This book examines various aspects of addiction in the United States.

Almost 40 percent of people living in the United States have an addiction to alcohol, drugs, or some form of tobacco. These addictions cost Americans hundreds of billions of dollars every year. Clearly, addiction is an enormous problem. Addiction in America: Society, Psychology, and Heredity takes a look at what leads people to a life of addiction—the social, psychological, and hereditary factors that might make an individual susceptible to addiction. This book provides you with an overview of one of the most serious problems facing American society today.

This book examines various aspects of addiction in the United States.

Containing more than 450 entries, this easy-to-read encyclopedia provides concise information about the history of and recent trends in drug use and drug abuse in the United States—a societal problem with an estimated cost of $559 billion a year. Despite decades of effort and billions of dollars spent to combat the problem, illicit drug use in the United States is still rampant and shows no sign of abating. Covering illegal drugs ranging from marijuana and LSD to cocaine and crystal meth, this authoritative reference work examines patterns of drug use in American history, as well as drug control and interdiction efforts from the nineteenth century to the present. This encyclopedia provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the various aspects of the American drug problem, including the drugs themselves, the actions taken in attempts to curb or stop the drug trade, the efforts at intervention and treatment of those individuals affected by drug use, and the cultural and economic effects of drug use in the United States. More than 450 entries descriptively analyze and summarize key terms, trends, concepts, and people that are vital to the study of drugs and drug abuse, providing readers of all ages and backgrounds with invaluable information on domestic and international drug trafficking and use. The set provides special coverage of shifting societal and legislative perspectives on marijuana, as evidenced by Colorado and Washington legalizing marijuana with the 2012 elections.

All across the United States, individuals, families, communities, and health care systems are struggling to cope with substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders. Substance misuse and substance use disorders have devastating effects, disrupt the future plans of too many young people, and all too often, end lives prematurely and tragically. Substance misuse is a major public health challenge and a priority for our nation to address. The effects of substance use are cumulative and costly for our society, placing burdens on workplaces, the health care system, families, states, and communities. The Report discusses opportunities to bring substance use disorder treatment and mainstream health care systems into alignment so that they can address a person's overall health, rather than a substance misuse or a physical health condition alone or in isolation. It also provides suggestions and recommendations for action that everyone-individuals, families, community leaders, law enforcement, health care professionals, policymakers, and researchers-can take to prevent substance misuse and reduce its consequences.

There is currently a heroin epidemic afflicting North America, and it is not confined only to urban areas or to older, seasoned drug addicts. The latest epidemic has swamped suburban and rural areas and drawn many teens into its deadly wake. The drug can take over the lives of even first-time or casual users. Addiction makes slaves of heroin users and often leads to a life of sickness, crime, and regret. Addicts risk sacrificing everything they cherish in their lives for the drug, receiving jail time for drug-related offenses, and losing their own lives in the process. Discovering how the drug destroys the brain and body of a user, and how addiction devastates the lives it touches, can help one make the decision to avoid heroin at all costs. That is exactly what the information presented here achieves--readers will come away shaken, with a new and stark understanding of heroin's true toxicity and its utterly false and destructive allure.

Seeing things that aren't really there, thinking thoughts you would never normally have thought— hallucinogenic drugs work on the body by altering the way a person thinks, feels, or experiences reality. Some of these drugs are found in nature, while others are created in laboratories. All of them can have dangerous short-term and long-term effects. Hallucinogens: Unreal Visions tells the long history of these drugs. Because of the effects hallucinogens have on perceptions, people have often believed these drugs were showing them deeper meanings about the world or helping them connect with gods or their own unconscious minds. Hallucinogens, however, can be extremely dangerous. While legitimate medical or therapeutic uses may be found for these drugs in the future, taking them with friends or alone could be extremely dangerous or even deadly. This book will tell you more.

The manner in which genetic research associated with addiction is conducted, interpreted and translated into clinical practice and policy initiatives raises important social, ethical and legal issues. Genetic Research on Addiction fulfils two key aims; the first is to identify the ethical issues and requirements arising when carrying out genetically-based addiction research, and the second is to explore the ethical, legal and public policy implications of interpreting, translating and applying this research. The book describes research guidelines on human protection issues such as improving the informed consent process, protecting privacy, responsibilities to minors and determining whether to accept industry funding. The broader public health policy implications of the research are explored and guidelines offered for developing effective social interventions. Highly relevant for clinicians, researchers, academics and policy-makers in the fields of addiction, mental health and public policy.

Theory and Practice of Addiction Counseling by Pamela S. Lassiter and John R. Culbreth brings together contemporary theories of addiction and helps readers connect those theories to practice using a common multicultural case study. Theories covered include motivational interviewing, moral theory, developmental theory, cognitive behavioral theories, attachment theory, and sociological theory. Each chapter focuses on a single theory, describing its basic tenets, philosophical underpinnings, key concepts, and strengths and weaknesses. Each chapter also shows how practitioners using the theory would respond to a common case study, giving readers the opportunity to compare how the different theoretical approaches are applied to client situations. A final chapter discusses approaches to relapse prevention.