A range of factors may influence dependence on illicit and legal drugs including; psychological, biological, social and environmental.
Drug Dependency is characterised by:
- tolerance for the drug as people need increased amounts over time to get less effect with repeated use
- withdrawal—as people experience negative withdrawal symptoms such as sweating, shaking and cravings; or use the drug to relieve withdrawal symptoms
- continued drug use despite experiencing its ill effects, demonstrating lack of control or compulsive behaviour.
Dependency on drugs is frequently accompanied by other psychological problems including depression and anxiety. The 2004 Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) revealed that people who had used any illicit drug other than marijuana, either at least once in their lifetime or in the last 12 months were twice as likely to have been diagnosed with, or treated for a mental health disorder.
Symptoms and characteristics
Severe drug dependency can lead to drug related brain injury which can affect performance in the workplace. Particular symptoms include:
- memory loss, confusion, poor planning and organisation and impaired ability to learn new information
- poor co-ordination which can lead to accidents especially with regard to operating machinery or driving vehicles.
Drug use can also result in psychosis. In the case of drug induced psychosis, symptoms usually appear quickly and last a short time until the effects of the drug wear off which may be between a few hours to days. The person may experience; visual hallucinations, disorientation and memory problems. Drugs that can cause psychosis include marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines (speed) and magic mushrooms. Although drugs can sometimes be the sole cause of psychosis, in other cases they can trigger psychotic illness such as schizophrenia in someone who is vulnerable to it. Some individuals also take drugs as a way of coping with a developing psychotic illness, but these drugs can make the symptoms worse and the disorder difficult to diagnose.
For more information on some of these symptoms and characteristics, please refer to the following links:
Workplace solutions and adjustments
In the workplace there are certain strategies that can be put in place to assist people who are drug dependent. People can be monitored by a psychologist or mentor to:
- provide support and someone to talk to, as people who are drug dependent often find it difficult to talk about their problems
- not be judgmental about their drug dependency
- explain that they are concerned with their behaviour and suggest that they find help with a health professional
- educate them about the impact that their drug dependency can have physically (especially drug induced psychosis), emotionally and financially
- ensure regular testing is put in place, especially when it is a job requirement to drive or operate heavy machinery.
There are solutions and adjustments for the following job requirements:
References
Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Mental Health Council Inc. and Betty Ann Kitchener and Anthony Francis Jorm at ORYGEN Research Centre, University of Melbourne 2006, Mental Health First Aid in the Workplace—an e-learning course, Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Canberra.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2005, Statistics on drug use in Australia 2004, Australian Federal Government, Canberra, viewed 10 August 2011, http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/phe/sdua04/sdua04.pdf.
ReachOut.com 2010, Getting help for drug use, Reach Out Australia, online, viewed 10 August 2011, http://au.reachout.com/find/articles/getting-help-for-drug-use.