Drug Abuse and How it Relates to Racial and Ethnicity Inequality and Physical and Mental Health

Drug abuse refers to a condition that persists when an individual uses a substance or drug  in spite of knowing about its drawbacks. Drug abusers have an extreme desire to use, obtain and increase the amount of one or more substances. They use substances like cigarettes, alcohol or any other illegal or legal substances. The excessive, compulsive and self-damaging habit formed during drug use leads to dependence or addiction, which has severe physiological and psychological harm on the user. Anyone could be a victim of drug abuse irrespective of their age, ethnicities, gender and social groups. Various studies have addressed the risk factors and effects of drug abuse in the modern world. This essay seeks to cite how drug abuse is related to racial and, ethnicity inequality and physical and mental health.

Different cultures classify people according to their specific characteristics (Baconi et al., 2015).  People coming from some races perceive themselves superior to others, and as a result, racial-ethnic minority groups are reported to be involved in substance abuse than majority groups. Colored communities experience the burden of substance abuse due to reduced access to care, environment, inappropriate care and economic risks. The discrimination among the minority group which is caused by ethnic and racial inequality encourages the people to turn to drug abuse as a source of solace. Social explanations emphasize the significance of the social environment such as social structures and interaction contributing to racial and ethnic inequality. This brings about inequality issues, which make most of the minority group turns into drug abuse to cover for what is lacking in their group (Patrick et al., 2012). This indicates that drug abuse is related to ethnic and racial inequality.

People engaging in drug abuse think they will never be an addict, but the reality has surprised everybody. Sometimes it becomes difficult to recognize drug abuse, but when the issue is left unaddressed, it could result in severe consequences which are damaging to the person and society. Drug abuse hurts major systems of the human body (Patrick et al., 2012). People who are mentally ill have likelihood they were involved in drug abuse. Most of them abuse illicit drugs and have fallen casualties of development of mental illnesses. Reports suggest that people diagnosed with a mental disorder were at some point responsible for the consumption of illicit drugs. The abuse of certain drugs leads to mental problems such as apathy, withdrawal, depression, developmental lags, and other psychosocial dysfunctions, which could trigger adverse psychological and physical health issues. Indeed, substances abuse results to some health problems such as depression, paranoia, and delusion. An addicted person loses judgment and control, and after stopping to use the drug, they suffer severe physical and psychological harm such as stress, depression, and anxiety. Besides, it causes a change in appetite, sleeping temperatures and body temperatures. These changes limit physical capacity as they hamper the mobility, energy, and balance of the drug user. It also leads to heart attack and heart rate irregularities that ultimately lead to physical death of the addict. Furthermore, drug abusers could have kidney and liver damage, which jeopardizes the physical movement and capacity of the victims that defines a strong relationship between drug abuse and physical health.