Introduction
Narcotic and substance abuse has been a problem in the United States of America in the past decade. Various substances such as Marijuana, Cocaine, Dextromethorphan, LSD, Heroin, Morphine, Alcohol and many others are abused by a significant number of persons of all ages in the country. The government has attempted to put into practice measures to control the problem and the Office of National Drug Control Policy constantly studies the national problem from various perspectives and presents policy measures to understand and control the problem (Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2002).
In this paper, an attempt is made to study the past as well as the recent trends associated with drug abuse in the United States of America and to take a look at the how the use of drugs can create health problems for the users. These issues are considered below under the appropriate sections.
Recent Trends in the Use of Drugs
Despite the efforts of the government to control the drug problem in the United States of America and the successes of the 1990 to 1996 years, there has been an overall upsurge in the recent use of various drugs in all segments of the population. Figures related to the past month use of drugs by high school seniors have shown an increase from a 15% minimum of 1993, to about 25% in the more recent years, for any drug. However, the figures for drug use in the armed forces and amongst the more junior 8th and 10th graders have remained unchanged, indicating that there is a measure of control regarding the use of drugs amongst these segments of the population. The use of drugs amongst the prison inmates has also been checked and the percentage of drug users in prisons around the country has declined............
