Recognising the signs of drug abuse and understanding its causes can help you save a loved one, or even yourself, from self-destruction.
BY WAN KER-HSIN

If you watch House regularly, you’d be familiar with the title character’s abuse of the painkiller, Vicodin. Even with a valid need and prescription for the drug, his over-the-top pill-popping and ‘do-anything’ approach to getting a fix (including lying to and deceiving those around him) when he is eventually denied access to the drug are classic symptoms of drug abuse. However, this picture of a drug abuser who is also a brilliant and respected professional is in no way limited to the realm of fiction. The age-old perception that drug users are people who live on the streets or can’t hold down a decent job no longer holds true. ‘Normal’ people such as college students, affluent yuppies, and even high-powered professionals are regularly turning to drugs for that ‘recreational’ high.

The druggie next door
People often think that only patients on long-term drug use become addicts, says Prof Dr. Mohamad Hussain Bin Habil, MBBS (Mal) MPM (Mal) DAB (Lond), an addiction specialist and consultant psychiatrist. In reality, “The question of addiction arises only when medication is not used as prescribed,” he says. Regular intake at higher-than-prescribed doses can cause a patient to develop tolerance to the drug, and subsequently, withdrawal symptoms when she doesn’t get her regular dosage, says Dr. Mohamad Hussain.