Drug abuse can lead to divorce, loss of income, loss of family and friends, and chronic health problems or even death. It remains a serious problem effecting millions of people around the globe every day. Drug abuse refers to the misuse of an illegal or legal physical substance, and more specifically, to a constant pattern of misuse.

Many people mistakenly believe that the terms ‘drug abuse’ and ‘drug addict’ are only to be used in conjunction with the excessive use of illegal substance such narcotics or hallucinogens. This is simply not the case. The fact is that many cases of drug abuse concern people who are addicted to legal substances. Therefore, drug abuse can be anything from excessive prescription drugs misuse to household chemical inhalants.

Despite the fact that millions of Americans are currently either suffering from drug addiction or struggling through addiction treatment, most people who have never been addicted don’t understand what addiction actually means. One of the most common misconceptions about addiction is that an addict is just someone who indulges or over-indulges in a harmful illegal substance. The fact of the matter is that addiction is much more complicated than that, and so addiction treatment must be as well.

Do you know what the most dangerous addictive substances are, and what harmful effects they can have on both users and on ‘second-hand’ users? Most people learn early on, either from direct exposure or from a drug prevention program, that addictive substances such as illegal narcotics, depressants, and hallucinogens can be highly dangerous. But many of the most harmful substances are ones that are completely legal, ones that you may be exposing yourself and your family to everyday. Each different addictive substance consists of unique components. For that reason, it is difficult to devise a list of the effects of these substances without generalizing. That said, one way that all addictive substances affect humans is by altering the chemistry of the brain.