Drug Addiction
Drug effects and treatment needs depend on the substance, the pattern of use, and the person. Learn the warning signs, the difference between dependence and addiction, and where to begin an assessment.
Battling addiction & ready for help?
Understanding Drug Use and Addiction
You do not have to know whether a problem is “addiction” before asking for care. A healthcare professional can help assess substance use, health concerns, and the support a person needs.[2]
Drugs include prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, alcohol, tobacco, and illegal substances. They can change how the body or mind works. Understanding drug types and recognizing problems can help you prepare for a conversation about care.[1]
Drug addiction means compulsive drug seeking or use despite harmful consequences. Compulsive means the behavior is difficult to control. A substance use disorder is a broader diagnosis that can range from mild to severe. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) uses addiction to mean a severe substance use disorder.[6][2]
Get Emergency Help for a Possible Drug Overdose
Call 911 if someone cannot be awakened, is breathing slowly or struggling to breathe, or has discolored lips or nails after taking drugs. These can be signs of an opioid overdose. If you are unsure whether it is an overdose, treat it as one.[3]
If these signs suggest an opioid overdose and naloxone is available, give it while emergency help is coming. Naloxone can reverse an opioid overdose. Stay with the person until emergency help arrives.[3]
If the person is unresponsive and is not breathing normally or is only gasping, start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and follow the emergency dispatcher’s instructions.[26]
If the person is unresponsive but breathing normally, place them on their side in the recovery position to help protect their airway. If you suspect a head, neck, or back injury, leave them in the position found unless moving them is necessary for safety, CPR, or bleeding control. Continue checking their breathing and responsiveness.[26]
For questions about a possible poisoning in the United States, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222. For suicidal thoughts or an emotional crisis, call 988 or text 988. Call 911 for a life-threatening emergency.[4][20]
- Drug use and addiction are not interchangeable. Not everyone who uses a drug develops addiction, but occasional misuse can still cause an overdose or other serious harm.[1][6]
- Prescription medicines can also be misused. Taking another person’s medicine or more than prescribed is misuse.[7]
- Treatment can help. Care may involve medication, counseling, and recovery support, depending on the substance and the person’s needs.[8]
What Are the Main Types of Drugs?
Drug categories help explain effects and risks. Some describe how a drug affects the body, such as a stimulant or depressant. “Prescription” describes how a medicine is supplied for treatment. Prescription medicines can belong to different drug categories.[2][7]
Opioids Including Prescription Pain Medicines, Heroin, and Fentanyl
Opioids can relieve pain and produce relaxation or a feeling of intense pleasure. They can also slow breathing. An opioid overdose can stop breathing and deprive the brain of oxygen, causing brain injury or death.[9]
Examples include prescription opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and fentanyl, as well as heroin. Heroin is not used as a medicine in the United States.[9]
Fentanyl may also appear in the unregulated drug supply without the person taking it knowing. Someone can therefore be exposed to more than one drug even when they intended to use only one.[10]
Cocaine, Methamphetamine, and Prescription Stimulants
Stimulants increase activity in the brain, spinal cord, and other nerves. Examples include cocaine, amphetamines, and medicines such as methylphenidate used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.[2]
Cocaine, including crack cocaine, can produce energy and alertness while also increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. Methamphetamine has a high potential for addiction and can cause anxiety, paranoia (intense suspicion or fear of others), an irregular heartbeat, or a stroke. Repeated methamphetamine use can also lead to sleep problems and difficulties with thinking and learning.[11][12]
A medicine prescribed for ADHD and illicitly manufactured methamphetamine are not interchangeable treatments. NIDA identifies most methamphetamine used in the United States as illicitly manufactured, while also noting that methamphetamine has limited prescription uses.[12]
Benzodiazepines, Barbiturates, and Other Depressants
“Depressant” refers to a drug’s slowing effects, not simply to whether it causes a depressed mood. These substances can cause drowsiness and reduce anxiety. Examples include alcohol, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates.[2][10]
Prescription sedatives and sleeping pills are used for conditions such as anxiety and sleep disorders. Taking them in a different way or dose than prescribed can have serious consequences.[7]
