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Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 11e
| III. Drugs Acting on the Central Nervous System > |
Chapter 23. Drug Addiction and Drug Abuse
Sections: Drug Dependence, Clinical Issues, Clinical Summary, Bibliography.
Topics Discussed: substance dependence.
Excerpt:
"There are many misunderstandings about the origins and even the
definitions of drug abuse and addiction. Although many physicians
are concerned about "creating addicts," relatively
few individuals begin their drug addiction problems by misuse of
prescription drugs. Confusion exists because the correct use of
prescribed medications for pain, anxiety, and even hypertension
commonly produces tolerance and physical dependence. These are normal physiological adaptations to
repeated use of drugs from many different categories. Tolerance
and physical dependence are explained in more detail later, but
it must be emphasized that they do not imply
abuse or addiction. This distinction is important because patients
with pain sometimes are deprived of adequate opioid medication simply
because they have shown evidence of tolerance or they exhibit withdrawal
symptoms if the analgesic medication is stopped abruptly.Abuse and addiction have been defined and redefined by several
organizations over the past 35 years. The reason for these revisions
and disagreements is that abuse and addiction are behavioral syndromes
that exist along a continuum from minimal use to abuse to addictive
use...."
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