Substance Abuse and its Medico-legal Implications: An Overview

Drug abuse has, of late, spread round the globe like a pandemic. 'Drugs' have become "the in thing" and using drugs, a "fashion statement." They are mostly experimented with, initially - out of curiosity / peer pressure/ to be "with the crowd." However, these occasional users get entangled in the web of drug abuse, without any way out of its strangle hold. This scourge not only ruins the addict physically and mentally, but also his family and friends - physiologically, socially and financially; as well as, the society at large. Tolerance to the various drugs of abuse in turn leads to either increased dose or the use of multiple drugs - poly drug abuse. This paper outlines, the epidemiology of drug abuse, the factors affecting it, the main points of treatment, and the medico-legal issues arising out of such abuse, with respect to civil and criminal matters.