Cannabis and Products Containing THC
Cannabis, also called marijuana, contains compounds including tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. THC is intoxicating: it can alter mood, thoughts, and perception. Cannabis products include plant material, concentrates, and edibles, and their strength can differ.[14]
Cannabis can cause anxiety, panic, and problems with memory, attention, or coordination. Heavy, frequent use is associated with cannabis use disorder. Withdrawal, physical or emotional symptoms after reducing or stopping a substance the body has adapted to, can occur after stopping heavy or long-term use, even in someone who does not have cannabis use disorder.[14]
Edibles often take longer to produce effects than inhaled cannabis. Taking more because the effect has not started can increase the risk of a harmful reaction.[14]
MDMA, Also Called Ecstasy or Molly
MDMA has stimulant-like effects and can also change perception. People may feel more energetic, emotionally open, or close to others. These effects do not make the drug harmless.[15]
Risks include a dangerous rise in body temperature, particularly during physical activity in a warm setting. Products sold as MDMA may contain other drugs, which can change their effects and risks.[15]
LSD, Psilocybin, Ketamine, and Other Psychedelic or Dissociative Drugs
Psychedelic drugs, including LSD and psilocybin, can strongly change thoughts, emotions, and perceptions. Psilocybin and LSD are different substances. Dissociative drugs, including ketamine and PCP, can make a person feel disconnected from their body or surroundings.[16]
Experiences can range from a sense of connection to fear, confusion, or anxiety. Altered perception and thinking can contribute to injuries or unsafe behavior. Research into supervised medical uses is a separate setting from taking a drug without medical supervision.[16]
Inhalants and Household Products
Inhalants include chemicals in some glues, solvents, aerosols, and gases that people inhale for mind-altering effects. Easy access does not mean low risk: inhalants can cause fatal heart or breathing problems, even with a single use. Repeated exposure can damage the brain and other organs.[5]
Other Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medicines
Over-the-counter availability does not make misuse harmless. Dextromethorphan, or DXM, is a cough suppressant in some cold medicines. Loperamide is an anti-diarrheal medicine. Misuse of either can lead to addiction or overdose. Loperamide misuse can also cause dangerous changes in heart rhythm.[17]
Combination cold medicines may contain several active ingredients. For example, misusing a DXM product that also contains acetaminophen can cause liver damage. Bring the full product name or packaging when asking a pharmacist, clinician, or poison specialist about an exposure.[17]
How Do Drug Use, Misuse, Dependence, and Addiction Differ?
These terms answer different questions about a person’s experience:
| Term | What It Describes |
|---|---|
| Prescription misuse | Taking a medicine differently from the prescription, taking someone else’s medicine, or taking it to get high.[7] |
| Tolerance | Needing a higher or more frequent dose to get an effect previously obtained with less. This can occur with long-term prescribed opioid use.[9] |
| Physical dependence | The body adapting to repeated drug exposure so that stopping brings withdrawal symptoms. Some people taking opioids for chronic pain need medical support to stop.[9] |
| Substance use disorder | A pattern of substance use that causes health problems or problems at home, work, or school. It ranges from mild to severe.[2] |
| Addiction | Compulsive drug seeking or use despite harmful consequences. NIDA uses this term for severe substance use disorder.[6] |
The distinctions matter. A patient who develops tolerance or physical dependence while taking a medicine needs a medication review. Those changes alone should not be used to label the person as having addiction. NIDA distinguishes these adaptations from compulsive use despite harm.[9]
The 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimated that 26.0 million U.S. people age 12 or older, or 8.9%, had a past-year drug use disorder.[18] These drug-use statistics describe disorders across the substances included in the survey, not all drug use or a diagnosis for an individual.[18]
What Are the Warning Signs of Drug Addiction?
Look at the pattern and its consequences, not just the name of a substance. Reasons to seek an assessment include:[2]
- Using more than intended or repeatedly trying to cut down without being able to.
- Strong cravings, or urges to use the substance.
- Missing work, school, appointments, or responsibilities.
- Continuing despite relationship problems or harm to physical or mental health.
- Giving up activities that used to matter.
- Using in situations that put someone in danger.[2]
These are prompts for a conversation with a healthcare professional, not a self-diagnosis. Tell the clinician what is being taken, how often, and what has changed. If you are concerned about someone else, describe specific observations rather than assuming a diagnosis.
