Identification

• Drug abuse is identified as excessive use of a medication or substance. A person uses these medications or substances to obtain a certain feeling or effect. For example, a person may feel a rush of energy or have a sense of euphoria after using a certain type of drug. Another type of drug may make a person feel calmer or even dull the senses. Often, people think of drug abuse in terms of illegal substances. However, many people also abuse drugs that have been prescribed to them by a doctor.
  
  

Effects

• Drug abuse often affects a person's health. While the effects depend on the type of drug the person abuses, some of the common effects of drug abuse include heart attacks, kidney damage and comas. The abuse of drugs may lead to seizures and disorientation. It may cause a person to have difficulty breathing and lose consciousness. Worst of all, drug abuse can even lead to sudden death.
  
  

Considerations

• Abusing drugs may lead to other unsafe behavior. For example, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a person may be more likely to have unprotected sex while abusing drugs, increasing her risk of contracting deadly sexually transmitted diseases. She may also be more likely to share needles, which can also lead to contraction of a potentially deadly condition, such as HIV. Additionally, a person who abuses drugs may risk accidentally overdosing because she eventually needs more of the drug to get the same good feelings.
  
  

Types

• Besides health effects, there are other types of effects of drug abuse. For example, it can begin to strain a person's relationships with his family and friends, even weakening marital bonds. A person who abuses drugs may begin to slack off or make mistakes at work, and he may miss more work days. Drug abuse can have legal and financial ramifications as well, as some people may spend money needed for food and shelter on drugs or go into debt to get more of the drugs to which they're addicted. Some may even go as far as stealing to fund their drug habits.
  
  

Misconceptions

• Many marijuana a benign drug and believe that abusing it will not cause serious health effects. Some people believe that this is a misconception, according to a study by the Mayo Clinic that linked lifelong marijuana abuse to the development of schizophrenia years later. However, this study's reliability has been challenged.