Paper Example. Common Laws and Penalties

Alcoholism, drug abuse, and work are major topics in the field of nursing and medicine. Some laws govern the privacy and confidentiality of the victims, and the legal concepts that ensure professionalism when dealing with the victims of alcoholism and drug abuse. Alcoholism is a disorder resulting from rampant abuse of alcohol. The abuse results in damage of the mind and physical problems. It is a disorder that has been divided into two, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. In the medical field, alcoholism is described as having occurred, when the person abusing the alcohol, takes large quantities, has difficulty in reducing the consumption rates and or even quitting the drinking generally. Alcoholism, therefore, refers to the strong urge to take alcohol, to the extent of choosing to consume alcohol instead of performing basic duties. Alcoholism has social, health and even economic problems to the individuals affected.

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In medicine, Drug addiction refers to the psychological dependence on drugs. It is a disease of the brain that results in a chronic relapse due to the active use of a substance. Drug abuse has an impact on the behavior of a person. The addicted persons are always aware of the problem but cannot escape the prolonged cycle leads to social, economic and even health effects. There are legal concepts that aim at ensuring that the medical experts dealing with the patients display professionalism and care. Ethical conduct such as the need of nurses to display, professional relationships and practice with respect and compassion without prejudice, ensures that the people affected by drug addiction do not experience prejudice. Prejudice is common among health practitioners whenever they are dealing with cases of drug addiction. It is an emotional and uncomfortable topic since the media portrays addicts negatively. Addicts are viewed as immoral, criminals and even lazy.

The government's laws trying to curb alcoholism include the reduction of the alcohol consumption age to stop sales of alcohol to children. (Davies and Michael) Most states prohibit the sale of alcohol to persons under the age of 18 years. Young adults below 21 are allowed to drink under the supervision of their parents such a law by the government is useful in reducing the possible occurrence of alcoholism. Another law includes the ban on drunk-driving. The federal government defines an alcoholic beverage as any beverage that has over 0.05% alcoholic content. The punishment for violating this regulation is the suspension of driving license, by the authorities whenever found to have violated the rule. (Anderson, Mark, Benjamin, Crost &Daniel,p1333).The law of tort is concerned with the compensation of a claimant, who has been affected by a civil wrong. Torts are civil wrings that results in damages to a person's health, physical and even emotional damage. Some regulations prevent pregnant women from drinking alcohol due to the adverse effects it can have on the developing fetus. There are instances where groups have resented the regulation claiming that it violates the rights of women. Some states have issued an order for the arrest of any woman delivering babies with alcoholism-related disorders.

Medical-legal Concepts

Nurses experience the direct effects of alcoholism and drug abuse. They either deal with the counseling and the care of the alcoholics and their families and may also be struggling with the issue of addiction. Reports indicate that at least 3% of nursing professionals are addicted to substances, which has hindered them in the delivery of quality work. (Thellier, Elsie, Claire and Marie-Victoire,p313)The effects of alcoholism among nursing professionals are negligence, which is manifested in three major ways. The failure to abide by the standards and the ethics of care. Failure to make early communications and reports, regarding work progress in departments. (Studdert. et al,p 350) Reports are critical in the assessment of a health institution. Nurses struggling with alcoholism have exhibited poor documentation, monitor,ing and advocating for the patient's needs.

Such nurses have been held accountable for damages occurring at the workplace, following their agreements to the binding ethical policies.

Before medical professionals can face a lawsuit for participating in any malpractice, there has to be a clear definition of malpractice. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), has defined malpractice as unethical conduct and the intentional absence of skill in the way a professional holds an official position. Tort laws prosecute nurses on the grounds of unskillful performance. (Fresher and Samuel ) The aim of the medical-legal concepts and the state laws is to mitigate any possible harm that could befall both the nurses' professionals and their clients. The cases of drug addiction and drug abuse among professionals can affect the reputation of the institution.

In conclusion, alcoholism and drug abuse is a prevalent issues among professionals and citizens. Addictions cause professionals to commit malpractices at work. Nurses should always participate in analysis to prevent the occurrence of malpractices. The professionals affected by addiction should be encouraged to speak out to avoid further damage in their professional work. Limitation of malpractices is costly and has professional and emotional devastations.

Works Cited

Anderson, D. Mark, Benjamin Crost, and Daniel I. Rees. "Wet laws, drinking establishments and violent crime." The Economic Journal 128.611 (2018): 1333-1366.

Davis, Michael. "Addiction, Criminalization, and Character Evidence." Tex. L. Rev. 96 (2017): 619.

Fresher, Samuel. "Opioid Addiction Litigation and the Wrongful Conduct Rule." U. Colo. L. Rev. 89 (2018): 1311.

Studdert, David M., Michelle M. Mello, and Troyen A. Brennan. "Medical malpractice." New England Journal of Medicine 350.3 (2004). https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tNhsxSYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra

Thellier, Elise, Claire Colmant, and Marie-Victoire Senat. "Fetus (Drug Addiction, Alcoholism, etc.)." Child Abuse. Springer, Cham, 2018. 313-325.