Why Do People Use Drugs, and Who Is at Greater Risk?
People may seek pleasure, relief from distress, improved focus or performance, or a new experience. Social pressure can also play a role. With repeated use, some people find that controlling drug use becomes difficult even as its consequences worsen.[6]
Risk reflects several influences, including genes, age and development, mental health, and the home or social environment. Starting young, exposure to drugs among peers or family, and a lack of supportive resources can increase vulnerability. No single factor determines whether a person will develop addiction.[6]
Supportive relationships and family involvement can help protect against drug problems. When substance use and a mental health condition occur together, treatment should address both.[6][2]
Why Is Mixing Drugs Dangerous?
Polydrug use, also called polysubstance use, means taking more than one drug together or close in time. It may be intentional, or it may happen when a product contains an unexpected substance.[10]
Combining a stimulant with a depressant does not make them cancel out. The combination can mask effects and make overdose easier. Alcohol can also increase the risks of taking other drugs. Tell your clinician and pharmacist about all medicines and substances you take so they can assess interactions. Do not add or change combinations on your own.[10]
Only take prescription pills supplied by a pharmacy and prescribed to you. A pill obtained elsewhere cannot be assumed to have the same contents as a pharmacy medicine.[10]
What Should You Know Before Stopping a Drug?
Withdrawal means physical or emotional symptoms after reducing or stopping a substance the body has adapted to. Symptoms and the kind of care needed differ by drug. If you use regularly, have had withdrawal before, or are running out of a medicine you rely on, contact a healthcare professional to plan the next step.[1][2]
A taper is a gradual reduction in a medication dose. Do not copy someone else’s taper or abruptly change a prescribed medicine without advice from your prescriber. Alprazolam is one example where the patient instructions specifically warn against stopping or reducing doses without a clinician’s help.[13]
Withdrawal care and longer-term treatment do different jobs. Managing withdrawal can address the immediate transition, but detoxification, or withdrawal management, alone does not provide the ongoing care needed to treat addiction.[8]
Do not suddenly stop prolonged heavy alcohol use or a benzodiazepine you take regularly without medical guidance. Alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening. Stopping benzodiazepines suddenly or reducing them too quickly can cause serious withdrawal reactions, including seizures. A clinician can assess the risks and plan appropriate supervision.[23][22]
What Does Treatment for Drug Addiction and Other Drug Use Disorders Involve?
Treatment should fit the substance, the person’s health, and their everyday needs. It may include outpatient visits while living at home, a more intensive program, or residential care. A person with severe problems may need hospital-based or residential treatment. Residential programs combine a place to stay with treatment services.[1][2]
Medication and Counseling for Drug Use Disorders
For opioid use disorder, medications such as methadone and buprenorphine can reduce withdrawal and cravings. Naltrexone blocks opioid effects. A clinician can explain which options fit the person’s situation. These medicines serve different purposes from naloxone, which is used to reverse an opioid overdose.[9]
People with opioid use disorder who are treated with methadone or buprenorphine are less likely to die or to have an overdose than those who do not receive treatment.[19]
Counseling and behavioral therapies teach skills for managing cravings, stress, and situations associated with drug use. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people recognize and cope with these situations. Contingency management uses rewards to reinforce treatment goals, such as attending counseling or avoiding drug use.[8]
Care may also need to address depression, anxiety, housing, employment, or family relationships. A useful drug rehab program should be discussed in terms of these needs, not only its length or location.[8]
Drug Addiction Recovery, Ongoing Support and a Return to Drug Use
Peer groups and family support can complement treatment. Recovery can require ongoing adjustments as needs change.[8][2]
A return to drug use does not mean treatment is hopeless or that everyone in recovery must relapse. It is a reason to contact the care team and revisit the plan. Returning to a previously used amount can be dangerous after a period without the drug because the body may no longer tolerate that amount.[8]
Ask How a Program Responds to a Setback
In a 2025 NIDA essay, psychiatrist Nora Volkow argues that treating a return to use as failure can increase shame and make staying in care harder. She calls for treatment goals that recognize different paths to recovery.[24]
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) recommends keeping people engaged in treatment rather than making complete abstinence, meaning not using substances, a condition for entering or remaining in care. It recommends ending someone’s enrollment for program-policy reasons only as a last resort.[25]
One practical question to ask a program is: “If I use again, how will you reassess my needs and help me stay connected to care?”
