Biological key question Flashcards
Key question
what are the implications for society if addiction is treated with drug therapy?
AO1 points: focus on why treating addiction is important for today’s society
- roughly 290,000 aults in contact with drugs and alcohol services between April 2022 and March 2023
- 1/5 (20%) of people on drugs had no home to go to after their treatment.
- Over 1 in 12 (9%) people starting treatment had risk of homelessness in the next **8 weeks. **
- Over 2/3 (72%) who were on drugs and were going to receive treatment had severe mental health problems.
- To obtain drugs, illegal crimes take place, making society unsafe. £13.9 billion spent annually on drug related crimes.
- Around 150,000 people are on a methadone treatment programme in the UK right now. The cost to society of treating addicts with methadone in England £3.6bn a year, once benefits and child care are factored in. Therefore, it is important we know whether this treatment is effective or not.
- Studies looking at MZ and DZ twins found that genetic factors contributed significantly to the risk for lifetime drug abuse/dependence. (AO1) If drug addiction is partially a biological cause (eg. Heroin changes the reward pathway functioning in the brain), then this needs to be tackled with a biological treatment such as drug like Methadone.
AO2: drug treatment, good
Drug treatment could be effective as Methadone doses can be reduced more easily as medical professionals are involved controlling the amount given, allowing addicts to break their dependence on opioids more effectively than without any drug therapy.
Therefore as exposure to recreational drugs lead to tolerance and withdrawal symptoms, increasing their drug use, makes it hard for user to stop, treatment that removes withdrawal symptoms would be best. Methadone, opioid treatment, acts on receptors in reward pathways same as heroine but without the same euphoria. Can be monitored closely, can be administered to reduce cravings addicts experience, means addicts less likely to go out and commit crimes. Combating issue of drug related crimes.
AO2: drug treatment, bad
However, drug treatment may not be an effective treatment for addiction. This is because reduction of the methadone doses means the user will still experience withdrawal symptoms such as cramps and vomiting so can dissuade users from continuing on the programme. Other drugs often need to be administered to combat these side effects which is also an additional cost.
Therefore drug therapy might not be the best method of treating addiction in society as it might lead to higher relapse due to high dropout rates which could lead to them returning to committing crimes to acquire heroin. Also, if individuals do drop out from treatment their risk of overdosing is higher overall, might cost the NHS more economically in the long run.
