Substance abuse refers to the overindulgence in and dependence on a stimulant, depressant, chemical substance, herb (plant) or fungus leading to effects that are detrimental to the individual's physical health or mental health, or the welfare of others.
The disorder is characterized by a pattern of continued pathological use of a medication, non-medically indicated drug or toxin, that results in repeated adverse social consequences related to drug use, such as failure to meet work, family, or school obligations, interpersonal conflicts, or legal problems. There are on-going debates as to the exact distinctions between substance abuse and substance dependence, but current practice standard distinguishes between the two by defining substance dependence in terms of physiological and behavioral symptoms of substance use, and substance abuse in terms of the social consequences of substance use.
Substance abuse may lead to addiction or substance dependence. Medically, physiologic dependence requires the development of tolerance leading to withdrawal symptoms. Both abuse and dependence are distinct from addiction which involves a compulsion to continue using the substance despite the negative consequences, and may or may not involve chemical dependency. Dependence almost always implies abuse, but abuse frequently occurs without dependence, particularly when an individual first begins to abuse a substance. Dependence involves physiological processes while substance abuse reflects a complex interaction between the individual, the abused substance and society. *
More on [ Substance abuse ]
Substance Related :: Disorders
Substance Abuse :: Child Safety
Substance Abuse :: Health
Recreational Drugs
Substance Abuse :: Health
Addiction :: Neurobiology
Substance Use :: AIDS
Illegal :: Drugs
Substance Abuse :: Mental Health

Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs Newsl - Recent headlines and articles about alchol, alcoholism, and illegal drugs. Updated regularly.
Meta Description: [ The latest alcohol, addiction, illegal drugs news headlines published daily ]
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention - CSAP is the sole Federal organization with responsibility for improving accessibility and quality of substance abuse prevention services.
Meta Description: [ The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) is the sole Federal organization with responsibility for improving accessibility and quality of substance abuse prevention services. CSAP provides national leadership in the development of policies, programs, and services to prevent the onset of il... ]
Drug Abuse Statistics - The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration presents national and state prevalence and trends in illegal drug use, the non-medical use of prescription drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
Meta Description: [ national and State alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug abuse statistics from SAMHSA's national surveys of alcohol, tobacco, drug use and mental health; substance abuse treatment facilities; and drug related emergency room departments. ]
DrugsTV - Articles on all of the major categories of drugs from alcohol and nicotine to crack cocaine and heroin.
Meta Description: [ Includes everything you want to know about drugs, but no one bothered
to tell you. ]
Illegal Drug Use Statistics - Information on the use and abuse of illegal drugs in the United States. Provided by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Lexicon of Alcohol and Drug Terms - Defines many alcohol and substance abuse words and phrases from absolute alcohol to zoopsia. Published by World Health Organization
MEDLINEplus - Drug Abuse - Resource that provides links to a wide range of substance abuse resources. Provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Meta Description: [ Drug Abuse ]
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The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University - Think tank that focuses on the study of all forms of substance abuse, and how it affects society.
The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information - Resource for current and comprehensive information about substance abuse prevention and treatment.
Meta Description: [ SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI). Drug and alcohol abuse, prevention, treatment. ]
VirtualKid Teen - Alcohol and Drug Abuse - Simple explanation of alcohol abuse written for teens. Site includes similar pages about other drugs.
Meta Description: [ VirtualKid Teen is a web site created by and for teenagers. Contents include, advice, puberty 101, stories, poetry, art, search engine, chat, message boards and a lot more. ]
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