Drug abuse can occur with street drugs or prescription medications. Addiction happens when a person cannot control his need to keep taking the drug to maintain a certain "high" or euphoric feeling. Maintaining this feeling from prescribed medications, medications sold over-the-counter (OTC) or street drugs is drug abuse. People abuse drugs because of mental illness, high amounts of stress and wanting to commit suicide. Suicide has been known to be linked to drug abuse.
Problems
One sign for the individual unaware that she may be abusing drugs is the feeling that she needs the drug to deal with her problems. Not having the coping mechanisms to deal with problems is a major reason why drug abuse continues. She might use the excuse that the drug is needed to help her relax and forget her problems. This may be true with either prescription or illegal drugs. For example, her doctor may prescribe a benzodiazepine to help her deal with anxiety for a limited time, but she becomes dependent upon it to cope.
Debt and Legal Issues
Another chief sign of drug abuse is spending outlandish amounts of money for drugs. The person may steal, lie and cheat to obtain the drugs. Legal issues start to occur as he gets into trouble with the law. Robberies frequently are linked to heavy drug use and abuse, as the person needs large sums of money to support his habit.
Social Withdrawal
Personality changes occur with drug abuse. The person may become increasingly agitated for no apparent reason and snap out of character. He may stop socializing as he has in the past and may appear increasingly reclusive. He may start to have arguments with the family members that he lives with as tension builds. Concerned family members may become suspicious of him and may ask him to obtain help. This also can cause him to withdraw further from people to continue to use drugs without being scrutinized.
Academics
A teenager who is abusing drugs may start to have problems at school. She may get into fights and may start to receive failing grades in subjects that normally are easy for her. The lack of motivation and energy may indicate the teenager is under the influence. Usually, teenagers are focused on how they look. When a teenager is using drugs, she may not care how she looks. Her lack of grooming may indicate a change in behavior. She may also begin to steal from her parents and demanding large amounts of money.
Odd Behavior
When people begin to abuse drugs, their attitude and comportment around others may change. When a person is under the influence of marijuana, for example, he may display a heightened sense of auditory, visual and taste perceptions. His eyes may be red; he may have difficulty concentrating. A person under the influence of barbiturates or benzodiazepines may appear drowsy, confused and have memory impairment. A person under the influence of cocaine will appear restless, euphoric and may be irritable once the euphoria wears off.
