A friend of mine was casually Skyping with a friend in the wee hours of the night when one of her apartment-mates stepped through the door, tipsy and knocking things over. This girl hadn’t even made it past the doormat when she irrepressibly vomited all over the floor. My friend, of course, was quite taken-aback. She quickly ended the Skype call and began to clean up after her roommate, who literally just bared it all after having a little too much fun at a party.
I was pretty disgusted when I heard this story. I knew alcohol consumption was widespread in most universities and among teens, but I hadn’t really expected to hear stories of it going on at Stern. Although this may have (hopefully) been a singular event, it is common knowledge that substance addiction is not. In fact, scientists have studied the matter closely and concluded that intoxication and drug abuse causes the consumer to experience a release of pleasure-inducing-chemicals in the brain, called endorphins. Because drugs and alcohol can have such a powerful physiological grip on a person, my question then became whether drinking was purely attributed to social pressure. And if that’s the case, is there any hope for substance addicts or are they a lost cause?
As reported by the CDC, an estimated one million teenagers abuse drugs or alcohol, and more than 695,000 are addicted to tobacco. During 2010-2011, the agency found that around 4 percent of teens were dependent on or abused alcohol. Around 5 percent of teens had an illicit drug use disorder in the past year. Additionally, the amount of drug intake, as well as the type of drug used, varied with age. Among teens ages 12 to 13, 1.3 percent used marijuana, compared with 6.7 percent of 14- to 15-year-olds and 15.1 percent of 16- to 17-year-olds.
The early stages of alcoholism can include a range of symptoms. Warning signs of the addictive disorder include frequent intoxication coupled with an established pattern of heavy drinking even in dangerous situations (i.e. driving). Other signs of alcoholism include black-out drinking or a drastic change in demeanor while drinking, typically escalating in rage or violence.
Obviously, there is an insurmountable amount of societal damage that alcoholics as well as drug abusers cause on a daily basis. On average, in every 53 minutes, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash. In 2011 alone, an estimated 9,878 people were killed by drunk driving. Additionally, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the people involved in the following crimes tested positive for drugs: Burglary, forgery, weapons, public disturbance, homicide, prostitution, destruction of property, and sexual offences.
Furthermore, alcohol and drug abusers commonly suffer from serious diseases. Cigarettes contribute to the death toll from cancer and heart disease. The needles used to inject heroin and cocaine are spreading AIDS. Directly or indirectly, addiction to drugs and alcohol is thought to account for a third of all hospital admissions, a quarter of all deaths, and a majority of serious crimes. In the U.S. alone, the combined medical and social costs of drug abuse are believed to exceed $240 billion!
Based on the debilitating symptoms that addicts suffer and the accompanying damage that they cause it seems rather obvious that alcohol and drug abusers must seek a cure. However, before exploring the ways in which these confirmed addicts seek help, there is a more pulling question. And that is, why start with the alleged poison in the first place?
There is published evidence that the surge of dopamine in addicts’ brains is what triggers the “high” experienced by drug abusers and alcoholics alike. Chemically speaking, the molecule dopamine is a neurotransmitter that transports messages from one neuron within the brain to another and is directly associated with feelings of elevation and bliss. Dopamine levels in the brain can be elevated by things ranging from a friendly hug to a good test grade; as well as by the potent high that come from drugs and alcohol. Scientists believe that dopamine is the master molecule behind addiction.
Now that the reason behind the allurement of addiction is understood, the obvious follow-up is methods of treatment. Unfortunately, patients entering into clinical care for their addictive behaviors are often seen as “lost causes” by physicians. Dr. David Lewis, the director of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University School of Medicine, states, “By relying so heavily on a criminalized approach, we’ve only added to the stigma of drug abuse and prevented high-quality medical care.” Because of this stigmatized approach in treatment of the addiction, only one third of the $15 billion the U.S. assigns for the war on drugs goes to prevention and treatment.
Interestingly, when treatment is prescribed, the recovery process normally does not involve any type of medication. Current research suggests that the biochemical abnormalities associated with addiction can be primarily reversed through learning. Therefore, physicians should encourage psychosocial interventions, ranging from psychotherapy to 12-step programs; treatments that are proven to help.
So, after sifting through a good amount of research on alcohol and drug addiction, I realized that my former reaction of disgust to the occurrence of alcohol at Stern needed a complete reversal. It is precisely the narrow-minded approach that I previously had that causes the stigmatization of alcoholics. The “lost cause” approach as well as the “failure to society” label does more harm than good. I know that the extremely wasted Stern girl was most probably not a singular event– and I am fairly certain that alcohol consumption is even more rampant at the YU dorms. However, I realize now that these addicts are screaming for our help. If we change the way we view these addicts, unknowingly self-destructing their lives, the number of them will decrease and the well-being and maintenance of society will be restored. By starting small—i.e., the YU population—perhaps the sincere, non-judgmental mindset can spread to a larger scale. And hopefully, I won’t be hearing any further stories of collapsing, vomiting Stern girls anytime soon.