is always in a bad
mood. He has even admitted to me that he has dealt with depression. Of course he doesnt admit
that the marijuana abuse is the cause to it, but I believe that is the reason why he is depressed.
When he is depressed, I try talking to him and actually try to be there for him, even if he does not
want me to be there during his tough times. He would tell me I like being faded because I feel
no pain, I feel numb. When he told me that I knew what he was doing was wrong. I noticed that
he was addicted. I would tell him to stop smoking or at least to try to do it less often. He actually
stopped and he is a totally different person now. My whole point is that try to help the ones in
need, help them out of the struggle. I helped my friend, sometimes all a person needs is love and
support, from your family or friends is a great way to overcome addiction.

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Thirdly, alcoholism is another gateway drug that is the most common. Alcoholism is not a
joke, its a disease. Its very common. More than 3 million United States cases per year. There is
318.9 million people in the United States, so that means more than half of the United States has
problems with Alcohol. In Jennifer A, Hurleys book Addiction: Opposing viewpoints she
explains different points of views in each chapter. She says The Hazelden Foundation asserts in
the following viewpoint that underage drinkers have an increased risk of becoming alcoholics
later in life. According to research studies, more than 40 percent of people who began drinking
before age 15 developed a dependence on alcohol at some point in their lives (Hurley 35).
Jennifer explains that underage drinking causes alcoholism once youre at an older age like your
forties. First though, what is alcoholism? Alcoholism is a type of addiction, it is when you abuse
alcohol and it is hard to give up. How do people become addicted? Whats so good about alcohol
that people want more and more? According to AMHC There are biological, psychological,
socio-cultural, and spiritual reasons that people can become addicted to alcohol. This means that
most people who end up having alcohol is because they either had a bad childhood or either deal
with psychological issues. Some psychological issues are depression, suicidal thoughts, stress,
bipolar disorder and many more. My advice to all parents is to seek psychological counseling
for their kids if they believe that they had a bad childhood to try to avoid it. Dont drink at a
young age or abuse the substance because then it becomes a habit. Try to avoid it as much as
possible. Alcoholism isnt a smart choice once you aree addicted it is hard to get out of it.
Also, if you think that there is no way to get past addiction, then you are wrong! There is
so many resources and programs to treat addiction. I am not saying it is impossible because it is
possible to become not addicted. In the book Addiction there is a treatment program called
NIDA The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a federal agency established in 1974 to

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research the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction, maintains in the following viewpoint
that rehabilitation programs are effective in treating drug or alcohol addiction. The four most
common types of treatment programsoutpatient treatment, therapeutic communities, shortterm residential treatment, and methadone maintenance programsall have high rates of
success (Hurley 82) When I read this I didnt know what these four treatment programs were
about, so I read more. Outpatient treatment is for people needing drug and alcohol treatment.
Outpatient and you get to live there treatment programs can provide and achieve long-term
recovery. Therapeutic communities also known as TCs, is a long-term residential treatment for
substance use disorders also known as SUDs. It also includes groups such as Alcoholics
Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous are a group of people who help you get past your addiction.
They help you by giving you awards for staying sober and they talk about the things they went
through as a drug addict. Short-term residential treatment is the same as outpatient, but in a
shorter time period. Methadone maintenance treatment is the use of methadone. Methadone is a
drug to help you get through when you at your worst. An example of methadone is heroin. What
is heroin? in the article The Destructive Capacity of Drug Abuse: An Overview Exploring the
Harmful Potential of Drug Abuse Both to the Individual and to Society says that heroin is The
physical harm caused by a drug needs to be considered in terms of its acute toxicity, as well as its
likelihood to produce long-term health problems. Heroin is a highly addictive and is derived
from morphine. This program is meant to help you when you want to stop with drugs like heroin.
The downfall from heroin is that you get sick when you want to give up your body keeps asking
for more.
Finally, throughout this essay, it explains all sorts of drugs that cause addiction.
Prescription drugs should be restricted and used to cure serious medical issues only. Thats how

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it should always be. Marijuana should not be legalized due to more people becoming depressed.
Drugs should not be a need nor want. It should not be irrelevant unless you really need them.
People who abuse drugs dont have well outcomes. For example, people who are addicted to
heroin dont end up very well. They suffer for change. Overall there are many resources for
change. It is never too late to beat drug addiction.

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Works Cited
Hurley, A Jennifer. Addiction: Opposing viewpoints. San Diego California: Greenhaven Press,
2000.
"What Is Heroin? How Is Heroin Made? What Is Heroin Made Of? - Drug-Free World." What Is
Heroin? How Is Heroin Made? What Is Heroin Made Of? - Drug-Free World. N.p., n.d. Web. 01
Dec. 2015.
"Marijuana Statistics - Cannabis Use Statistics - Drug-Free World." Marijuana Statistics Cannabis Use Statistics - Drug-Free World. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2015.
Horvath, Tom, Ph.D ABPP. "How Do You Get Addicted To Alcohol?" AMHC. N.p., 1995. Web.
2015.
Fox, Thomas Peter. "The Destructive Capacity of Drug Abuse: An Overview Exploring the
Harmful Potential of Drug Abuse Both to the Individual and to Society." International Scholarly
Research Notices. N.p., 2013. Web. 2015.