Drugs and Their Effects Essay

Drugs and substance abuse can lead both to physical and psychological dependency. As a result, drug-addicted patients can experience various side effects depending on the frequency and amount of drugs taken at a time. Investigating patterns of behavior of alcohol and drug-addicted individuals is important because it allows a drug addictions counselor to predict possible consequences and potential risks to health.Drugs and Their Effects Essay

It has been found out that duration effect of smoking marijuana is about 4 hours (Coon and Mitterer, 2008). In contrast, large amounts of alcohol consumption can cause significant impairment of the brain, or even loss of consciousness.

Six packs of beer exceed the accepted norms for a person and, therefore, it is more dangerous for a person consume alcohol in such dozes as compared to two cigarettes of marijuana, which is accepted (Coon and Mitterer, 2008).

Therefore, as a drug addictions counselor, I would rather take control of the alcohol-addicted patient and focus on the patterns of his behavior to avoid complications and risks to the patient’s health. At the same time, the patient who smokes marijuana should also be monitored to make sure that he/she is not dependent on drugs.

Exploring patterns of alcohol consumption is helpful in understanding the main risks it can have for human health. The levels of alcohol abuse are associated with a number of disorders and diseased. In particular, such disorders as hypertension, liver disease, and neurological deficits relate primarily to patterns of alcohol consumption (Grant, 1997).