Affects of Substance Abuse

Affects of Substance Abuse

Affects of Substance Abuse
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics of Drugs 114 million people over the age of 12 have used illicit drugs at least once in their lifetime. The combination of fame, drugs and alcohol can be very dangerous. The film, Walk the Line is about one of the greatest musicians of all time Johnny Cash, and his personal struggles for success. Walk the Line was directed by James Mangold in 2005. The film Walk the Line shows how substance abuse can impact one’s family, career and health.
First of all, the problems related to substance abuse are complex and they can be inherited by a person’s parents or grandparents. When Johnny Cash was a little boy, his brother got killed while cutting wood. His father used alcohol heavily and seemed to blame Johnny for his brother’s death. Using poor judgment combined with alcohol use Johnny’s father made a statement “The devil took the wrong son.” Johnny’s family problems confirmed a fact that “substance abuse can increase the risk of violence by causing loss of control, and impaired judgment (Gebel).”
Substance abuse can change and harm relationships with family members (Gebel). It can cause many domestic problems. For example, in the article,” A Mother under the Influence,” by Mary Ferguson, Mary, a mother of two, could not tend to her children at night because she would constantly be drunk. She could not answer the telephone without the fear that she would slur her words. Her children could not ask their

mother to help them with their homework, eat dinner together, be read a story before bed or even be comforted after having a bad dream because she was constantly under the influence.
Substance abusers are often more prone to engage in conflict and have mood swings (Gebel). Another incident that showed a conflict in Johnny Cash’s family is obvious in an argument that he and his father had. “Mister big shot, mister pill poppin' rock star. Who are you to judge,...

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