Narkoba

Penyalahgunaan obat didefinisikan sebagai konsumsi obat atau substansi yang tidak memiliki indikasi medis, tidak sesuai dosis yang diperbolehkan, serta menyimpang dari norma sosial serta hukum.

Apa sih bahayanya penyalahgunaan obat?

Penggunaan obat tertentu dapat berpengaruh pada mood, persepsi, serta perilaku seseorang. 

Definition

Drug abuse may be defined as the use of any substance in a manner which deviates from the accepted medical, social or legal patterns that exist within a given society.

Description

The use of a drug or combination of drugs to induce changes in mood, perception and, to a lesser extent, behaviour may stem from various social, cultural and psychological influences. Very often there is an underlying mental condition, usually a personality disorder or psychoneurosis, and use of a drug may be intended to provide an 'escape' from certain unpleasant aspects of life. Social background and environment may also be contributory factors; drugs may represent excitement and challenge in certain under-privileged groups in which opportunities to experience pleasure, satisfaction or success are limited. Alternatively, there may be a desire to conform with a certain social group which favours the use of drugs; again an underlying personality disorder may be implicated.

Abuse of some drugs may be intermittent, resulting in minimal physical, psychological or social deterioration. In other cases, the user may become dependent on a drug in order to perform at what he or she considers to be a satisfactory level; this is known as psychic dependence. Certain drugs have the ability to produce physical dependence, an altered physiological state in which the body requires continued administration of the drug to avoid the withdrawal syndrome. The symptoms of the withdrawal syndrome vary according to the drug concerned, but they are usually so unpleasant that the individual dependent on the drug (the addict) will often go to considerable lengths to avoid them. For example, withdrawal from opiates gives rise to the classic 'cold turkey' process with lacrimation, yawning and sweating followed by coryza, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pains, weakness and goose flesh; barbiturate withdrawal may produce depression, insomnia, tremors and anorexia. Repeated administration of many drugs results in tolerance, requiring an increase in dosage to achieve the desired effect.

Many of these drugs have medical uses and are beneficial in the treatment of both physical and mental disorders. Some individuals are physically dependent on a maintenance dose of certain drugs for prevention of symptoms, eg dexamphetamine for narcolepsy, and no additional rating is required in these circumstances. However, some degree of psychic dependence may arise through the use of tranquillisers, hypnotics and antidepressants in the treatment of mental disorders; provided these drugs are prescribed by a physician and are being taken in normal pharmacological dosages the final rating should be essentially that for the underlying condition.

Some disability income and long term care policies exclude claims arising from the use of drugs (other than those medically prescribed) and alcohol. The effectiveness of this exclusion is uncertain as it is very rarely invoked, but clearly its presence does not mean that 'habits' criticism can be ignored at the underwriting stage. For LTC, the functional impairment is usually a result of multiple problems and use of this exclusion is impractical.

Prognosis

Mortality and morbidity among drug addicts are high, many attempting suicide during withdrawal, during severe hallucinatory or depressive states while under the influence of drugs, or as a result of secondary mental illness; others die suddenly following intravenous drug injection. Other common causes of death or disability are acute bacterial infection (including bacterial endocarditis), active chronic hepatitis and hepatic cirrhosis (hepatitis B & C), all of which are due primarily to the communal use of unsterilised needles.

Prognosis is closely related to the psychoneurotic or personality defect which contributed to the drug dependence. Psychiatric care is an important part of any treatment programme. Success of therapy lessens in proportion to the degree of addiction, length of time addicted and the number of relapses.

There is also a significant increase in the incidence of HIV infection in individuals with a history of intravenous drug use through the use of shared needles.

Underwriting information

• drugs questionnaire
• source of drug information, ie admitted or from third party
• when and why the drug was first used
• applicant's age, environment, occupation, personality and marital status
• use of alcohol
• HIV antibody test and Hepatitis B and C serology
• evidence of any criminal activity
• history of accidents and/or motor vehicle offences