Drug with the Potential for Abuse or Misuse

Drug with the Potential for Abuse or Misuse

Rough draft paper on drug Vyvanse (7page)

This paper will be on a drug with the potential for abuse or misuse. There are numerous drugs that are utilized within our society today, some found predominately within the legitimate framework of medical practice and others designed solely for recreational and experimental purposes. No matter the use or the source, there is a tremendous amount of information available. Your assignment is to pick a drug with some abuse potential that is NOT well covered in the text. Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are not approved topics. There are numerous drugs both legal and illegal that can be investigated.

The paper must include the following:

1. History and epidemiology of the drug
2. The pharmacology, how does it work in the system
3. How is it grown, manufactured, transported and marketed
4. The dosage, expected effects, side effects and potential for overdose
5. The specific treatments that might be used in rehabilitation

Drug misuse, abuse, and addiction are all serious public health challenges. Since all of these deal with the use of illegal drugs and inappropriate use of legal drugs (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, prescription medication), a lot of people commonly use these terms interchangeably. However, the interventions for each issue greatly vary. That’s why correctly identifying a person’s drug problem is crucial. Read on to learn the critical differences between drug misuse, abuse, and addiction.

What is drug misuse?
Drug misuse is generally associated with prescription medicines. Prescription medicines are meant to be taken as directed by doctors. This is because these types of drugs can cause adverse side effects if directions are not followed.

Drug misuse happens when these substances are taken for a purpose that is not consistent with legal or medical guidelines. Examples of this include:

Taking the incorrect dose
Taking the drug at the wrong time
Forgetting to take a dose
Stopping the use of a drug too soon
Taking a drug for reasons other than why they were prescribed
Taking a drug that was not prescribed to you
What is drug abuse?
Drug abuse happens when drugs, including alcohol, illicit drugs, or any psychoactive substances, are misused to get high or inflict self-harm. It is also known as substance use disorder (SUD) since people who abuse drugs experience significantly altered thinking, behavior, and body functions.

What is drug addiction?
Drug addiction, also known as severe SUD, is a brain disorder that manifests as the uncontrollable use of a substance despite its

consequences. People with drug addiction have a physical and/or psychological need to take a substance because they suffer intense or debilitating withdrawal symptoms when they go without that substance.

How is drug misuse different from drug abuse?
The key difference between a person who misuses drugs and a person who abuses drugs is their intent. The former takes a drug to treat a specific ailment, whereas the latter uses a drug to elicit certain feelings.

An example of drug misuse is when a person who can’t fall asleep after taking a single sleeping pill takes another pill an hour later hoping that “it’ll do the job.” However, it’s drug abuse when a person consumes sleeping pills to manage their moods or acquire a “buzz,” or — in worst-case scenarios — to commit suicide.

How is drug abuse different from drug addiction?
Drug addiction is a severe form of drug abuse. The distinction between the two disorders lies in how much control the user can exercise over themselves. Since a person who abuses drugs still has control over their life, they don’t experience major disruption in their life.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource

In contrast, those with an addiction have a disorder that affects most if not all aspects of their lives. They often miss work or school, endanger their families physically and/or financially, suffer health problems, get into legal trouble, and other serious issues because of their substance use. But despite these, they are unable to change their habits to improve their situation. This is why many people with drug addiction become jobless, homeless, or separated from their families. Some even die from their substance use.

How do you get help for drug misuse, abuse, and addiction?
Since drug misuse isn’t a disorder, a simple reprimand may help remedy the issue. However, repeated drug misuse can easily escalate to drug abuse and eventually addiction. This is because it can lead to increased drug tolerance then drug dependency where cognitive, behavioral, and physiological problems develop.

In drug abuse cases, an honest conversation about drug abuse and its consequences can inspire a person to change since they still have control over their behavior. It’s important though that they understand all the psychological, social, legal, mental, and spiritual repercussions of substance abuse.

On the other hand, willpower is not enough to change the behavior of a person with a drug addiction. As their bodies are already chemically dependent on a substance, they would need pharmacotherapy. The process usually starts with a medically supervised detoxification period to manage the symptoms of drug withdrawal. A mental health professional then works with the patient to tailor a recovery plan toward sobriety. This plan may involve regular attendance at support group meetings and follow-up therapy sessions to ensure that the patient has the tools and techniques to help them maintain a happy and healthy lifestyle.

Meridian Psychiatric Partners offers therapy sessions and other treatments to help you resolve any type of drug problem. Schedule a consultation with us to get started. We serve clients in Chicago, Evanston, and Lake Forest.