so if you smoke pot... are you a drug user or a drug abuser?

Drug Abuse usually means you used a drug that was intended to solve something specific because you wanted the side effects of that drug (or the primary effects) but you didnt have the ailment the drug was intending to solve or defer.

Drug Addiction just means you have an uncontrollable impulse to take a certain drug.

I would say most hardcore junkies get hooked because they are abusing the drugs, but then stay on them because they become addicted.
When you hear drugs advertised on TV, alot of sleep aids and others will say straight out "no/low risk of dependency" which means the chance of getting addicted are fairly low or non existent.

Breaking a Drug Addiction when addicted to really heavy drugs often has some serious side effects referred to as crashing which usually drives the person's addiction because they know if they take the drug, they will stop having the crash related side effect. I think I have heard this referred to as "maintaining" where you are taking just enough not to get high, but rather to alleviate the crash symptoms. In this case your not really abusing the drug per say, but your still addicted.

Anyway, I'm not a pro in this area or anything. Just giving you my thoughts and definitions on the subject.

wanieda said: Why are people either classified as a drug abuser or a drug addict? You need to read from the DSM-IV to get a clearer picture of the differences.

Many people in our society are drug or alcohol abusers. They get drunk or high and it may cause problems in their life, but they can walk away from drinking or using when they get in enough hot water. A lot of college students would fall in this category. They party and get stupid, but eventually turn around on their own.

The addict has used to the point that there is no turning back. They have crossed the line and they normally can't walk away without outside assistance or intervention. They are driven to drink or use and that is a hard switch to turn off. Most will need life long treatment, usually in the form of 12-step meeting attendance to stay clean and sober. Success is even greater when the addict turns around and helps other addicts recover.

Abuse is when it starts to effect your daily living.

handyguy said:Abuse is when it starts to effect your daily living.That would be the beginning of addiction.

People who abuse can still choose if they want to use; addicts cannot do this.

blackguyzonly said:abuse = emotional need. ie. smoking cause your nerves are bad??

addiction = physical need. ie. the chemicals in your body are now messed up, and need the drug to balance themselves out and function??This is not quite true. It is more about choice; the abuser has a choice and the addict doesn't. The addict has an uncontrollable craving, both mental and physical. They are like a car with a stuck accelerator.

This excerpt from Ch. 3 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous helps to understand the phenomena of addiction.

Drug abuse is where you take a weeks worth of Oxycodone on a Friday night, and then you don't take anymore until the NEXT Friday night. All the numbers still add up, and everybody is happy. Very happy. Or at least that's what I hear.

maddiebeagle said:Drug abuse is where you take a weeks worth of Oxycodone on a Friday night, and then you don't take anymore until the NEXT Friday night. All the numbers still add up, and everybody is happy. Very happy. Or at least that's what I hear.

I know a lady that took some Vicodin but it caused her to forget that she took it so she took some more & that was it.