Causes of Drug Addiction- Outline

Even though the battle against drug addiction is becoming more intense, many agencies are still unable to combat the problem due to a failure to identify the various causes. As a result, information about the causes of drug addiction must be uncovered and disseminated to the general public.
This paper aims to look into the various causes of drug addiction.
The expertise gained from this paper will aid in the development of a program or model for the intervention and prevention of more drug abuse cases.
In a nutshell, this paper aims to eliminate the drug addiction problem by identifying its causes.
The History of the Subject
Drug addiction has a long history, dating back to 8000BC.
Recently, archaeologists i. discovered wine vessels that are believed to have been the earliest form of intentional fermentation in the Middle East (Nestler 260).
ii. In 6000BC, there existed indigenous tobacco plants to counter for the smoking needs of the addicts. The first forms of cultivation of opium are believed to have been done by Egyptians, Babylonians, and Sumerians.
iii. Currently, drug addiction is widespread in some states and countries legalizing the use of some specific forms of drugs.
a) Potential Audience
i. The most appropriate audience for the topic is the teenage and adult populations.
ii. Drug addiction is widespread among teenagers and the young adult generation. The development of such addictions begins when an individual is a teenager develops with influencers such as environment and peer pressure.
iii. Therefore, the teenagers’ population must be educated on the various causes of drug abuse and the mannerisms in which drugs might influence the different areas of their life.
iv. Some addictions begin in adulthood, hence, the knowledge regarding the different causes of drug abuse would also be appropriate for the individuals in this age bracket.
 
b) Research Paper- Causes of Drug Addiction
i. Drug abuse is a malign issue affecting a huge population across the globe. While the governments of most countries strive to eliminate this social challenge, the drug users and their suppliers develop new tactics of conducting their businesses without being discovered.
ii. The process of drug abuse begins with addiction that refers to the compulsive and out of control use of drugs regardless of their negative impacts (Bobzean, DeNobrega, and Perrotti 64).
iii. An addictive drug is one that is both reinforcing and rewarding thereby making individuals dependent on it.
iv. The three important aspects of the topic of drug addiction include the biological, developmental and environmental causes.
v. While the fight against drug addiction intensifies, many agencies are incapable of tackling drug addiction due to their failure to identify the different causes.
vi. As such, the information regarding the causes of drug addiction must be unearthed and spread to the public.
1) Biological Causes
i. Biology plays a crucial role in the determination of whether or not an individual would become an addict to a particular drug (Bobzean, DeNobrega, and Perrotti 64).
ii. The types of genes that individuals have in combination with other environmentally-based factors are responsible for more than 50% of their addiction risk or vulnerability.
2) Developmental Causes
i. Mental illnesses also dictate person’s vulnerability to a particular type of drug. People with mild, subclinical, and overt mental illnesses engage in drug addiction such as tobacco use as they believe that it could assist them in lessening the symptoms of some disorders while improving cognition.
ii. Individuals whose generations comprise of drug addicts are also vulnerable as addiction is genetic.
iii. Other biological aspects that influence the risk of drug addiction include ethnicity and gender.
3) Environmental Causes
i. The environment of an individual hosts many forms of influencers such as their friends, family members, quality of life, and the socio-economic status.
ii. Persons from poor backgrounds are more vulnerable to addiction as they engage in substance abuse as a means of forgetting their life issues.
iii. Parents who are addicts also influence their children to engage in such practices (Nestler 266). Sexual and physical abuse are some of the key factors that influence addiction.
iv. The victims of these forms of abuses find consolation in drugs thereby becoming addicts.
v. Other environmental influencers that define the course of addiction in an individual’s life include stress, parent involvement, and peer pressure.
vi. The developmental causes of drug addiction are crucial aspects of this topic.
vii. The merger and interaction of the genetic and environmental influencers with some critical development stages of an individual’s life may impact on the level of the person’s vulnerability to drug addiction (Earnshaw, Smith, and Copenhaver 113).
viii. The likelihood of developing a stronger addiction to a particular drug is higher when substance abuse begins at an early age.
ix. Teens are more vulnerable to drug addiction as peer pressure is high within this age bracket. Teens may also be prone to risky behavior that might lead to drug and substance abuse since the various types of their brains that control decision making, self-control, and judgment are still under development (Wise and Koob 254).
c) Conclusion
i. While the fight against drug addiction intensifies, many agencies are incapable of tackling drug addiction due to their failure to identify the different causes.
ii. The information regarding the root causes of drug addiction must be unearthed and spread to the public.
iii. The primary drug addiction causes could be grouped into genetic or biological, developmental and environmental causes.
iv. This paper successfully discusses these chief causes of drug abuse and explores the mannerisms in which they influence the addicts. In a nutshell, vulnerability to drug addiction is higher in teenagers than other age groups.

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Works Cited
Bobzean, Samara AM, Aliza K. DeNobrega, and Linda I. Perrotti. “Sex differences in the neurobiology of drug addiction.” Experimental neurology 259, 2014, pp. 64-74.
Earnshaw, Valerie, Laramie Smith, and Michael Copenhaver. “Drug addiction stigma in the context of methadone maintenance therapy: an investigation into understudied sources of stigma.” International journal of mental health and addiction 11.1, 2013, pp.110-122.
Nestler, Eric J. “Epigenetic mechanisms of drug addiction.” Neuropharmacology 76, 2014, pp. 259-268.
Wise, Roy A., and George F. Koob. “The development and maintenance of drug addiction.” Neuropsychopharmacology 39.2, 2014, pp. 254.