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Substance abuse is a pattern of continued harmful
use of a mood altering substance, that results in adverse
social consequences, such as failure to meet work, family,
or school obligations, interpersonal conflicts, or legal problems.
Substance abuse may lead to addiction or substance dependence.
Medicaly, dependence requires the development of tolerance
leading to withdrawal symptoms. Both abuse and dependence
are distinct from addiction which involves a compulsion to
continue using the substance despite the negative consequences,
and may or may not involve chemical dependency. Dependence
almost always implies abuse, but abuse frequently occurs without
dependence, particularly when an individual first begins to
abuse a substance. Dependence involves physiological proceses
while substance abuse reflects a complex interaction between
the individual, the abused substance and society.
(Source:
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