How Can You Help Someone Who Is Using Drugs?
An approach based on empathy and respect is more helpful than confrontation. People with substance use problems deserve care, and family support can be part of recovery.[2][8]
To prepare for a conversation:
- Choose a time when you can talk privately and focus on the person’s well-being.
- Describe what you have noticed: missed commitments, changes in health, or concerns about safety.
- Ask what kind of help they would consider and offer practical support, such as finding an appointment.
- Ask the treatment team how family members can participate and what support you need yourself.
- Keep emergency contacts available and learn how to use naloxone if opioid exposure is a concern.[3]
If you are considering a drug-use intervention, start by learning about approaches and professional support rather than organizing a confrontation.
Where Can You Find Help for Drug Use and Addiction?
You can begin with a healthcare professional, compare programs in the treatment center directory, or explore online therapy options. Ask whether a provider offers substance use treatment, medication when appropriate, withdrawal assessment, and ongoing support.
In the United States, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) provides treatment referrals. You can also search FindTreatment.gov.[21]
Before choosing a program, ask how it will address the specific drug, other health conditions, cost or insurance, and care after the initial program. Use the answers to compare options with your clinician or support person.
Related Drug Questions and Substance Guides
An assessment can clarify what kind of help fits. These related guides cover evaluation, family conversations, and patterns of drug use:
- Anabolic steroids
- Drug-use evaluations
- Drug-use interventions
- Drug-use statistics
- Commonly used drugs and historical survey estimates
For other substance concerns, explore the guides to alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, or kratom. For concerns about eating habits, the sugar guide is a separate starting point.
For questions about less familiar products, explore synthetic cathinones sold as bath salts and synthetic cannabinoids sold as K2 or Spice. Product names do not reliably identify what an unregulated drug contains.[10]
You do not have to choose a treatment label before asking for an assessment. Explore AddictionHelp’s Treatment Center Directory → and ask providers which substances and health concerns they treat.
For support talking through what is happening, you can also explore online therapy options. Confirm the provider’s experience with your concerns.
If drug use is connected with suicidal thoughts or an emotional crisis, call 988 or text 988. Call 911 for a life-threatening emergency.[20]
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Drug Use the Same as Addiction?
Does Physical Dependence Mean I Have an Addiction?
Not necessarily. Physical dependence means the body has adapted to a drug and withdrawal symptoms can occur when it is reduced or stopped. This can happen during prescribed opioid treatment. Addiction involves use that is difficult to control despite harm. Ask your prescriber to review medication concerns rather than stopping abruptly.[9]
Can I Stop Taking Drugs on My Own?
The safest plan depends on the substance, how it is used, and your health. Seek medical advice before changing a medicine or stopping regular use. Suddenly stopping prolonged heavy drinking can cause life-threatening withdrawal. Stopping benzodiazepines abruptly or reducing them too quickly can cause serious withdrawal, including seizures. A taper, or gradual dose reduction, must be individualized.[1][23][22]
What Treatment Helps With Drug Addiction?
Treatment may include medication, counseling, recovery support, and care for other health needs. Methadone and buprenorphine treat opioid use disorder, a harmful pattern of opioid use, and are associated with lower risk of overdose and death than no treatment. Counseling can help with cravings, or strong urges to use, and situations linked to drug use. Withdrawal care alone is not a full treatment plan for addiction.[19][8]
How Can I Help a Family Member Who Uses Drugs?
Start with specific observations and a respectful conversation about what help they would consider. A healthcare professional can assess their needs and explain how family members can participate. Avoid assuming that confrontation will produce change. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) provides treatment referrals for individuals and families.[2][8][21]
When Does Drug Use Need Emergency Help?
Call 911 if someone cannot be awakened or has slow, shallow, or difficult breathing after drug use. If opioid overdose is suspected and naloxone is available, give it while emergency help is coming and stay with the person. For a life-threatening emergency, use 911. For suicidal thoughts or an emotional crisis, call 988 or text 988.[3][20]
Get Treatment Help
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