When Drugs Lead to Other Problems

Yes, drug use has wreaked havoc on your loved one’s physical health. Yes, the substance has altered their moods and personality. But drug and alcohol use is also associated with a number of other risky behaviors that can cause further harm to the addict and may pose a danger to others as well.

If you see your loved one engaging in one or more of these behaviors, you may want to seriously consider seeking help. If the addict has not responded to your concerns about how the drug affects them personally, they may react differently if they realize that their choices are potentially damaging to others. Family members should also be aware of these risks; many family members have felt a vicarious sense of guilt for not having done more to curb an addiction and stop an addict from, for example, driving drunk and killing a stranger.

1. Sexual Risk-Taking Alcohol and drug use can decrease the user’s inhibitions, particularly related to sexual activity. Alcoholics and addicts are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, such as sex with anonymous partners, unprotected sex, and sex in positions that make them more vulnerable to the transmission of such diseases as HIV/AIDS. In the gay community, for example, methamphetamine use is especially associated with these types of behaviors (Read Meth: Causing an HIV Epidemic?). Although not all drugs decrease inhibitions and directly lead to sexual risk-taking, some addicts may resort to these types of behaviors as a way of maintaining their addiction. The addict may “trade” or “sell” sex acts to obtain more of the substance, or they may enter into an unhealthy romantic/sexual relationship with someone who supports their addiction – both financially and emotionally. In addition to sexually transmitted diseases, addicts who engage in these risky sexual behaviors, regardless of the reason, are likely building up severe emotional and psychological damage that may haunt them long after they have recovered from the addiction to the substance.

2. Drugged Driving The 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported some startling results. More than 10 million respondents (age 12 or older) reported having driven a vehicle while under the influence of an illicit substance in the prior year. Many respondents had driven under the influence of marijuana, which impairs memory, coordination, and judgment. Just like alcohol, marijuana, Central Nervous System depressants (like OxyContin), and other illicit substances make an intoxicated driver extremely dangerous to themselves and to others.

3. Shared Syringes Intravenous (IV) injection of substances is often a sign of an advanced addiction. By injecting the substance into the bloodstream, the user can obtain a faster and/or more intense high than they can from other methods of administration, depending on the substance. Addicts may inject any number of substances from heroin to prepared prescription drugs. Frequently injecting substances can lead to abscesses and other dermatological problems for the addict. But beyond that, sharing syringes is extremely dangerous because it increases the risk of transmitting HIV and Hepatitis. According to research about the needle practices of heroin users, most share syringes as a result of necessity, not out of a long-held belief of a bonding experience. Laws that prohibit or limit possession of drug-related paraphernalia, like syringes, make it risky for addicts to carry their own, clean syringes with them. Likewise, addicts do not want to be caught with heroin in their possession. Therefore, they look for the nearest place to find a syringe and inject the substance, such as “shooting galleries,” which often “rent” contaminated needles.

4. Crime If we temporarily omit the fact that possession of illicit substances is, in most cases, a crime, other drug-related crimes may result in one or both of the following situations: crimes to acquire the substance and crimes committed while under the influence of the substance. In the first category, desperate users may steal money or things to sell or trade in order to maintain their addiction. In the second category, certain substances may increase feelings of aggression, paranoia, and/or invincibility in the user, and may lead them to commit any number of crimes that they never would have considered in a sober moment. For example, 75% of domestic violence cases involve alcohol abuse (Read Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence). Overall, the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates the total cost of drug-related crimes in 2002 to have amounted to $107 billion.