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Criminal Justice Narcotic Withdrawal This Is A Term Paper

Criminal Justice Narcotic Withdrawal

This is a paper on narcotic withdrawal. There are three references used for this paper.

A person who has taken narcotics faces a number of physical difficulties. It is important to look at narcotic withdrawal in order to gain a better understanding of the signs and symptoms associated with it, as well as what the person is experiencing.

Withdrawal

Narcotic drug addiction is a "physical and psychological dependence on a specific class of drugs. Narcotics are drugs that produce a change in response to sensations, mood changes, unconsciousness, or deep sleep. Some examples of narcotics are heroin, codeine, morphine and methadone (www.beryl.net/HTL/DrugAbuse/21505.htm)."

A person may experience withdrawal due to a number of reasons such as "shortage of supply, lack of money, deciding to stop taking the drug to break the drug habit, or confinement in a controlled environment, such as jail, hospital, or other institution where the drug is not available (www.beryl.net/HTL/DrugAbuse/21505.htm)."

There are a variety of narcotics available and a person can become addicted to prescription pain pills, as well as street drugs. A person who...

The acute withdrawal period can last for 7 to 10 days, while for "narcotics such as Vicodin it can last from three to seven days (unknown, 1999)." These withdrawal periods will vary according to the individual's metabolism, weight, body systems, etc.
Signs and Symptoms

A person going through narcotics withdrawal can experience "terrible muscle aches, stomach cramps, shakes, hallucinations, and nausea (unknown, 1999)." Withdrawal occurs after "the body has slowly adapted or adjusted to the chemical intrusion of a drug. When the drug is withdrawn, the central nervous system is disrupted until it can readjust to a 'drug free' world (www.thomasjmoore.com/pages/drug_withdraw.html)." While withdrawal is extremely uncomfortable, it is rarely life threatening.

There are grades and symptoms of narcotic withdrawal which "include:

Grade 0: intense desire for the drug and anxiety.

Grade 1: watery eyes, watery discharge from the nose, and yawning.

Grade 2: in addition to the above symptoms, dilated (enlarged) pupils of the eyes, loss…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Unknown. "Even prescription pain killers can cause addiction in patients." St. Louis Post-

Dispatch. (1999): 29 November.

(Drug Withdrawal Symptoms. (accessed 24 November 2004).

).
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