DRUG ADDICTION

<p><em>Substance misuse is one of the most costly and destructive social and medical problems of the twentieth century. Today, drug use is a serious issue in Bangladesh and around the world. The reward system of the brain is overstimulated by almost all addictive substances, which flood it with dopamine. That results in euphoria, and the brain may find the increased pleasure so alluring that it repeatedly craves it. However, the brain undergoes extensive adaptive modifications as a result of repeated exposure. Drug use may thus turn into a compulsive behavior. An estimated 184 million people, or 4.7% of the world’s population between the ages of 15 and 64, use illegal drugs each year. The epidemic number of new instances of hepatitis and HIV/AIDS is caused solely by heroin usage.</em></p>