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In the last post, we saw how:

• New drugs like acamprosate and buspirone show promise in treatment.
• Social factors, including peer groups, stress, poverty, and healthcare access, significantly influence substance abuse.
• Alcohol Anonymous group therapy sessions help people overcome alcohol addiction with support from peers and role models.

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[https://qr.ae/prwT9D](What are the social factors that contribute to substance abuse?)

Welcome to Medic Vibes, where we discuss mental health disorders and make sense of them. Dr Ebingo Kigigha is a medical doctor (aspiring psychiatrist) and creative person (illustration and music). This has been our routine for four consecutive months. This month will be dedicated to substance abuse. In the first month, we discussed Depression, and in the subsequent month, anxiety. We just finished with Conduct disorders.

In this post, we are looking at A Nigerian Study on Substance Abuse. To learn more just keep scrolling down. You can also skip to the key point of the post if you which or go to the conclusion to get the summary.

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Cannabis-Related Disorder Overview

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One of the most widely spread illicit drugs in use worldwide is cannabis. It has become prevalent in youth culture over the past three to four decades, and it is now not uncommon to find teenage users. In the United States, it is the fourth most commonly used psychoactive drug, after caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine.

Cannabis is made from the plant Cannabis sativa and its use dates back nearly 8,000 years in early Asian empires due to its medicinal value. The plant has a male and female flowering phenotype, with the female variant having more than 60 unique cannabinoids.

The most potent part of the plant is the flowering variant, which is usually dried and forms exudates from the leaves and is sometimes referred to as hash. It is cut, dried, and rolled to make cigarettes. Cannabis is known by many names, such as marijuana, grass, pot, ganja, and weed. Preparations of the drug have become stronger in recent years compared to those made in the past.

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Demographics

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According to the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 19 million people aged 12 or older, or 7% of this population, used cannabis within a month. Among this age group, 2.4 million started using it within a year, and close to 60% of them started before they turned 18. A survey has also indicated that lifetime, annual, current, and daily use of marijuana among primary school students has been increasing since the 1990s.

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Substance abuse Consequences(Reaction)

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Image by macrovector on Freepik

Substance abuse in the form of drug abuse or alcohol dependance can have a strong impact on a persons well being on short term and over a long period of time. The affects of substance abuse can span from mental health into internal medicine and social effects.

The use of the substance is usually for the altered state and it can affects the patients judgement and level of coordination and can make them more prone to accidients and injuries.

Substance abuse is also a well know cause of mood disorders such as depression. The pyshical effects of alcohol for example can include nausea and vomiting which happen immediatiely after its consumption.

In the long run the effects of substance abuse are more detrimental. One significant effect that send the person into a downward spiral is the development of addiction to the substance. Addiction itself is a very difficult condition to treat on its own but in addition the effects of substance abuse can put a person at risk of liver disease, hear disease, stroke and cancer.

The cardiovascular effects that start and lead up to myocardial changes and stroke can take place as cocain and other psychostimulant cause an increase in heart rate and blood pressure and force the heart to push through the all its effect. Because the heart has bigger task and stays in this state pepetually, it leads to the cardiovacular changes.

The liver is the primary detoxifier of the body and alcohol is metabolised into several toxins that long term can distroy the liver. Alcohol consumed in excess can have a damaging effect on the liver when cells of the liver are destroyed it can lead to replacement with fibros tissue when it is cirrotic and a liver in cirrohosis has poor function.

The lungs can be affected by the inhalation of smoke and the toxins in tobacco. It can cause pathological changes in the lungs that lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. Cocaine and other illicite inhailed substances can cause damage to the lungs directly as it can be an irritant to the lung tissue.

The effects of cocain are especially not worthy in both neurology and in psychiatry as this substance can have profound effects on the brain and can cause pschiatric presentation. The vasoconstrictive effects of this drug can lead to deprivation of the brain to components of blood such as oxygen and glucose. This can lead to oxidative stress and damage to the brain.

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Treatment

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The treatment for cannabis use is based on the principles of treating other substance disorders, such as abstinence and support. Hospitalization is one effective way to achieve abstinence so that the patient can be monitored on an outpatient basis.

Support for the patient can be reinforced through family and group therapy, and health education should be a priority. If a patient does not understand why they are avoiding the drug, they may not feel the need to do so. Some patients may benefit from anxiety medication at this stage.

For some patients, the use of cannabis may be a form of self-medication for depression, and antidepressants may be more effective in managing their symptoms. In the past, marijuana was used as a means of treatment for depression, anxiety, and gastrointestinal disorders in the United States until the 21st century.

In modern times, the recognition of the substance's potential for abuse and addiction has led to stricter restrictions on its use by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Its use has become more limited to treating the nausea of chemotherapy, multiple sclerosis pain, AIDS, epilepsy, and glaucoma.

In 1996, under the state's Compassionate Use Act, it became legal for those with certain conditions in California to use marijuana. However, in 2001, the manufacture and sale of marijuana was deemed illegal in any form.

Under this ruling, patients using marijuana for even medical reasons could face jail time. In 2013, new exemptions to the cannabis use act were granted in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the Columbia District, as long as the use was under a physician's supervision.

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Questions

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• What did you learn about Substance abuse?

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Conclusion

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Cannabis is widely used illicit drug; prevalent in youth culture; fourth most used psychoactive drug in US.
Substance abuse causes detrimental mental, physical, and social effects.
Treatment for cannabis use includes abstinence, support, therapy, and health education. Legal use limited to medical conditions under physician supervision.

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References

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• Kaplan-Sadocks-Comprehensive-Textbook-Psychiatry
• Page demarcations made with Inkscape.org
• Healthline
• NIMH
• WHO