Medico Legal Aspect of Drug Abuse and Dependence

Drug abuse is an intense desire to obtain increasing amounts of a particular drug or substance to the exclusion of all other activities [1]. Dependence is the body's physical need, or addiction to a specific agent. The misuse of drugs is not limited to therapeutic purposes but also to terminate the frustrated lives. A physical dependence on a substance (needing the drug to function) is not always part of the definition of addiction. Some drugs like blood pressure medications don't cause addiction but do cause physical dependence. This paper will explore its different definitions and related issues with extensive legal, social, moral and ethical problem.