Drug Addiction is an awful subject that is sweeping through America like an air-born disease. There are many different forms of addiction and a plethora of drugs to become addicted to. Drug addiction is responsible for one in four deaths in preventable health conditions today. Not only can Drug addiction cause death but it is extremely harmful and stressful for your body to endure. Drug addiction causes nothing but harm for your body, yet too many Americans accept their fates everyday when they decide to try the addictive drugs that will soon ruin their lives.
Drug addiction is defined as "a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain; they change its structure and how it works." Brain disease in any sense is a horrible factor to add to your life but in drug addiction the user chooses to incorporate this into their life. There are only a few cases in which the user does not choose to acquire the disease and an example of this would be being born with the disease. Choosing to be addicted to a drug sounds like an awful thing to do yet an easy thing to stop but it is extremely difficult.
Although the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, the brain changes that occur over time challenge an addicted person's self control and hamper his or her ability to resist intense impulses to take drugs. There are actually four stages for the progression of the disease in which leads to the physical/mental addiction of drugs. Phase one is the most basic stage and it is where the person is usually introduced to the drug. This is where the user begins to experiment with the drug and generally gets hooked on the state of mind that the effects of the chemical produce. They also begin to trust the drug and the effects it brings believing they can control their use and need for it.