1. What Is the Difference Between Drug Abuse and Drug Addiction?

1. What is the difference between drug abuse and drug addiction? – Drug abuse and drug addiction are different conditions. Medically, problems with drug abuse and drug addiction (dependence) are each diagnosed with specific criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). To be diagnosed with a drug abuse problem, a person would exhibit any one of four specific signs during a one-year period. To be diagnosed with a drug addiction or dependence problem, a person would exhibit any three out of seven specific signs during a one-year period. Some experts use other definitions for drug abuse and addiction exist. For example, abuse can be defined as any use of an illegal substance or the inappropriate use of a legal substance to produce pleasure, reduce stress, or escape reality (or all three). Even if the drug use doesn’t cause problems that need medical treatment (at least early on), this definition would include use of drugs for experimentation—which can still be harmful—and use of substances such as nicotine or alcohol by minors. Perhaps the primary distinction between abuse and addiction relates to the compulsion of an addict to get their next fix. The addict’s focus is almost exclusively on getting more of the drug. Addiction causes a person to lose control over his or her drug use—it is no longer a choice.

Birth Control Debate Surfaces Awful Arguments

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She called the ACOG recommendation "reckless" although that report did not discuss teen use of birth control. 2. It allows people to have sex for fun. Birth control encourages sex for reasons ….. doesn't cut any customer benefits, just the amount …
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KNOE 8 News; KNOE-TV; KNOE.com |Sweeping changes suggested for Pa …

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A substance abuse counselor was charged with murder and drunken-driving Tuesday after authorities said she struck a pedestrian and drove for more than two miles with the dying victim embedded in the windshield of her car. …. Dr. Cindy W. Christian, a …
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