Drugs are harmful to the body systems especially the brain and the heart in many ways making people unconscious of their actions. Drugs are normally abused by people who are stressed out with life and need something to set their minds aside from the problems in their everyday life. Drug abuse has become a menace to the society and so many people have been affected by this. The effects are so adverse that some instances have been fatal. Most of those who survive, on the other hand, live miserably as they are addicted to it. This forces them to engage in illegal activities in order to sustain drug use. The use of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine among others is a universal problem.
This public health issue, drugs and substance abuse, has affected the people of Saint Louis both demographically, socially, and economically. The economy of metropolitan St. Louis mainly relies on manufacturing, tourism, trade, and transportation of goods. The population in the area has grown over the years as a result of migration by the locals seeking better opportunities and those from places with civil wars.
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The issue of drug abuse runs across all ages of the people of St. Louis. Adolescents account for the largest population under the influence of drugs and the figure has gradually been rising according to 2009 ADA report. Statistics indicate that tobacco smoking and alcohol intoxication causes over 17% of Missouri deaths. However, hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and nicotine are the leading in causing deaths to the citizens. More than 650 people died from opioid overdose in 2016, a figure that is four times that recorded in 2007. Most of the people affected by these drugs live in stash houses along quiet streets in the downtown parts of the city (Hogue, Dauber, Henderson, McLeod, & Southam-Gerow, 2017). A walk along the streets, one would meet both young and old in groups intoxicated by drugs looking excited and energetic. Inside the houses, aged men and women look exhausted and wasted with little appetite for food.
The government has implemented laws to cut down drug abuse incidences that has been burdening its citizens. In the meantime, efforts are underway to educate teens and parents across the region about the dangers of drug abuse (Heidi, 2013). Disciplinary actions such as reprimand, probation, student expulsion, and rehabilitation have been enforced to curb this menace. The federal government, in addition, prohibits distribution or dispensing of any controlled drugs or those with potential of abuse without authorization. Possession of illicit drugs leads to conviction and imprisonment for more than 3 years. However, studies still show an increase in cases of drug abuse in the state and high cost of medication for patients of substance abuse. The root cause of all this is the failure on the part of the international boundary agencies to control the entry of these drugs into the United States from neighboring nations (Heidi, 2013). The government need to install proper surveillance on the borders to monitor goods entering the state to control the entry of illegal drugs that have affected the general population and economy. Arguably, this will bring a stop to the issue of illicit drugs and reduce the negative effects and mortality as a result of substance abuse.
References
Heidi, I. (2013). Patterns and Trends in Drug Abuse in St. Louis, Missouri . Community Epidemiology Journal , 22, 34-38.
Hogue, A., Dauber, S., Henderson, C. E., McLeod, B. D., & Southam-Gerow, M. A. (2017). Distilling the core elements of family therapy for adolescent substance use: Conceptual and empirical solutions . Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse , 10, 108-109.
