Drug addiction: definition and classification

Basic aspects of drug abuse are discussed, from a semantic and physiopathologic point of view: drug definition; drug abuse and drug addiction; drug as a tool, that produces adverse or beneficial effects according to its use, rather than its intrinsic features. Simple and complicated drug-related problems are discussed in some depth, the former being associated with external factors, the latter with organic or mental disease. Practical implications of this concept are exposed. Similarities of drug abuse and suicide are underlined. It is concluded that ethical judgments and measures require an additional evaluation of these aspects, with particular reference to the medical component of drug abuse.     

Drug addiction among service soldiers--causes of phenomenon development

Drug addiction is considered to be the manifestation of social maladaptation. Recently, intensification of drug addiction among service soldiers has been observed. Of the investigated group of soldiers, 11.8% informed that they have been using drugs and 2.1% showed symptoms of addiction. Marihuana, hashish and amphetamine belong to the group of most commonly used drugs in the army. The main causes of drug taking, listed by the soldiers, include: stress associated with the service and noticeable pleasure. Soldiers taking drugs buy them from their civilian colleagues, from dealers in the area of the unit or the neighborhood. Thus, there is a need of undertaking serious steps towards limitation of rapid increase of drug addiction in the army.     

Drug addiction, love, and the higher power

This discussion piece suggests that reliance on a Higher Power in drug abuse recovery programs is entertained among some addicts for its psychobiological effects. Prayer, meditation, early romantic love, and drug abuse may have in common activation of mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways of the brain and the generation of intense emotional states. In this sense, reliance on a Higher Power may operate as a substitute addiction, which replaces the psychobiological functions formerly served by drug use. Implications of this perspective are discussed.     

Drug addiction therapy. A dance to the music of time

Dance therapy can play a useful role in the treatment and rehabilitation of women with drug addiction. It works by raising self-esteem through an improved relationship with the body, giving women the strength to help combat their habit. The benefits of dance therapy for women at the detox unit of Holloway Prison have been confirmed by prison staff.     

压力也上瘾

我们讨厌压力，每天都喊着要给自己减压，可当自己真正清闲下来，却发现其实无压的生活反而令自己不开心，只要没坐在办公桌前，就会充满罪恶感。[编者按]